Digital assets, photos, videos and music are valuable and much more vulnerable than film, tape or vinyl. A hard drive failure can wipe out years of memories not to mention music and movies. Remember, all hard drives die. Learn how your data can survive! Preserving digital assets webinar this Thursday at 3:00 p.m. EDT/Noon PDT There are solutions to protect our valuable files living on computers or external drives. During this webinar your host, Kevin Ames, Photofocus managing editor and Drobo Pro Ambassador, teams up with industry expert and … [Read more...] about Live Webinar: Preserving digital assets — 3:00 p.m. EDT, Thursday, June 27, 2019
Drobo
The difference between cloud storage and cloud backup
A successful 3-2-1 Backup Plan (Three copies of your data: Two stored locally, one stored offsite) includes one copy of your data stored offsite preferably in the cloud. This has led to confusion between cloud storage and cloud backup. Here’s the difference between the two and why you should consider using cloud backup as part of your 3-2-1 Backup solution. Cloud storage and cloud backup are not the same Don’t let the word cloud fool you. Cloud storage is not the same as cloud backup. Dropbox, Google Drive, or MediaFire are great inexpensive … [Read more...] about The difference between cloud storage and cloud backup
Big, fast, protected storage is here! The Drobo 8D
Creating photographs is a lot of exciting fun. Making sure all of those images are stored safely is another matter altogether. Photographers, myself included, love making images both behind the camera and in front of the computer. We want all of them in a place that sends them to the computer at high speed while still offering protection against hard drive failure. Oh. It has to have enough room for years, even decades of photos and, yes, we want that for our video too. Let's get the disclosures out of the way up front. I received one of the … [Read more...] about Big, fast, protected storage is here! The Drobo 8D
Are your photos safe in the cloud? Two cautionary tales
"I'm good. All my photos are stored in the cloud." Have you said this? Have you heard someone else utter these words when bragging about having everything backed up? I certainly have. It is time to reconsider cloud storage. Here are two, fairly short stories to think about concerning storing photographs and videos or any other content in the cloud. One of them is a personal experience. Digital Railroad (DRR) Digital Railroad was a website that provided its photographer members with archiving services and a marketplace where customers could … [Read more...] about Are your photos safe in the cloud? Two cautionary tales
Big, fast protected storage! Drobo introduces the 8D
Pictures and videos are getting larger and people are creating more and more of them. As the size and number of photos — moving or still — grows, the need for fast, protected storage does as well. Drobo 8D — big, fast, protected storage available today While size certainly matters when it comes to holding the terabytes of photos and videos that seem to increase all on their own, it's critical to have all of those memories or work product for that matter, stored in a way that when (not if) a hard drive fails the data is protected and … [Read more...] about Big, fast protected storage! Drobo introduces the 8D
Drobo & Nexsan become part of StorCentric
Drobo, world-renowned maker of protected storage enclosure and Nexsan a global leader in enterprise storage have been acquired by StorCentric. Drobo & Nexsan remain independent business units StorCentric is headed by Drobo CEO Mihir Shah. The company's Drobo unit will serve storage needs for both prosumers, small and medium businesses with storage needs greater that is cost effective with cloud solutions. Nexan will serve enterprise customers with much larger storage requirements. Read the press release here. (Editor's note: I am a … [Read more...] about Drobo & Nexsan become part of StorCentric
When It’s Time to Start Over: Resetting a Drobo
After I migrated my Drobo gen. 3 device to a 5D3, it worked flawlessly for two days. Then, after a brief power outage, I was no longer able to mount my Drobo to my desktop. It was seen with the Drobo Dashboard app, but the hard drives would not mount. A Little History Prior to my 5D3 upgrade, I had several problems with my Drobo and iMac. It took me a while to figure it out, but the power strip and iMac power cable I was using were not providing enough power. This was causing both the Drobo and iMac to reboot at least once a week. After a … [Read more...] about When It’s Time to Start Over: Resetting a Drobo
Migrating Data to a New Drobo Device
After several years with my trusty Drobo generation 3 RAID, it was starting to give me a few issues. And after trying all the troubleshooting steps and contacting support, I realized it was time for a new machine. Since my last Drobo purchase, much has changed. Drobo has introduced devices that use USB-C and Thunderbolt 3, offering optimum speeds and performance. I chose to go with the top-of-the-line Drobo 5D3, which offers a connection through the included Thunderbolt 3/USB-C cable. Because my 2015 iMac didn't have Thunderbolt 3 or … [Read more...] about Migrating Data to a New Drobo Device
World Backup Day | March 31, 2018
