IT Experts Advice Please

[Heartshape]

I recently got myself the D70s. Now must look into the next step - data storage.
I'm thinking of getting an external hard drive, but because I'm new to them, I hope the IT experts here can advice.
I went to Sim Lim and asked around and it seems they're all selling a 40GB unit for $135. Is there a particular brand I should look for or any shop which is trustworthy and reliable, or are they all the same?
I guess for you to advice appropriately, you have to know my needs.
I have a full time job but, on the side, I shoot professionally.
See, my full time job in the marketing/ advertising realm so my peers are people in this line of work, and they use photographers all the time - for products shoots, fashion shoots, etc. Through them I have done some shoots, mainly for use in magazines and catalogs/ brochures.
I shoot mainly in raw format, which I understand are big files. Do you think 40GB is big enough or shall I go for something much bigger? I want to store all the work I do in a medium that can last. Is it true that data stored on CD only last a few years?
Thanks in advance for any advice, recommendations you may have.

 

[sk.images]

You also need to consider backup. So your storage solution should effectively encompas two storage media - not necessarily the same.

I think 40Gb will be filled up rather quickly (depending on how much you shoot), you should probably look at 250Gb (I recently bought a Iomega 250Gb external disk from Challenger for ~$330+). On a per-MB cost basis 250Gb is roughly the best - depending on brand, etc.

As for SimLim, I can recommend the Chamoxa shops and the ATF multimedia. Both have extensive ranges and are rather large compared to most of the others. I also know the owner of Chamoxa and know that he has recently signed a new lease on the 6th floor, so they'll be around for a while.

 

[burger]

you could just get an external 3.5" hdd casing and the hdd separately. if you have budget constraints, you can start with a smaller capacity hdd and upgrade later.

in any case, 40 GB is not enough

 

[hazta]

A few questions...

1) Wat will u do to e pics after u downloaded them to ur computer?
2) For wat period of time do u hav to keep hold of e pics after u had use it for ur work or after u hav hand it over to ur clients?
3) Wat will u do to them after dat?
4) R u usin a laptop/desktop?
5) Wat system is ur laptop/desktop runnin?

Regards...

 

[erha]

I am not an IT Experts, just want to give you my personal experience.

You could try to go to Storage Studio at Sim Lim Square. They have a range of good hard disk enclosure. Remember you get what you pay !!! You might find other brand which is cheaper but there are a lot of problem. Heat, Speed, Stability...

But for sure eventhought is mean for portable, it is not really secure. The hard disk is not 100% protected from shock. So handle with care. And the life time of hard disk is not very long. I believe 4 or 5 years (if you use it intensively) and thats it, you need a new one.

I still prefer to store it on DVD, but you need to keep it on the drybox. Some of them said, the fungus is also like the DVD/CD media (but I have never seen one), not only your lens....

 

[nuts]

If you're looking at external storage as opposed to portable storage, then you should look at those 3.5" harddisk with casing. A seagate 250Gb costs S$179 (as of yesterday 16/01) + HDD casing mabbe $50+. Pretty worthwhile I would think

 

[Heartshape]

A few questions...

1) Wat will u do to e pics after u downloaded them to ur computer?
2) For wat period of time do u hav to keep hold of e pics after u had use it for ur work or after u hav hand it over to ur clients?
3) Wat will u do to them after dat?
4) R u usin a laptop/desktop?
5) Wat system is ur laptop/desktop runnin?

Regards...

The Answers......
1) Depending whether necessary, I will tweak them with PS
2) Forever if possible
3) Archive
4) Desktop
5) Windows XP

Cheers!

 

[wiz23]

I bought a Maxtor 250Gb 3.5" for $165 (3 yrs warranty), a seagate would be $179 (5 yrs warranty). The price of casings can range from $20+ to $100+, depending on brand and whether u want USB only, or USB+Firewire ...

 

[theRBK]

The Answers......
1) Depending whether necessary, I will tweak them with PS
2) Forever if possible
3) Archive
4) Desktop
5) Windows XP

Cheers!

well, there are afew options:

1. burning to DVD - trust me, if you shoot a lot and in RAW, DVD backup is more efficient than CD as it holds more and can burn the files faster. And store the DVD's in a safe location.

2. harddrive array - multiple harddrives linked by a system called RAID so that data is backed-up onto multiple disks and the failure of one will not eliminate your data.

3. external harddrive - copy data to a single harddrive and storing it in a safe, dry location.

4. any combination of the above

a bulletproof system would be to combine all 3, storing the DVDs and external harddrives in different physical locations. And when I say different physical locations, I mean not on the same street

There has been much complains against quality of Maxtor harddrives...and in any case, their future is doubtful as they had just been bought over by Seagate...

