When I turn for Kodak two tenner ago at a creative precept outpost in Maine , I hear many stories about lose image . The bad was from a teacher in his 40s : as a young human beings , he had moved to Manhattan , only to have his flat construction catch fire his first night in townsfolk . All his equipment and original photographic employment was destroyed . He had to start over .
While the Second Coming of Christ of digital cameras has made it easy for lensman to protect and back up their images , you still require a design . By augmenting your picture collection ’s physical backup with one or several of the following on-line systems , you may keep your memories intact .
Back up on the go with an Eye-Fi card
Your photo are at corking risk of loss immediately after they ’ve been taken and before they ’ve been transferred to at least one other placement . If you ’re ineffectual to offload your memory card to a computing machine or external drive right away , you might notice use in a wireless upload system like theEye - Fi .
uncommitted inseveral sizes and versionsranging in price from $ 50 to $ 150 , the Eye - Fi is an SD visiting card with built - in Wi - Fi radiocommunication that look and records just like any other retention card . After photograph , the card apply a secured Wi - Fi electronic internet you ’ve pre - configure , or one of Eye - Fi ’s for - fee hot spot location , to upload your photos to a photo communion site or a computer . Every Eye - Fi model can transfer JPEGs and several sort of motion-picture show files , while the most expensive add-in — the Pro X2 — can also handle raw files . The Eye - Fi Center shows recent uploads , and let you see whether images and moving picture were successfully transplant to the destinations you fix .
To get started , set the Eye - Fi ’s preferences and prefer Wi - Fi networks on your computer . The placard can connect to any protect electronic web within range that you announce , in addition to any open hot spot . you may also use a number of for - fee hotspot locations by payinga yearly fee of $ 30 , or by buying an Eye - Fi Explore X2 or Pro X2 , as either card occur with a year ’s hotspot access for innocent .
The Eye-Fi Center shows recent uploads, and lets you see whether images and movies were successfully transferred to the destinations you specified.
After configuring , you ’re quick to slide the Eye - Fi card into a television camera and initiate rupture . When the wit is full , psyche over to one of your designate Wi - Fi networks to have the gadget link and transfer your images .
An Eye - Fi card can upload photos to 25 picture - sharing and societal - networking sites , include Facebook , MobileMe , and Flickr . It can also channel images directly on to a computer on which you install its configuration software system . If you ’d rather not upload everything on your notice , the Eye - Fi computer software can be configure so that only tagged images and picture are sent .
you’re able to set the card to email you or send an SMS when an upload is complete . Some camera model will even recognize when an Eye - Fi is stick in , and disregard index - saving circumstance by remain on until all uploads have finished .
Dropbox can retain deleted files and an unlimited number of older versions of a file you retain. You view a file’s history and restore older or removed versions through your Web account.
The company also offers a service calledEye - Fi View , intend for sharing and canonical support . Seven days ’ story are included at no price , while a year ’s worth of unlimited storage and photo / telecasting - communion is $ 50 .
Sync to the cloud with Dropbox or SugarSync
Cloud - sync services — which let you to wirelessly transpose and shop data online — have become both affordable and pop in the last few years . Most of these service are built around the idea of folder syncing : You unload the Indian file you ’d like to copy into a specific folder on your computer , and the diligence will then mechanically upload these files online for future access . Not only do these services provide an easily accessible twin copy of your file on almost any estimator , but they ’re particularly utile for hive away photograph libraries . Dropbox can retain deleted file cabinet and an unlimited number of older translation of a file cabinet you retain . You view a filing cabinet ’s history and restore older or take away versions through your Web history .
With a service like Dropbox or SugarSync , you may store a copy of your iPhoto or Aperture library in a synced folder , or duplicate individual photo to the brochure for off - site redundance . As an added vantage , photos taken on an iPhone or iPod touch ( fourth - contemporaries model ) , or transfer to any iOS twist can be uploaded via Dropbox and SugarSync ’s iOS apps . This is great for photographer using the iPad to store photo in the field .
Dropboxoffers 2 GB of storage at no cost , and charges $ 10 per month for 50 GB and $ 20 per month for 100 GB . Multiple versions of a data file and blue-pencil data file are n’t matter against those totals . Dropbox back up older version and edit files for 30 days ; if you ’re a paid user , you could turn on the Pack - Rat option in Preferences to keep these files incessantly .
Flickr Pro provides direct access to all the uploaded sizes of your images for one-at-a-time downloads.
SugarSynchas a 30 - 24-hour interval free trial with 30 GB of storage or a 5 GB free design . Its compensate offer melt down from $ 5 per calendar month for 30 GB up to $ 40 per month for 500 Gbit . Deleted filing cabinet are retain until an supernumerary pace is taken to remove them for good .
Use your online sharing site as an archive
Flickr Pro provides direct access to all the uploaded sizes of your image for one - at - a - time downloads .
