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DPChallenge Forums >> Photography Discussion >> Cloud Storage - Who do you use & why?
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07/14/2016 04:18:40 PM · #1
I've got to do something else. I have OneDrive now. I signed up with them when they first started. Because I was part of their Beta program, I was supposed to get unlimited uploads for life (guess my life is over), because starting this fall they will start charging me. I have about 8/9 TB's of photo's that I'm backing up.

I have a Smugmug account and I get unlimited storage there but I'm not sure if they accept RAW images. They took away their Storage Vault awhile ago. That would have been perfect. I don't mind paying but I don't want to pay a STUPID amount of $$$ per year.

So I'm curious who you use for cloud storage and why.

Footnote: This will be the 4th time I've set up cloud storage systems. I'm kind of tired of doing that. So I want a company that will be around for awhile. I have everything currently on EHD (WD).
07/14/2016 04:23:09 PM · #2
I've never used it, but Amazon Glacier is $0.007 per gigabyte per month



Message edited by author 2016-07-14 16:26:04.
07/14/2016 04:25:00 PM · #3
Originally posted by LN13:

Google Drive. 15GB free.

Of course, then Google has your files. But they probably already did anyway.


I have 8/9 TB's currently...I shoot about 1 TB a year. I can delete it down by about 1/3 or possibly more but no where near 15 GB's
07/14/2016 04:26:43 PM · #4
Originally posted by Ja-9:

Originally posted by LN13:

Google Drive. 15GB free.

Of course, then Google has your files. But they probably already did anyway.


I have 8/9 TB's currently...I shoot about 1 TB a year. I can delete it down by about 1/3 or possibly more but no where near 15 GB's


I edited. I realized you had TBs after I posted. My bad.
07/14/2016 04:30:39 PM · #5
Originally posted by LN13:

I've never used it, but Amazon Glacier is $0.007 per gigabyte per month


what do you look under for this. I tried searching for Amazon Glacier but it doesn't come up.
07/14/2016 04:40:56 PM · #6
I use Crashplan, if I remember it's around $5 a month, but unlimited storage and accepts any file that your computer has.
It also allows me to backup from my network drives (I have a WD my cloud at home, that I backup regularly).
It's fast and easy to use.

Edit: I only have around 1,5TB yet, but it took it without problems.

Message edited by author 2016-07-14 16:42:03.
07/14/2016 04:48:01 PM · #7
How long does it take you to retrieve a file? With OneDrive it takes freaking FOREVER!!! I kid you not. More times than not I just give up trying to retrieve what I want. And uploading took me months to complete. I can't believe I have to do it yet again!!! Shoot me...shoot me now!!!

ETA: I don't want the program to backup my computer. I just want to backup and park all my photography files. If I want them, then I get them. Work on them n take them back to their parking spot.

I don't have or keep anything of any real value on my computer. If it crashes n dies it doesn't take my photo's with it (phew!!!)

Message edited by author 2016-07-14 16:54:02.
07/14/2016 04:53:58 PM · #8
Backblaze. $50 per year unlimited storage including external hard drives (you just need to connect them once a month to ensure they remain backed up). First upload takes days (depending on speed) but once it's done it remains in the background. I actually needed to use the restore function earlier this year. Again, downloading is quite slow but it was worth it, as I rescued some files I thought I had lost.

07/14/2016 05:11:17 PM · #9
I am leery of all proprietary solutions (I grew up in the 1960s) -- the "personal" computer revolution was supposed to untether us from the computing monopoly held by the big corporations (IBM, ATT&T, etc.) and here we are letting them trap us into lifetime dependency again.

If you have a friend or relative you trust with a computer and an internet connection you can easily take this whole operation private. Put a backup hard drive (or even a backup computer -- for this purpose you can get one which will do the job for under $200) at the remote location and use a simple, free FTP program (app) to copy over and retrieve the files.

Or, if they are nearby (but not TOO near) you can just copy what you want to back up to the hard drive and drive it over ...
07/14/2016 05:20:08 PM · #10
I hear what your saying Paul. BUT, I already have 4 Passports and 3 My Books (all nearly if not full). I hate having all of these hanging around my work area. I'd like to off load the photos then put the EHD's to the side (or in a box or some such thing). Thus cleaning up a small corner of my spaghetti mess!!!