World Backup Day is set aside as a reminder to backup your files, even if it’s once a year! Unfortunately, most people don’t think to backup their files until they face a hard drive crash--and yes even solid-state drives will eventually fail–or they simply don’t know how. I’ve already made you aware to backup your files, now here’s how. Follow the 3-2-1 Backup Plan The 3-2-1 Backup concept--three copies of your files, two stored on different media and one backup copy offsite--has been around for years. It’s foolproof if you follow the simple … [Read more...] about World Backup Day | March 31, 2018
Canon 5D: 12 Years & 5 Cameras
(Editor's note: This is a guest post from our friends at MPB.com a great place for photographers and videographers to buy quality used gear as well as to see thier old equipment.) Canon's 5D series Canon's 5D series of cameras has been revolutionary its inception. The original 5D was the one of the first full-frame digital cameras--one of the first to have a sensor the same size as 35mm film--and it was a relatively affordable price. Each iteration on from the Mark I, with the exception of maybe the Mark IV, there has been some aspect of the … [Read more...] about Canon 5D: 12 Years & 5 Cameras
5 Excuses for Not Buying a RAID Backup
Imagine losing every image you have ever taken of your child, your wife, a family member that has passed away, that beautiful sunset in Hawaii, all of your client’s images...you get the point. Are you feeling sick to your stomach, especially knowing it could have been prevented? The good news, it’s not too late. If you have more than 6TB of data, you need to invest in a RAID backup. Here are 5 common excuse people make for not buying a RAID Backup and 5 solutions to help you make the right choice. 1. I Don't Understand Why I Need a RAID … [Read more...] about 5 Excuses for Not Buying a RAID Backup
Drobo’s Fast New Thunderbolt 3 Enclosure
Today, Drobo is shipping their newest model of protected storage device, the 5D3. It's a 5 bay enclosure that has two of the newest Thunderbolt 3 ports as well as a USBC port for desktop attached storage (DAS.) The 5D3, like all Drobos, is super easy to set up. Open the box, connect the 5D3 as shown in the quick start guide. Download and install the current version of Drobo Dashboard. Turn on the new 5D3. Drobo Dashboard updates the unit's firmware. Add at least two hard drives of any size and it's ready to go. What's new? The 5D3 has an … [Read more...] about Drobo’s Fast New Thunderbolt 3 Enclosure
Photographers will eventually NEED a RAID System
When a hard drive fails, it can wreak havoc on your work day. Let me share with you how, in 2010, I built a reliable, cost-effective storage solution that grew over the years as I grew—saving me time and money. Redundant Array of Independent Disks (RAID) RAID sounds scary, but it’s just a way of configuring several hard drives together to act like one super hard drive. There are several different “levels” of RAID—each offering its own unique benefits. The good news: products such as Western Digital My Book, Synology and, of course, Drobo, … [Read more...] about Photographers will eventually NEED a RAID System
Protected Storage: How to Move from JBOD to RAID
Arguably, making the move from just a bunch of disks (JBOD) to a RAID like those I use from Drobo, is where to start? That's simple. Answer this question: How much storage will be needed to house the data on all of those drives? Label each drive with a number Determining the space required means finding out how much space has been used on each drive. Begin with some masking tape. Put a strip on each drive. Now, number them starting with 1. Next, grab a sheet of paper or if you prefer make a spread sheet. List the number of each drive on the … [Read more...] about Protected Storage: How to Move from JBOD to RAID
How Much Speed Does a Photographer Need
It's the age old question since we've started to shoot digital. How can I make my workflow faster? More efficient? Or more importantly, how can I get more free time and peace of mind? Well, here's where I hopefully can help out a little. I was lucky enough to get my hands on the DROBO 5D with a couple of Seagate 2TB SATA HDD's to do some long term testing for my photo and video production workflow...and the short answer to the question? As much as we can get our hands on! The Nitty Gritty / Tech Details The Drobo 5D is a USB3 and Dual … [Read more...] about How Much Speed Does a Photographer Need
Using a Drobo 5N to Allow Access to a Lightroom Catalog on Multiple Computers
More and more I hear from people who want to be able to use a single Lightroom catalog of the same photos on more than one computer (not surprising in 2016). While there isn’t a perfect solution (that I am aware of), there are some techniques worth investigating. Now, before I go further I have a caveat, which is that this is not a solution everyone needs, and Lightroom is still designed to work best for a single user with a single catalog on a single computer. That said, if you want to take a walk on the wild side, then let’s go … The most … [Read more...] about Using a Drobo 5N to Allow Access to a Lightroom Catalog on Multiple Computers
Drobo migration from Drobo to Drobo5D
Since I've gotten a Drobo, I have to say, I really enjoy it. It's nice having a user friendly RAID array of drives not just for the capacity they provide, but for the data protection they provide. In case you're wondering about more reasons why you'd want one, check out this previous Photofocus article here. So I've been dragging my feet on this for quite a while. I know I've needed to do it, but for fear of it being a "big deal" I've been putting off migrating and updating from my Drobo Generation 3 to my new Drobo 5D. "It's the busy … [Read more...] about Drobo migration from Drobo to Drobo5D
The Drobo 5C’s performance, from a budget conscious perspective.
