Epson P-4500 P4500 P 4500 Review

Epson portable storage device has been the benchmark and standard for PSD with screen since the first release of the Epson P-2000 Photo Viewer. It is not only a device for viewing photo, but also a MP3 player, video player as well as a portable hardisk drive.

What stuns the world on the Epson PSD is the amazing screen! A 3.9" LCD screen that deliver lively and very very contrasty and colourful photos! Did I mention very very?! You will really have to see one of this thing yourself in order to appreciate the quality of the screen.

Epson P-4500 is the third generation PSD from Epson. Previously being P-2000 (40GB model first generation), then P-4000 (exactly the same as the P-2000 except having a 80GB HDD), and the just released in late April 2006, the P-4500 (80GB with faster processor, brighter LCD...etc.).

My first encounter with Epson P-2000 was during my visit to Hiroshima city, Japan. Saw a display unit hence I try it out on the spot. Very impressive LCD! No wonder so many photographers in the world choose to own one of this EXPENSIVE gadget. From a notebook user, I am concern with how fast or smooth the Epson P-2000 is when playing and browsing photos.

On my Pentium 1.2Gz M processor 1GB RAM notebook, I can browse most of my photos smoothly without having to wait. On my previous Nikon D70, I can browse photos smoothly and instantly as well. My previous Fujilfilm S2Pro on the other hand is not that fast in displaying photos, having to wait about 1 seconds from photo to photo. On my Olympus C-5050, photos are being view like having half a second delay (loading time). Waiting for the photos to show up can be a frustrating and tiring process, killing the spree or mood of browsing.

So, how is the Epson? My brief play with the Epson P-2000 is a bit disappointing. Viewing thumbnails are still ok. When click to view full photo, it takes longer time to load than what I would have expected. Maybe 1~2 seconds, I didn't use any time-measuring machine to time the actual time, but a personal feel told me that it is not for me definitely.

I did not test the download speed. My heard is that it takes about 8 mins to download a 2GB memory card. Not the fastest in the world but should be good enough for me, since I am using two 1GB memory card at the moment and I don't see myself finishing 1GB within 4 minutes and having to download the files that quickly into the PSD. If download speed is your main concern, then Epson is definitely NOT for you and you might want to consider either a CompactDrive PD70X or Nexto CF / Nexto OTG. Both can do half if not less time than the Epson.

Epson P-4000 using the same processor as the Epson P-2000 is showing photos at the similar speed. Again I did not time or measure with a time machine, but just a brief play with the new Epson P-4000 giving me the same slack feeling as the Epson P-2000. One thing worth nothing for the Epson P-4000 is that it is having a full black colour design as opposed to the P-2000 silver + black design. I prefer the P-4000 black colour more.

Having just received the Epson P-4500 few hours ago, I can't tell much about it. Just a brief play/test with it shows that it is definitely faster than the Epson P-2000 / P-4000 in loading thumbnails! Thumbnails show up on the fly! Something similar to the speed of my notebook showing thumbnails of photos using Windows Explorer. I am quite impressed with it. Though when clicking into the photo folders it takes a second or two before showing up the thumbnails, a short pause.

Viewing photo in full screen is again amazing LCD! Even my wife is WOW with the quality of the Epson screen. The loading speed for full screen view is definitely much faster than the previous Epson P-2000 & P-4000! Am I impressed? Hmm...I would say I am happy to see the improvement and I am happy to say that I would like to own one of this myself! Zooming is also a fast and smooth operation. Browsing next full screen photo takes 1/2 second or even less to show up! Smooth operation and feels like browsing on my notebook. By the way, I must stressed that the photos are the sample photos in the Epson P-4500 that pre-come with it, which is having the resolution of 1600 x 1200, which is about 2MP file size. Hence I am not sure how good will the Epson P-4500 be when viewing a 6MP, 8MP, 10MP or 16MP file size! It is definitely faster than the previous Epson P-2000 and P-4000 as I was also testing both with the pre-come photos in them too previously.

Brighter LCD? Hmm...I am not sure as I didn't compare it side by side with a Epson P-2000 or P-4000. Just as impressive as being told by my brain :p

Memory Card Accepted

Accepting only Secure Digital (SD) and Compact Flash (CF) memory cards. These two cards are probably the current most owned and used format of memory card in the world! Most point and shoot digital cameras are using SD memory card (except Sony) and most DSLR are using either SD or CF or both at the moment (again, except Sony).

What if you are the minority Sony supporter? No worry, just get a 17 in 1 CF adapter and you can use 17 types of memory card and plug into the CF slot of the Epson! This of course including most if not all the Sony memory stick, Olympus xD picture card...etc.

