Google Photos Now Offers Unlimited Storage

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Google Photos now offers unlimited storage. The free service also automatically organizes your pictures in to preselected categories as well.

With Google Photos, you can now backup and store unlimited, high-quality photos and videos, for free. We maintain the original resolution up to 16MP for photos, and 1080p high-definition for videos, and store compressed versions of the photos and videos in beautiful, print-quality resolution.
 
Well shit.. I just might get off OneDrive then. OneDrive was beating Google Drive's ass bloody with the space which OneDrive was offering 1TB of backup. Problem was I couldn't share the folder with anyone else that easily.
 
Well shit.. I just might get off OneDrive then. OneDrive was beating Google Drive's ass bloody with the space which OneDrive was offering 1TB of backup. Problem was I couldn't share the folder with anyone else that easily.

Google is still counting Hi-Res pictures toward your storage limit. I'll stick with OneDrive for now.
 
Well shit.. I just might get off OneDrive then. OneDrive was beating Google Drive's ass bloody with the space which OneDrive was offering 1TB of backup. Problem was I couldn't share the folder with anyone else that easily.

Last I used them for photo's, they converted every image I had to jpeg. Sure the resolution was nice and high but all my photos were fucked because they were originally png etc.I no longer use their service due to this and it's not changed AFAIK.
 
Last I used them for photo's, they converted every image I had to jpeg. Sure the resolution was nice and high but all my photos were fucked because they were originally png etc.I no longer use their service due to this and it's not changed AFAIK.

It seems this is still true. From the link:

We maintain the original resolution up to 16MP for photos, and 1080p high-definition for videos, and store compressed versions of the photos and videos in beautiful, print-quality resolution.

And from their help page:

You can choose between 2 storage sizes to back up your photos and videos to your Google Photos library.

High quality
  • Unlimited free storage
  • Regular cameras: Recommended for phones or point-and-shoot cameras that are 16 megapixels (MP) or less.
  • Uses: Good for typical printing and sharing.
  • Size: Save high-quality photos and videos while reducing size.

Original
  • Limited free storage: Uses your Google Account's 15 GB of free storage. Check my storage
  • DSLR cameras: Recommended if you take photos with a DSLR camera and want to maintain the exact original quality.
  • Uses: Recommended for printing large banners or to store your original files.
  • Size: Store your photos and videos exactly as you captured them.
 
No RAW support as well as limiting resolution to 16MP makes less than great for backing up.
 
That pic in the ad covers all the ethnic groups: black guy, asian chick, mixed black chick with curly hair, mixed black chick with straight hair, neckbeard, indian dude, pasty white girl, and normal looking white stoner guy
 
High quality
  • Unlimited free storage
  • Regular cameras: Recommended for phones or point-and-shoot cameras that are 16 megapixels (MP) or less.
  • Uses: Good for typical printing and sharing.
  • Size: Save high-quality photos and videos while reducing size.

So much for the free space.
It might be ok for a lot of my vacation/family photos, although even with these I'd be concerned about losing quality if they re-compressing them at a higher ration.
But, the panoramic photos and all my old 35mm scans are higher, so it would lower the quality.
 
Anyone know if this integrates with Google Drive? It doesn't look like it, looks like the crappy google+ photo interface.

Bugs the begeebus out of me that I can't store/sort/edit these files with any app I want, especially if it's going against my Drive storage limit.

How freaking hard is it to just show the files in a "Pictures" folder?

So basically I created a Pictures folder and use a 3rd party tool to upload my phone and GFs phone photos to Google Drive... We then use Picasa to edit, sort blah blah blah which does everything on a file level. It is asinine that google's own products barely integrate.

Its stuff like this that makes me consider going to Apple... (can't believe I said that)
 
It just means google has found away to make enough money from your plethora of duck-selfies.
 
About time someone added intelligence to managing/categorizing, backing up and sharing pictures.
 
Anyone know if this integrates with Google Drive?

Yes it integrates with Google Drive. I believe they are moving away from Google+ for photos because its just plain stupid. Also the automatic organization of the Photos from the Android app is freaking awesome...
 
Yes it integrates with Google Drive. I believe they are moving away from Google+ for photos because its just plain stupid. Also the automatic organization of the Photos from the Android app is freaking awesome...

Fuck Photos. I want the old Gallery app back
 
Last I used them for photo's, they converted every image I had to jpeg. Sure the resolution was nice and high but all my photos were fucked because they were originally png etc.I no longer use their service due to this and it's not changed AFAIK.

