How Do You Store Your Digital Images?

[grant]

Having been a 35mm film user for almost 40 years, I’ve at last taken the plunge and decided that it’s time to “go digital”!!

I would be interested to hear how the established digital users out there store their images once they’ve been downloaded from the camera.

I am familiar with backing up; using CD’s and DVD’s for storage of media, but one keeps hearing horror stories of lost pictures, corrupt CD’s etc. etc. so any tips for a “digital novice” would be appreciated.

Look forward to hearing from you ‘experts’

Best wishes
Grant

[thomas]

Hi Grant!

There are many ways to store digital photos but the best is to use a CD or DVD although both don't last forever. You can also store them on an external hard disk but hard disks also have a limited lifetime.
Lately I read a report of a professional photographer and he also recommeded CD or DVD. He said it's best to store digital photos on two different CD's and store these CD's in different places. CD's last about 10 years but it might be a good idea not to buy the cheapest ones. DVD's last a little longer because their layers are thicker than the layers of CD's so DVD's are a bit more resistant of corrosion caused by UV-light.
CD's and DVD's should be stored anyway in dark places like a box or a drawer so that they aren't exposed to UV-light too much.

Thomas

[grant]

Hi Thomas

Thanks for your response - interesting to hear that CD's only last about 10 years!

I guess that means replacing them after 9 years!!

Grant

[comet]

Hi Folks !

Here is a test I use on CD R discs.
WARNING
THIS TEST IS LIKELY TO DESTROY THE DISC.
Record music or other files on a TEST DISC from the batch you intend to use.

On the label side place a strip of elephant tape or other strong adhesive tape.

Pull the tape as roughly as possible.The labeling material may pull away from the the disc(THIS IS THE INTENTION OF THE TEST) with the data storage material as well. Try this a few times to be sure.
DO NOT DO THIS ON A DISC WITH VALUABLE DATA ON IT !
It is better to know now that the discs have this weakness than in ten years time when you can't recover your priceless photos or music.

This is a test I use myself. I found out the hard way when a label pulled away the data storage film on the disc. I have never heard it used or recommended by any one else.
It is entirely up to you to do this or not !

I have found that some of the UNBRANDED discs are more secure than the more expensive ones.
The ones that are bright and shiny on both sides tend to be more durable.
Because the data foil is below a plastic layer on both sides and is less likely to be damaged by physical handling.
Try and avoid writing on the disc at all if possible and keep the discs in separate envelopes.
Try and avoid placing stickers or labels on the disc as well if possible.
Do keep them in marked envelopes with dates and subjects on each envelope.
Do store them in a dark box as said before by others away from sunlight and fluorescent and other sources of artificial light.
Exposure to light over a prolonged period does horrific damage to plastics making them brittle etc.
Always handle the discs carefully, They are not as INDESTRUCTIBLE as you may have been led to believe by the record companies etc.

This may be boring now, but in years to come you may be glad you made an effort to take care of your data discs.

[grant]

WOW Comet!!

That's a very interesting response. I've never heard of this "test" before but will certainly give it a try.

By 'label', I assume you mean whatever covering is on the top surface as most of the ones I've used so far appear just to have a colour coating.

As a matter of interest what brand of CD/DVD do you use?

Grant

[postscript]

Hi Grant.

I assume you have made your decision regarding camera?

If not, there is a lot of recent advice from those who have made the move, probably under the photography thread.

Regarding storage, for around £100 you can have a USB freestanding hard disk with 160Gb. But then I have need of storage for diverse reasons so that might be thought a little bit excessive--especially as I have three of them! But then I double back-up I'm so paranoid of data loss.

Peter S.

[postscript]

An interesting point is 'warp'. I can't see that if a disc is in a decent box it can matter which way up the box is stored, but I have heard it said that discs should be stored in a vertical position, not horizontally, yet most, if not all CD/DVD racks I have seen are designed for horizontal storage..

Any views, anyone?

Peter S.

[grant]

Both interesting points Peter.

I already have a camera - a Canon DSLR - not a new one but one similar to the one two friends of mine have been using for some time with excellent results.

