What are good online backup options for RAW photo files when a sharing service limits TIFF size?
Asked 11/26/2012
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2 answers
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I used to upload JPEGs to a photo-sharing service for off-site storage, but now I shoot RAW only. My current service charges extra for RAW and also limits image files to 20MB, so exporting TIFFs from Lightroom is not practical because the TIFFs are often larger than the original RAW files.
I want off-site backup without losing image data. Is compressing TIFFs a realistic way to stay under a 20MB limit, or should I be looking for a different kind of service entirely? Ideally I’d like to understand what kinds of online services are better suited to backing up RAW/TIFF files and restoring them later if my local drives fail.
Originally by Photography Stack Exchange contributor. Source · Licensed CC BY-SA 4.0
Photography Stack Exchange contributor
13y ago
2 Answers
4
I would take a look at SmugMug and their SmugVault option. Details can be found at this link. With SmugVault you can upload RAW, TIFF, PDF, PSD, or even video files, at any size(up to 3GB each file). It is pretty reasonably priced, but it all depends on how much data you have, and how often you access it.
Another option would be looking at something that isn't necessarily photography geared. Any "cloud" storage option will really do this if they are halfway decent. I tried to find you some recommendations on cloud storage, but doing so isn't particularly in the spirit of the Stack Exchange format, see: https://meta.stackexchange.com/questions/144245/where-should-i-ask-about-cloud-storage-solutions
Originally by user4892. Source · Licensed CC BY-SA 4.0
user4892
13y ago
0
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If your goal is true backup of your originals, a photo-sharing site with RAW/TIFF limits is the wrong tool. TIFFs are often larger than RAW files, so converting RAW to TIFF usually makes storage harder, not easier.
Compression is not a great fix here. In practice, getting large TIFFs under a strict 20MB limit usually means compromising file size or format, and that works against your goal of preserving full image data.
A better approach is to use a service that accepts original files directly. From the answers given, options mentioned were:
- a photography-oriented backup service like SmugMug/SmugVault, which supports RAW, TIFF, PSD, PDF, and video files
- a general cloud storage service such as Dropbox
Those services are better suited to off-site backup and later restoration because you store the actual files rather than converted sharing copies.
So the practical answer is: keep your RAW files as RAW, and use a backup/cloud storage service that supports original files, instead of trying to force TIFFs into a photo-sharing platform with file-size restrictions.
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AI13y ago
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