OMG the horror of jpeg artifacts. people need to learn when to use jpeg and when to not. This is clearly a old obsolete way of thinking jpeg goes with everything.
 
All my PNGs are intact. Maybe you aren't downloading the original file but a proxy instead?
 
I've been using Amazon Cloud Unlimited. Cost a bit, but it handles anything you can throw at it.
 
OMG the horror of jpeg artifacts. people need to learn when to use jpeg and when to not. This is clearly a old obsolete way of thinking jpeg goes with everything.

Photos doesn't give you a choice when storing online...everything is either stored as "Original file" or "High Quality", those are the options. Since I only auto backup my 12.5MP shooter on my phone, I don't care about jpeg that much as that is what I have my camera shoot anyway and it is below 16MP
 
I like most of Google's products but their continual shuffling of what apps do what/where stuff goes is annoying (are my photos on the gallery? Picasa? Google+? Photos?). I am never sure if the latest google product I just began getting used to is going to suddenly get killed/transferred/rebranded.
 
I wouldn't want to store my private photos to some companys server lol.
 
I'm confused with uploading photos to this service. If all I have are old iPhone photos....Shouldn't I just pick original because all of the photos are well below 16 megapixels? Yet when I do this, I'm still getting hit against my storage.

I love all of the organization and search features but for full res backups, I'm still feeling like onedrive is still the one to beat unless I'm doing it all wrong?
 
any good android apps that make copies of then shrink vids/pics for easier texting/uploading but keep high res versions?

anywho that guy has taken neck beard to a whole new level.
 
I'm confused with uploading photos to this service. If all I have are old iPhone photos....Shouldn't I just pick original because all of the photos are well below 16 megapixels? Yet when I do this, I'm still getting hit against my storage.

I love all of the organization and search features but for full res backups, I'm still feeling like onedrive is still the one to beat unless I'm doing it all wrong?

You need to pick "High Quality", not "Original".

https://support.google.com/photos/answer/6220791?p=storage&rd=1

High Quality is for 16MP or less. Original is for wanting to keep the original quality (i.e. really high-res / large photos).
 
So i'm feeling a little conflicted after doing some testing. I just uploaded some photos using the standard high quality setting and there's definitely some compression going on. It's kind of annoying because I was hoping if the photos were 16MP or less then there would be no need to further compress the photo.

For example I uploaded a photo that was 8MP 2.42mb and it was compressed to 1.19mb. I also uploaded another photo that was 8MP 2.28mb and it was compressed to 1.19mb. Now the funny thing is that I HONESTLY can't tell a difference between the original and the high quality version. I mean I was zooming in/out all over these photos and googles compression algorithm is like some kind of magic unless I'm really blind.

So end of the day my gut tells me to be pissed that its not retaining the full resolution file but I don't know whether to really care anymore? lol

And yes I know if I'm super nuts about full res photo backup, I can just upload my photos using Googles original setting or use the free 1TB from flickr, Onedrive or whatever else is out there.
 
So i'm feeling a little conflicted after doing some testing. I just uploaded some photos using the standard high quality setting and there's definitely some compression going on. It's kind of annoying because I was hoping if the photos were 16MP or less then there would be no need to further compress the photo.

For example I uploaded a photo that was 8MP 2.42mb and it was compressed to 1.19mb. I also uploaded another photo that was 8MP 2.28mb and it was compressed to 1.19mb. Now the funny thing is that I HONESTLY can't tell a difference between the original and the high quality version. I mean I was zooming in/out all over these photos and googles compression algorithm is like some kind of magic unless I'm really blind.

So end of the day my gut tells me to be pissed that its not retaining the full resolution file but I don't know whether to really care anymore? lol

And yes I know if I'm super nuts about full res photo backup, I can just upload my photos using Googles original setting or use the free 1TB from flickr, Onedrive or whatever else is out there.

I don't blame you one bit, I would be hesitant to allow modification of images cause you can't go back (if using as your photo store). While it looks like no harm now, maybe something in the future is effected by the compression... but than again MAYBE NOT at all.

I pay for Drive space and am well under my limit so I am using original.

If cost or space was more of an issue I would do more research into if the compression effects photos in the way you normally use them...Me I generally am not a photo person but basically would expect to be able to print them out and look decent (just like normal people did with film back in the day).

