Burning images....back to my digi-challenged world

[MRCPhoto]

Stupid person asking stupid question...with digital, you obviously save $$ on film and developing...how about saving to disks? I'm assuming you can burn as many disks as you want of the same images, correct? What is the average cost of that? What kind of equipment do you need to do it or can you take your memory card (?) somewhere and have it done for you?
Meesha

[blinking8s]

huh? like putting you images onto CD? and there are no stupid questions :)

[c0ntr0lz]

yeah cd or dvd?
you can 4 gigs of pix on one dvd
which is more than 15000 pix

[blinking8s]

i back up my RAW files, with the processed images next to it, it doesnt cost much, or take any effort, although my files are ALL OVER the place right now...i need to clean my hard drive, then my apartment :D

[friscomgm]

You need to create a digital workflow. Count on developing a method for backing up ALL your native shots on CD or DVD - you'd need the appropriate hardware - which is basically a computer with a decent sized HDD and a CD/DVD burner. CD's cost less than 10 cents per and DVD's are less than a dollar per.

Once you've backed everything up - I'd suggest a dedicated HDD JUST for your images. Create an organized directory structure so as to keep everything orderly. I keep it simple and do years and months. I generally snap about 500 pix a week so it's maybe 2000 images per month. You can break in down however you like - just remember to keep it organized. You'll find that as you progress in digital you will have a LOT of shots so it is really important to organize them.

If you don't have a computer with a CD/DVD burner - the fuji kiosks at Walgreens can do a picture CD direct from your CompactFlash, etc for like 3.99 (too much IMO).

[johneo]

...how about saving to disks?


I save all my photos to CD (2 copies) and the cost of 100 CD's is so little I don't waste my time going through and deleting any ... to me it's not worth the trouble.

Look for a deal (on sale) and you can find 100 CD's for $20 or so and slim jewel cases for about the same.

You can also go the DVD route which I think is a little more costly but involves fewer disks because of the amount a DVD holds compared to a CD

All that is needed is a CD or DVD burner in your computer

[DocFrankenstein]

how about saving to disks?
You can. It's cheap.
I'm assuming you can burn as many disks as you want of the same images, correct?
Yes. It's easy. You'll need to get to know how to work with a computer.
What is the average cost of that?
20 cents per cd. 80 cents per DVD
What kind of equipment do you need to do it or can you take your memory card (?) somewhere and have it done for you?
Meesha
You'll need a computer with a CD burner or a dvd burner. If you want to do digital workflow at "advanced" or professional level, which looks like you are, you might want to get a good monitor also.

[c0ntr0lz]

i think DVD would be less costly than cd
say if get cds and you can only out 750mbs on it
of you're taking RAW photos that's only about 75+ pix
but on DVD you have 4.6 gigs so you can probably get 500+ on disc
if you buy 100 cds thats about 30 bux
and you put 75 pix on one disc and you have 10 gigs of pix you have to burn 13 cds just to get all your pix backed up
at the cost of 30 cents each
but if you burn 4.6 to a DVD then all you need is 2 dvds at the cost of 45 cents if you buy 100 at 45 bux
so DVD is way more

[robertwgross]

One local electronics store was recently selling blank CD-R media at $9 for a 100-spindle. So, that is 9 cents per disk. You can't get much cheaper than that for storing roughly 700MB of data in write once mode. The same store had DVD blanks for about 25 cents per disk in spindles also. The trick is that some drives will only handle one or two types of blank media for reliable write purposes. My DVD-RW disks hold about 4GB of data. There is a lot of variation in blank media pricing, and a lot of variation in reliability.

---Bob Gross---

[jalafer]

What about the expected life for the DVD vs. CD?
I read that most of the CD's have a life span of about 2 years only. that means that our stocks of pictures can be useless when whe will try to use it. I would like to know a storaging system that would be reliab le in a long term basis.
Any idea?

[spaceman]

Any of you folks use photo album software such as Adobe Photoshop Album or Paint Shop Album? I tried these, but found the programs too cumbersome, and prefer organizing my own directories/subdirectories and viewing/working in PS Elements using the built in browser, or even a third party browser. Just wondering if anyone else feels the same way?

[arumdevil]

What about the expected life for the DVD vs. CD?
I read that most of the CD's have a life span of about 2 years only. that means that our stocks of pictures can be useless when whe will try to use it. I would like to know a storaging system that would be reliab le in a long term basis.
Any idea?


For sure the cheapo 10c per disk CDs aren't going to last very long - I'd be worried about storing anything important on them. You can get CDs that last for up to 10 years and maybe longer. I don't know which ones to recommend but for sure they will cost more.

Best thing to do is make at LEAST TWO of each disk and check your archives every year and make duplicates of them if you used cheap media. Also keep one copy at a different location in case of fire/theft etc.

[MRCPhoto]

I've actually taken a class on photoshop and illistrator so that's not so bad, but I don't have a cd burner on this old machine. Maybe time for a new one, eh? What would you recommend?
Meesha

[Jon]

Plextor 708 or 712. Rock-solid, burns CDs, DVD+R, DVD-R at 8x or 12x (DVD) speeds. Available internal (IDE) or external (USB2) The 712's just out; the 708's been out a few months.

[Motorsports Photo]

Any of you folks use photo album software such as Adobe Photoshop Album or Paint Shop Album? I tried these, but found the programs too cumbersome, and prefer organizing my own directories/subdirectories and viewing/working in PS Elements using the built in browser, or even a third party browser. Just wondering if anyone else feels the same way?

Spaceman-

I use ACDSee. Its the quickest and easiest software I have found to date that lets me review, and sort pics.

-Pete

[ron chappel]

Any of you folks use photo album software such as Adobe Photoshop Album or Paint Shop Album? I tried these, but found the programs too cumbersome, and prefer organizing my own directories/subdirectories and viewing/working in PS Elements using the built in browser, or even a third party browser. Just wondering if anyone else feels the same way?

I really love irfanview! + it's free with no adds
Just open a photo and you can scroll through every pic in that folder one by one-and it's so quick!
Just out of interest i tried it on my old steam powered 133Mhz computer and it was quick even there :lol:
Anyway,it can also do basic editing.Things like cloning and sharpening are not available or lousy but cropping,colour ballance,etc are excellent
Interestingly even though it's a small program it probably has the most thorough compatability with common and not so common picture/movie types of any program

[robertwgross]

I really love irfanview!

Which version are you using?

---Bob Gross---

[spaceman]

Hey, thanks guys. I already have Irfanview and didn't even think about using that one. I'll take a look at ACDSee as well.

-Alan

[ron chappel]

Hi Bob
version 3.85