Post: #1

This has got to be on here somewhere but not finding it with a search.

Want to use my Facebook less, or maybe even delete it completely. I think I only use it anymore to save and back up my photos, which I don't even like doing very much because there's such a lack of privacy - not to mention I don't want to seem like an attention whore. It's just been the lazy default for me.

I'm also trying to take more photos of my travels now because I regret not taking them on a lot of my earlier adventures (I know I'll appreciate them when I'm old).

What's the best and cheapest online option for backing up your photos? I don't mind paying a monthly fee but if I can avoid it that would be nice. At the very least, it would be good to use a service where I can rest assured all my photos won't disappear completely if I miss a payment for some reason.

Suggestions?

I suppose another option would be to just fill up flash drives and ship them "home" - then they wouldn't have to be online at all, and I could delete them off my computer after receiving word that they reached their destination.

I'm sure one of you guys has figured out a great way for doing this. Eventually I'd like to print the best ones out and put them in albums like the old days, but while I'm roaming around the world that's hardly practical.

Post: #2

Dropbox.

It's cheap per month, I think I pay 12 bucks/per month for 50GBs of space. For free I believe they give you 1-2GBs.

Post: #3

- Flickr: 1 TB for free
- Everpix: Past 12 months of pics for free. $4.99/mo for photos from beginning of time

Post: #4

Yeah, pretty much any cloud storage service will give you a few GB free. Doesn't the 1TB on Flickr come with some restrictions or hoops to jump through - I'm sure I read something about that?
EDIT: seems like the only downside to Flickr is ads, but those can be eliminated with AdBlock. There may be a 300MB/month upload limit - conflicting views about that.

Box.com has 5GB free and an Android app so anything (pics or data) on your phone can be uploaded instantly if you have a data connection. I guess others have that facility too.

Post: #5

My dropbox is already pretty used up. Maybe I'll just open another account with a separate email.

EDIT: I'll check out box.com. 5gb free is pretty good.

Post: #6

By the way, if anyone else is considering deleting their Facebook, you can request them to send you your files and they'll deliver a .zip folder to your email account with all your photos you've uploaded over the years. I've requested it a couple times before just in case something happens with Facebook.

Post: #7

I've been using Mega for a while now.
https://mega.co.nz/

It's pretty good for file storage. They have crazy amounts of encryption and privacy.
The owner (he created Mega upload) is currently battling extradition to the states over some piracy bullshit.

Post: #8

Get one of these:



Then all you need for storage is one of these:



Free storage per month!

Post: #9

+1 for dropbox. I have it set up where when I plug in my iphone/camera to my computer it uploads them right in. If you have a Macbook you can also just use SD cards or a portable harddrive. I tried using Google but Picasa is getting worse and worse. iCloud and iPhoto suck pretty bad too, even when you are only using Apple hardware and software. Some people like Flickr, but I have never spent the time to try it out.

Post: #10

Why don't you just get a big external hard drive for all of your pictures? $100 and you can have a 1tb drive.

If you're worried about data loss, get a SSD.

Post: #11

I transfer my pics to CDs, and some are stored on my laptop. I have albums on the former Kodakgallery, which is now Shutterfly. When I took pics at get-togethers, etc. I uploaded them there so I could email the albums to friends. I even have some on Zip Disks.

Post: #12

(08-19-2013 10:30 AM)thegmanifesto Wrote:  Free storage per month!

Can't really pack shoeboxes around the world with me, G. LOL I don't even have a home base these days. Must keep it digital. I could mail cds and flash drives back to my mom or brother to store for me though.

Post: #13

I've been using CrashPlan for years. Highly recommended. Just select which folders on your computer you want backed up and it uploads files continuously in the background and stores every modified version of every file for if you ever need to go back to an older version (has saved me a few times with corrupted Microsoft Word documents.) IIRC, it costs about $50/year for unlimited storage. I currently have about 250GB of stuff backed up.

Post: #14

I keep photos on the cameras SD cards, then replace. The full cards are stored in a little removal medial holder.


   

At some point I back those up on a quality USB, like this:



   


Then when time permits I burn to CD's and store in a separate location. I've lost way too many important pics and documents over the years.

1. The bottom has dropped out of storage devices. Don't be cheap and buy extra.

2. NEVER use your phone as a storage device. Import pics at least weekly to your PC or other devices, and delete from phone if they are incriminating. Phones get lost/stolen way too often. Trust me.

3. Don't rely on the cloud for storing anything. It's not safe. Keep on a hard copy, and if overseas, drop off copies somewhere safe, like your grandmothers house. I do this in case my own house burns down and lose everything. A friends place burned and he lost all memories over the years. That sucks.

4. Backup any 35mm prints, by scanning and moving to a disk or thumb drive.

This advice also counts for any important documentation. Again, don't put that shit in the cloud, or you'll lose your identity.

Post: #15

I'm kind of obsessive about this. I have 45,000 photos so I need a good system to back it all up. I have a grandfathered in Flickr Pro account so I have unlimited upload storage on there. I use dropbox but more as a temporary dump for photos. I have like over 200 gigs worth of photos/videos and I'm not paying that much on dropbox to hold them there.

1. I have all of my phone photos automatically upload to dropbox. I don't keep them here forever though. I sort them and then import them into iphoto as well as upload them into flickr (easy to drag and drop). I also have them all upload to Google+. Its actually pretty good for automatic upload and REALLY EASY for sharing.

2. Point and shoot camera photos I download locally and sort to iphoto. Upload to flickr as well.

3. My entire macbook is backed up using CRASHPLAN as well. I also have a time machine backup on there for quick restores if anything happens. Offline and physical backup is critically important. I have two offline backups (flickr + crashplan) as well as my local.

