Sonnet Fusion F2 Portable RAID Down at $695

Sonnet Technologies, Inc. announced a price reduction for the company’s award-winning Fusion F2 portable RAID storage system, which provides speed, proven reliability, and 640GB capacity in a rugged low-profile design measuring 5.9 by 6.2 by 0.72 inches. Now available at $695, a savings of $200, the Sonnet Fusion F2 is an ideal fit for flexible, cost-effective on-location video capture or remote use when grid power is unavailable.

"Fusion F2 is a one-of-kind storage solution for professional content creation and editing, and in the short time the system has been on the market, it has made a tremendous impact on how media is stored and edited," said Robert Farnsworth, CEO of Sonnet Technologies. "The Fusion F2 offers an unprecedented combination of speed and convenience in a durable, low-power package that’s easy to transport and can be used in virtually any environment. Through this price reduction, we hope to make the unique benefits of the system accessible to a broader base of media professionals."

Sonnet Fusion F2 portable RAID (at the right of the notebook PC)

Sonnet’s Fusion F2 features two 320GB/5400 RPM 2.5-inch drives, mounted side by side in a rugged ¾-inch-thin aluminum enclosure that fits easily into a briefcase or camera bag. Each drive is individually shock-isolated to protect against cross-coupled vibration during operation and ensure secure storage. Side-by-side placement of the drives increases the metal case’s cooling surface area, thereby eliminating the need for a fan. Although Fusion F2 communicates via eSATA, it draws power from a FireWire port for truly portable operation.

The storage system features two eSATA data connections and is designed for use with the Sonnet Tempo SATA ExpressCard/34 adapter for the MacBook Pro and Windows notebooks. By transmitting data via its 2-port SATA interface, Fusion F2 handily supports portable video capture in conjunction with an AJA Video Systems’ Io HD, which requires dedicated use of FireWire bandwidth.

To protect priceless field footage, users can configure Fusion F2’s drives in RAID 1 mirrored mode and still capture Apple ProRes HQ HD fed from an AJA Io HD. This protected mode also allows for safe field transfer of media from Panasonic P2, Sony SxS Pro, or similar memory cards. Footage verification by a MacBook Pro/Fusion F2 system gives users peace of mind when erasing and reusing cards on location.

With its drives configured as a RAID 0 striped volume, Fusion F2 is capable of 126 MB/sec read and write sustained data transfers (compared with 66 MB/sec connecting via FireWire 800), thus providing the ability to capture and play more streams of compressed video for portable video editing.

More information on Fusion F2