Cloud-based video/photo storage solutions?
March 14, 2016 2:51 PM Subscribe
I'd like to have quick access to all of my photos and videos on my Mac and on my iPhone. The issue is that my photo/video collection is now getting larger than my Mac's internal HD. What are some options for me?
I've been mostly a fan of Apple's iCloud Photo Library - I can access all of my stuff on all my devices, which is my goal. I love the ability to do intelligent searches ("Tokyo, 2008") on my phone and find the exact images I'm looking for.
The problem with it is that 50% of the time I try to load videos from iCloud, and 15% of the time I try to load photos from iCloud, it's either spectacularly slow or never loads.
For the moment, that's been OK, since I still have local copies on my laptop. But my photo library is getting larger than my laptop can handle, and without local copies of my stuff, I worry that I won't be able to get access to a video I'd like to see when I want to see it. So are there other, better cloud-based options that integrate well with Macs and iPhones?
I've been mostly a fan of Apple's iCloud Photo Library - I can access all of my stuff on all my devices, which is my goal. I love the ability to do intelligent searches ("Tokyo, 2008") on my phone and find the exact images I'm looking for.
The problem with it is that 50% of the time I try to load videos from iCloud, and 15% of the time I try to load photos from iCloud, it's either spectacularly slow or never loads.
For the moment, that's been OK, since I still have local copies on my laptop. But my photo library is getting larger than my laptop can handle, and without local copies of my stuff, I worry that I won't be able to get access to a video I'd like to see when I want to see it. So are there other, better cloud-based options that integrate well with Macs and iPhones?
WebFaction + OwnCloud
posted by humboldt32 at 4:03 PM on March 14, 2016
posted by humboldt32 at 4:03 PM on March 14, 2016
Google Photos is pretty cool, and it costs nothing (if you let it recompress some of your photos) so it's worth a short to see if you like it. The search is pretty great, and I like that photos I take anywhere all go there, whether from my desktop, laptop, phone, or wherever, and I can make shared albums that other (authorised) people can contribute to - good for pictures of my kid, for instance.
posted by The Monkey at 4:11 PM on March 14, 2016
posted by The Monkey at 4:11 PM on March 14, 2016
I use Google Drive/Photos but the paid option that gives 1TB for a year. I like it because I can upload all of my camera's raw files to Google Drive as a tertiary back-up and it will automatically make them accessible as photos. Also auto-awesome is a fun feature. If you download the Photos app for iOS then it can automatically backup all your photos and videos on your phone as well.
I also use Flickr and Microsoft's OneDrive, but I get the most use out of Google Drive/Photos.
posted by any portmanteau in a storm at 4:50 PM on March 14, 2016
I also use Flickr and Microsoft's OneDrive, but I get the most use out of Google Drive/Photos.
posted by any portmanteau in a storm at 4:50 PM on March 14, 2016
We use the Amazon Photo app, which continuously uploads your photos and videos to Amazon’s cloud storage. Unlimited photo storage is free for Amazon Prime members ($20 a year otherwise). If you also have a lot of videos, you might have to spring for the $60 a year plan (we did). Use the Amazon Cloud Drive web application to upload any other pictures you take with a camera that’s not a phone. The iPhone app and the web app provide a pretty nice browse and display.
I also use Flickr, but that's more for display of select items (to share holiday pictures with the grandparents, for example) than for storage of everything.
posted by kzwa at 1:32 PM on March 16, 2016 [1 favorite]
I also use Flickr, but that's more for display of select items (to share holiday pictures with the grandparents, for example) than for storage of everything.
posted by kzwa at 1:32 PM on March 16, 2016 [1 favorite]
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posted by H. Roark at 3:13 PM on March 14, 2016