Nikon MSV-01 Coolwalker 30GB Digital Storage Photo Viewer

The main reason for choosing this unit among the many existing in the market was its reiability. It has many good points, it is simple to use, needs just on buttom to transfer all the images contained in the card, the speed is not its strongest point but works fine enough. The menu is simple and straightforward with absolute clear instructions. The weak point is its software. It presents a rigid date based folder system which cannot be changed to suit different tastes. It has to be organized after the transfer has been made. A second fault I find is that it does not work with Nikon transfer application and files have to be transferred to the PC using normal copy instructions. For its role as a small substitute of the laptop I have been using till now, it works perfectly as a primary portable storing device. Now it fits into my photo bag when travelling which is quite the advantage I have been looking for.

This is a good way to store image when you are going to shoot a lot of gb on vacations, travel, etc, but it's not very portable.

- If you need to back-up your CF card, you need to have it plugged into the wall or the batteries will die out (I have an 8gb card; it took about 1.25 hours to upload the whole card to the Coolwalker).
- It's very slow when viewing images.

If you have the money to spend, I'd recommend getting something with a larger viewing area, such as the Epson multi-media products. I don't own any of them, but I've seen them used and they are much nicer and easier to view the images on.

I was anxious to buy a CoolWalker as soon as they came out. Having bought a new D-100 I could hardly wait to get out and take a zillion pictures. I did buy one and really wish I had not. It is extremely sloooow! Better stick to a 1GB card because the batteries won't make it through a 2GB card. Give up on playback - it is just too slow to be worthwhile at all. Oh yes, forget payback through the TV as it is supposed to do - the pictures look terrible on a standard TV and are very slow to load. Audience will die waiting for the next picture. All in all - it has been a terrible experience. I did solve my problem - I bought an iPod and it works just as advertised. Now I can't even seem to be able to give away the CoolWalker. Best offer I've had was $50. Nikon should stick with what they do well - make cameras. Love my camera, but their software sucks as does the not very cool CoolWalker.

The Nikon Coolwalker is the only way I have found to view Nikon's NEF raw files in a portable device. The Coolwalker works very well as a viewing device and storage device with one notable exception....it can deplete it's charged battery very quickly. If you buy a Coolwalker, you should consider spending the money in a spare battery right off. Downloading a couple of cards will take awhile and you will need the second battery to get through the day. Hopefully, any update to the Coolwalker will include a more readily available battery, less power consumption and a larger screen. I am happy with the Coolwalker but I could be happier.

It does its job.
I shoot with SD cards. I had to find a CF adapter before I could use it (Ebay -SD cards slips into CF jacket and both slide into Coolwalker). I have used the Coolwalker to upload and download images (and other computer files) on both my Macbook Pro and my PC. I use it for transferring all sorts of data between the 2 machines, like a glorified usb drive :) I have used it on all my trips and it is so much cheaper than buying 60 gigs of SD cards! I've never had any files corrupted or lost and for the sake of on-site backup I've never been disappointed. I've had it for about 6 months and have not had any difficulties the other reviewers mention, knock on wood.
This device would be really cool if you could do more- edit, rename, etc. I've used it to browse pictures on TV, looks great but takes forever (compared to camera to TV) to process from 1 raw photo to the next. The upload from the sd card also take a while- over 20 minutes for 2 gigs. That part is a bit painful, I do it at the end of the day when my camera is charging. The battery doesn't last long but if outlets are plentiful...
All those aforementioned negatives aside when it comes down to it I just want to be able to -see- the shot has been stored. That the Coolwalker does fine.
I recently received a 60 gig ipod and think that I will still bring the CoolWalker along for all my photos. I like the Nikon Camera download to Nikon storage, even if it isn't as cool as the ipod nor does it have as many bells and whistles as some other photo viewers, but then again, as far as the most important issue- data storage- I've never been let down.