What's the best external hard drive for photos for photographers? An SSD (solid state drive) hard drive, of course. It's an improvement version of the HDD (hard disk drive). Why do photographers should adopt this new SSD hard disk technology? The reason is simple: just like a memory stick, there are no moving parts within an SSD hard drive. So you've got both reliability and high performance for photo and video editing. I'll go through some of the best portable SSD hard drives by looking into two main factors, speed and reliability. Top rated external SSD external hard drives for photographers should be:
- USB-C compatible for fast data transfer
- Shock, dust, and water resistant
- Small and lightweight
- Compatible with major operating systems like Mac, Windows, and Linux
A List of Top 10 Best Portable SSD Hard Drives for Travel Photographers in 2020
SanDisk Extreme 900 portable SSD
Top of the notch SSD hard drive from global brand SanDisk, the Extreme 900 portable SSD is unbeatable in term of speed. This is amazing. Photographers with high end DSLR camera love this kind of high-performance portable SSD hard drive. You don't even need drivers when connecting your computer to the hard drive. The other important feature we should not overlook is temperature and impact resistant.
Pros
Samsung T5 Portable External SSD. CHECK PRICE ON AMAZON. When it comes to choosing. ADATA's XPG SX8200 Pro offers on-point—which is to say, fast—speeds for a PCI Express M.2 SSD at its price. It's a strong value pick in the NVMe drive space. Read ADATA XPG SX8200 Pro Review Best.
- Modern external hard drives are also incredibly fast, thanks to USB-C connections and SSD (Solid State Drive) technology, which means copying and moving lots of files takes a matter of seconds. For more information, jump to the what to consider when buying an external hard drive section. Today's very best external hard drive and SSD deals.
- Best-picks; 6 Cheap External Hard Drives (Under $60), Ranked Best to Worst. By Ben Moore 20 July 2017. Even if you use cloud-storage services such as OneDrive or Dropbox to back up some of.
- Read up to 850 MB/s and write up to 850 MB/s, using USB 3.1 Gen 2
- Compatible with PC & Mac computers
Cons
- Speed not matched as mentioned
- Not for running operating system
Samsung T3 Portable SSD
Second after SanDisk, I'd recommend Samsung T3 Portable SSD. The Samsung SSD T3 works well with PC, Mac, and even Android operating system. It's very compact and lightweight. This sleek SSD hard drive fits well in your pocket, so you can take all your photos with you anywhere you go.
Pros
- Read-write up to 450 MB/s
- Achieve the best performance with USB-C cable (make sure you have a USB-C cable support at least 5Gb/s transfer speed)
Cons
- Not friendly with Apple devices
VectoTech Rapid 2TB External SSD USB 3.0 Portable Solid State Drive
This portable SSD hard drive is a great addition to your storage needs. It's easy to use; it's plug and play. The SSD drive offers fast transfer speeds. Slick and lightweight is usually preferable by travel photographers. In addition, VectoTech Rapid Portable SSD is shock and vibration resistance, so it's a plus when you move around a lot.
Pros
- Super fast Read/Write speeds up to 450Mb/s
- Shock and vibration resistant
- 2-year manufacturer warranty
Cons
- Need driver installation with Mac OS powered devices
PNY Elite Portable SSD
This external Solid State Drive is ideal for photographers, videographers, graphic designers who needs to back-up or transfer large files. It was built with performance and reliability in mind. It's also probably one of the most compact SSD hard drives in portable SSD class. It works on MAC and Windows out of box. Plug and play. The down size is storage capacity available, unlike the above reviewed portable SSD hard drives, which offer more capacity.
- Read up to 430 MB/s and write up to 400 MB/s
- Great look, feel and quality of materials
WD 2TB My Passport SSD Portable Storage – USB 3.1
What I really love about this WD My Passport SSD hard disk is its shock-resistance, compact storage in a durable design. The automatic backup feature is useful for most photographers. Overall, it's the best SSD portable hard drive for Macs.
- Read speeds up to 540 MB/s
- USB Type-C and USB 3.1
U32 Shadow External 2TB USB-C (3.1 Gen 2) Portable Solid State Drive SSD
The Thunderbolt 3 compatibility makes the U32 Shadow External SSD drive outstanding for its speed and performance. On the other hand, this SSD hard disk is quite portable, which makes it easy to pack and travel.
- Compatible with USB 3.1/3.0 and Thunderbolt 3
- Durable build and design with aluminum housing
LaCie Rugged 1TB Thunderbolt and USB 3.0 SSD Portable Hard Drive
If you travel a lot for photography purpose, LaCie Rugged Portable Hard Drive will survive extreme data security in most circumstances.