For dropbox there are several ways to get extra free space. If you get certain phones (like my galaxy S4) it increases it alot...also for setting your phones to upload to dropbox automatically it does the same thing.

Personally I'd suggest dropbox + google plus. Dropbox is a good archiving while google plus makes them quick to access. If you're doing them from your phone, its all automatically uploaded and they're easy to sort and free until you start getting heavy in the number of photos you take.

Post: #16

USB/External Hard drives are definitely one of the best options, I use the Western Digital brand and they have never let me down.

Post: #17

(08-19-2013 12:29 PM)Justice Beaver Wrote:  USB/External Hard drives are definitely one of the best options, I use the Western Digital brand and they have never let me down.

I've had too many quality optical drives fail. Warranties don't mean shit when you have to ship it to Colorado have the data recovered. They aren't made to travel much. Too many moving parts. SSD's are the way of the future. Just buy quality brands, and don't leave in the jean pockets when you wash.

Also, put an encryption on your removal media if it's sensitive information, especially if you travel with it.

Post: #18

(08-19-2013 01:07 PM)Aliblahba Wrote:  

(08-19-2013 12:29 PM)Justice Beaver Wrote:  USB/External Hard drives are definitely one of the best options, I use the Western Digital brand and they have never let me down.

I've had too many quality optical drives fail. Warranties don't mean shit when you have to ship it to Colorado have the data recovered. They aren't made to travel much. Too many moving parts. SSD's are the way of the future. Just buy quality brands, and don't leave in the jean pockets when you wash.

Also, put an encryption on your removal media if it's sensitive information, especially if you travel with it.

that's true, i've been reading up about it now, it does seem like a very interesting bit of kit! My external hard drive is a bit chunky, so I don't really want to carry it around travelling, but if the SSD's are small, compact, durable and safe/private, and carry tons of data, it can be highly recommended, what brand do you recommend?

Post: #19

I'm running a Corsair 32g survivor and a Flash Voyager 16g. Both were purchased in 4Q '08, and have survived multiple trips to Iraq, Afghan, Kuwait, Europe, and the DR. I trust Corsair and Kensington the most. I buy throw away drives for other purposes, but if they fail it's no big deal.

For optical drives I'm big on Western Digital. The passport series are good for traveling, but remember it pays to buy a quality case to reduce the shock of traveling and humidity.

Some guys here seem to love traveling with massive media files, but I can get by with almost nothing. When abroad, it's about chasing tail and experiencing a new culture. I wait till I'm stuck back in the states to get caught up on movies, tv, and games. Good for filling up time here.

External SSD's are still expensive, so I recommend USB's. Corsair Flash Survivor can be purchased for $80. That's is a shitload of solid storage.

For laptops, SSD's are the wave of the future. People complain about having not enough storage on Macbooks/ultrabooks, but for me it's a tradeoff. I am a tech guru and despise unreliable electronics. Store your massive media files on an optical external and leave at home. When traveling, if you must, stick a bunch up in the clouds so you can have access.

Post: #20

And if you're going to be crossing sensitive borders with some compromising pics, I recommend you learn how to use Truecrypt hidden volumes.

Post: #21

(08-19-2013 01:54 PM)Aliblahba Wrote:  I'm running a Corsair 32g survivor and a Flash Voyager 16g. Both were purchased in 4Q '08, and have survived multiple trips to Iraq, Afghan, Kuwait, Europe, and the DR. I trust Corsair and Kensington the most. I buy throw away drives for other purposes, but if they fail it's no big deal.

For optical drives I'm big on Western Digital. The passport series are good for traveling, but remember it pays to buy a quality case to reduce the shock of traveling and humidity.

Some guys here seem to love traveling with massive media files, but I can get by with almost nothing. When abroad, it's about chasing tail and experiencing a new culture. I wait till I'm stuck back in the states to get caught up on movies, tv, and games. Good for filling up time here.

External SSD's are still expensive, so I recommend USB's. Corsair Flash Survivor can be purchased for $80. That's is a shitload of solid storage.

For laptops, SSD's are the wave of the future. People complain about having not enough storage on Macbooks/ultrabooks, but for me it's a tradeoff. I am a tech guru and despise unreliable electronics. Store your massive media files on an optical external and leave at home. When traveling, if you must, stick a bunch up in the clouds so you can have access.

top advice man, I looked into the Corsair 32g survivor and saw its the 3.0 stealth waterproof version, and that looks quality. B.B should defo look into that.

Post: #22

Or you can get the 128GB Sandisk for $77: http://www.amazon.com/SanDisk-Cruzer-Gli...B007YX9OGW

Or if you have money to drop the 256GB Supersonic Magnum from Patriot for $270: http://www.amazon.com/Patriot-Supersonic...B00B964QFO

Post: #23

I've destroyed many a Sandisk USB's. The housing is flimsy. Stay away from Centon waterproof ones too. High fail rate, even though one did make it through one washing machine incident. But not two.

Imation and PNY suck balls too. Avoid.

SanDisk however makes great SD cards and their mp3 players are my favorite on the market.

Post: #24

https://www.mosaicarchive.com/

I edit my photos using Adobe Lightroom. Mosaic automatically syncs with Lightroom. I have the $12/month plan. Mosaic also syncs up my iPhone photos. I have several thousand photos from my travels and would hate to lose them.

Post: #25

What you could also do is make an SSD enclosure.

128GB SSD: http://www.amazon.com/SanDisk-Ultra-2-5-...0093HMKVI/
SSD Enclosure: http://www.amazon.com/Anker®-Uspeed-Encl...005B5G4S6/

Now you have a portable SSD for easy and fast file transfer.