DIY-ish SSD For Fp/P4K/P6K Etc

[BTM_Pix]

I've got a bunch of Samsung T5/T7 drives for the Fp and Pocket cameras and, as small as they are, they are still a bit cumbersome and in the case of the T5s I've had a couple fail on me.

This is not exactly a unique or challenging DIY project to make my own alternative to the T5/T7s but thought it might be useful for anyone looking for something similar that is both faster and, for my purposes, a bit more ergonomic.

Enter the Sabrent NVMe enclosure and the WD SN770 NVMe drive.

The Sabrent takes both SATA and NVME in sizes 2242/2260/2280 and is tool-free so you just pop it open and then insert the drive.

Once you've done that, simply snap the case shut again and you have a ready to go drive which, for me at least, is a far better form factor than a T5/T7 for mounting on a camera and is easily swappable in the field for another NVMe if you run out of space.

To be able to mount it to a camera, I decided that the most appropriate and versatile route would be via a standard 1/4" 20 thread so I designed and resin printed an adapter that will take a screw and which is then bonded to the bottom of the drive case.

With that in place it can now be mounted to the camera cage horizontally or in the case of the Pocket cameras, directly into the thread on the top of the camera.

For my own use, I much prefer mounting it in this orientation but, of course, with it now having the 1/4" 20 mount it can be mounted anywhere.

In terms of price, the 1tb drive and the housing came to around €125 so it is certainly very competitively prices compared to the Samsungs.

Oh and there is the small matter of the quoted write speed being 5,150MB/s which makes it significantly faster than even the gen2 T7's speed of 1,000 MB/s.

In terms of actual real world performance, I shot all day with it on the P4K earlier in the week at 5:1 BRAW and it didn't miss a beat.

As I say, not unique, not challenging and not for everyone but it fills a need for me.

Some better cable/cable management required now though.

[PannySVHS]

DIYish for us noobs.:) I bet the Sigma looks realky cool with that setup. Or as Don aka webrunner would say, hotter than applepie. 😊

[kye]

2 hours ago, BTM_Pix said:

I've got a bunch of Samsung T5/T7 drives for the Fp and Pocket cameras and, as small as they are, they are still a bit cumbersome and in the case of the T5s I've had a couple fail on me.

This is not exactly a unique or challenging DIY project to make my own alternative to the T5/T7s but thought it might be useful for anyone looking for something similar that is both faster and, for my purposes, a bit more ergonomic.

Enter the Sabrent NVMe enclosure and the WD SN770 NVMe drive.

The Sabrent takes both SATA and NVME in sizes 2242/2260/2280 and is tool-free so you just pop it open and then insert the drive.

Once you've done that, simply snap the case shut again and you have a ready to go drive which, for me at least, is a far better form factor than a T5/T7 for mounting on a camera and is easily swappable in the field for another NVMe if you run out of space.

To be able to mount it to a camera, I decided that the most appropriate and versatile route would be via a standard 1/4" 20 thread so I designed and resin printed an adapter that will take a screw and which is then bonded to the bottom of the drive case.

With that in place it can now be mounted to the camera cage horizontally or in the case of the Pocket cameras, directly into the thread on the top of the camera.

For my own use, I much prefer mounting it in this orientation but, of course, with it now having the 1/4" 20 mount it can be mounted anywhere.

In terms of price, the 1tb drive and the housing came to around €125 so it is certainly very competitively prices compared to the Samsungs.

Oh and there is the small matter of the quoted write speed being 5,150MB/s which makes it significantly faster than even the gen2 T7's speed of 1,000 MB/s.

In terms of actual real world performance, I shot all day with it on the P4K earlier in the week at 5:1 BRAW and it didn't miss a beat.

As I say, not unique, not challenging and not for everyone but it fills a need for me.

Some better cable/cable management required now though.

Great stuff...

Mounting it on the bottom might be slightly more ergonomic and a bit more stealth perhaps?  And keen to see what you come up with for cleaner cable routing.  It seems that with my BMMCC it doesn't matter how snug you get the camera and screen, the cables still triple the size of the whole thing, giving it that "look at me!" vibe when shooting in public.

[BTM_Pix]

17 minutes ago, kye said:

Mounting it on the bottom might be slightly more ergonomic and a bit more stealth perhaps?

Depends on the camera/cage and situation but for me personally it would impede the quick release plate that I would generally have on for monopod/tripod/gimbal mounting.

17 minutes ago, kye said:

And keen to see what you come up with for cleaner cable routing.

Will likely end up with flat or coiled but as either of those would need a few different ones being bought to test with (USB C cables that look pretty can often be flaky as I've found out to my cost) so I wouldn't rule out the existing cables with plastic cable ties looped through the cage holes !

 

[Emanuel]

Any links to where you're getting it from? I presume you had found the best deal... Thanks again for posting, really useful :- )

[BTM_Pix]

37 minutes ago, Emanuel said:

Any links to where you're getting it from?

