Samsung: From gallop to gigabyte

Posted on Apr 28, 2025 by Pro Moviemaker

The Samsung Portable SSD T7 Shield provides stable storage for horse show coverage

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For professional equestrian photographer and filmmaker Steve Dawe, timing is everything. Whether it’s capturing a horse mid-leap or editing on the go at a packed showground, every second counts. “I’ve often got one chance to get the shot,” Dawe says. “And I need my gear to be as fast and reliable as I am.” That’s why he invests in the best equipment available, from cameras to lenses – and his go-to storage solution is the rugged Samsung Portable SSD T7 Shield.

Covering high-profile events that can last up to five days at a time during peak season, he often has a team of up to seven image makers shooting tens of thousands of high-resolution images and videos. As a former horse racing shooter, his work now covers all sorts of equine events from dressage to showjumping, including the famous Horse of the Year Show, as well as local events all over the UK.

That kind of workload demands serious speed – not just from his cameras, but also from his backup system. “I’m constantly dumping cards, reviewing selects and doing quick edits. I can’t afford to wait around for files to copy,” he says. That’s where the portable drive shines. It offers sequential read and write speeds of up to 1050MB/s and 1000MB/s respectively, thanks to USB 3.2 Gen 2 connectivity which dramatically cuts workflow time.

With horse owners and riders calling for their images and videos as soon as possible, Dawe often ends up editing late into the night in his hotel room to ensure his work is uploaded to galleries and on sale as soon as possible. Waiting for his storage to keep up would be a disaster.

“I can transfer hundreds of gigabytes of files in a few minutes,” he adds. “It used to take me ages with spinning hard drives or slower SSDs. Now I plug in the Samsung Portable SSD T7 Shield and it just flies.”

Where once it was all about the stills, now the explosion in video means he also shoots and edits social media reels for clients. So as well as Raw files from his cinema cameras, there are large movie files too. And to keep the right side of copyright, he uses the portable drive to house a library of stock music as well as the video project files he can edit on site. The Samsung Portable SSD T7 Shield is fast enough to handle it all, yet is small enough to pack into a pocket and tough enough to handle the odd knock.

A young girl dressed in riding gear, leading a black and white horse with a rein. She stands outside and looks to the side

A young girl dressed in riding gear rides on a white pony as a woman leads her along

A woman wearing riding gear leans in the kiss a brown horse in a paddock

Store high-quality files out on location in a cinch – and get a three-year limited warranty for good measure

“It’s barely bigger than a credit card and weighs next to nothing!” he says. At 98g, the Samsung portable drive is only 88mm long, 59mm wide and 13mm thick.

“I throw it in my camera bag or even my pocket. When you’re trekking across muddy showgrounds or balancing on arena fences, you want your gear to be light and low-profile.”

Despite its compact form, the Samsung Portable SSD T7 Shield is also tough. With a solid aluminium unibody construction and rubber covering, it’s not only sleek, it’s IP65-rated against water and dust and shock resistant too. “I’ve dropped it more than once,” Dawe admits, “and it’s never missed a beat.” Rated to withstand drops from up to 3m, it gives Dawe peace of mind even when working fast and on the move.

Security of data is also no worry when using the portable drive as it supports AES 256-bit hardware encryption and optional password protection via the free Samsung Magician Software for an added layer of control. “Even if I lose it, the data’s locked down,” he beams. The app lets you check health, protect performance and get the latest firmware updates.

It’s available in 1TB and 2TB in blue or beige (and in black up to 4TB), and when it comes to compatibility, it works with both Windows and Mac laptops and has USB-C and USB-C to A cables included in the box for plug-and-play flexibility. It even works with Android tablets and smartphones.

Between the long days, unpredictable weather and the need for fast turnaround, horse show photography is no easy gig. But Dawe’s set-up – with the Samsung Portable SSD T7 Shield at its core – gives him the speed, portability and reliability he needs to thrive. “The horses don’t stop, the riders don’t stop – and neither can I,” he concludes. “Having this in my kit just makes everything that much easier.”

A black Samsung hard drive plugged into a laptop and lying on its surface

The portable drive is both speedy and secure

Micro SD gives another angle

Samsung’s PRO Plus micro SD might not be used in Dawe’s main cameras but it comes into use with his handheld gimbal camera and drone. “I love using a drone to get great shots from on high, although I can’t use it in competitions as it might scare the horses,” he tells us. “But I do use it for private jobs, especially when an arena gets revamped.”

There’s no worry about filling up the card, as the Samsung PRO Plus comes in up to 1TB sizes. With a read speed of 180MB/s and write speed of 130MB/s, it’s an ideal partner for action cameras, drones and gimbals as it’s V30 rated for 4K capture.

It also comes with an SD adapter, so it can be downloaded direct to Dawe’s laptop, which has an SD slot. “And that means I can use it like an extra 1TB drive in case I need more storage,” reveals Dawe.