If I was a photographer then obviously I would have different needs and would probably know what those were lol AND expect to pay more for those needs.

I have been playing around with this and FINALLY android phones can back up photos to Drive natively! You do have to enable the option to show your google photos in Drive, then it will create a "Google Photos" directory and upload your shots to there. I then have a "Pictures" folder that is shared with the girlfriend so she can use picasa to organize the photos.

While not completely "transparent" it is a huge step in the right direction. I am guessing I am just an old school files/folders organizer guy where-as now adays people are messy slobs and just us search.
 
Do any of these have desktop apps for organizing photos, or accessing them without having to download them first? I actually really like Windows Photo Gallery for organization and importing, autotagging and searching, but it has its faults. The benefit, of course, is that it is LOCAL.
 
easier for them to mine and sell if they are all arranged nice and purdy!

Pictures are intended to be shared publicly and socially so I don't care what they do with them in exchange for the free service. If privacy was a concern I wouldn't take the picture.
 
I wouldn't want to store my private photos to some companys server lol.

If you don't want to lose your photos, you back up locally and in the cloud, because you never know when a fire is going to burn your house down and destroy all those images.
 
So i'm feeling a little conflicted after doing some testing. I just uploaded some photos using the standard high quality setting and there's definitely some compression going on. It's kind of annoying because I was hoping if the photos were 16MP or less then there would be no need to further compress the photo.

For example I uploaded a photo that was 8MP 2.42mb and it was compressed to 1.19mb. I also uploaded another photo that was 8MP 2.28mb and it was compressed to 1.19mb. Now the funny thing is that I HONESTLY can't tell a difference between the original and the high quality version. I mean I was zooming in/out all over these photos and googles compression algorithm is like some kind of magic unless I'm really blind.

So end of the day my gut tells me to be pissed that its not retaining the full resolution file but I don't know whether to really care anymore? lol

And yes I know if I'm super nuts about full res photo backup, I can just upload my photos using Googles original setting or use the free 1TB from flickr, Onedrive or whatever else is out there.

Sounds like it's OK if you're just using it to share images, but it's completely unacceptable as a back up service.
 
That pic in the ad covers all the ethnic groups: black guy, asian chick, mixed black chick with curly hair, mixed black chick with straight hair, neckbeard, indian dude, pasty white girl, and normal looking white stoner guy

It's almost like people who experience the real world can be friends with other people of all types... and don't make an attempt to notice whether or not everyone else is the same color as themselves.
 
It's almost like people who experience the real world can be friends with other people of all types... and don't make an attempt to notice whether or not everyone else is the same color as themselves.

It would be exceedingly difficult to actually be friends with that many people of that many backgrounds. Just the way humans run in groups of "people like me', not to mention demographic differences among careers, geography, etc.
 
It would be exceedingly difficult to actually be friends with that many people of that many backgrounds. Just the way humans run in groups of "people like me', not to mention demographic differences among careers, geography, etc.

I guess it depends on where you live, but I've had friends from virtually every ethnic group there is. People really aren't that different, so long as they're from similar socio-economic backgrounds (and even then they're often more similar than different) and roughly the same age.

I look at that picture and I see a bunch of young attractive 20 somethings who are probably from the U.S., CA or EU.
 
uploaded a shit ton of stuff today. started getting throttled.

loading 7,500 images took hours, loading an hour 1080p video took maybe three minutes.

okay.

pretty awesome overall though.
 
All my PNGs are intact. Maybe you aren't downloading the original file but a proxy instead?

Used to not have a choice in the matter. When i used them you backed things up you had choice of original resolution, no file type choice. when you downloaded you only had a download option on their site, no size or type choice and Picasa also only downloaded for sync or uploaded in this format.

Like I said, was a long time ago, but it destroyed my photos once, not keen on tempting it again.
 
Well Google is upto its old shit of killing off apps. If you use Picasa you have until May 1, 2016 before they give it the ax. They are trying to force us to Google Photos. I took one look at it and said hell NO. What a cluster fuck. All my photos that i has organized are scattered every where. Now to try and find a free hosting site for my pics AGAIN.
 
Well Google is upto its old shit of killing off apps. If you use Picasa you have until May 1, 2016 before they give it the ax. They are trying to force us to Google Photos. I took one look at it and said hell NO. What a cluster fuck. All my photos that i has organized are scattered every where. Now to try and find a free hosting site for my pics AGAIN.

Flickr?
 
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