- Shock, dust, and water resistant for all-terrain use
- Speeds of up to 387 MB/s
Seagate Portable 4TB External Hard Drive USB 3.0
Seagate has been popular for years as a hard drive maker. This external SSD hard drive is quite affordable for most photographers. What's more? You won't sacrifice the reliability with this Seagate brand. Overall, it's the best cheap external SSD hard drive everyone can buy.
- Lightweight and compact design
- Plastic top cover
- Mac compatibility
Samsung T5 Portable SSD
With read and write speeds up to 540 MB/s, it's a great travel hard drive for photographers. It's compact and lightweight.
- Compatible with Windows, Mac OS, and Android devices
- Metal design
- Read-Write speeds of up to 540 MB/s
- Comes with USB Type C to C and USB Type C to A cables
SanDisk Extreme 500GB Portable SSD: The Best Waterproof
If your ultimate choice is the best water-resistant external SSD hard disk, you should not look further. The SanDisk Extreme 500GB is my favorite.
- Up to 550MB/s read speeds
- IP55 for water and dust resistance
- Shock-resistant (Shock-resistant (up to 1500G)
- Vibration-resistant (5g RMS, 10-2000 HZ)
- Non-operating temperature
- For PC and Mac users
Toshiba Canvio Advance 2TB Portable External Hard Drive USB 3.0
Compatible with Mac and Windows, the Toshiba Canvio is a USB 3 portable hard disk made for storing photographs. It's quite easy to use with a MacBook laptop to backup photos. Overall, it's very reliable.
For those photographers with a massive collection of photographs, I'd recommend that you should either buy a few of the Toshiba Canvio external hard drives or get the 4TB capacity.
- Slim design
- Toshiba Storage Backup Software (downloadable)
- Automatic backup and password protection
Good to Know
Of all the digital storage, the SSD technology is a good investment. For most travel photographers, what we need most is digital storage to keep all their photographs. Having the best SSD hard drive is essential for most of us. I chose the to best portable SSD hard drives over normal external hard drives because of these two factors: reliability and speed.
These features are what we need to pay attention to before buying an external hard drive to store and backup our photos. The top rated external hard drives will make photographers and videographers easier for use in the home studio or travel, especially for backup large photo files. There are times we our normal external hard disks are having issues due to its old technology. With the best portable SSD hard drives you'll feel more comfortable storing your valuable photos.
What's else? If you're looking for a gift idea for your friend who's a passion photographer, giving the best external SSD hard disk is a great choice. The list above gives you a variety of options for either Windows or Mac users.
Dec 03, 2020 • Filed to: Answer Hard Drive Problems • Proven solutions
External Hard drives are a convenient and easy way to store large data such as .jpg files and important official documents. These also help to organize and share digital information like media files and other important files. Hard disk drives were introduced in the year 1956, for data storage and real-time transaction processing computers. Using hard drive devices, one can easily store official and personal data for future use. Various performance characteristics are there that you must know before making a final purchase like storage capacity, seek time, data transfer rate, latency, power consumption, shock resistance, audible noise, and price. The top 10 cheap external hard drives that offer great utility, excellent design, and additional storage for your personal and official data are:
Part 1. Picking from the Best and Cheap External Hard Drives
1. Seagate Expansion
Company: Seagate
External Hard drives are a convenient and easy way to store large data such as .jpg files and important official documents. These also help to organize and share digital information like media files and other important files. Hard disk drives were introduced in the year 1956, for data storage and real-time transaction processing computers. Using hard drive devices, one can easily store official and personal data for future use. Various performance characteristics are there that you must know before making a final purchase like storage capacity, seek time, data transfer rate, latency, power consumption, shock resistance, audible noise, and price. The top 10 cheap external hard drives that offer great utility, excellent design, and additional storage for your personal and official data are:
Part 1. Picking from the Best and Cheap External Hard Drives
1. Seagate Expansion
Company: Seagate
Specs: Seagate Expansion hard drive is one of the best-suited data storage programs. The portable device comes with a wide range of data storage capacity that varies from 1 TB to 4 TB. The staid designed portable hard drive has sheer space to store data and it is highly compatible with USB 2.0. Seagate Expansion devices come with 3 years of guarantee and easily compatible with the Windows Operating system and are a favorite for the ones looking for a large hard drive.
Reviews: Fast and Easy Access, portable device, additional data storage, and quickly copies files from the internal drive.
Media Site which recommends it: PCMag
Price: $54.98 for 1 TB and $83.33 for 2 TB as listed on Amazon.
