Home Hi-Tech Android World ,,,,,LaCie DJI Copilot is a mechanical disc decorated by the French brand as an ideal complement to those who travel a lot, and produces digital material not being able or unwilling to use a classic Mac or PC for archiving: LaCie DJI Copilot is able, independently, to make a backup of the contents of the smartphone memory (iPhone, iPad or Android), copy the contents of SD cards and other devices via USB-A (such as video cameras or cameras) while recharging them (thanks to the internal battery) using a button only and a monochrome display.
Even without Harrison Ford's hat in the famous movie saga, we got in a good mood and tried it for you.
LaCie DJI Copilot, the review
The drone war
At first glance, LaCie DJI Copilot is somewhat reminiscent of LaCie's Rugged series discs: in fact the design is always by Neil Poulton even if the gray color is very different and distinguishes it widely. In fact, the shape is not by chance: the paragraph covering the disc allows it to absorb shocks, a very important factor when using the disc on the move and in conditions that are not always optimal.
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The peculiarity of the display makes photos difficult , however we can assure you that you can see very well even in the dark
The first thing that strikes you about this record is definitely the name, where the DJI acronym stands out, which recalls the famous drone brand.
The disc is in fact designed for smartphones, but also as an ideal complement for those who usually use drones for shooting and need a unit that is not too heavy, not too delicate and not too large to carry around for backing up the material, so that it is always in two parts.
Obviously LaCie has caught the ball in a product that in the end is very convenient even for those who do not use drones, but shoot via smartphone or camera or video camera with the same needs: a backup is always convenient and if the shooting is not on an SD it is always possible, as we will see, to use the USB connector supplied.
First contact, from the forest to the office
Once the box is opened, the possibilities are immediately smelled: inside, in fact, in addition to the disk and a power supply (the disk works thanks to an internal battery), there is a microUSB / Lightning and MicroUSB / USB-C cable that allows you to recharge the smartphone while we make the backup copy of the entire library of photos and videos, an operation that is carried out completely automatically once the disk is turned on.
In the same way we can insert an SD card and make a copy or, if the shooting device uses other types of memories, connect it directly with a cable to the USB-A connector for direct copy. The speed is almost around a USB 3, for the units we tested.
When turned off, the display disappears completely
All operations are designed to be carried out in speed: on the disc there is a small monochrome display that illustrates the main feedbacks (such as the successful copy) and the interaction takes place through single or repeated clicks in the only button on the side opposite to the connectors.
By connecting a smartphone via cable, we can also perform more complex operations, such as viewing the documents downloaded on the disk, copying them to the phone's memory or sharing them with other apps, updating the disk firmware and performing small archive maintenance routines.
LaCie DJI Copilot, here compared to its cousin Rugged Thunderbolt 2
All operations take place in a very simple way and despite the presence of a small instruction manual (with the PDF counterpart inside the disc) you basically learn everything along the way and following the instructions on the screen or in the App.
Once at home or in the office (or in a tent or in a hotel, depending on the type of user) we can connect the disk via USB-C to a Mac or PC, and manage its contents with maximum freedom as if it were a normal USB disk. . Among other things, we point out that with the purchase of the disc we can redeem a month of Adobe Creative Cloud, worth about sixty Euros.
Here you can see the connectors: Micro USB (with USB-C and Lightning adapters) for smartphones, SD Reader, USB-C for Mac and PC and USB-A for direct connection to cameras and camcorders, up to the power connector
Weatherproof and weatherproof
As we said at the beginning, we have not had the opportunity to test the disk in extreme situations, but every connected device has been seen correctly, from the Reflex to the iPhone, from the Mac to the PC (the formatting of the disk is in ExFAT, therefore not very fast but viewed from both systems). The App is able to display the contents of the disc and show the preview of many documents: it is possible to manage the preview of Raw files (we tried Canon, Nikon and DNG) and view movies, up to FullHD directly from the disk without the need to download them locally).
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The aesthetics of the disc is optimal in many situations: the disc is, as we said, drop-proof but also against water, splashes and dust, the part of the connectors can be protected with a special rubber (which comes off for use) and the display is very comfortable because it can be seen well even in the dark.
The battery life is very good, in our case it had three weeks of inactivity without recharging, and was then ready for use when recalled.
To find some flaws we can say that the shape of the disc is very generous (more than a Rugged, to give an example), that it supports only one connection at a time and that the protective rubber is useful, but it would have been more so with a safety copy inside the package (such as the Rugged disc).
As for the price, at the moment there is only a 2TB model at a price of more than 400 Euro, well above the normal USB disks on the market, which is largely justified by the presence of the services, even if we certainly cannot say that it is an economical product.
Here it is, naked and raw without the rubber coating
Considerations
LaCie DJI Copilot proposes itself as the best friend for the outdoor photographer, for those who use drones for shooting (but also for those who do without them, such as those who take aerial shots), for the adventurous photographer who cannot carry behind the expensive Mac but that knows how to evaluate the importance of a backup on the fly.
The use of the disc is very comfortable, everything is done even with one hand and the cables can also be left connected without problems. Basically we can say that LaCie DJI Copilot is a kind of cloud for those who cannot or do not have a cloud at hand at work (and for those who use Raw files or 4K footage it is definitely too early to talk about cloud) and need to a device that does its job without asking too many questions.
LaCie DJI Copilot is a brand distributed in Italy by Attiva: readers can find it in all Apple Premium Resellers in the peninsula, as well as in the best home appliance and computer stores.
Pro • A lot versatile, for those traveling without Mac / PC • Integrated smartphone battery • Suitable for those who use drones (but not only) • Includes a one-month subscription to Adobe CC
Cons • Dimensions very generous • Only supports one connection at a time
Price: 409 , 99 Euro (suggested price for the 2TB version)
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