Seagate offers 5 yr warranties, and have pretty good reviews, but one thing to understand is that if you choose to save your files in one disk, no matter how good the warranty plan, if you loose the files through harddrive fault, no amount of warranty is going to return you the files

 

[Raptor1]

Get an 2x internal harddrive and Mirror Raid it.

Well, even for external harddrive, it will crash too. If you are ever going to get 1, an 80 to 200GB HDD is the way to go. Just that, burn a backup of the photos to DVDRs.

Brands, you shouldnt be wrong with Hitachi or Western Digital.

 

[obewan]

I'm no IT expert here. But just some personal advice. :bsmilie:
I can't advice you on what brand and which shop is the best and most reliable.
But my advice is buy the biggest harddisk you can afford, since raw file really is space
consuming.

DVD rewritable should be quite reliable if you keep them in a dry place.
Buy those highest quality.
But if you want to be safer, invest in another harddisk just for backup.

 

[gernie]

someone pls suggest a tape backup... hehehe.... " the traditional way"

 

[singchang]

Or you could consider waiting for blu ray discs. They come in 25GB or 50GB, but would have to wait roughly another few months.

 

[sammy888]

Or you could consider waiting for blu ray discs. They come in 25GB or 50GB, but would have to wait roughly another few months.

:thumbsup:

Abit buggy as new technology goes but worth the wait to see how this one will do. This is one of two format that is set to take over from the present day DVDs formats..

 

[smtan24]

I recently got myself the D70s. Now must look into the next step - data storage.
I'm thinking of getting an external hard drive, but because I'm new to them, I hope the IT experts here can advice.
I went to Sim Lim and asked around and it seems they're all selling a 40GB unit for $135. Is there a particular brand I should look for or any shop which is trustworthy and reliable, or are they all the same?
I guess for you to advice appropriately, you have to know my needs.
I have a full time job but, on the side, I shoot professionally.
See, my full time job in the marketing/ advertising realm so my peers are people in this line of work, and they use photographers all the time - for products shoots, fashion shoots, etc. Through them I have done some shoots, mainly for use in magazines and catalogs/ brochures.
I shoot mainly in raw format, which I understand are big files. Do you think 40GB is big enough or shall I go for something much bigger? I want to store all the work I do in a medium that can last. Is it true that data stored on CD only last a few years?
Thanks in advance for any advice, recommendations you may have.

Do you need it to be portable? If so Eastgear is selling CompactDrive PD70X Portable Storage Device which seems to be what you need.

 

[poh6702]

Storage is one issue, backup of the storage is another important thing, all HDD will fail one day. The worse to happen is that it fail only after 3 years and all your hard work for the pass few years go down to drain.:nono:

I am making few copies of my backup, my family photos way back from 1996 still well kept.

1. 1 copy in the Hard disk of the computer.
2. 1 copy on the 2.5" USB drive
3. 1 copy on another 3.5" USB drive
4. 1 copy in the DVD RAM.

Discipline is very important to maintain many copies. Mine are mainly photos of my family and my Kids since they were Baby until now. It is too precious to lost, only hnadful of them were printed out.

 

[shchow]

Storage is one issue, backup of the storage is another important thing, all HDD will fail one day. The worse to happen is that it fail only after 3 years and all your hard work for the pass few years go down to drain.:nono:

I am making few copies of my backup, my family photos way back from 1996 still well kept.

1. 1 copy in the Hard disk of the computer.
2. 1 copy on the 2.5" USB drive
3. 1 copy on another 3.5" USB drive
4. 1 copy in the DVD RAM.

Discipline is very important to maintain many copies. Mine are mainly photos of my family and my Kids since they were Baby until now. It is too precious to lost, only hnadful of them were printed out.

wow! :thumbsup: you keep all the RAW files? or just JPEG? just curious... 'cos i'm facing problem of running out of hardisk spaces in just 2 months time... :embrass:

 

[poh6702]

I store only Jpeg files. You need big HDD drives in this case, and store each occation of photos in one DVD disc. I use DVD RAM becasue it suppose to be the most reliable media. Most of the LG (and Panasonic) DVD writters support DVD RAM.

 

[sriram]

Just get a Zoom extreme ZX6 or ZX8 enclosure and a huge HDD. That should do. Get a PATA rather than SATA, they have far fewer problems with USB casings.

 

[Pablo]

Holographic CF card (32x31250x1000000).

You might have to wait a while for one though :bsmilie:


Sorry, I was just dreaming out loud.