Storage is likely one of the most crucial requirements for a content material creator. In any case, with no place to retailer your work, you’ll be able to’t benefit from the freedom of making. Whereas it is likely to be advantageous to retailer your shoots in your pc initially, you’ll quickly run out of cupboard space. That is when a product just like the LaCie D2 exterior HDD drive turns into important.
Introduction
Think about this a long-term evaluate, as I’ve had my D2 since 2021, and it continues to carry out exceptionally nicely two years down the road. Not like different HDD drives, this one is just not designed for journey; it is meant to stay in your desk, plugged into the wall. Sure, it is a powered drive, providing benefits reminiscent of larger RPM speeds, higher switch charges, and elevated reliability. Tailor-made for contemporary content material creators, this drive is USB-C and Thunderbolt 3 suitable, in addition to elegantly designed. Right here is my evaluation of this exterior HDD.
Lengthy-term storage is inevitably essential for photographers in some unspecified time in the future. When you’re amongst those that retailer all of their work, that is an funding to contemplate sooner fairly than later. High quality {hardware} for archiving your footage is all the time a sensible alternative, particularly because you would possibly want to supply photographs years after the shoot or if a shopper desires to re-license your older work. The record of causes to retailer your shoots is in depth. Frankly, I began doing this lengthy earlier than truly requiring it. I picked up this behavior from Casey Neistat and determined to undertake it myself. There’s one thing particular about revisiting your early work with a recent perspective. What if there’s a picture you’d prefer to re-edit? There are probably a number of. I keep an archive of each article I’ve written for a similar motive; wanting again is effective.
Exterior Traits
The LaCie D2 drive, no matter its capability, is not at all a small transportable drive. It is a substantial grey steel field with an attention-grabbing design that strikes a stability between minimalism and futurism. The drive is encased in a steel shell that exudes the signature premium really feel of LaCie merchandise. It does not demand consideration in your desk; as a substitute, it assumes a extra understated place.
The entrance face of the drive is a straightforward black steel finish with a large blue gentle that signifies drive exercise. Whereas this gentle enhances the design, its vital measurement is kind of bothersome. It is excessively brilliant and blinks every time the drive is operational. Since my drive is all the time plugged in, I am consistently confronted with a barrage of blinking blue dots. As a result of this, I resorted to masking the sunshine with tape and making a small gap to nonetheless see the sunshine. It will be preferable if the subsequent iteration of those drives featured a smaller, subtler gentle to attenuate annoyance.
The drive itself rests on a rubber base that dampens noise and vibration, whereas additionally sustaining stability on the tabletop, stopping unintended falls. As somebody who dropped an HDD and had it fail subsequently, I take quite a lot of care about this. A very good desktop HDD mustn’t transfer a millimeter when in operation; in any other case, it is a catastrophe ready to occur.
On the rear, you will discover two ports: a USB-C port and a port for the ability cable. You possibly can’t use the drive if it is not related to the wall, which diminishes its portability. Nevertheless, this product is supposed to reside on a desk, not accompany you in a digital camera bag.
Inner Options
Below the hood, the LaCie D2 boasts spectacular efficiency. With a 7,200 RPM exhausting drive mechanism, its learn/write speeds surpass these of conventional HDDs. It is a superb alternative for data-intensive duties like transferring movies or high-resolution photographs. As an archive drive, it is excellent for storing quite a few completed tasks and accessing them as wanted. Actually, I may even envision utilizing the D2 as a piece drive. If we exclude SSD drives and rely solely on reminiscence card to exhausting drive setups, the D2’s swift efficiency makes it a compelling possibility. That is the place Thunderbolt 3 connectivity shines, offering quick switch speeds appreciated by content material creators of all disciplines.
My checks yielded the next learn/write pace outcomes for a two-year-old D2:
As evident from the outcomes, the drive maintains robust efficiency even after two years of steady use, confirming its reliability as each an archive and work drive.
Warmth and noise administration are essential points when discussing exterior drives. Many customers fear about extreme noise or overheating, probably resulting in long-term injury and failure. The LaCie D2 affords a very good stability of efficiency and quiet operation. The rubber base successfully minimizes vibrations. Working at 7,200 RPM, the drive does produce some noise, however not sufficient to be distracting. When it comes to warmth, the aluminum chassis successfully dissipates warmth, stopping the drive from overheating. General, I’m keen to say that this can be a cool and quiet drive. Then once more, noise it not a priority as I’m listening to music on a regular basis and by no means hear the rest, together with my very own doorbell.
Pricing and Conclusion
Beginning at $185 for the 4 TB model, this drive is not the most affordable possibility, however it affords affordability contemplating its options. When you go for the 8 TB or 10 TB variations, the price per gigabyte considerably drops. For example, a drive with double the storage is just $60 costlier.
What I Appreciated
Quick learn/write speeds for an HDD
Stable steel development
Usually silent operation
Areas for Enchancment
The blue gentle is just too massive and distracting
Closing Ideas
When you search a dependable, high-performance HDD for storing and dealing in your footage, the LaCie D2 is a superb alternative. Except you require a RAID system, this drive supplies a compelling answer that justifies its worth with its substantial efficiency enhancements. I discover this drive to be adequately fitted to the workflows of photographers in 2023. Whether or not you might be modifying photographs from that drive or simply storing them on it, the drive has sufficient efficiency to do each. As for video, I might not be as assured and would use it to retailer footage, switching over to an SSD when modifying.