I got them both locally for a few Euros cheaper but there's not a huge amount in it with Amazon prices and prices do fluctuate a bit.

https://www.amazon.es/WD_BLACK-SN770-hasta-velocidad-lectura/dp/B09QV692XY

https://www.amazon.es/Sabrent-Carcasa-Type-C-Tool-Free-EC-SNVE/dp/B08RVC6F9Y

Pretty sure there are better deals out there and some savings could be made by buying one of the many alternatives to the Sabrent, particularly on Aliexpress.

 

[Emanuel]

Just now, BTM_Pix said:

I got them both locally for a few Euros cheaper but there's not a huge amount in it with Amazon prices and prices do fluctuate a bit.

https://www.amazon.es/WD_BLACK-SN770-hasta-velocidad-lectura/dp/B09QV692XY

https://www.amazon.es/Sabrent-Carcasa-Type-C-Tool-Free-EC-SNVE/dp/B08RVC6F9Y

Pretty sure there are better deals out there and some savings could be made by buying one of the many alternatives to the Sabrent, particularly on Aliexpress.

 

OK, nice your hint, thanks for your prompt response :- )

[leslie]

thats pretty handy to know thanks for sharing your insight. I have two of the t5's however they dont get used nearly enough 🙄 however if one  does die, i now know what  to do.

[Emanuel]

In fact, I try to never miss not even one thread of him...

And as @BTM_Pix's customer on his release, it's a win-win : ) IMHO lot of people still need to be aware of his unique achievement, nothing is too much to stop coming here and steadily say it :- )

[leslie]

12 minutes ago, Emanuel said:

In fact, I try to never miss not even one thread of him... And as @BTM_Pix's customer on his unique release, it's a win-win :- )

One day i will buy one of those gizmos i swear..  i'm just waiting for the Black Sabbeth, black friday sale. Actually i have a table saw to buy then maybe i can look at something a bit more relevant to the forum.   

[MrSMW]

Not quite the same, but rather than switch my recently acquired 14” M1 MacBook Pro for what I should have bought, the MacStudio (or whatever it is called), I have ordered the parts to build myself a super dooper fast external SSD which I can not only download to, but edit off.

I don’t really like messing with techy things and prefer plug n’ play but Mr Gordon Laing had a good video on the subject.

And has saved me 1000+ euros as a result.

[MrSMW]

OK, wow.

I surprised myself and managed all on my own to 'build' my own external portable TB3 SSD.

And it actually works. So far...

I went with Gordon Laing's suggestion (but slightly different case as his one was not available)

I did a download speed test this morning as I already know I can use a Sandisk 2TB 1050mpbpbbbpps external drive as a 'working' drive with my M1 Macbook Pro.

I already knew however that it was sloooooooooow to download to, but did not realise how slow...

96gb download via Macbook to Sandisk USB external SSD = 42 minutes.

Same download direct to Macbook SSD = 7 mins 27 seconds.

Same download to external new TB3 SSD = 7 mins 27 seconds.

Exactly the same as the internal drive so basically does the job I want it to and Apple won't let you, ie, increase the size of your SSD from 1TB to 3TB at much less cost than buying an upgraded SSD Mac in the first place.

Just need to work on the external screen compatibility now as it's not properly working as an external working screen with Premiere Pro but will work OK in mirror format.

Which is a bit odd as I had it working a few weeks back with workspace maximised on the laptop but the actual video full screen on the external monitor...

[leslie]

2 hours ago, MrSMW said:

OK, wow.

I surprised myself and managed all on my own to 'build' my own external portable TB3 SSD.

And it actually works. So far...

I went with Gordon Laing's suggestion (but slightly different case as his one was not available)

I did a download speed test this morning as I already know I can use a Sandisk 2TB 1050mpbpbbbpps external drive as a 'working' drive with my M1 Macbook Pro.

I already knew however that it was sloooooooooow to download to, but did not realise how slow...

96gb download via Macbook to Sandisk USB external SSD = 42 minutes.

Same download direct to Macbook SSD = 7 mins 27 seconds.

Same download to external new TB3 SSD = 7 mins 27 seconds.

Exactly the same as the internal drive so basically does the job I want it to and Apple won't let you, ie, increase the size of your SSD from 1TB to 3TB at much less cost than buying an upgraded SSD Mac in the first place.

Just need to work on the external screen compatibility now as it's not properly working as an external working screen with Premiere Pro but will work OK in mirror format.

Which is a bit odd as I had it working a few weeks back with workspace maximised on the laptop but the actual video full screen on the external monitor...

good work, pat yourself on the back,

i have a theory that things are much more "fault tolerant or built to withstand dumb things being done to them  "  than  from years ago.  So i'm pretty blasé around a lot of stuff  these days.  if  in doubt i'll google or youtube it on how to sort it out. If i can find a couple of sites that agree then im happy enough to have a go at it. 

Although going back a few years... i did manage to kill a dos based 1/4 of a million dollar cnc machine temporarily. Had to get the company tech guy to fix that. 🙄

[webrunner5]

I used to program  million dollar cnc machines years ago. What a boring ass way to spend a day, but it paid well as long as you maintained your sanity. Probably what is wrong with me today!

I sort of hated it to be honest. Went to college to have a job that was repetitive as hell. Didn't do it long.