If I could just find a reliable, easy to upload company that will except all my photo files. And be able to retrieve them at will. I'd be soooo very happy...

BTW...how many TB's of photo's do you have???
07/14/2016 05:41:23 PM · #11
Originally posted by Ja-9:

BTW...how many TB's of photo's do you have???

Oh, several orders of magnitude less than you have -- I'm still shooting with a 10 year old camera with no RAW files ... I can still do most of my backups to CD/DVD media ...

I'm just suggesting that for a modest investment and access to a couple of square feet of desk space with electricity and internet access you can set up your own private server farm, and not worry if some company goes out of business, "upgrades" their interface so you can't use it, gets hacked, or hikes their prices/degrades their services ...
07/14/2016 07:06:50 PM · #12
Google Photos offers a free "high quality"unlimited storage option for files at 16MB or smaller. Here's a link to some info.

Here's another link to an article about the "darker side" of what Google gets by giving you services for free.

Lots of folks are using the Google Photos option for backing up with positive results. I can't imagine how long it would take to transfer 8-9 TB of photos to any cloud based storage. Months, I'm thinking...
07/14/2016 07:12:23 PM · #13
N/A

Message edited by author 2016-07-15 02:08:49.
07/14/2016 07:28:19 PM · #14
My son-in-law just pointed out that I would need to have my EHD's plugged in (all) at some point during the month or they would see it as disconnected therefore deleting (not backing up) my files. eeeaaakkkk!!! I don't have enough ports!!! But that could be solved....sigh

With OneDrive I've been able to park them and just pull them (eventually....) as needed (I don't have to have my EHD's hooked up, it's not doing a constant backup). I have access to them via my mobile phone (from OneDrive) which downloads MUCH faster (like under a minute!!! uhooooooo, ahhhhh). But does me no good when I need them on my computer, so it's from the cloud to my phone sent via an e-mail (way to many steps here)!!!

I have to simplify this!!!

And yes, it took me about 3/4 months the last time I did my uploads to the cloud. Working almost constantly. I think it's crashplan that has an option to send me a HD load up what I have and have it done is a matter of snap your fingers...but it's not necessarily "cheap".
07/14/2016 08:52:30 PM · #15
I'm only at 4 TB so I'm still using harddrives as backup, one set in the basement and one at work.
One of my friends is using amason, best bang for the buck he said, but the don't like the app so he uses program named SyncBackPro, automatic backup, 30 TB and counting and no problems.
07/14/2016 09:12:51 PM · #16
Originally posted by HalldorIngi:

I'm only at 4 TB so I'm still using harddrives as backup, one set in the basement and one at work.
One of my friends is using amason, best bang for the buck he said, but the don't like the app so he uses program named SyncBackPro, automatic backup, 30 TB and counting and no problems.


Is it a "backup system" or "park until I need it system"???
07/15/2016 07:04:48 AM · #17
Originally posted by Ja-9:



Is it a "backup system" or "park until I need it system"???


He uses it mostly as backup, but uses it also as cloud, having access to his entire work through his phone when he is talking to clients or working on the fly.
It creates previews of many RAW files (not all) so that is no problem.
07/15/2016 08:06:35 AM · #18
May sound like a silly question but what are you keeping all these for ?
07/15/2016 09:01:16 AM · #19
Between photos and music I'm in a very similar situation and have asked similar questions. I don't want to have to worry about constant connectivity, and I don't like any connection constantly monitoring my computer for changes in data so it can be stored elsewhere - there are things I don't want backed up anywhere that I can't physically touch.

They're not cheap, but I'm seriously considering a small business style storage solution. Lot of capital investment up front, but it gives me the opportunity to control it and not worry about having to backup to a USB drive and then back up that drive to another one in case the first one fails.

If I ever figure it out I'll let you know.
07/15/2016 09:39:22 AM · #20
Originally posted by Tiny:

May sound like a silly question but what are you keeping all these for ?


Well Neil, I travel A LOT and I take A LOT of pictures. And I try to time my visits there for a peak shooting of that area. Since upgrading my camera from the D90 to D7000 my file storage has more than doubled because I shoot RAW. When I travel I don't edit all of my pictures at that time. I go back later and develop various subjects continually. I have been deleting files that I know I will not ever use again. I do have to keep all entry files. As I had said earlier I know I could get rid of 1/3 of my files without blinking an eye. But it takes time to weed those out and I'm working on that continually.

