Bests & Worsts Reviews from Amazon

Since Amazon began offering free unlimited photo storage for prime members, I've been backing up all my pics from various computers and from archive drives to the Amazon Cloud. WHAT I LIKE ... * the price, free for Amazon prime customers * pictures are saved at their full size (unlike the free storage on Google Drive) * relatively easy to use * deleted photos remain online in a deleted folder, so that they can later be restored if necessary. There is also a "permanently delete" option. * ability to view photos in chronological order. While traveling, I typically will take photos on my iphone, my tablet, a SLR camera and a pocket camera. Amazon stores just enough metadata to be able to offer you the option of displaying photos chronologically. So, upon returning from a trip, I can upload all the various devices separately and still view the pics in chronological order, without having to first combine the photos from different devices into a single folder. and the most significant benefit for me: * my entire photo library is now available for viewing from all my portable devices! Additionally, the cache utilization can be set so that recently displayed photos remain viewable even without wi-fi access. . WHAT I DISLIKE ... * time to upload. At the 15 mps speed in my home, I get just over 100 photos an hour uploaded. * lack of any way to organize uploaded files. Photos can't be moved between folders nor can folders be renamed. And unless you want to have multiple directories labeled "101Canon," you should name your directories before you start to upload. The same goes for any file names. * while uploading, the software does not display the names of the files being sent or of those folders in the queue, only the total number of photos queued and the number already transferred. * the need to pull any video files out of the folders before uploading. Video storage on Amazon is not free (beyond your initial free 10 GB) and, more importantly, those larger video files take FOREVER to upload. * poor photo editing capabilities. If you'd like to do any editing beyond the basic crop or contrast, I'd suggest you do it elsewhere, before you upload. * limited metadata displayed. You get file name, date taken, date added, file size and image size. Photos are organized by album and can be sorted, either within an album or globally, by either date taken or date uploaded. (I am hoping that Amazon has actually stored all the metadata in the photos I've uploaded and, with enough suggestions to do so, will begin to display all of it.) * occasional uploading issues. 1) If the uploader discovers that a photo being sent has the same name as one already in the target directory, it will stop and await user input before continuing, which sometimes makes it hard to just walk away during the process. 2) an occasion photo will not upload; in these instances, the uploader continues and provides an error message with the photo name. 3) on a couple of occasions, uploading has stopped without explanation beyond a simple error message. In those cases, I've had to open the directory on the Cloud drive, determine what picture in what folder was the last to upload and then upload that directory again, making sure to first remove those photos from the directory that have already been transferred. * occasional duplicates. If you happen to have the same image stored on multiple devices and you upload the image from each device you'll wind up with two copies of the same photo on the cloud (assuming each is coming from a folder with a different name). . Given these limitations, here's the process I've been following with any new photos: 1) Download the photos to my PC 2) Delete and/or edit photos on the PC, using Picasa or any other full-featured photo editor 3) Save the remaining photos in a folder with a descriptive name 4) Upload that folder to the Amazon Cloud, usually overnight. For now, I've been keeping the original directory on my PC, as an additional backup. Despite a few shortcomings, I view photo backup on the Amazon Cloud as a no-brainer, especially for Amazon Prime customers. Unlimited free storage of full-size photos is a deal that can't be beat. No more worry about keeping multiple backups at separate locations. I've already lost one set of family photos to a failed HDD and don't intend to lose another.