Cameralark Loc: Torrington, CT

I use LRC only. I have a solid backup system on external hard drives in two locations. I use Goodsync to assure that my working drive and b/u drives are identical. I also use SmugMug to display and share galleries, host my web site, and store JPEG versions (unlimited storage) of my images that are meaningful to me.

Now, SmugMug offers a separate subscription service called “Source”, a platform that cloud stores your Raw images.

My question is, if you have edited your Raw images and extracted from them the info they contain that jpeg’s would not, what benefit would there be to also store the Raw’s in the cloud at additional expense in both $ and time (slow uploads)?

Longshadow Loc: Audubon, PA, United States

Curious - what info do you extract from the RAW files that the JPEGs do not contain?

(I just have all my files, including docs, spreadsheets, PDFs, RAW, JPEG, ... backed up with Carbonite.)

Cameralark Loc: Torrington, CT

When your camera converts the Raw image it actually took to the jpeg (what you actually see) it uses algorythms to do so and they tend to remove the extremes of the capture. In many cases the software you use in editing your photos can find some usable info in the parts that would have be cut out.

jamesl Loc: Pennsylvania

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I would never discard the original RAW files that contain all of the image data the camera captured. The finished edited pictures do not contain all of the data contained in the RAW files. Keeping them allows you to have the capability of doing a re-edit in the future if you want to.

Longshadow Loc: Audubon, PA, United States

Oh, okay.
I always edit the RAW, save it as JPEG. I just use the camera created JPEGs for perusing in Explorer.
Thought you may have meant other "file" details.

Cameralark Loc: Torrington, CT

I did not say anything about discarding the original Raw file. I specifically did say that I had multiple backup copies.
What I did ask, was, why also store them in the cloud?

Longshadow Loc: Audubon, PA, United States

Disaster recovery....... But only if you feel you may want them to be recoverable.

CHG_CANON Loc: the Windy City

A photographer and their money are easily parted.

If you have an effective and efficient back-up strategy of a) your original RAW files and b) the edit instructions that convert them to another edited format, why would you then spend more money to create another redundant copy of either of these key assets?

cahale Loc: San Angelo, TX

If you have adequate backup without a cloud, why do you need even think about a cloud? And surely you do not replace the original RAW with the edited version after processing.

DirtFarmer Loc: Escaped from the NYC area, back to MA

'Adequate' is in the eye of the beholder.

Backup expands to fit the importance of the data.

One level backup is a copy of your file on an external drive. If your computer drive crashes or you do something dumb, you have another copy.

Second level backup is two copies of your file on two different media (different external drives qualify here). If your computer drive crashes and for some reason your backup drive has failed, you have another copy.

Third level backup is three copies of your file on three different media. One in your computer, one on an external drive that is unplugged and kept somewhere else in the house, and one kept away from your house. If your office catches fire and destroys your computer and your backup drive, you still have another copy somewhere else.

Fourth level backup is four copies of your file. Three of them as in the third level backup plus one in the cloud. If you have your third copy in town but a wildfire burns down the entire town, you still have a copy in the cloud. This may be an extreme example but there are two or more examples of this happening recently. The cloud is more than 'somewhere else' if you use a good cloud service. A good service will duplicate your file and distribute it across the country if not even across the continent or even across the planet.

(Fifth level backup is for the extremely paranoid who worry about the cloud provider going out of business. It consists of multiple cloud providers).


And remember that you CANNOT replace the original raw file with an edited version. The main reason for this is that you CANNOT write a raw file. You can copy one, but you can't edit it and write it as a different file. Note here that you can probably find a way to edit portions of the raw file but not the raw data. If you edit a DNG you can use software that will re-write the jpg preview to reflect the edits you have done, but you can't change the raw data portion of the raw file.

Longshadow Loc: Audubon, PA, United States

Even Canon's DPP editor only saves all the "slider positions" for modifications made to an image (at least one version did, another version seems to revert back to the original, but I may have missed something). It does not alter the image data itself.

Bultaco Loc: Aiken, SC

Good question, I wouldn't.

julian.gang

No truer words were ever spoken! Merry Christmas!...Julian

TriX Loc: Raleigh, NC

Simple: 3 copies of ALL the files that you want to make sure you keep - one local, working copy, one local backup copy and one off-site (preferably cloud) disaster recovery copy.

MJPerini

To answer the original question of why also store RAW files on a cloud service.......
If you already have both local and off-site backup for all your files, that is always up to date, there is no need to also store them on Smug Mug.
Many people satisfy the "Off site" requirement of good backup by using a cloud service. Smug Mug sees that and wants to offer that service. If you are satisfied with your Off-site backup , no need for another.