Even though photograph communion services — likeFlickrandSmugMug — may not be the most reliableprimarybackup method acting , they work fantastically as a supplemental prong in your backup onslaught .
Flickr ’s paid service , Flickr Pro , is $ 25 per yr for straight-out picture and video uploads ( include high - definition video ) , although movies may not outgo 90 minute . look-alike may be up to 20 MiB each , and videos up to 500 megabit each . Flickr stores the original file for GIF , JPEG , and PNG data formatting . Other file types are convert to JPEG for computer memory .
Crashplan allows you to restore selectively among backed-up files, including picking among multiple archived versions of the same file.
Everything you put into Flickr can also be extracted — either one photo at a time or in majority — along with the picture metadata . A third - company service , Qoop , offers a smorgasbord of option , like photo print and depiction books , but also can make videodisc backups from your Flickr data point for $ 15 per compact disc or $ 20 per DVD . I test this and my collection of over 9,000 photograph would correspond on just five DVDs . Other retrieval methods are also available .
SmugMugoffers three paid options : Basic ( $ 5 per month ) , Power ( $ 8 per month ) , and Pro ( $ 20 per month ) , with discounts for paying a year at a metre . All accounts set aside unlimited uploads of JPEG , PNG , and GIF images ( up to 24 Bachelor of Medicine per effigy ) . The Power and Pro accounts support HD video uploads of up to 10 minutes long . The avail has a Download All selection for each gallery , which creates an archive that may be downloaded via a radio link sent through Es - mail .
While Flickr only lets you upload images in JPEG , GIF , or PNG form , SmugMug also volunteer itsSmugVaultservice for back up cutting files , PSDs , and videos . SmugMug charge for store and datum transport separately , as well as a fixed $ 1 per calendar month fee . It costs $ 0.22 per GB store each month , $ 0.30 per GB for moving photograph into storage , and $ 0.51 per GB for copy photos out of memory board . Granted , SmugVault is convenient , but quite a bit more expensive than a non - photo - centric online stand-in .
Double-up with cloud and local backups
If you ’d rather not spend money on a exposure - centric service of process and would like to instead incorporate your range of a function computer backup alongside the rest of your file , CrashPlan — which allows you to back up your estimator to a local drive or over - the - air to the fellowship ’s waiter — can aid .
The CrashPlan software is gratuitous for local backup to a punishing drive connected to a computer . you may also use the computer software to back up over a local web or the Internet to store files on a driving force on another computer you own also guide CrashPlan , or even a computer owned by a friend or colleague . ( Many people deal peer - to - match backup serve to get an offsite copy of their Indian file . These backups are encrypted , so your friend ca n’t view your file , even though they ’re stored on his or her system . )
Crashplan allows you to restore selectively among backed - up files , include picking among multiple archived versions of the same file .
CrashPlan+ bring extra feature article to the computer software — such as scheduling options and adept encryption — but more importantly , it adds cyberspace - found storage . Backing up no more than 10 GB from a undivided computer rate from $ 2.50 per calendar month to $ 1.46 per calendar month if you opt for a four - year contract , pay in advance . Unlimited storage for one computer is $ 5.00 per calendar month ( $ 2.92 per calendar month with a four - twelvemonth contract ) . Unlimited gage up for 2 to 10 computers runs $ 12 per calendar month ( down to $ 6 per month for a four - year contract ) .
The 3.0 vent of CrashPlan+ lets you make backup solidification , so you could put in a full accompaniment of your computer on a directly connected drive , while sending just documents and other medium over the Internet to reduce bandwidth manipulation .
And that ’s a concern . Some cyberspace service provider excite extra or will cut you off if you exceed a certain amount of usage in a give month , which can be easygoing to do when you ’re address your initial backup . Comcast , for instance , caps usage at 250 GB per calendar month , and will cut you off for a year after two successive months of going over that terminal point .
One way around this is to pay $ 125 to $ 165 ( varies by cargo ships ) for CrashPlan to transmit you an empty 1 TB ride for making your initial backup . After doing so , you ship the thrust back to them , and they ’ll sow your archive with those files .
If you need to rejuvenate your files , you may do it right away through CrashPlan ’s software program to your computer , or if you ’d like a hard written matter , you may give for the company ship up to 1 TB of compressed files back to you .
Macworld has recommendedCrashPlanin two sequent roundup of Mac - oriented backing services and software , and its pricing mould well with large volumes of images and video to back up . ( We reexamine CrashPlan in 2009 , and thentook a sweet look at the 3.0 releasein December 2010 . )
Start backing up before it’s too late
It ’s probable you ’re amass G to tens of gigabytes worth of prototype and picture a month if you ’re dash and recording on a regular base . Even if you examine item to keep and delete the rest , your ingathering needs some sort of auspices .
Accidents can happen . Do n’t let yourself get get unawares and find yourself unbeloved of your digital life story .
