Your life’s an adventure. To capture and keep its best moments, you need fast and high-capacity storage that accelerates every move. These external hard drives fit seamlessly in your active lifestyle. They are designed to store your content and creations safely while delivering a performance that elevates your creativity.
If your photos and recordings are filling your computer’s storage too quickly, or you need to keep your digital portfolio portable, you will need to invest in one of the best portable hard drives. With their massive capacities, you will have enough space to save thousands of high-resolution raw files as well as high-bitrate 4K videos while maintaining a pocket-sized storage device. Below are five of the best external hard drives in 2020.
List of the Top 5 Best External Hard Drives for Photos
1. SAMSUNG T5 Portable SSD - Best External Hard Drive for Photos Mac
SAMSUNG TT5 Portable SSD is worth your money. With this device, you can have all your entertainment, games, photos, coursework, and much more virtually anywhere. Moreover, it gives you the freedom of speedy transfers and massive storage to game consoles, smartphones, laptops, and more. This storage device relieves your computer and even improves its performance. The latest T5 has a compact design and quickly slides in your purse or pocket. On top of that, this SSD comes with multiple color options that will complement your style.
Another thing is, this best SSD external hard drive has a USB 3.1 interface and offers a fast data transfer with speeds of up to 540Mb/s. This speed is 4.9 times faster than other external hard drives. Therefore, you can easily make backups and transfers of large-sized data such as high-resolution photos and 4K videos quicker. This hard drive has a sleek casing with elegantly-curved sides. Furthermore, its light and slim design make it the perfect portable storage.
On top of that, this drive is drop resistant to 2 meters with its sturdy metal body. You can keep your private content more secure with the optional password protection. This device is also compatible with a wide range of devices such as PC, Mac, gaming console, smartphones, and more. It is the best external hard drive for photos mac.
Features
- Portable design
- Shock resistance
- Seamless connectivity
- Fast transfer speeds
- Secure encryption
Pros
- Offers ultra-fast data transfer speeds
- Compact and portable design to take with you anywhere
- Ideal for transferring large-sized data like 4K videos and high-resolution photos
- Offers seamless connectivity with PCs, Macs, smartphones, and other devices
- Shock-resistant metal for enhanced durability
Cons
- Not entirely shock resistant
2. SanDisk Extreme Portable SSD - Best External Hard Drive 1tb
SanDisk Extreme portable SSD will meet your needs. With a massive 1TB storage capacity, you can easily store and back up all your photos. This best external hard drive 1tb is powerful yet portable for enhanced convenience.
Moreover, it offers you a fast NVMe solid-state performance, which features a 100Mps write speeds and 105Mps read speed. This high-capacity drive is ideal for the creation of amazing content as well as capturing incredible footage. This SSD has a durable silicone shell that offers a premium feel and added exterior protection.
On top of that, this portable SSD is tough enough so that you can take it anywhere with you. It features two-meter drop protection, dust, and water resistance to offer you extended service use. You can use a handy carabineer loop for attachment to a belt loop or backpack for additional security when carrying it with you.
Furthermore, this SSD comes with a 256-bit AES hardware encryption that allows you to password-protect your private content. You can easily back up your mobile content thanks to its compatibility with various USB Type-C smartphones. This SSD is engineered with proprietary technology to reach top speeds beyond UHS-I 104M/s.
Features
- Durable silicone shell
- 2-meter drop protection
- Water and dust resistance
- High-capacity drive
- Carabineer loop
- Portable design
Pros
- Offers a reliable storage solution
- You can password-protect your private content.
- Comes with a 5-year limited warranty so you can have peace of mind
- Tested to withstand water flow and dust resistant
- Provides a fast and reliable state performance
Cons
- Needs to be formatted for any other type of media
3. Seagate Backup Plus - Best External Hard Drive for Photographers
Satisfaction is guaranteed with the Seagate Backup Plus Hub External HDD. Firstly, this hard drive is compatible with both Mac and Windows. It employs the Backup Plus Hub, ensuring that all your photos, songs, movies, and documents are well protected.
What’s more, this Hub has proven reliability and offers a seamless backup, so you have nothing to worry about. Moreover, this device comes with two front-facing USB 3.0 gen ports that serve to charge and manage other devices such as tablets, phones, and cameras.
Besides that, this external hard drive comes inclusive of a two-month membership to the Adobe Creative Cloud Photography Plan so you can easily access Photoshop CC, Lightroom CC, and so on to create amazing photos. It is, therefore, the best external hard drive for photographers.
There is also an included Seagate software that allows you to schedule automatic backups. You can also now relieve your PC of the thousands of photos, songs, and movies and ultimately improve its performance. You can enjoy long-term peace of mind with the two-year limited warranty.
Features
- Backup Plus Hub
- High-speed USB 3.0
- Windows and Mac compatibility
- Large 14Tb storage capacity
- Adobe Creative membership
Pros
- The USB ports charge as well as connect to other USB devices like phones.
- It allows you to store and access content for years with the 14TB storage capacity.
