Common wisdom these days states that a file doesn't truly exist unless it exists in at least two places (one of which is off-site). Of all the files people back up, photographs may be the most important. For many people, they're high on the list of items they wouldn't want to lose in the event of an unforeseen disaster.
Several different online options exist which can be used for backing up photos; some are designed with photos in mind, and some are simply for generic file storage. I have chosen a few of the more common ones and written up a brief comparison of them below (in random order). Each option looks at the cost for backing up 30 GB of photos; this size was chosen to reveal price differences as your photo library grows.
One of the most popular options, and also the cheapest. The Flickr Pro account starts at $2.08/month and provides you with unlimited storage, unlimited uploads, and unlimited bandwidth. The only serious drawback to Flickr is the lack of RAW file support (JPEG only). Additionally, the associated hassle and organizational issues that go along with having your backups stored in the same place as the photographs you'd like to share with everyone else. When backing up, remember to mark the photos as private, sort them into a different Set/Collection, etc.
Pro:
- Cheap ($2.08/month = infinite GB)
- Unlimited storage
- Aperture plugin
- iPhoto plugin
- Automator plugin
- Broadly supported due to popularity
- No RAW support
- 10 MB file size limit
- Organizational issues with other sharable photos
- Designed for sharing rather than backing up
Google's Picasa service is a direct competitor to Flickr, but lacks an unlimited storage option and costs more money per month. For $1.67/month you get 10 GB; for $6.25/month, 40 GB, for $20.83/month, 150 GB, and for $41.67, 500 GB! I can't see any direct benefit of Picasa over Flickr for the task of backing up photos, although for sharing photos with friends, viewing on the iPhone, etc., it may have some benefits.
Pro:
- Large capacities available
- iPhoto plugin
- No RAW support
- Somewhat expensive ($6.25/month = 40GB)
- Organizational issues with other sharable photos
- Designed for sharing rather than backing up
Photo Shelter Personal Archive
Photo Shelter is actually designed for backing up photos in a permanent, redundant archive. For $9.99/month, you get 10 GB of storage, $29.99/month gets 35 GB, and $49.99/month 100 GB. Photo Shelter allows you to upload almost any format (including RAW), and the only real drawback I can see is that it's extremely expensive for the average user. This site is targeted more at professional photographers and those with money to burn - if you have the cash, this may well be the best option.
Pro:
- RAW support
- Aperture plugin
- Large capacities available
- Designed with backups in mind
- Expensive ($29.99/month = 35 GB)
Apple's popular .Mac service comes with online file storage as well as e-mail, backups, and syncing between multiple computers. The cheapest plan starts at $8.33/month, and provides 10 GB of storage. For $12.49/month you get 20 GB of storage, and for $16.66/month, 30 GB. The iDisk has the benefit of always being a single click away in your Finder sidebar and hence is fairly easy to backup photos to - just drag and drop or export directly from Aperture or iPhoto. Any file format (including RAW) is acceptable since it's simply an online disk. The main drawbacks of .Mac are that you can't view the photos online, and the extremely high expense - this is the second most expensive option considered. Yes, it's true that you can create a Web Gallery or website with photos to share, but the first option uses lower quality files (not good for backups), and the second option makes them available to everyone by default.
Pro:
- RAW support
- Finder file copy
- Direct export to folder from iPhoto/Aperture
- Multipurpose generic storage space
- Designed with backups in mind
- Expensive ($16.66/month = 30 GB)
- Limited data storage capacity (30 GB)
One advantage of Amazon's S3 service is that they charge you based on exactly how much data you store - if you only have 2 GB of data to store it will cost you significantly less than if you have 30. S3 provides 10 GB for $1.50 a month, 20 GB for $3 a month, and 30 GB for $4.50/month. As stated above, you can scale this to whatever storage size you need (a big advantage) although it becomes expensive when you get up to 70 or 80 GB. As with .Mac, absolutely any file format (including RAW) can be uploaded since it's simply online file storage. Amazon does charge a $.10 per GB upload fee unlike the other services, but since you're using this for backup, the one time fee shouldn't affect you too much. The main drawback of this service is the lack of convenience, and the price if you need a large capacity.
Pro:
- RAW support
- Multipurpose generic storage space
- Large capacities available
- Don't pay for capacity you're not using
- Somewhat expensive ($4.50/month + $3.00 upload = 30 GB)
- Have to use a third party tool to upload
Conclusion
Not surprisingly, Flickr offers the best value - for a whopping $2.08/month, you can have unlimited photo storage. The major drawback is the lack of RAW support, but for the price it's probably still the best choice. For someone like me with about 60 GB of photos to backup, Flickr is still $2.08/month, whereas Picasa would cost me $20.83/month, Photo Shelter would be $49.99/month, S3 would be $6 upload plus $9/month, and .Mac doesn't even appear to allow that much data storage, maxing out at 30 GB. If I had money to burn, I'd lean towards Photo Shelter since it's geared directly towards backup and archiving use. As it is, Flickr remains the best option for me, but your mileage may vary as they say.
Comments/corrections with your preferred online backup solution are encouraged.