There's a new box on the block! It is a whole lot more affordable and all of what we'd expect in terms of quality from Drobo. Bottom Line: The 5C is an affordable, super simple and easy to use, expandable, directly-attached storage device that can hold up to five 3.5" drives of various brands and capacities for computers that may or may not use USB-C. This magic black box is purposefully featuring a USB-C port for all those who are early adopters, but also features backward compatibility with USB 3.0 over USB-A as well as many other … [Read more...] about The Drobo 5C’s performance, from a budget conscious perspective.
Lightroom Live: Workflow Strategies for Multiple Computers with Mark Fuccio
You gotta join us live for our next Lightroom Live, totally free of charge. Not only will you learn terrific techniques, but if you tune in live, you can be entered to win excellent prizes to help you in your work. (Note: MUST BE TUNED IN LIVE TO WIN). We'll be giving away a copy of Perfectly Clear from Athentech. Plus you never know what else. We kick off Monday, November 7th at 1:00 pm Eastern, 12:00 pm Central, 11:00 am Mountain, and 10:00 am Pacific. 2:30 pm in Newfoundland. Check out the YouTube event here and it'll show your … [Read more...] about Lightroom Live: Workflow Strategies for Multiple Computers with Mark Fuccio
Repurposing Old Equipment: Hard Drives
In my first year of photography, I shot more than 100,000 pictures, which yielded two results: my photography got better quickly, and my computer's hard drive filled up with picture files. Over the last, I've bought several external hard drives to store and even backup my pictures. Eventually, I bought RAID systems to protect my photos. But these also filled up! Nowadays, I use Drobos to store and protect my pictures, and when drives fill up I can just swap them with a new bigger drive. But what should I do with all those old drives? They're … [Read more...] about Repurposing Old Equipment: Hard Drives
Lightroom Live: Workflow Strategies for Multiple Computers with Mark Fuccio
You gotta join us live for our next Lightroom Live, totally free of charge. Not only will you learn terrific techniques, but if you tune in live, you can be entered to win excellent prizes to help you in your work. (Note: MUST BE TUNED IN LIVE TO WIN). We'll be giving away a copy of Perfectly Clear from Athentech. Plus you never know what else. We kick off Monday, November 7th at 1:00 pm Eastern, 12:00 pm Central, 11:00 am Mountain, and 10:00 am Pacific. 2:30 pm in Newfoundland. Check out the YouTube event here and it'll show your … [Read more...] about Lightroom Live: Workflow Strategies for Multiple Computers with Mark Fuccio
Building a Bulletproof Backup
First, let's be clear. Bulletproof is not Fail Safe. In the real world of shooting with guns, bulletproof doesn't exist. The term is "bullet resistant." The idea behind the "bulletproof" vest is to give the person wearing it a chance to survive what would be an otherwise fatal encounter. Photographs and the rest of our digital media want as bullet resistant backup system as feasible. There are two primary factors that weigh in on just how bulletproof our backup workflow is--time and money. Time & Money Creating a backup workflow must … [Read more...] about Building a Bulletproof Backup
Don’t Miss Today’s Free Webinar: Never Lose a Photo When You’re Traveling
A reminder, we've got a great free webinar today all about traveling and taking pictures. You can watch the event for free live (and ask questions) or just bookmark this post and watch the replay. When: Today, Tuesday, October 11, 2016 at 2:00 pm ET | 11:00 am PT Where: Visit this page to sign in to view (or watch the video below). You must be present to win and ask questions. Why: To learn how to travel safe and never lose a picture or video again. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m5t9nO3lf7s A Mobile Storage Workflow for … [Read more...] about Don’t Miss Today’s Free Webinar: Never Lose a Photo When You’re Traveling
Never Lose a Photo When You’re Traveling