2. Samsung M3
Company: Samsung
Specs: Samsung M3 comes with advanced intuitive software that offers easy plug and plays operation with Windows. It is one of the best USB powered drives in the portable segment. Opting this device, one can easily manage the drive security as it features secured password protection. Generally, 1 TB and 2 TB Samsung M3 are available that deliver handy portable storage for important files and documents. It is compatible with USB 3.0 and can be easily connected to a laptop or tablet, making it a useful large external hard drive.
Reviews: Fast data transfer, excellent performance, additional data storage, personal backup solution, and safety key protection.
Media Site which recommends it: CNET
Price: $62.99 for 1 TB as listed on Amazon.
3. Toshiba Canvio Basics
Company: Toshiba
Specs: Toshiba Canvio Basics drive features an internal shock sensor and 5400 RPM speed. The portable device is highly compatible with Windows, DOS, and Linux. The device has 5 gigabits/second data transfer rate and a 12ms average seek time.
Reviews: Cheap and best external hard drive, additional data storage capacity, USB 3.0 interface, complete data protection, lightweight and small in size.
Media Site which recommends it: CNET
Price: $49.99 for 1 TB and $77.99 for 2 TB as listed on Amazon.
4. WD My Passport Ultra
Company: Western Digital Company
Specs: WD My Passport Ultra features an auto backup software and hardware encryption for the best storage value. The device is durable, reliable, shock tolerant and comes with high capacity compact data storage capacity. WD My passport ultra device is compatible with USB 2.0 and USB 3.0 port and it secures your files from unauthorized access with password protection.
Reviews: Ultra-fast backup storage, Password Protection, double safe drive, and additional storage capacity.
Media Site which recommends it: TechRadar
Price: $59 for 1 TB and $87.60 for 2 TB as listed on Amazon.
5. WD My Passport for Mac
Company: Western Digital Company
Specs: WD My Passport for Mac offers up to 2 TB data storage and a USB 3.0 interface for the ultra-fast data transfer. For the MacBook users, the drive is an ideal companion as it offers fast and easy access to the users and saves files in blazing speed.
Reviews: Sleek and compact design, additional storage for videos, images and files, WD security, and massive data storage capacity.
Media Site which recommends it: CNET
Price: $59.99 for 1 TB and $97.99 for 2 TB as listed on Amazon.
6. Transcend 1TB Military-Grade Shock Resistance
Company: Transcend
Specs: Transcend 1 TB Military-Grade Shock Resistance drive has additional features like Shock resistance and one-touch backup feature. It is specifically designed with a Silicon shell on the outer surface, standard casing, and damper tech to meet drop test standards.
Reviews: Easy plug and play operation, anti-shock rubber case, and maximum data transfer speed.
Media Site which recommends it: TechRadar
Best Ssd External Hard Drive
Price: $54 for 1 TB as listed on Amazon.
7. Seagate Expansion Portable
Company: Seagate
Specs: Seagate Expansion Portable hard drive offers maximum data storage capacity for digital data like photos, videos, DVD films, and music. The drive features 5000mbps data transfer speed, which is pretty fast when compared to other cheap external hard drives.
Reviews: Sleek Design, Excellent performance, no need for external supply, durable, competitive price, and easy to access.
Media Site which recommends it: PCMag
Price: $67 for 1 TB and $83.33 for 2 TB as listed on Amazon.
8. Seagate Wireless Plus
Company: Seagate
Specs: Seagate Wireless Plus is one of the best hard drive programs as it offers fast access to Windows and Mac users. It provides a start guide to first-time users. Opting the advanced storage program, you can easily transfer the files without wires or the internet. It adds 1 TB storage space to multiple devices.
Reviews: Portable hard drive, wireless network, impressive performance, compatible with multiple devices like Android, iOS, and Windows.
Media Site which recommends it: PCMag
Price: $139.99 for 1 TB and $199.99 for 2TB as listed on Amazon.
9. Samsung D3 Station External Desktop Hard Drive
Company: Samsung
Specs: For those who want to expand data storage space, Samsung D3 Station External Desktop hard drive is one of the brilliant options as it comes with a wide range of storage capacity that varies from 2 TB to 6 TB, thus making it a favorite among those seeking cheap external hard drives.
Reviews: Streamline shape, massive data storage capacity, USB 3.0 Interface, and portable version.
Media Site which recommends it: GeekDaily
Price: $65.98 for 2 TB, $118.88 for 4 BT and $136 for 5 TB as listed on Amazon.
