Photo Storage - DPChallenge Forums

05/26/2007 02:30:44 PM · #1

I've got TONS of pictures, and I'm thinking I better upload them somewhere before my computer dies and they're lost. What's a good website to do that? I've heard of SnapFish and PhotoBucket, and I'm sure there's others, but I'm not sure what's going to be best, easiest, and will let me upload the most pictures.

Thoughts?

geoffb

05/26/2007 02:36:53 PM · #2

Why not back them up locally (external hard drive)? Much cheaper and faster.

05/26/2007 02:41:08 PM · #3

I thought there were free online storage places. So free is cheaper than buying a hard drive, right? :-)

Pentax FA 77mm f/1.8 Limited AF

05/26/2007 03:09:29 PM · #4

Flickr allows you to upload originals, but not for free, $25 a year.
//www.flickr.com/upgrade/

Then there's photoshelter, which is also turning into a mini stock site, and is more professional looking.
https://www.photoshelter.com/signup/signup/subscriber
But it is also more expensive.

Zenfolio is $40/year for unlimited
//www.zenfolio.com/zf/features.aspx

eamurdock

Pentax KP

05/26/2007 03:15:38 PM · #5

Originally posted by geoffb:

Why not back them up locally (external hard drive)? Much cheaper and faster.

because of theft and fire - many losses are location dependent, so remote data storage can be critical.

Not that I practice what I preach, but that's a different question.

Nikon AF-S DX NIKKOR 18-200mm f/3.5-5.6G ED VR II

05/26/2007 03:17:03 PM · #6

There's also the backup everything variety:

//www.idrive.com/
//mozy.com/
//www.carbonite.com/default.aspx?

Actually, that Mozy site looks interesting. I have about 200Gig of photo's so I guess I should start thinking about what to do with them all :/

Message edited by author 2007-05-26 15:21:39.

marbo

Nikon D5000

05/26/2007 03:26:26 PM · #7

It could take forever to upload tons of photos.
Just burn them on to dvd and give them to a relative to look after.
Whoever`s house burns down 1st, matters not.

05/26/2007 03:29:13 PM · #8

Originally posted by marbo:

It could take forever to upload tons of photos.
Just burn them on to dvd and give them to a relative to look after.
Whoever`s house burns down 1st, matters not.

I hate burning to DVD's that takes more forever than uploading a bunch of photo directories.

05/26/2007 03:29:16 PM · #9

I burned pictures onto a cd a while back, and when I went back to access them, they were gone! I don't trust cds anymore.

05/26/2007 03:33:24 PM · #10

Originally posted by SquishyB:

I burned pictures onto a cd a while back, and when I went back to access them, they were gone! I don't trust cds anymore.

You have to buy the more expensive ones to have them last. I have also had that happen on a few older cd's, and I've read things about them having a sort of half-life where the material breaks down. Even the most expensive ones will usually die after 10 years or so depending. Not really lifetime archival quality :(

05/26/2007 03:45:31 PM · #11

Okay, a quick search on Amazon found some DVD's that are supposed to be rated to 100+ years. Also, note that you have to use solvent-free pens on the DVDs as there is a chance that marking them with sharpies will cause damage to the reflective backing.

Amazon search

The reason that the burned DVD/CD's die is because of corrosion on the silver and most time aluminum backing that creates the reflective layer. DVDs/CDs read by passing a laser through the data layer and having the beam reflected back into a sensor in the reader. When the reflective backing dies, so goes the data.