Samsung T7 SSD for Travel & Photography – Full Review

I am always going through SSD drives. They are great to carry with you on the road, as you can back up your photos and keep them safe. Or just have a local drive to edit photos when there’s no signal. Having filled up my other SSDs quickly, I decided to grab a few more including the Samsung T7 USB 3.2 Gen 2 SSD and label them for different content and make it easier to find.

Usually when on the road I opt for the Sandisk Extreme for its rugged design. But for less intense photoshoots I grabbed a regular T7 after loving the Samsung T7 Touch. I also grabbed a 2tb Samsung T7 Shield I could use as a main backup.

Pros

Cons

Main Materials

Solid Aliminium unibody

Dimensions

85mm x 8mm x 57mm

Weight

58g

Colour Options

Indigo Blue, Titan Grey and Metallic Red

Security

Password Protection

The T7 has the same solid weight to it that I loved in my other models. It’s made of brushed aluminium and has a USB-C output. It feels more premium than some of my other SSDs. But that’s the effect of having a metal instead of a plastic casing. The T7 has a sleek and slimline profile, making it a perfect travel-friendly SSD storage.

I wouldn’t be concerned if this was knocking around in my bag, but I would mostly use this for city trips. Samsung highlights its compact and durable design and at first look, I’m confident it can live up to that claim. It still performs admirably after months of use, just with a few scratches on the paint. It may not have as much impact protection as the T7 Shield, but I do like how easily they all fit in my Peli 1040 Micro Case, giving me some protection and keeping all my SSDs together.

At the time of writing the Samsung T7 comes in 500gb, 1TB and 2TB sizes. I am using and reviewing the 1TB version. Prices on SSD do rise exponentially as you increase capacity, so it’s good to buy the right size for what you need. If you are a photographer or content creator though I would recommend getting the largest you can. I tend to take a lot of photos, and when I do record videos I usually record in the highest quality and reduce later. Taking up a lot of storage. 

Unlike the T7 Touch, no setup is required. You can plug in the SSD and start transferring documents straight away. Without the fingerprint reader, you don’t need to set up anything unless you want to add security. As often is the case with Samsung products they are ready to go out of the box. As it is an SSD, you can use it with tablets and phones. I regularly use it with Android phones and tablets, both of which are Samsung. If you are an Apple use, you will be pleased to know it is also compatible with iPhones.

Without the fingerprint sensor of the T7 Touch, this SSD can still include security. Instead of a fingerprint, you can assign a manual password. If you decide to do this though it does mean any device you use the T7 on will have to have Samsung’s security software installed. For laptops and PC’s this is software, or for Androids this is through an app on the Play Store.

Since most of what I store is images, I’m not too fussed about having a password there, as I often use friends’ computers when I am having lessons on Lightroom.

It’s simple to use, just plug in and it works immediately. You can start transferring documents to it straight away without any faffing or set up. Great if you grab a new one and you just want to secure them straight away, or you forget one at home and you buy a brand new one in the airports duty free like I have had to in the past.

The T7 range advertises some impressive transfer speeds, and in my experience it backs up those claims. SSDs are significantly faster than external hard drives, and the T7 can reach speeds of up to 1050mb/ps. This is helped by being a USB 3.2 Gen 2 SSD. Now it’s still gonna take a bit of time if you’re trying to fill it to capacity in one go. But when you’re transferring images in your hotel and want to head back out for dinner you’ll be grateful for its speed.

The great thing about SSD’s is because of their faster reading and writing speeds, you can edit directly from them. Meaning you can keep your hard drive free for anything else. I often plug it in and can directly from the T7. Letting me use this fast SSD for video editing on the go.

Samsung’s T7 Range seems to remain around the average prices for portable SSD’s. But as more and more companies come into the market, and technology improves, higher terabytes are getting more affordable. The RRP on Samsung.co.uk is £91 for 1TB, a Samsung T7 2TB comes in at £141. Honestly a few years ago it felt a lot more expensive so it’s good to see that drop. 

It should be worth mentioning that there is often only a slight price difference between the standard T7 SSD and the T7 Shield / T7 Touch variants (outside of a sale). And I think for travel photographers and creators these are better options. The T7 Touch adds extra protection, helping to keep your files safe. The T7 Shield adds more physical protection, making it a more durable SSD for travel use and helping creators who will go to any lengths to get that shot.

I have a few different SSDs all of which save different content. So having different colours makes it easy to remember what is saved where. So for example my Touch has all the Brad’s Backpack content on it. The red one has all my product photography, and I now have a Blue Samsung T7 2TB I use for videography. I usually label them too but having different colours makes it easy to distinguish between them quickly.

I love the Samsung T7 range. They offer great speeds and capacities, and they are priced around the market average. I can see why they are an external SSD that is loved by by photographers. Of the SSDs I own, I would say that Samsung definitely makes the best looking too. If you’re just looking to save general media then you don’t need fingerprint readers, but I will admit it is reassuring. However If I was to just pick one from the series to own, then I’d definitely pay that little bit extra for the security of the T7 Touch. Either way, an option will make a wonderful compact SSD for travel.