Taking your camera on the road can add all sorts of extra challenges. Being away from home or office leads to all sorts of bad backups, putting your pictures at risk. In this free webinar we tackle how to keep your images safe when you're on the road. Would you like to NEVER lose a photo again? It's possible if you join us for our next webinar.We'll tackle a whole bunch of important topics whether you travel for work or pleasure. A Mobile Storage Workflow for Photographers Join us for this month's hangout. We'll be tackling A Mobile … [Read more...] about Never Lose a Photo When You’re Traveling
Introducing the Drobo 5C
Drobo's newest entry into affordable, safe storage--the Drobo 5C is available today. What's new? Watch my interview with Drobo CEO Mihir Shah and Chief Technology Officer Rod Harrison as they present the new 5C. https://vimeo.com/185221618 Features The big news is the Drobo 5C adds another drive bay and it sports the ultra high speed USB C connector. USB C boasts Read performance of up to 241 megabytes per second (220MB/Sec average) and write speed up to 261 MB/sec (average 255 MB/Sec.) The 5C officially retires Drobo's venerable 4 bay … [Read more...] about Introducing the Drobo 5C
Mirroring Your Photo Library to a Second Drive and the Cloud
The process of backing up refers to the copying and archiving of computer data so it may be used to restore the original after a data-loss event. Having a backup system in place can provide peace of mind; however that peacefulness will be short lived if you have chosen the wrong backup setting. Choosing between Syncing, Mirroring, Copying and Full Backup can become confusing since they are all considered a form of backup—each offering unique benefits. Using mirroring as the backup option, here’s an easy-to-understand solution to keep your photo … [Read more...] about Mirroring Your Photo Library to a Second Drive and the Cloud
Drobo Webinar Why Safe Storage is Good Business for Photographers
Now available on YouTube, Photofocus publisher, Rich Harrington hosts Mark Fuccio, VP of Product Development at Drobo and me, photographer and Photofocus author, Kevin Ames in a lively discussion about the business of safe storage and the challenges photographers and videographers face in managing terabytes of images. Discussion points They begin with an explanation of "Safe Storage" using a working drive and multiple copies as backups. Backup strategies and software are talked about as well as how a Drobo differs from Just A Bunch of Disks … [Read more...] about Drobo Webinar Why Safe Storage is Good Business for Photographers
Fixing Three Common Workflow Problems with the Drobo 5N
Well… It’s a pretty exciting day here at SharkPixel and Washington DC Headshots. I am finally upgrading my storage “situation” thanks to the amazing people over at Drobo. John Harrington once told me, there are two types of photographers in this world; people who have had a drive fail and people that will. So when I was asked to review the set-up process as a person who was completely unfamiliar with any of Drobo’s products previously in exchange for a Drobo 5N unit, I jumped at the opportunity. In this article, you’ll see how the Drobo 5N … [Read more...] about Fixing Three Common Workflow Problems with the Drobo 5N
Free Webinar: Why Safe Storage is Good Business for Photographers
Would you like to NEVER lose a photo again? It's possible if you join us for our next webinar. Our next webinar covers important strategies on how to keep your photos and video safe (especially if you make money off your images). This webinar will share practical advice for photographers and videographers from pros Kevin Ames and Rich Harrington. Also joining them is hard drive guru Mark Fuccio. Why Safe Storage is Good Business for Photographers Join us for this month's hangout. We'll be tackling Why Safe Storage is Good Business … [Read more...] about Free Webinar: Why Safe Storage is Good Business for Photographers
Drobo 5N User Review–It’ll Make You A Superhero
12You've probably had the experience of a client calling with an urgent need for a photo that you have in your image library (which, of course, is safely backed up using a Drobo or other RAID/NAS system). You'd be happy to help your client, but the picture is on the drive at the office, or at home, and you're traveling and won't be back for a week. Normally, you'd have to say, "I'm sorry, I can't help you until Monday." However, if you're using the Drobo 5N, you've got a solid way to help your client and solidify yourself as a superhero in … [Read more...] about Drobo 5N User Review–It’ll Make You A Superhero
