Online photo storage

[Ruffian829]

Any recommendations for a good on line site to store photos (in addition to an external hard drive)?
Right now I pay for extra space on Picasa (web albums) but I just realized that I cannot download videos that I had uploaded. This is a huge disappointment as I upload to picasa far more frequently than my HD and suddenly had to reset my phone so I am left with videos only on Picasa and no simple way to download them (although I guess there are work arounds such as RealPlayer, but for a paid service I expected more...)

Additionally, when photos are downloaded off of picasa they end up with a huge file name of random letters and numbers. And the new file date is saved as the date downloaded not the date it was taken (which is turning out to be a major issue).

I'd like to find a service that doesn't have these issues and I'm not against paying for storage.

Being able to share photos (via link), organize into albums or folders, and have a mobile app are all a plus but not a must have.

I really don't want a huge social media option like flicker or photobucket. (I use picasa with private albums and I have not signed up for google+)

Suggestions would be really appreciated.

[VirtualRain]

Zenfolio is nice.

[Ruffian829]

Originally Posted by VirtualRain

Zenfolio is nice.

Thanks! I had missed this site in my googling. After looking it up I think I may give it a shot. I have no intentions of selling photos but the storage looks great besides that anyways.

[VirtualRain]

Originally Posted by Ruffian829

Thanks! I had missed this site in my googling. After looking it up I think I may give it a shot. I have no intentions of selling photos but the storage looks great besides that anyways.

Yeah, I don't sell photos either (I wish I did!) but it is a good solution for storage and sharing.

[ocabj]

I've been with Zenfolio since 2010. Good service. No complaints.

[sagar4995]

I'm sure you know about Dropbox, so why not just use that? I'm curious to know why you didn't consider that as an option. Seems like an abvious choice, no?

[mcbarre]

Originally Posted by sagar4995

I'm sure you know about Dropbox, so why not just use that? I'm curious to know why you didn't consider that as an option. Seems like an abvious choice, no?

I have digitalized all my family photos, I used DropBox to share the files among some family members (few have the space I have so I fill their dropBoxes and they still can't see them all) I'm using Google+ as the "Social/Collaboration" as I need help to tag people, places, events and dates. I personally use Flickr, and already have use for "Family and Friends" settings and in G+ is easy to define custom "Circles" to allow albums visibility (different families, different group of friends) What G+ is lacking is a way to organize albums.

[maflynn]

I'm not sure if this what you're asking but I use smugmug, its web interface to show photos is good.

[Ruffian829]

Originally Posted by sagar4995

I'm sure you know about Dropbox, so why not just use that? I'm curious to know why you didn't consider that as an option. Seems like an abvious choice, no?

The $100 annual price tag has been keeping me from trying Dropbox. I use it for documents (between iphone/ipad/work/home not necessarily for storage) but the pricing is somewhat steep for photo storage. I don't mind paying $100 per se, but since I was paying $20 for picasa and zenfolio and the like seem to run around $60- that why I haven't used Dropbox.

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Originally Posted by mcbarre

I have digitalized all my family photos, I used DropBox to share the files among some family members (few have the space I have so I fill their dropBoxes and they still can't see them all) I'm using Google+ as the "Social/Collaboration" as I need help to tag people, places, events and dates. I personally use Flickr, and already have use for "Family and Friends" settings and in G+ is easy to define custom "Circles" to allow albums visibility (different families, different group of friends) What G+ is lacking is a way to organize albums.

Doesn't flicker limit the uploaded file size? (Or maybe that was another site I read about?). How does flicker handle videos? And privacy settings?

Most of my sharing I'm finding I do through shared photo streams now. So sharing is a plus with what I'm looking for but not necessarily a necessity if that makes sense... I'd like to be able to (relatively easily) view on a mobile device my photos incase I need one I don't have stored on my phone. (Ie: for picasa I have a third party web albums app that allows basic viewing, uploading, etc) but its rare that I find the need to send a link to an album to share in that respect.

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Originally Posted by maflynn

I'm not sure if this what you're asking but I use smugmug, its web interface to show photos is good.

SmugMug looks promising as well. Can you tell me if you download off of SmugMug does the file name / date remain the same as the original you uploaded?

[mcbarre]

Flickr is great, with a Pro account there is almost no limits in quantity and size, Its organization is very good it accepts videos. Photos and videos can be downloaded in original size, viewed in multiple sizes, there is mobile applications for uploading and viewing. Security levels "Private", "Public", "Friends", "Family" fill most of the needs, plus you can add a private links and send them. It doesn't have "Facebook" integration and I not missing it. You can tag, modify dates, locate places in a map, and has basic editing tools. There are public/private groups in which you can collaborate with your own photos. Good search engine. Very recommended, but I have not use all other options to be able to say which is the best option.

[sagar4995]

Originally Posted by Ruffian829

The $100 annual price tag has been keeping me from trying Dropbox. I use it for documents (between iphone/ipad/work/home not necessarily for storage) but the pricing is somewhat steep for photo storage. I don't mind paying $100 per se, but since I was paying $20 for picasa and zenfolio and the like seem to run around $60- that why I haven't used Dropbox.[COLOR="#808080"]

hmmm... yeah, makes sense then.

[Bear]

Just read the Terms of Service for whatever sites you look at, especially photo oriented sites. Think of the recent Instagram uproar - some of the older photo services also have clauses that let them use your photos in their ads and such.

NOTE: Many sites have no such issues, however, it's better to read up rather than get caught by something that was overlooked.

[dimme]

+1 for flicker pro. I have a few thousand family pictures going back 60 years I have been scanning for the family. When I post a new set on flicker it is great for the other family members see the post on facebook or twitter. Although I just started using 500pix (free account)for my "personal best" shots.

[Ruffian829]

I think I am going to give zenfolio a try. I signed up for their free service. I'm tempted to use one of the transferring programs they list to transfer the photos I already have in Picasa over to Zenfolio.... but then I wonder if I'll be stuck with Picasa's ridiculous file names... if I am it may be worth just uploading them all again from the beginning.

[Ruffian829]

On second thought- zenfolios iPhone and iPad app seems to have horrible reviews and people are not able to upload via the app... Which is making me reconsider.
Initially I didn't think I absolutely needed and iPhone / iPad app but I want to be able to upload photos (and especially videos) without having to put them all on my MacBook first...

[jessica.]

Originally Posted by Ruffian829

On second thought- zenfolios iPhone and iPad app seems to have horrible reviews and people are not able to upload via the app... Which is making me reconsider.
Initially I didn't think I absolutely needed and iPhone / iPad app but I want to be able to upload photos (and especially videos) without having to put them all on my MacBook first...

I've been a Zenfolio user for at least 6 years I believe and they're constantly improving. It is one of the few services I pay for where I feel my money is being spent on me as a customer, if that makes sense. Try the app, reviews aside, maybe it is worth it.

[MCAsan]

Why not go for your own website? For around $4 a month you can have unlimited email, can do POP3 or IMAP, and have unlimited storage. With Wordpress you can easily create a site with or without a blog and page after page with galleries. With Wordpress plus standard templates and widgets, you do not need to learn how to do HTML coding.

[ChristianJapan]

I'm also since years happy user of a payed SmugMug account. Reliable service; also ok with video. Web fronted can be configured based on level of account.

What also like I can link it nice to my private domain like photo.mydomain.com redirect to my SmugMug; fully transparent.

The file names get ugly, too. But I can live with that.