- Offers a complimentary two-month membership to Adobe Creative Cloud Photography
- Plan’s apps
- Can be used with both Windows and Mac
- Backed by a two-year limited warranty
Cons
- Not compatible for use with PS4 firmware
4. LaCie Rugged Mini - Best External Hard Drive for Video Editing
LaCie rugged mini external hard drive will exceed your expectations. This mini drive has an impressive capacity of 5Tb, so you can comfortably store thousands of photos, hundreds of songs, movies, and so on. This small but mighty drive is conveniently portable and is compatible with USB 3.0 devices. Moreover, it offers premium protection for footages, photos, and much more, making it ideal for busy creatives. On top of that, this external hard drive is compatible with both Mac and Windows.
Another thing is, you can count on this external hard drive for customizable backup as well as fast speeds. It has a compact and robust design to withstand any condition. With a pressure resistance to up to 1 ton, drop resistance to 4 feet, and rain resistance, you can carry this hard drive anywhere you go. Also, it works overtime to provide reliable protection to your photos and other media like Plex. This rugged mini hard drive delivers seamless and fast backups and transfers with high speeds of up to 130MBs.
The best part is, this hard drive offers a 1-month free membership to the Adobe Creative Cloud All Apps plans so you can professionally edit your photos. The LaCie toolkit software offers file synching, scheduled automatic backups and on-demand one-click backups across multiple devices. It is the best external hard drive for video editing.
Features
- Fast data transfers
- Durable construction
- Rain, drop and crush resistant.
- Compact and portable
- USB 3.0 compatible
- Massive capacity
Pros
- Seamlessly connects to USB 3.0 devices.
- Delivers fast transfers with speeds of up to 130 MBs
- Long term peace of mind with the two-year limited warranty
- It has all-terrain durability with a drop, crush, and rain resistance.
- Includes a one-month free membership to the Adobe Creative Cloud All Apps plan
Cons
- The transfer speed is not as fast as other models.
5. WD Orange My Passport Portable External Hard Drive
WD My Passport Portable External hard drive provides the ultimate storage solution for your photos. This hard drive has a massive storage capacity of 2Tb to comfortably store all your photos, songs, videos, movies, and any other media. This hard drive will enable you to transfer your files from the Pc and ultimately improve its performance. It has a USB 3.0 interface and so is compatible with a wide range of devices.
What’s more, is this SSD external hard drive has a great portable design that perfectly complements your on-the-go style. You can count on it to keep all your files safe with password protection. Moreover, it is paired with WD Backup software for more functionality and superb performance. This hard drive can be used with both Windows and macOS. It has a unique reimagined design that will perfectly suit your sense of style.
Features
- Wide compatibility
- Password protection
- Reimagined design
- Auto backup
- USB 3.0 port
Pros
- It is a trusted drive with built-in WD reliability.
- Compact and portable design for on-the-go
- Offers an auto backup with the included WD Backup software
- Your files are kept safe with password protection with the hardware encryption.
- Offers plenty of space to store a massive amount of photos, music, documents, and videos
Cons
- Reformatting is required for Mac OS X.
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)
What size of hard drive do I need for photos?
There are plenty of photo storage options that photographers can choose from, the hard drives being one of them. However, how much space do you need for your archive? It is not a question of how much space you need now, but how much you might need in the future as well. You may need to pay attention to several considerations to determine the size of the hard drive you will need.
For one, you need to know how many photos you have at the moment. Many photographers may not know the exact number of their shots that need storage or backing up.
Another thing is the number of megapixels your camera has. Cameras have varying resolutions, and more resolution may require more storage. Also, many photographers go for the best quality images and cameras with higher resolutions.
Another thing to keep in mind is whether you shoot raw or JPEG files. Many cameras available will enable you to shoot both raw files and JPEGs. Raw files may retain more information and allow more flexibility when it comes to editing, but they take up more space.
Moreover, it would be best if you approximated how many photos you take each year. Most enthusiasts may take 5000 to 10000 pictures in a year. This number will differ with different photographers. And lastly, the storage will vary depending on whether you edit your images. Edited photos take up more spaces than they did initially. So, how much photo storage do you need?
For the keen photographers, shooting 10,000 raw files each year complete with editing, you will most likely need 250,000MBs of storage space for the new photos. With a 120,000 MB factored in for ‘experiments,’ that translates to around 370GB for your storage needs. There are also the images already in your archive that need storage. In total, you will need roughly a 1TB hard drive.
What is the best device for storing photos?
Hard drives are the best devices for storing photos as they are cheap, provide fast access to data, and easily copy a whole drive to another hard drive.
It is noteworthy that hard drives come in a wide range of designs and space specifications. You should therefore find one that best suits your needs. Also, there are some factors you need to consider when looking for a hard drive.
Some drives may be pre-configured to either Windows or Mac. Some can be changed to enable cross-platform compatibility. Also, transfer speeds vary with the models, so choose wisely. Other factors include connectivity and extras such as complimentary cloud storage.
Final Verdict on Choosing The Best ssd External Hard Drive
From brands trusted by professional photographers worldwide, the products above provide powerful solid-state performance in a rugged, dependable storage solution. They are very functional, without compromising style. Relieve your PC and find a secure option for storing all your photos, songs, videos, and so on. They are the most reliable external hard drives.