The Canon M80 is a portable storage device aimed at EOS users and digital photographers. The sturdy, well-built unit is encased in a magnesium alloy body, which makes it durable as well as lightweight. The unit is contoured and fits well into the palm of the hand, making it easy to get a strong grip on the device. Image viewing is brought to life by a 3.7-inch ultra-bright TFT screen, which gives a 160-degree viewing angle. This provides excellent feedback, with images being crisp, sharp and showing great colour reproduction. The accompanying layout is typical of many digital cameras, with a d-pad to the right and a trio of buttons for the left hand. Storage is provided by an 80GB 1.8-inch HDD for better protection against the obvious knocks the unit will take. As you would expect, the Canon includes a USB 2.0 connection for quick transfers. Plus, there is a card reader with CF and SD support and a one-button transfer-to-HDD option. File support extends to JPEG, TIFF and Canon RAW for camera users, plus there is audio and video support, MP3, WAV, MPEG, for on-the-move entertainment.

There is no doubt that the M80 is a tough, durable and focused device. But, with an SRP heading towards £600, it is difficult not to be blinded by the price. The M80 is effectively a one-trick pony; it allows photographers to transfer images to the device for viewing. There are plenty of PMPs out there that will do the same job and more for around half the price. Admittedly, they don’t have the physical presence of the M80, but they are still capable of taking the odd knock or two. Another alternative is to invest in a decent laptop and leave the on-site image viewing to the camera. Whatever way we look at it, and we do like the M80, we simply cannot justify the outlay for the device.

Final Verdict A tough, rugged portable image viewer with plenty of storage and an excellent screen. Shame about the extravagant price point. OVERALL

Sam used to work as part of the DCE team, which fuelled his passion for photography. He loves to get his hands on the latest cameras and accessories and put them through their paces.