10. Western Digital My Passport Wireless
Company: Western Digital Company
Specs: Western Digital My Passport Wireless is an excellent data storage solution for laptops and desktop computers. The drive is equipped with a rechargeable battery that can last up to six hours and comes in handy while choosing from many cheap external hard drives.
Reviews: Wireless connection with mobile devices and USB 3.0 port for fast data transfer.
Media Site which recommends it: TechRadar
Price: $ 153.90 for WD 1 TB and $195.81 for WD 2 TB as listed on Amazon.
Part 2. What is an External Hard Drive?
External Hard Drive is a device that allows easy and fast access to store important data like documents, media files, photos, and other files for future use. External hard drives are the best alternatives for data backup and come in a wide range of data storage capacities and sizes. Certain facts that you must know external USB devices are performance, design, and storage capacity. Performance determines the overall operations of the hard drives including data transfer speed and storage capacity. When the files are transferred from a computer internal drive to an external drive, then the data transfer rate is measured in terms of megabits per second or gigabits per second. Look for the devices that quickly transfer data without any loss, additional storage capacity, and provide easy access.
With numerous options to choose from in the market, the technology that drives cheap external hard drives is consistently progressing, thus leaving the user happy. For the ones looking to expand their digital library, this list offers more than just a few names, as it complies with the cheap external hard drives that are ruling the world market currently.
Part 3. External Hard Drive Data Recovery
If you lost data on your external hard drive, unfortunately, don't worry! You still have the chance to get lost data back. To recover files from external hard drives, you can have try the following tool.
Your Safe & Reliable Hard Drive Data Recovery Software
- Recover lost or deleted files, photos, audio, music, emails from any storage device effectively, safely and completely.
- Supports data recovery from recycle bin, hard drive, memory card, flash drive, digital camera, and camcorders.
- Supports to recover data for sudden deletion, formatting, hard drive corruption, virus attack, system crash under different situations.
Top 5 Best Free Hard Drive Data Recovery Software in 2020
Specs: Seagate Expansion hard drive is one of the best-suited data storage programs. The portable device comes with a wide range of data storage capacity that varies from 1 TB to 4 TB. The staid designed portable hard drive has sheer space to store data and it is highly compatible with USB 2.0. Seagate Expansion devices come with 3 years of guarantee and easily compatible with the Windows Operating system and are a favorite for the ones looking for a large hard drive.
Reviews: Fast and Easy Access, portable device, additional data storage, and quickly copies files from the internal drive.
Media Site which recommends it: PCMag
Price: $54.98 for 1 TB and $83.33 for 2 TB as listed on Amazon.
2. Samsung M3
Company: Samsung
Specs: Samsung M3 comes with advanced intuitive software that offers easy plug and plays operation with Windows. It is one of the best USB powered drives in the portable segment. Opting this device, one can easily manage the drive security as it features secured password protection. Generally, 1 TB and 2 TB Samsung M3 are available that deliver handy portable storage for important files and documents. It is compatible with USB 3.0 and can be easily connected to a laptop or tablet, making it a useful large external hard drive.
Reviews: Fast data transfer, excellent performance, additional data storage, personal backup solution, and safety key protection.
Media Site which recommends it: CNET
Price: $62.99 for 1 TB as listed on Amazon.
3. Toshiba Canvio Basics
Company: Toshiba
Specs: Toshiba Canvio Basics drive features an internal shock sensor and 5400 RPM speed. Windows 8 1 blue download. The portable device is highly compatible with Windows, DOS, and Linux. The device has 5 gigabits/second data transfer rate and a 12ms average seek time.
Reviews: Cheap and best external hard drive, additional data storage capacity, USB 3.0 interface, complete data protection, lightweight and small in size.
Media Site which recommends it: CNET
Price: $49.99 for 1 TB and $77.99 for 2 TB as listed on Amazon.
4. WD My Passport Ultra
Company: Western Digital Company
Specs: WD My Passport Ultra features an auto backup software and hardware encryption for the best storage value. The device is durable, reliable, shock tolerant and comes with high capacity compact data storage capacity. WD My passport ultra device is compatible with USB 2.0 and USB 3.0 port and it secures your files from unauthorized access with password protection.
Reviews: Ultra-fast backup storage, Password Protection, double safe drive, and additional storage capacity.
Media Site which recommends it: TechRadar
Price: $59 for 1 TB and $87.60 for 2 TB as listed on Amazon.
5. WD My Passport for Mac
Company: Western Digital Company
Specs: WD My Passport for Mac offers up to 2 TB data storage and a USB 3.0 interface for the ultra-fast data transfer. For the MacBook users, the drive is an ideal companion as it offers fast and easy access to the users and saves files in blazing speed.
