Samsung Portable SSD T7 Shield: Tough storage for a red-hot workflow
Posted on Jun 20, 2025 by Pro Moviemaker
Filming fire, smoke and mayhem, the Samsung Portable SSD T7 Shield kept things fast, safe and agile
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Shooting inside the immersive, high-octane world of an event packed with pyrotechnics, fire breathers, acrobats and pulse-pounding light shows, Shaun Foxdale knew it meant moving fast, staying sharp and trusting his gear completely. “There’s no second take when you’re filming live events,” he says. “You’ve got to be on it. And you’ve got to be able to offload your footage just as quickly.”
That’s why he relies on the Samsung Portable SSD T7 Shield – a compact and rugged portable drive that manages to keep up with the intensity of his shoots. Designed for speed and built to survive the chaos, it lets content creator Foxdale capture and offload high-res files in the moment, without breaking the flow of the creative process. Whether he’s recording handheld close to the action or is editing backstage, this tiny powerhouse delivers big-time performance.
At a stunning show held inside one of London’s premier immersive event spaces, where every moment crackled with energy and unpredictability, he pushed his gear to the limit – and the portable drive still delivered. Over three nights, the event combined live fire performance, aerial acrobatics, laser lights and large-scale projection. He was tasked with shooting cinematic footage of the actual show for use in trailers and branded content, plus behind-the-scenes extras and vertical reels for social media. And it all had to be captured in 4K on multiple cameras, under testing conditions for his small crew.
“You’re talking about intense lighting changes, extreme contrast and sometimes literal explosions happening mere metres away,” he explains. “The cameras had to roll pretty much non-stop. At the end of each major segment, I needed to transfer data, check selects and be ready to move again fast. That’s where the Samsung Portable SSD T7 Shield proved itself.”
Speed under pressure
With USB 3.2 Gen 2 support, the Samsung Portable SSD T7 Shield offers sequential read speeds up to 1050MB/s and write speeds up to 1000MB/s. In practice, this meant Foxdale could transfer full camera cards – sometimes 100GB of Raw video – in just a few minutes.
“I’ve used plenty of PSSDs before,” says Foxdale. “Some choke on big files or slow down halfway through a transfer, but the Samsung just rips through them. It shaved hours off my workflow over the weekend.”
With three shooters on site recording both video and stills – and with cameras constantly rolling – the ability to quickly offload footage freed up cards and allowed for rapid-turnaround edits. Foxdale even used it for on-location rough cuts on his laptop. “Even with 4K ProRes files and layered audio, the Samsung Portable SSD T7 Shield didn’t flinch,” he adds.
While the portable drive is as light as a feather, it’s far from delicate. The IP65 rating means it’s resistant to water and dust, while a rubberised exterior and aluminium unibody construction offer shock resistance up to 3m.
“Honestly, I dropped it on concrete at one point, right after stepping through a mist curtain while dodging a fire burst,” Foxdale admits. “And it didn’t even blink. I kept filming and it kept performing.”
For content creators who often work in unpredictable or punishing environments, that durability is essential, especially when the footage you have just captured cannot be replicated.
Small size but massive impact
At just 88mm long, 59mm wide and 13mm thick, weighing 98g, the portable drive fits easily into any camera bag or back pocket. “I can’t carry big drives or heavy rigs. This was clipped onto my rig or slipped into my jacket. I barely noticed it,” says Foxdale.
That portability came in handy when he had to run back to a makeshift media station between takes to immediately begin creating Instagram Reels.
Foxdale was recording and editing short vertical teasers on the fly, syncing to licensed music and delivering previews within hours of the event. The Samsung Portable SSD T7 Shield didn’t just act as a dump drive, it became the heart of the on-location workflow.
He used it to store a library of stock music, project files, LUTs and video assets for quick use – the portable drive handled it all with room to spare. With options up to 4TB, there’s more than enough space for large projects. “I had one for the whole event,” Foxdale explains. “I didn’t have to swap or juggle files or worry about running out of space, I just focused on creating.”
Security first
The Samsung Portable SSD T7 Shield includes AES 256-bit hardware encryption, with optional password protection via Samsung’s Magician software – a crucial layer of protection for creators handling sensitive footage.
“When shooting branded content, you can’t risk losing storage with footage that anyone could use,” Foxdale says. “But the Samsung Portable SSD T7 Shield gives me and my clients peace of mind.”
The software also lets users check health, optimise performance and update firmware – ideal for those who live and breathe production. It works seamlessly across devices: Windows, macOS, Android, even some cameras that record directly to PSSD, and comes with both a USB-C to C and USB-C to A cable in the box.
“I was jumping between cinema cameras, a gimbal camera, my laptop and even previewing clips on my phone,” he adds. “It worked with everything. No formatting issues, just plug and go.”
That reliability meant no delays, no corrupt files and no client complaints – only streamlined delivery and total confidence in the gear.
The Samsung Portable SSD T7 Shield is available in 1TB and 2TB sizes in blue, beige or black, while the black version is also available in a huge 4TB – that’s the one Foxdale relies on.
“The event was chaos in the best way,” he says. “But my storage was the one thing I didn’t have to worry about. The portable drive kept up with everything, from fireballs to final cut.”
Samsung Micro SD with up to 1TB of storage
Just because some devices use micro SD cards doesn’t mean they can’t shoot high-quality 4K footage – and lots of it. Drones, action cameras and gimbal cameras are ideal for using Samsung’s latest PRO Plus micro SD. That’s because it is available in up to 1TB sizes and, with a read speed of 180MB/s and write speed of 130MB/s, it’s V30 rated for 4K capture.
It also comes with an SD adapter, so can be downloaded directly to a laptop with an SD slot or via a card reader.
samsung.com/uk/memory-storage/all-memory-storage
This article was first published in the July/August 2025 issue of Pro Moviemaker
