Best External Hard Drives for Photographers

You’ve come to the correct spot if you’re seeking for the best external hard drives for photographers. Because after reading this tutorial, you’ll understand the advantages of each external drive choice and how to select the best one for your photographic needs.

Here’s a list of the external hard disks I use, along with some further suggestions.

17 Best External Hard Drives for Photographers

Preview Product Price
WD 1TB My Passport SSD Portable External Solid State Drive, Red, Sturdy and Blazing Fast, Password Protection with Hardware Encryption - WDBAGF0010BRD-WESN WD 1TB My Passport SSD Portable External Solid State Drive, Red, Sturdy and Blazing Fast, Password... $138.08
WD 6TB My Book Desktop External Hard Drive, USB 3.0, External HDD with Password Protection and Auto Backup Software - WDBBGB0060HBK-NESN WD 6TB My Book Desktop External Hard Drive, USB 3.0, External HDD with Password Protection and Auto... $147.83
G-Technology 6TB G-DRIVE USB 3.0 Desktop External Hard Drive, Silver - Compact, High-Performance Storage - 0G03674-1 G-Technology 6TB G-DRIVE USB 3.0 Desktop External Hard Drive, Silver - Compact, High-Performance... $368.62
Seagate STEL8000100 Backup Plus Hub 8TB External Desktop Hard Drive Storage Seagate STEL8000100 Backup Plus Hub 8TB External Desktop Hard Drive Storage $209.99
LaCie d2 Professional 6TB External Hard Drive Desktop HDD – USB-C USB 3.0 7200 RPM Enterprise Class Drives, 5 Year Warranty and Recovery Service (STHA6000800) LaCie d2 Professional 6TB External Hard Drive Desktop HDD – USB-C USB 3.0 7200 RPM Enterprise...
G-Technology 1TB G-DRIVE mobile SSD Durable Portable External Storage - USB-C (USB 3.1), Up to 560 MB/s - 0G06053-1, black G-Technology 1TB G-DRIVE mobile SSD Durable Portable External Storage - USB-C (USB 3.1), Up to 560... $159.99
WD 1TB My Passport SSD External Portable Drive, USB 3.1, Up to 540 MB/s - WDBKVX0010PSL-WESN WD 1TB My Passport SSD External Portable Drive, USB 3.1, Up to 540 MB/s - WDBKVX0010PSL-WESN $275.00
SanDisk 2TB Extreme Portable External SSD - Up to 550MB/s - USB-C, USB 3.1 - SDSSDE60-2T00-G25 SanDisk 2TB Extreme Portable External SSD - Up to 550MB/s - USB-C, USB 3.1 - SDSSDE60-2T00-G25 $179.99
WD 4TB My Passport Portable External Hard Drive with backup software and password protection, Black - WDBPKJ0040BBK-WESN WD 4TB My Passport Portable External Hard Drive with backup software and password protection, Black... $89.00
LaCie Rugged Mini 5TB External Hard Drive Portable HDD – USB 3.0/2.0 Compatible, Drop Shock Dust Rain Resistant Shuttle Drive, For Mac And Computer Desktop Workstation PC Laptop (STJJ5000400) LaCie Rugged Mini 5TB External Hard Drive Portable HDD – USB 3.0/2.0 Compatible, Drop Shock Dust... $169.99
WD 2TB My Passport Wireless Pro Portable External Hard Drive, Wifi USB 3.0 - WDBP2P0020BBK-NESN WD 2TB My Passport Wireless Pro Portable External Hard Drive, Wifi USB 3.0 - WDBP2P0020BBK-NESN $450.00
BUFFALO MiniStation Extreme NFC USB 3.0 1 TB Rugged Portable Hard Drive (HD-PZN1.0U3B),Black BUFFALO MiniStation Extreme NFC USB 3.0 1 TB Rugged Portable Hard Drive (HD-PZN1.0U3B),Black $94.99
SAMSUNG T5 Portable SSD 1TB - Up to 540MB/s - USB 3.1 External Solid State Drive, Black (MU-PA1T0B/AM) SAMSUNG T5 Portable SSD 1TB - Up to 540MB/s - USB 3.1 External Solid State Drive, Black... $272.57
Seagate Backup Plus Hub 4TB External Hard Drive Desktop HDD – USB 3.0, for Computer Desktop Workstation PC Laptop Mac, 2 USB Ports, 2 Months Adobe CC Photography (STEL4000100), Model:STEL4000100 Seagate Backup Plus Hub 4TB External Hard Drive Desktop HDD – USB 3.0, for Computer Desktop... $199.98
SanDisk 1TB Extreme Portable External SSD - Up to 550MB/s - USB-C, USB 3.1 - SDSSDE60-1T00-G25 SanDisk 1TB Extreme Portable External SSD - Up to 550MB/s - USB-C, USB 3.1 - SDSSDE60-1T00-G25 $113.99
ADATA SD700 3D NAND 1 TB Ruggedized Water/Dust/Shock Proof External Solid State Drive Black (ASD700-1TU3-CBK) ADATA SD700 3D NAND 1 TB Ruggedized Water/Dust/Shock Proof External Solid State Drive Black... $105.68
Transcend 2TB USB 3.1 Gen 1 StoreJet 25M3S SJ25M3S Rugged External Hard Drive TS2TSJ25M3S,Grey Transcend 2TB USB 3.1 Gen 1 StoreJet 25M3S SJ25M3S Rugged External Hard Drive TS2TSJ25M3S,Grey $79.68

With the advent of digital cameras, the average cost per shot has dropped dramatically, making it far more cost-effective than film. As a result, the quantity of images we take has increased dramatically.

We are now learning how to manage digital data instead of dealing with film and chemicals in a darkroom. The term “digital photography process” is a relatively new addition to the photographic lexicon. It refers to the actions and methods involved in taking a picture from capture to final output, which can be a high-resolution digital image or a print.

External hard drives play a vital part in the multi-step digital workflow process, and they cover three key areas. Each stage of the workflow need its own external hard disk.

Area #1: Traveling Drives

This is especially important for trip photographers, as they might easily spend weeks away from society. On the road, it’s critical to keep digital photographs safe.

Compactness, low energy consumption, and durability are all considerations for traveling external hard drives.

Area #2: Back-up Drives ​​​​

The digital photographs are then part of the second phase—the backup process—when a photographer returns home. Photos are frequently backed up to many devices as well as a remote cloud. External hard drives are ideal for backups on the go.

Large volume and affordability are two criteria for external hard drives used for backup. Here, speed and size aren’t important.

Area #3: Extension to Internal Hard Drives

It became feasible to utilize an external hard drive as a companion to or an extension of internal drives with the development of rapid interface connection technologies (USB 3.0, FireWire, Thunderbolt). It is now usual practice to save a whole RAW image collection on an external hard disk.

Performance and rapid interface connection speed are two criteria for extension-type external hard drives.

To cover the many aspects of my vacation photography, I employ three distinct external hard disk types in my process.

Last update on 2023-05-28 at 20:35 / Affiliate links / Images from Amazon Product Advertising API

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