whats best to store RAW files on?

Another way

Another way

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nic
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Hi all!
I've been shooting in RAW and have now got to clear my images of my netbook as you imagine I'm somewhat filling it up. I've got discs capable of storing 4GB but they don't seem to like storing my raw files, jpeg is fine but toys get thrown out peak when it comes to RAW . Would I be better using a decent sized memory stick? If so any good suggestions? Or any suggestions at all for storing RAW files.

Cheers!
Nic :D
 
RAW files take up a lot of space, so if you used a memory stick it too would probably fill up quickly, so you'll have to buy another, then another. As Ken has suggested a good sized USB hard drive would be a much better solution. It's also a lot harder to lose!
 
Chappers said:
RAW files take up a lot of space, so if you used a memory stick it too would probably fill up quickly, so you'll have to buy another, then another. As Ken has suggested a good sized USB hard drive would be a much better solution. It's also a lot harder to lose!
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I agree with this. I purchased a USB hard drive for less than £50.00
 
Better still get 2 USB hard drives and save the files to both. Then you'll have a backup for when one of them goes wrong.
 
Get a 1tb hard drive at the very least! I'm on my second, and I've other GB drives ...
 
Optical discs are way too fiddly for storing raws - I have a 16gb cf card which holds 605 shots and normally use about half of that on a typical outing, so I'd constantly be having to burn and organise a large amount of plastic discs. A small number of 1TB usb drives is far better!
 
Another way said:
Hi all!
I've been shooting in RAW and have now got to clear my images of my netbook as you imagine I'm somewhat filling it up. I've got discs capable of storing 4GB but they don't seem to like storing my raw files, jpeg is fine but toys get thrown out peak when it comes to RAW . Would I be better using a decent sized memory stick? If so any good suggestions? Or any suggestions at all for storing RAW files.

Cheers!
Nic :D
Click to expand...

http://www.pcworld.co.uk/gbuk/weste...rtable-hard-drive-1tb-black-09312037-pdt.html

Should keep you going a while!


...Oh dear. You let me on the PC world website! :lol:
 
Do not use USB sticks! Would not trust them for long term storage.

I would get a USB harddrive (or better still Firewire, I believe that's only for Macs though). I have an internal 250GB drive, and store photos on an external 1TB and 80GB drive. I also use a 500GB drive as a scratch disk for film editing in Final Cut (not really relevant to you, I guess!). Everything is then backed up to a 3TB drive...but I'd like another 3TB drive which would be stored somewhere away from my computer, to make a second back up weekly.

It's a good idea to have a second backup which is physically away from your computer. Otherwise, no matter how many times you back up your photos onto an external drive, a fire (touch wood) or burglary could loose you all your work.
 
tinite said:
Do not use USB sticks! Would not trust them for long term storage.

I would get a USB harddrive (or better still Firewire, I believe that's only for Macs though)
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I don't see any "trust" issue in the USB sticks route, the only problems are:
a) They hold little
b) They get lost easily.

Also, you can get motherboards with firewire built in, but in reality firewire outside of macs has died off, and even in macs circle they have a very niche market (people who need to transfer lots of files fast, e.g. Sound engineers in studios)
 
As stated, external hard drives really are as cheap as they've ever been and for storing lots of files there's no sense in not getting one. I started with Lacie Quadras, the old metal ones but moved onto Lacie Neil Poulton 1TB drives, which were about £50 each off Amazon. recently Ive got the same but with the SATA/USB/FIREWIRE interfaces on the rear, simply because the amount of stuff I do firewire is a much better connection than USB. Think these were about £80 each....
 
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AllFallD0wn said:
I don't see any "trust" issue in the USB sticks route, the only problems are:
a) They hold little
b) They get lost easily.

Also, you can get motherboards with firewire built in, but in reality firewire outside of macs has died off, and even in macs circle they have a very niche market (people who need to transfer lots of files fast, e.g. Sound engineers in studios)
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Well the second point is partly why I don't trust them. They're also relatively easy to damage or break.
 
AllFallD0wn said:
I don't see any "trust" issue in the USB sticks route, the only problems are:
a) They hold little
b) They get lost easily.

Also, you can get motherboards with firewire built in, but in reality firewire outside of macs has died off, and even in macs circle they have a very niche market (people who need to transfer lots of files fast, e.g. Sound engineers in studios)
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They also have a finite lifespan (write cycles) even given the wear levelling algorithms they use to spread the written data around. After they reach their wear limit, corrupted data will follow.
 
Islander said:
They also have a finite lifespan (write cycles) even given the wear levelling algorithms they use to spread the written data around. After they reach their wear limit, corrupted data will follow.
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Technically any medium has a finite number of write cycles, from DVD's, HDD's and USB sticks, much as a battery in a laptop has a "finite" number of charges. I agree USB sticks are probably shorter-lifed than HDD's, but I've never encountered a problem with any I've had in regards to reaching write cycles.
 
AllFallD0wn said:
Technically any medium has a finite number of write cycles, from DVD's, HDD's and USB sticks, much as a battery in a laptop has a "finite" number of charges. I agree USB sticks are probably shorter-lifed than HDD's, but I've never encountered a problem with any I've had in regards to reaching write cycles.
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I've seen a few fail - usually with corrupted data and a couple completely dead. Admittedly that may be due to handling and environment as much as memory lifespan but then again the average USB memory stick has a fairly rough life. I'd never use one as anything other than a means of transferring or carry data that I had stored elsewhere and thoroughly backed up and certainly not as a backup device. :)
 
Islander said:
I've seen a few fail - usually with corrupted data and a couple completely dead. Admittedly that may be due to handling and environment as much as memory lifespan but then again the average USB memory stick has a fairly rough life. I'd never use one as anything other than a means of transferring or carry data that I had stored elsewhere and thoroughly backed up and certainly not as a backup device. :)
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Totally agree. I mainly use mine for carrying data between computers. Used to use them for college work until I discovered dropbox :p
 
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