[MrSMW]

7 hours ago, leslie said:

if  in doubt i'll google or youtube it on how to sort it out

Sounds like a large portion of my life 🤪

I noticed it gets hot very quickly, just plugged in.

At the same time, doing a project today working off the Sandisk USB external, (final time and then it becomes back up and transfer to PC duty) which barely gets even slightly warm.

I would have thought it would be the other way round?

I will have to Google/YouTube it…

Or I will ask Gordon as it was his fancy idea in the first place.

[kye]

15 hours ago, MrSMW said:

OK, wow.

I surprised myself and managed all on my own to 'build' my own external portable TB3 SSD.

And it actually works. So far...

I went with Gordon Laing's suggestion (but slightly different case as his one was not available)

I did a download speed test this morning as I already know I can use a Sandisk 2TB 1050mpbpbbbpps external drive as a 'working' drive with my M1 Macbook Pro.

I already knew however that it was sloooooooooow to download to, but did not realise how slow...

96gb download via Macbook to Sandisk USB external SSD = 42 minutes.

Same download direct to Macbook SSD = 7 mins 27 seconds.

Same download to external new TB3 SSD = 7 mins 27 seconds.

Exactly the same as the internal drive so basically does the job I want it to and Apple won't let you, ie, increase the size of your SSD from 1TB to 3TB at much less cost than buying an upgraded SSD Mac in the first place.

Just need to work on the external screen compatibility now as it's not properly working as an external working screen with Premiere Pro but will work OK in mirror format.

Which is a bit odd as I had it working a few weeks back with workspace maximised on the laptop but the actual video full screen on the external monitor...

I'm surprised your Sandisk USB drive was so slow.  I bought a USB SSD maybe 5 or more years ago that was as fast as my internal SSD in my MBP.  

[MrSMW]

6 hours ago, kye said:

I'm surprised your Sandisk USB drive was so slow.  I bought a USB SSD maybe 5 or more years ago that was as fast as my internal SSD in my MBP

This test was downloading an SD card direct to it via the laptop.

I’m sure it would be less slow writing to it compared with the new TB3 direct from the Mac HD such as rendering a video.

My biggest (only really) issue with my 4 or so month old Mac is that I went with too small an internal SSD.

With hindsight, a Studio would have suited my needs better, but hey ho, the new external TB3 does the job as a less than 500 euro fix.

[kye]

27 minutes ago, MrSMW said:

This test was downloading an SD card direct to it via the laptop.

I’m sure it would be less slow writing to it compared with the new TB3 direct from the Mac HD such as rendering a video.

My biggest (only really) issue with my 4 or so month old Mac is that I went with too small an internal SSD.

With hindsight, a Studio would have suited my needs better, but hey ho, the new external TB3 does the job as a less than 500 euro fix.

Yeah, I made that mistake on my last laptop, so this time I went with the 1TB drive, which allows ample room for proxies from several projects (I still have many projects waiting on editing where I shot them with long-GOP and rendered proxies already).  There was no way I would even fit in one real project if it was the original footage, so I just assumed I could edit off an SSD in that case.

[MrSMW]

Mine is 1TB and way too small.

My problem is I didn’t really factor in that I have a couple of trips that take in 3-5 jobs without returning to the office and each one takes up approx 500GB.

Oops.

I have done the first (3 jobs working away) and downloading to the 2TB Sandisk SSD was painful.

Like 6-8 hours painful and when you finish late and start again mid morning…

Now I can download an entire job; 5 cards and up to 5 audio devices in about 1 hour…and then overnight, can just copy the lot to the ‘old’ USB Sandisk SSD as a backup with a single click. And than might take 4+ hours but I won’t care as I will be asleep.

[kye]

1 hour ago, MrSMW said:

Mine is 1TB and way too small.

My problem is I didn’t really factor in that I have a couple of trips that take in 3-5 jobs without returning to the office and each one takes up approx 500GB.

Oops.

I have done the first (3 jobs working away) and downloading to the 2TB Sandisk SSD was painful.

Like 6-8 hours painful and when you finish late and start again mid morning…

Now I can download an entire job; 5 cards and up to 5 audio devices in about 1 hour…and then overnight, can just copy the lot to the ‘old’ USB Sandisk SSD as a backup with a single click. And than might take 4+ hours but I won’t care as I will be asleep.

I think it's a common problem.  Maybe one quarter of the laptops I see in the background of YouTuber videos have SSDs (or just HDDs) taped to the lid and plugged into the side.  

At a certain point it's more practical overall to put files on an external SSD, considering there's no difference in speed.  If you're editing then you probably have enough stability to plug in a drive and work from that.  Of course, I used to edit on the train during my commute and I'd literally be sitting shoulder-to-shoulder on both sides (actually, it was worse - normally if there were a few men in a row then one would have to lean forward so their shoulders weren't up against their neighbours for everyone to fit).  In that case, having a USB cable hanging out the side of the laptop would take up too much room and be vulnerable to people bumping it.  I've edited entire videos while sitting next to people like that, and having someone stood over me too because the train was cramped even for standing room.  In those cases I just pre-rendered proxies, but now I work from home or drive and so the whole train situation isn't relevant any more.