The Image Bank

The Image Bank

Please contact Sima with questions about availability in the US. The phone number for the Image Bank is 800-345-7462. BermanGraphics, Larry Berman, and Chris Maher do not have any connection to the Image Bank other than it's one of the products we've written about.

Cardmedia is selling the Image Bank in Europe and the UK
To purchase the Image Bank in Europe
To purchase the Image Bank in the UK

Image Bank Manual PDF

Check out our CoolPix Accessories and Resources page

New pictures of the Case and AA Battery pack

Using the Image Bank
(Scroll down to see the pictures)
I've just returned from a weeks vacation in New York City. As a birthday present to my wife I left my laptop home. This presented a perfect opportunity for a test run with the Image Bank. I contacted Sima and was able to borrow one for the trip. Each evening I easily backed up the images from my CompactFlash card. Easy to use is an understatement. The center button turns the unit on. When the ready light to the right turns red I inserted my CompactFlash card. Then I pressed the right hand button labeled "Copy CF". A series of five bars slowly moved across the LCD screen as the images were copied. When finished the ready light glowed red again and I was able to take my CF card out. Each time I inserted the CF card to copy the images, a new folder was created which contained the complete contents of the CompactFlash card. The folders were labeled 001.itd, 002.itd, 003.itd, etc.... and were easily read on my computer when connected through the USB cable upon returning home. A padded soft case for travel would be nice. I used the padded pouch from my SB24 to protect it.

Image Bank with CompactFlash card

The Image Bank is a portable digital file storage device and is distributed in the US by Sima. It presents an elegant solution to the problem of what happens when your CF card is full and you're without a laptop hundreds of miles from home. What sets the Image Bank off from other similar products is that it's smaller and sturdier feeling. Currently shipping with a 3.2 gigabyte hard drive, it can easily be upgraded with any 2.5 inch drive. At just 5.2 x 3.3 x 1.1 inches with a weight of only 11 ounces, the unit as I worked with it, was barely larger then it's hard drive.

Not requiring a type II adapter, the unit has separate input slots for SmartMedia cards and CompactFlash (type 1) or MicroDrives (type II). Included are AC or 12 volt adapters and, by the time you read the article, there will also be a Double A battery pack that can take your Nickel Metal Hydride rechargeables or standard AA batteries. By not including a rechargeable battery pack, and in keeping the hard drive size relatively small, Sima has been able to keep the list price down to $399, and told me that it might retail for approximately $299 or so, hundreds less than similar products.

The Image Bank easily copied the entire contents of my 320 megabyte Lexar CompactFlash card in approximately three minutes. Status can be monitored by a series of five bars on the LCD screen that move across as the images are copied. Then by plugging in the USB cable the drive was immediately accessible as a removable drive on the connected computer. As with similar devices, it only copies files, not moves them. After you are finished copying, it is then necessary to reformat your CompactFlash card in the camera to continue shooting.

The Image Bank is now available with a case and 6 - AA battery pack. The case has a pocket for the battery pack and a belt clip on the back and slots for the memory cards in the bottom (left). Shown is the battery pack in it's pocket connected to the Image Bank and the flap tucked in to show the connection.

Image Bank Packaging

Distributed by Sima
800-345-7462
412-828-3700
140 Pennsylvania Ave
Bldg #5
Oakmont, PA 15139

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