Earphone

As you can see in the photo on the left, there is a earphone socket next to the SD card slot for music entertainment. There is a built in speaker on the Epson P-4500 in case you want to share the music/video with the people around you. Epson has made this P-4500 a more serious entertaining machine by providing a earphone remote control together with it! You can now control (forward, backward, stop, play...etc.) using the earphone wire. Prefer a better quality earphone? No worry, the remote control and the earphone are in two separate cables, the earphone cable is the standard type, hence you can change to any higher quality ear phone that you want and plug into the remote control wire.

Left...

USB port, video port, power in socket.

...Right

ON / Off slide button. To ON / OFF, slide downwards and hold for 2~3 seconds.

Appearance

The front (LCD) is same as the previous Epson P-2000 or P-4000 model. The few modifications is the location of the speaker is now at the bottom and not the back cover. Two rubber mat were added to the back cover to avoid direct contact of the back cover to the table / sitting surface, hence reducing the chances of ugly scratch onto the cover.

Location of the speaker at the bottom instead of the back cover is nicer IMO. I would guess that opening up the P-4500 for HDD replacement (if needed) will be easier as you do not have to remove the speaker cable now... :))

Colours are the black dominated with silver at the bottom and top, similar to the Epson P-4000.

Multi-Language Support

There are 8 languages support given by the Epson P-4500. User can self-select the desire language at first time start up of the P-4500. Language can be changed or reselect anytime in the Menu.

English
Chinese
Japanese
Italiano
Deutsch
Espanol
Nederlands
Fracais

I only play with the Epson P-4500 for a few minutes...hence I can't really write a conclusion or details operation performance of it. This product is so hot-selling in Japan that I can't even get the first batch of delivery myself!

Downside? Hmm...perhaps the price...where you can get a small/entry level notebook computer with that price tag already...

Is it for you? If you want a PSD with screen, Epson P-4500 is definitely still the KING in the world. Being the third generation model from Epson, it is definitely a more mature product and an obvious improvement over the previous P-2000 and P-4000. Epson is definitely serious in getting the delicious cake share in the photography market by introducing the ultimate PSD with screen and their first in the world digital rangefinder, RD-1 (which has also evolved to the 2nd generation RD-1s). Of course, not forgetting Epson are still the popular printer choice among many photographers in the world!

I have sold quite a number of Epson P-4500, and my customers are kind enough to feedback to me the download speed of their Epson P-4500. Here's a little findings:

Transcend 1Gb 80X
- actual onboard 974 Mb, 227 D200 JPEGs
Run 1 : 3 minutes 2 secs
Run 2 : 3 minutes 1 sec

Apacer 1Gb 48X
- actual onboard 993Mb, 231 D200 JPEGs
Run 1 : 5 minutes 19 secs
Run 2 : 5 minutes 16 secs

With a faster card, eg. Sandisk Extreme or Lexar Pro 133X, the download time for 1GB should be less than 3mins.

I have read in many posts that people are confusing the Epson P-4000 with the P-4500.

I have bought Epson P-2000, P-4000 and P-4500 to my customers before. I have seen all with my own eyes. I have tested all personally. I can tell you that Epson P-4000 and P-4500 ARE NOT THE SAME ITEM!

Epson P-2000 and P-4000 difference is just the hardisk size. P-2000 is using 40GB of HDD, while P-4000 is 80GB. All external design and internal download speed are identical. Colour wise, Epson P-2000 is silver while Epson P-4000 is more black.

Epson P-4500 on the other hand is a totally different PSD. The design of P-4500 is significantly different from the P-4000. While Epson P-4500 is having 80GB HDD as well, but the download speed in Epson P-4500 has been increased significantly. It is almost twice as fast as the previous Epson P-2000 and P-4000. Viewing photos on the P-4500 is also much faster than the previous P-2000 and P-4000.

Design wise, Epson P-4500 speaker is now at the bottom instead of placing it at the back as in Epson P-2000 and P-4000. This is the most significant design change for one to differentiate between P-4000 and P-4500.

Epson P-4500 is also shipped with a better earphone with controls in the middle.

Apparently, Epson P-4500 is now only for sale in the Japan and Australia markets. Not available in the USA or Europe yet, hence many in the states thought that the Epson P-4000 that are still on sales there are the same as Epson P-4500.

In Japan, Epson P-4000 has been officially discontinued. Some old stock might still be able to get, but in most big stores Epson P-4000 has been sold out at discounted price.

Hope this will clear the doubt and confuse on Epson P-4000 and P-4500. They are two different device with the P-4500 is a much better improved model!


Epson P-4500 speaker location at the bottom	Epson P-4000 speaker location at the back