One of the problems I will have will be volume as I have been taking some 4000+ slides on film anually and everyone says I'll take more on digital!!

I do tend to store both CD's and DVD's vertically, except the CDR's which I use for backup - they're kept in dark drawers!

Grant

[comet]

Hi grant.
It was not originally intended as a test. It was as the result of a sticker being removed from a disc causing the failure of the data
area.

samsung do "unbranded" discs in boxs of 50 or 100 often referred to as cakes of discs. It's often hard to see which side of the disc is up. I get these from a company called Komplett. but they are probably available in various suppliers. Just get the sleeves separately'
The colour discs you speak of are probably the ones that the recordable surface can easily be pulled off with a label or sticker.

These are often top brands, I would have sworn by their audio and video cassettes 10 years ago they were great.

I suppose maybe, just don't put labels on them.
Making two copies is a good idea.

with the numbers you are talking about organised filing is critical or you will very soon find yourself in a mess.

[alien]

Hi all,

Here's my view from a more technical stand point about data storage.

For harddrives, the lifespan can vary depending on usage, working condition and luck. I have HDs working 24/7 for past 10 years without any major issues but also ones dying after just a few months. One factor that leads to early HD retirement is HEAT. Most computer design these days do not have good airflow, especially ones that are designed to be stylish and slim. Personally, I have bad luck with HDs made by Maxtor and can usually tell when the HD is about to die just by listening for abnormal noises (i.e. HD trying to re-read data). Most modern HDs have built in error correction and will automatically move data to a different section of the disk upon failure. Once the "spare" storage runs out, you'll begin to lose data. So my suggestion is, backup often!

Unlike most common believes, CDR and DVDR medias do not last a life time or even decades and the cause is not due to physical destruction but due to recording dye (e.g. green/blue/gold for cdr and purple for dvdr) degrading overtime. Some of the most common factors of degradion can include heat, moisture, UV and oxydation.

Although there are many brands of CDR and DVDR out there but there are only a handful of manufacturers in the world. Most of the common ones found on the market are made by taiwanese companies such as Ritek and CMC. In general, some japanese manufacturers (e.g. Taiyo Yuden, Maxell Japan, Mitsubishi) tend to have more consistent quality but are relatively hard to find. The trend is, most companies are switching from the more expensive japanese suppliers to other low cost alternatives from taiwan, china or india. Brands such as Fujifilm, TDK, Maxell are NOT made in Japan and the value line of their products are now made by low-end factories in taiwan.

In summary, do not trust what the brand on the box, read where the disc is being made!

For my personal photo storage, I am using the Maxell Mastering Grade DVD-R which is guaranteed to be made by Maxell's factory in japan. It has a long-life dye as well as a protective coating to reduce damage from scratches. The disc may cost 10x as much as the cheapest ones but I think is it worth it for the peace of mind. There're other "archive grade" mediums out there but they're relatively hard to find. If you can find the high-end medias anywhere, just look for the "made in Japan" label, the chance of finding better DVDRs is much higher but is not guaranteed since there're some low-end Japanese manufacturers are well.

For CD-R, Verbatim's DataLife Plus series is probably the most affordable and accessible product out there. There is also the "For Photo" line from Fujifilm which is supposed to be made by Taiyo Yuden. I haven't had any experience with them so I can't comment on that.

My favourite test for CDR or DVDR media... Burn a CD and put it in the car, the extreme heat and UV will accelerate the "aging" process. During summer time, I can usually destroy a disc within matter of weeks or months! Consider it a personal climate chamber... of course, I do use software to check for damages. If you use Nero, it can be found in "Nero CD-DVD Speed".

So.. basically the entire post is about picking the right recordable medium and backup often. Hope this post isn't too lengthy confusing... it's almost 3am here and I'm too lazy to proofread

Cheers,

Allen

[grant]

Thanks for all your continuing comments, I'm finding them really helpful.

Very interesting to hear your comments Allen on choosing the right media, I was hoping someon would come up with some suggestions.

No doubt others will hold different views depending on experience.

Grant

[timj]

Don't forget future software/hardware may affect the readability of your backups. TimJ