SAVING PHOTOGRAPHS TO DVD

Please can someone give me a little guidance. I'm a wedding and portrait

photographer using a Canon 5D. All my photographs are saved to the computer

but obviously I want them backed up on disk aswell. I have a little problem,

as I would like to save the Originals and the edited versions onto disk but

normal CD's just arent big enough. My only alternative is DVD's I think, but

I cant work out how to do this - as NERO burner does let me burn straight to

DVD.

 

Can anyone advise me on what software I need and where I can get this from -

free software would be great, which I could download and use straight away.

 

Thanks to all that read this,

 

Helen

>>free software would be great<<

 

NERO does allow burning to DVD. You must have an old version.

 

As a wedding photographer you should be able to afford the upgrade. Also, WIN XP PRO/MEDIA have a built-in DVD burning utility.

Hi there,

 

I have Nero Version 5, it doesnt allow me to do it (unless I am not looking in the right place)

 

Some people have mentioned not to back up on DVD but to use an external hardrive, but i am not sure what the thoughts are on this.

 

Helen

Helen,

 

I've been using Photoshop Elements 4 for backup to DVD. I've used Nero, too.

 

 

--

 

Don E

I back up to DVD using Nero (Version 6) all the time. But hard-disk backup sounds like a good idea, too.

keep in mind that the shelf life of a burned cd/dvd is about 2 years. If this is not ok, consider an external hard drive, either firewire or usb.

Harddrives do not last forever either. You need a backup and migration strategy for your images. I suffered a harddisk crash last week. If I had not backed up everything on Cds and HDDs I would have lost ALL images!

Helen --- "All my photographs are saved to the computer but obviously I want them backed up on disk"

 

This single sentence should let the alarm-bells ring very very loud.

A hardware failure isn't something that just happens to those who weren't 'careful enough'. It can strike you any time. And not having a

backup is like 'tickleing the devil at his tail'.

 

As mentioned above, burning to DVD is ok, but should not be

considered as a reliable backup. Depending on the longevity you

expect, you should consider to backup to external harddrives as well.

Another point with backup is, you should do it regularly, and it shouldn't feel like a burdon (because if it does, you don't backup regularly in the long run). So it should be something 'convenient'.

Something you can start and move away for a while and when you come back it's finished and done. And that is copying to external drives (along with SW that synchronises directories).

 

Neither DVDs nor external harddrives live forever, so in some years you will have to copy your data to a new media ... but still with external harddrives copying the old external drive to a new external harddrive is very convenient (just plug both drives in, and copy one to the other) as compared to copying a large pile of DVDs.

 

So, if it's just for the backup, I would consider external drives.

 

If you decide for DVDs ... write 2 DVDs (of differnet brands) of each session you backup, and verify the content of both.

 

Rainer

We run big RAIDs and do incremental backups to tape. It's the only way to be sure. You won't appreciate it until you have a major crash.

 

I suspect there will be a lot of discussions, requests for help in a few years as home or small business digital imaging hits the wall with storage/crash/backup issues. BIG discs just mean more lost when it fails. :(

First of all, you should update to the latest version of Nero - Version 7. You can do this for about half price, on-line. Secondly, V5 will allow you to burn a DVD, if you have a DVD burner. You simply designate the medium and file type when you open a new project in Nero.

 

Since you files are under 2G in size, you should use the ISO file structure in the DVD, rather than UDF. This gives you more flexibility in naming and is easier to use.

 

Once you open a Nero project, simply copy files to the project window using the Nero file browzer, or drag-and-drop or copy-paste from Windows Explorer.

 

You should avoid software that allows you to use a CD or DVD like a floppy drive - copying files as you go. This is an unreliable way to go, causing loss of data, and the format can only be read by the software that generates it. Make your discs in a disc-at-once fashion, and be sure to check the "verify" box for quality control.

 

Not all DVDs or CDs are equal. I find that MAM (formerly Mitsui) CDs and Taiyo Yuden DVD+R (or DVD-R) discs give the fewest errors and are available in quantity. As a recording engineer, I make thousands of discs a year. I have CDs over ten years old that are easily readable. On the other hand, I have about one hard drive failure a year. CDs and DVDs don't fade in our lifetime - bad discs were either physically damaged or burned badly (hence the need for quality control).

Your original problem may be simply that when you start Nero you have overloaded the setting at the top of the first screen where you can select which device you wish to use. If your device is a CD/DVD writer it will be listed twice. First as a CD writer then a second separate entry as a DVD writer. The default is the first entry. Choosing the second may be all you need to do to write to DVDs.

 

Theresa

DVDs are not archival. Not even close UNLESS you use gold DVDs. Pricey but the only way to go. Do a Google.

Mitsui is the only manufacturer. Many dist points.

http://www.amazon.com/gp/search/ref=pd_sl_aw_tops-1_blended_14091996_2/002-1030179-9052854?search-alias=aps&keywords=gold%20dvd

Whatever you do stay away from RITEK/RIDATA/ARITA media, they are the worse!

I dissagree with a lot of the above

1.I always backup raws on pc HD

2. I always backup on a Ritec DVD(have done so for over 4 years and had no problems with discs)

3 I have a external HD and do use it but it is so easy to lose data on any HD which is why I use DVD

4 I use a free programme called Stomp its the dogs bo*****ks and will make cds or dvds

If you have some space left over on the DVD, you can fill it up with parity information using a utility such as QuickPar that can used to recover corrupt files.

 

The best optical media is made in Japan. The brands do not matter; they are distributors.