07/15/2016 09:53:46 AM · #21
Originally posted by Ja-9:

...I know I could get rid of 1/3 of my files without blinking an eye. But it takes time to weed those out and I'm working on that continually.


And there's the key thought. With the cost of storage today, it does not pay to operate in "draconian mode" when culling. If there's any chance I will want something later, I don't cull it. If there is no chance, I cull it immediately after import.

I still find that it is more convenient for me to keep my own hardware for backup than to use the cloud. Even with my minimal storage needs (about 1.5 TB currently) I can back up quickly to a cheap USB-attached drive. I can keep one backup on site, and another off site and rotate them, and I have relatively little risk.
07/15/2016 10:54:32 AM · #22
Originally posted by kirbic:

Originally posted by Ja-9:

...I know I could get rid of 1/3 of my files without blinking an eye. But it takes time to weed those out and I'm working on that continually.


And there's the key thought. With the cost of storage today, it does not pay to operate in "draconian mode" when culling. If there's any chance I will want something later, I don't cull it. If there is no chance, I cull it immediately after import.

I still find that it is more convenient for me to keep my own hardware for backup than to use the cloud. Even with my minimal storage needs (about 1.5 TB currently) I can back up quickly to a cheap USB-attached drive. I can keep one backup on site, and another off site and rotate them, and I have relatively little risk.


ok, pretend you have 8/9 TB's of photo's....keeping them on EHD's at home is just plain cumbersome!!! I have 6/7 EHD's....maybe I should get a "mothership" and transfer all to that (oh, but that makes me nervous too...all my eggs in one basket....eeeaaaakkkk!!!)
07/15/2016 11:22:05 AM · #23
ok thanks
07/15/2016 12:02:21 PM · #24
Originally posted by Ja-9:

ok, pretend you have 8/9 TB's of photo's....keeping them on EHD's at home is just plain cumbersome!!! I have 6/7 EHD's....maybe I should get a "mothership" and transfer all to that (oh, but that makes me nervous too...all my eggs in one basket....eeeaaaakkkk!!!)


I don't have to pretend. The key is how you organize.

I use Lightroom. My primary catalog tracks everything I've shot this year and finished copies of things I've "published". The catalog is all Raw files, published work is full size, full resolution JPEGs. I keep about 3-4 months of work on my computer and the rest gets migrated gradually to a USB drive, with the catalog pointing to both (when the drive is not connected I can still access the previews and the metadata - I don't need to connect until I actually need to open the file). The USB drive I use is where those photo files will eventually spend eternity and eventually I've migrated the full year off. When that happens, the previous year's work is then used to generate a new, year specific Lightroom catalog, effectively putting the shots in 2 catalogs. When that's done, I disconnect the drive and then delete the catalog entries for the previous year's work from the active catalog.

I have catalogs going back to 2011 with all my files. The catalog and preview files are kept on my computer so I can search each catalog without connecting the associated external drive. If I want to work on something I create a collection named something creative like "stuff I need to work on" and when I'm ready I'll plug in the drive and work on it (I may opt to temporarily move it or save my PSD file to a directory on my computer).

Each USB drive has a physical label on it telling me that it's a Lightroom catalog backup and what years. I then get a second USB drive of the same type and size, name it the exact same thing, and then copy the contents of one drive to another. That one gets the same set of labels with the addition of "backup".

It's not that hard. The key is to make sure that when you do anything to something already moved to an external drive that you then copy those files to the backup drive.
07/15/2016 12:51:14 PM · #25
Y'all are way beyond where I am for storage needs, LOL... what Jake is doing seems highly effective, but also labor-intensive to some degree (I'm sure it's pretty straight-forward for him). Bottom line is that external HDDs in 4TB size are readily available, and it's not difficult to break up work into "active" and "archive". The archive yoiu never need to deal with, just maintain the two copies, and realize that eventually you will migrate the data to a new home as technology changes (would you still want to go back and re-connect old drives with outdated connectivity like PATA, SCSI, etc.?)
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