GNARBOX 2.0 SSD (256GB) - Rugged Backup Device for Your Camera

Product Information

Basically, it's buyer beware at this point. While we await official word, which may never arrive, PetaPixel also points out that the corporation behind GNARBOX, Mygnar, Inc., has a 'forfeited' status. It's had this status since late October. While it is helpful to have the two LED lights, I personally would prefer some other way of providing information to the end user. Perhaps a small, low-power LCD screen would have been more helpful. Otherwise, you will have to refer to the provided “LED Indicator Meanings” table in the manual, or the manual within the app to see what’s going on with the unit. The specifications of the camera point out that Gnarbox works with a number of different RAW file formats from different manufacturers. The list is limited to Canon, Nikon, Sony, Panasonic, Fuji and Olympus cameras, but I would not be surprised if it works with other brands as well. I wondered how Gnarbox was able to bring compatibility to RAW images – after-all, RAW file demosaicing is not a simple process and it requires a proper RAW converter. Having recently received the Fuji X-H1, I thought I would give it a try. While most other software cannot properly read RAW files from the newest cameras, I wondered if Gnarbox would be able to. I put an SD card into Gnarbox with a few RAW files and opened up the SD card in my phone: A built-in 5000 mAh battery provides enough juice to allow LAMBOGO to run continuously for up to 8 hours. However, the same cannot be said about the mobile apps, which seem to be the Achilles’ heel of the otherwise excellent hardware. The “Safekeep” and “Selects” apps look half-baked and a lot of the functionality seems to be missing at the moment. The Gnarbox team is working hard on delivering new features and updates to the apps, but it will take some time to deliver them to the end users. I would love to see more polished versions of these apps in the near future, and I hope that the company will continue to listen to their customers.

I didn’t notice until after it loaded, and then when I tried to fix it, it uploaded not only the missed files, but also the ones that had originally been uploaded. This release adds support for the DJI CineSSD reader for the Inspire 2 drone.” Support for Sony MRW-G1 XQD/CFexpress readerInside, the Gnarbox uses 128GB of flash memory and 2GB of RAM. Transfer speeds are comparable to a laptop, with read speeds up to 270MB per second and write speeds up to 100MB/s. Its well suited to last through an all-day shoot, and it can even be used as a power bank to charge your phone or other USB powered tools. Design and durability The GNARBOX will upload images straight from your card (or via a card reader, thanks to 2x USB-C & 1x Micro HDMI ports), save them to a pre-specified folder of your choosing within the box. It probably seems pretty obvious how these updates will help you when reading through the list above, but we wanted to share our experience using the GNARBOX 2.7.0 to give additional context to how this major update can really benefit photographers. The GNARBOX is a rugged hard drive that aims to not only provide a storage option for your photos, but aims to do it while you’re still in the field…and get this: without a computer. Yes, you heard that right.

One of the things I wish was a little simpler was the app system. Instead of having two apps – one app for ingesting and one for culling – I’d love to see it become a one stop shop. At this point, the unit is ready to receive external connections over WiFi. All you have to do is fire up the Gnarbox app (available for both iOS and Android platforms) and start the connection. Let’s go over the app in detail. Both Selects and Safekeep Apps have been merged into a new all-in-one App: GNARBOX. The App is available for iOS and Android users. If I can eventually push this to ingesting weddings, I will be thrilled. Many times I have an hour or so drive home, even from local weddings, so having this step taken care of while driving home would be incredible.

The Big Picture

Before we jump into the GNARBOX review, though, let’s take a look at some of the specs for this device. All in all, this new product might be an alternative to the already established Gnarbox 2.0 SSD ( read our coverage here). This review was supposed to be published in September, but the development team asked me to delay it due to the new features that were planned to be introduced with the latest firmware and iOS app updates. Specifically, the ability to copy to multiple devices at once was a pretty big deal (covered in more detail below). The enclosure is relatively light and compact with dimensions of 70mm x 116mm x 27mm and a total weight of just 185g. The Gnarbox 2.0 SSD is designed for the creatives in the field that shoot in all kinds of harsh conditions. As I have already explained earlier, the Gnarbox has excellent build quality and a tough metal shell that is further protected by rubber finish. The input ports / door on both sides of the unit are protected with rubber gaskets, which are there to seal against dust, dirt and some moisture. The Gnarbox 2.0 SSD after moderate rain

I can’t recommend this highly enough. It’s been an absolute lifesaver and keeps all my work as secure as possible. Hey @lensshark do you know what’s happening with @GNARBOX? App is no longer on the iOS/IPadOS App Store, and they seem to have be all quite on the socials front since early November. Now keep in mind that I was performing my tests in an indoor environment, with temperature staying around 70° F. I cannot imagine what would happen to the unit if I let it copy a memory card at warmer temperatures – it would probably end up melting the chassis and potentially even destroying the data on both the unit itself and the memory card. So if you are planning to use the Gnarbox in the field, keep it cool and try not to subject it to direct sun rays – you might end up damaging it. To me, this is a rather serious hardware issue to be concerned about. From my prior experience working in the IT field, I know that computer hardware just doesn’t last when subjected to very high temperatures. Software Concerns As you can see, none of the pointers match the real menus and icons on the screen. I saw this problem more than a few times and I bet it would look quite confusing for a first time user. Home Mode Switching from OLED & Auto-Connect: It’s my opinion that more info is better. The screen can now show which wifi network you’re on as well as whether you’re in “Field” or “Home Mode.” It may not seem like a huge deal, but it is really helpful to know.

Check out the 2.7.0 Release Video!

For the second test, I used the same SD card to copy the contents to external storage. I attached a fast Samsung Portable SSD drive to the USB 3.0 port and selected the destination. I was really hoping that this time the copy process would be faster, but I was seriously wrong. By the time I reached 25%, it already took over 11 minutes. Simple math calculation showed that even with an external hard drive, I was looking at 45+ minutes of copy time.