Faster than Time Machine for Backup
It depends on what your full usage scenario is. For a one-off full image Time Machine is not very well suited, you are better of with using


the disk imaging functionality in Disk Utility
SuperDuper
Carbon Copy Cloner


If you are looking for having a full image of your drive updated regularly, fast and hassle-free, Time Machine is a good way to do that. The initial backup will just take a while longer, the incremental ones will be rather fast.