5 Best External Hard Drives for Videographers

If you are a video editor/ videographer there is one thing you never seem to have enough of -storage space for your files. No matter what computer system you are using you are likely needing to supplement the internal storage with a robust, fast, and reliable external storage option.

So, with all the storage options available how do you choose what is best for you? There are some questions you will need to ask yourself. You will need to decide if you need something portable / durable or stationary. You will want to see how much storage capacity you will need. Are you shooting HD, 2k or 4k and how often? Are your projects short videos or long format? Depending on those last two questions you will be able to figure out your storage needs.

Do you want to go with a Hard Drive or a solid-state drive? A hard drive disk is made of spinning magnetic disks to store data and is more prone to damage and shock issues. A solid-state drive has no moving parts making it more shock resistant. Solid-state drives tend to be faster than traditional hard drives. The downside is that SSD costs more than standard HD. That brings us to the last thing to consider, price point. Storage amount, durability, portability, and SSD /HD are all items that will change your price points. And last but not least do you want to save to the cloud or a local external storage source? For this discussion we will focus on external hard drive.

Now let’s take a look at 5 of the Best External Hard Drives for Videographers.


G-TECHNOLOGY G-DRIVE THUNDERBOLT 3 EXTERNAL DESKTOP HARD DRIVE WITH USB 3.0 TYPE-C

So let’s say you have lots of video or your projects are 4k – then you need to focus on storage capacity and speed. At storage capacities like 4 and 10 TB this external hard dive is already a monster. But the beauty of the G-Technology G-Drive is that they are stackable. Daisy Chain up to 5 additional devices and you will have an insane amount of gigabyte storage for your video needs. This external drive has thunderbolt (great for Mac users) and USB 3.0 connectors. 


G-TECHNOLOGY 2TB G-DRIVE MOBILE SSD R-SERIES

Next up on our list is G-Technology’s 2TB Mobile G-Drive. This portable, rugged little hard drive features transfer speeds up to 560MB/s2 and is one of the fastest hard drives you can use for videos and photos. Not only is this tiny hard drive easy to bring anywhere, but it’s also super durable and can withstand 3-meter drop and up to 1,000 lbs of weight on top of it.


LACIE RUGGED PORTABLE EXTERNAL HARD DRIVE

The Rugged Portable External hard drive has a few different cable options and Terabyte sizes. This device is great for videographers on the go, as well as students, and photographers. With its shock / drop protection features and a durable rubber sleeve this will store your information safely. It apparently can withstand 1 ton of pressure. That is pretty much a car rolling over it. Not that we recommend you try this. It does feel good to know not much is going to destroy this beast.


SANDISK 2TB EXTREME PRO PORTABLE USB 3.1 EXTERNAL SOLID STATE DRIVE

Solid-state drives are faster than the traditional Hard Drive. That’s because the SSD’s have no moving parts. Solid-state drives cost more than their HD counterpart but will have faster speeds and are shock resistant because of no moving parts. These work extremely well for video or as a backup. The Sandisk Extreme Pro pocket-sized shape makes this drive great for travel. With transfer speeds up to 1050 MB/s this drive is also great for videography.


SEAGATE 8TB 3.5″ EXPANSION DESKTOP USB 3.0 EXTERNAL HARD DRIVE

If you are looking for something to expand your storage space, this easy to use hard drive from Seagate is affordable and has terabytes of space. Simple drag and drop with a USB 3.0 connectivity to make it as easy as possible on you!


So those are 5 of the Best External Hard Drives for Videographers. A little bit of everything for various needs and uses. Drives for those working at a workstation or for those working on location.  These drives work with Mac or PC’s and have various input options. As you look for the best external hard drive for videographers, you’ll have to ask yourself if you want a SSD solution or a traditional HD. The other thing to consider is your storage capacity need and if you will need the drive for on location in the field or just locally.


Keep Reading:

Leave a Reply