Ask any professional photographer or filmmaker and they will likely tell you just how important it is to make regular backups of their work, even while still in the field. This is especially true for outdoor and adventure photographers who often find themselves in remote places where dust, rain, snow, and other dangers are a constant threat to their delicate electronic equipment. Fortunately those individuals, who sometimes go to the ends of the Earth in order to get the perfect shot, now have a rugged new option for keeping their data safe, even when they are working far off the grid in the most demanding environments imaginable.
The SanDisk Extreme SSD line of storage products was built specifically with adventure photographers and filmmakers in mind. They feature an IP55 rating in terms of dust, shock, and water protection, which means while these drives shouldn’t be immersed completely in water, they should have no trouble shrugging off unexpected rainstorms or the occasional splashing with water. They are also built to survive accidental drops thanks to a lightweight, yet sturdy outer shell designed to absorb impacts and keep the internal components safe.
In terms of technical performance, SanDisk says the drives are capable of read speeds of up to 550 MB per second, which should translate to fast transfers even when moving large files around. The solid-state storage devices also offer compatibility with both Windows and Mac computers, ensuring plug-and-play compatibility no matter which operating system you prefer. The SSDs are equipped with an onboard USB-C port, and ship with the appropriate cable, as well as a USB-C to USB-A adapter to ensure that they work equally well with legacy laptops as they do newer models.
Portability is always a concern when carrying extra equipment into the backcountry, but SanDisk went to great lengths to make these SSD drives as small and light as possible. The result is a backup drive that is smaller than a smartphone, yet still offers plenty of capacity at a reasonable price. The Extreme SSD is currently available in 250 GB, 500 GB, 1 TB terabyte, and 2 TB sizes. Those drives sell for $100, $150, $315, and $640 respectively.
SanDisk Extreme SSD line