Forum Index > Photography Talk > storing digital files
 Reply to topic
Previous :: Next Topic
Author Message
WTM
Member
Member


Joined: 03 Jul 2003
Posts: 231 | TRs | Pics
WTM
Member
PostWed May 12, 2004 8:06 am 
So... Now that I have been converted to the true religion (bought a digital camera) and given up the old pagan (belief in film) maybe you digi-geeks can tell me what to do with all those files I'll be generating. I have a CD burner but what about this... http://customwire.ap.org/dynamic/stories/D/DISC_ROT?SITE=ORPOR&SECTION=HOME&TEMPLATE=DEFAULT

Back to top Reply to topic Reply with quote Send private message
MCaver
Founder



Joined: 14 Dec 2001
Posts: 5124 | TRs | Pics
MCaver
Founder
PostWed May 12, 2004 10:37 am 
It really depends what you want to do with your photos and/or how sacred to you they are. I'm hoping to turn my photography into a small on-the-side business some day once I get off my lazy duff, and here's what I do, or willl do once I get it all in place: I have 2 firewire hard drives that I can hot-swap from my computer. One stays attached and is my primary archive point for photos. The other stays in a secure offsite location (probably a safety deposit box). I pick it up periodically and sync the two so I have offsite duplicates of all my photos. I also burn them to CD for quick use and local backup, but if these go away or are damaged it's no big deal. Because of this, though, I store my photos in 700Mb folders on my hard drives. In each folder, I create parity files with 5-10% redundancy in case of corruption or damage. This system protects me from minor scratches on the CD to something taking down my house. A regional disaster would be required to wipe out everything.

Back to top Reply to topic Reply with quote Send private message
dazza
Member
Member


Joined: 14 May 2004
Posts: 25 | TRs | Pics
dazza
Member
PostTue Jun 08, 2004 11:42 am 
I build my own 1.26 Terabyte RAID-5 server that stores all of my images. It has 8x180GB drives. If one of the drives fails, it alerts me (via email) and I simply replace the failed device and rebuild the array. It all boils down to just how much your images mean to you. To me they are worth the $3000 in hardware plus $500 a year to keep a 550W server running. BTW, if you think $3000 for such storage is mad, check out the cost of similarly sized commercial devices!

Back to top Reply to topic Reply with quote Send private message
MooseAndSquirrel
Member
Member


Joined: 10 Nov 2002
Posts: 2036 | TRs | Pics
MooseAndSquirrel
Member
PostTue Jun 08, 2004 12:00 pm 
Ooooookay......that's impressive lol.gif - now for the majority who aren't going to spend the dough or build their own server....Dvd or an extra hard drive storage seems the most practical approach. Dvd is viable for long-term storage as long as you transfer your data to another disc every few years to be safe.

Back to top Reply to topic Reply with quote Send private message
dazza
Member
Member


Joined: 14 May 2004
Posts: 25 | TRs | Pics
dazza
Member
PostTue Jun 08, 2004 12:28 pm 
I should note that my array stores more than just pictures (mp3s, iMovies, DVDs, etc)! A terabyte just for images really would be overkill I started to burn DVDs of my pictures for a while but I found that you really really need to be regimented about organizing, cataloging and storing the DVDs. I do still burn DVDs though as a backup to the array (hey my basement could flood). I use DVD-RWs so I can just keep refreshing the backup every once in a while. The one thing you need to ensure is that you have a backup for ANY storage method used - unless you don't care about the data. If you use DVDs - burn two copies and store them separately. If you use external harddrives - burn a DVD as a backup, or use 2 hardrives. There are few things worse than putting in a DVD full of some great images only to discover that it cannot be read. This happened to me after a trip to Austrailia. The RAID-5 array just maximizes the storage I get from the various drives since I hate paying for 4 drives but effectively only getting the capacity of 2 (i.e. mirroring). Some motherboards are now coming with RAID setups but RAID-5 is not very common as it's computationally intensive therefore the hardware costs more. However, I am about to spend a year in Europe so I am also looking at external harddrives as a backup method since the server will cost too much to ship over. The two external firewire drives method looks like the best way to go right now.

Back to top Reply to topic Reply with quote Send private message
MooseAndSquirrel
Member
Member


Joined: 10 Nov 2002
Posts: 2036 | TRs | Pics
MooseAndSquirrel
Member
PostTue Jun 08, 2004 12:37 pm 
Per the laziness of most in backing-up stuff, it all comes down to how important the stuff is to someone, like you said. It's just another habit to learn I guess like making sure you have your vehicle insurance current and paying yer bills. biggrin.gif Probably in the near future there will be a no-sweat way of having copies of music/pic/text files automatically routed to a backup source. doh.gif

Back to top Reply to topic Reply with quote Send private message
Backpacker Joe
Blind Hiker



Joined: 16 Dec 2001
Posts: 23956 | TRs | Pics
Location: Cle Elum
Backpacker Joe
Blind Hiker
PostTue Jun 08, 2004 1:13 pm 
I store my photos on CDRW disks, and two separate hard drives. TB

"If destruction be our lot we must ourselves be its author and finisher. As a nation of freemen we must live through all time or die by suicide." — Abraham Lincoln
Back to top Reply to topic Reply with quote Send private message
Larry
Member
Member


Joined: 22 Feb 2003
Posts: 1084 | TRs | Pics
Location: Kitsap
Larry
Member
PostSun Jun 13, 2004 8:45 am 
Removable hard drives for me. The duplicate hard drive is updated every month or so, and stored off-site.

Back to top Reply to topic Reply with quote Send private message
Ned Flanders
Member
Member


Joined: 23 Jul 2004
Posts: 23 | TRs | Pics
Location: Seattle
Ned Flanders
Member
PostThu Jul 29, 2004 9:22 am 
External firewire hard drives are the way to go. Although I am not one to talk because I am too lazy to go and buy one myself.

Back to top Reply to topic Reply with quote Send private message
   All times are GMT - 8 Hours
 Reply to topic
Forum Index > Photography Talk > storing digital files
  Happy Birthday speyguy, Bandanabraids!
Jump to:   
Search this topic:

You cannot post new topics in this forum
You cannot reply to topics in this forum
You cannot edit your posts in this forum
You cannot delete your posts in this forum
You cannot vote in polls in this forum