Reviews: Sleek and compact design, additional storage for videos, images and files, WD security, and massive data storage capacity.
Media Site which recommends it: CNET
Price: $59.99 for 1 TB and $97.99 for 2 TB as listed on Amazon.
6. Transcend 1TB Military-Grade Shock Resistance
Best Ssd External Hard Drive State Drive
Company: Transcend
Specs: Transcend 1 TB Military-Grade Shock Resistance drive has additional features like Shock resistance and one-touch backup feature. It is specifically designed with a Silicon shell on the outer surface, standard casing, and damper tech to meet drop test standards.
Reviews: Easy plug and play operation, anti-shock rubber case, and maximum data transfer speed.
Media Site which recommends it: TechRadar
Price: $54 for 1 TB as listed on Amazon.
7. Seagate Expansion Portable
Company: Seagate
Specs: Seagate Expansion Portable hard drive offers maximum data storage capacity for digital data like photos, videos, DVD films, and music. The drive features 5000mbps data transfer speed, which is pretty fast when compared to other cheap external hard drives.
Reviews: Sleek Design, Excellent performance, no need for external supply, durable, competitive price, and easy to access.
Media Site which recommends it: PCMag
Price: $67 for 1 TB and $83.33 for 2 TB as listed on Amazon.
8. Seagate Wireless Plus
Company: Seagate
Specs: Seagate Wireless Plus is one of the best hard drive programs as it offers fast access to Windows and Mac users. It provides a start guide to first-time users. Opting the advanced storage program, you can easily transfer the files without wires or the internet. It adds 1 TB storage space to multiple devices.
Reviews: Portable hard drive, wireless network, impressive performance, compatible with multiple devices like Android, iOS, and Windows.
Media Site which recommends it: PCMag
Price: $139.99 for 1 TB and $199.99 for 2TB as listed on Amazon.
9. Samsung D3 Station External Desktop Hard Drive
Company: Samsung
Specs: For those who want to expand data storage space, Samsung D3 Station External Desktop hard drive is one of the brilliant options as it comes with a wide range of storage capacity that varies from 2 TB to 6 TB, thus making it a favorite among those seeking cheap external hard drives.
Reviews: Streamline shape, massive data storage capacity, USB 3.0 Interface, and portable version.
Media Site which recommends it: GeekDaily
Price: $65.98 for 2 TB, $118.88 for 4 BT and $136 for 5 TB as listed on Amazon.
10. Western Digital My Passport Wireless
Company: Western Digital Company
Specs: Western Digital My Passport Wireless is an excellent data storage solution for laptops and desktop computers. The drive is equipped with a rechargeable battery that can last up to six hours and comes in handy while choosing from many cheap external hard drives.
Reviews: Wireless connection with mobile devices and USB 3.0 port for fast data transfer.
Media Site which recommends it: TechRadar
Price: $ 153.90 for WD 1 TB and $195.81 for WD 2 TB as listed on Amazon.
Part 2. What is an External Hard Drive?
Best Cheap External Ssd
External Hard Drive is a device that allows easy and fast access to store important data like documents, media files, photos, and other files for future use. External hard drives are the best alternatives for data backup and come in a wide range of data storage capacities and sizes. Certain facts that you must know external USB devices are performance, design, and storage capacity. Performance determines the overall operations of the hard drives including data transfer speed and storage capacity. When the files are transferred from a computer internal drive to an external drive, then the data transfer rate is measured in terms of megabits per second or gigabits per second. Look for the devices that quickly transfer data without any loss, additional storage capacity, and provide easy access.
With numerous options to choose from in the market, the technology that drives cheap external hard drives is consistently progressing, thus leaving the user happy. For the ones looking to expand their digital library, this list offers more than just a few names, as it complies with the cheap external hard drives that are ruling the world market currently.
Part 3. External Hard Drive Data Recovery
If you lost data on your external hard drive, unfortunately, don't worry! You still have the chance to get lost data back. To recover files from external hard drives, you can have try the following tool.
Your Safe & Reliable Hard Drive Data Recovery Software
- Recover lost or deleted files, photos, audio, music, emails from any storage device effectively, safely and completely.
- Supports data recovery from recycle bin, hard drive, memory card, flash drive, digital camera, and camcorders.
- Supports to recover data for sudden deletion, formatting, hard drive corruption, virus attack, system crash under different situations.
Top 5 Best Free Hard Drive Data Recovery Software in 2020
What's Wrong with Drive
- Recover Your Drive
- Fix Your Drive
- Format/Wipe Drive
- Know Your Drive
