Gary Sheynkman
10-04-2004, 05:00 PM
<img src="http://www.digitalmediathoughts.com/images/fotki.bmp" /><br /><br /><b>Product Category:</b> Online Service<br /><b>Manufacturer:</b> <a href="http://www.fotki.com">Fotki</a><br /><b>Where to Buy:</b> <a href="http://www.fotki.com">Fotki</a><br /><b>Price:</b> $30/year USD<br /><b>System Requirements:</b> Internet connection<br /><br /><b>Pros:</b><li>Unlimited storage;<br /><li>Unlimited bandwidth;<br /><li>Co-branding;<br /><li>Great prints.<b>Cons:</b><ul><li>None</ul><b>Summary:</b><br />So you have enough photos to cover up the Great Wall. You delete important system files in order to get enough space for one more picture of your last night out. You have attended support groups for people who have too many photographs. First, you need help. Second, you need Fotki.<br /><br />Read on for the full review!<!><br /><PAGEBREAK><br /><span><b>What is it?</b></span><br />Let us get the easy part out of the way. Fotki is an online storage service that allows you to store thousands of photos and order prints of various sizes from them. The word Fotki is Russian (or many other Slavic based languages) for photos, although it is a more colloquial iteration of the word. I guess a good translation would be “pics.” <br /><br /><span><b>How does it all work?</b></span><br />Once you have signed up for an account (either free or premium) you will have access to your own area where you can upload photos and order prints. There are multiple ways to upload your pictures. The hard way is uploading your photos one by one. The other and more efficient way is to download a utility that creates a category in the “Publish these files to the Web” menu on your Windows XP computer. This process is quick and painless. You can create folders, subfolders, and albums without even opening your browser and then just leave your computer to upload all the selected pictures. Speed will vary greatly depending on your connection, so if you have a 56k connection, better go get lunch. <br /><br /> <img src="http://www.digitalmediathoughts.com/images/screen%20fotki%201.JPG" /><br /><i>Figure 1: Uploading your photos is a breeze with the Windows upload utility and a Fotki plug-in.</i> <br /><br />Next comes the printing. You can print your average 4x6 photos for $.19 USD a pop. A small shipping charge is tacked on at the top and your pictures are in the mail within 48 hours. Your photographs arrive in a sturdy white envelope within the specified date. Another neat feature of printing is that you can make money from other people who want that cool artistic photo or just find you so attractive they must have you in print. Custom prices are a breeze to set up and you can set individual prices for all photographs. That right, you beautiful shot of the sky can be valued higher than a picture of Aunt Sally in her bathing suit during last summer’s family reunion. <br /><br /><span><b>What about other people?</b></span><br />As a member, you have several layers of viewing allowance to give out. You can make your account completely private, accessible only through a password, viewable only by “buddies”, viewable only by Fotki members, and accessible to all who please as well. You can even go as far as making certain folders or just albums private so that when your Aunt Sally goes to view the reunion photos she does not stumble upon the album with you “at the club.” Other notable visitor features are the ability to comment on any viewable photos as well as leave comments in the account owner’s guest book. Another great feature of Fotki is the PFS. Provided with a broadband connection and the latest version of Java, you can share your media files with anyone you wish. This perk will not cost you anything if you are a Premium member.<br /><br /> <img src="http://www.digitalmediathoughts.com/images/screen%20fotki%202.JPG" /><br /><i>Figure 1: This is the basic interface. You can see this very account at <a href="http://public.fotki.com/Sheynkman/">http://public.fotki.com/Sheynkman/</a>. You can see that my family related photos are locked while my other albums and folders are not.</i> <br /><br /><span><b>Can I integrate Fotki into my site?</b></span><br />Yes! Take <a href="www.dpreview.com">www.dpreview.com</a> for example. This site is one of the leaders in Digital Camera reviews and has a very large full size sample gallery that has images ranging anywhere from 1 mega pixel ultra compacts to 8 mega pixel juggernauts. This site runs very smoothly and owes its gallery section to the efficiency and features of Fotki. This means that anyone with minor web development knowledge can create a great personal site that will include all the pictures you could ever want to host.<br /><br /><span><b>Any other cool features?</b></span><br />For starters, you get a 100mb email account with the Premium membership. It is no match for Gmail, my personal favourite, but it does the job well. Another plus is the fact that Fotki allows linking. Services such as Image Station do not allow people to post pictures from account in forums. Fotki on the other hand, allows you to do it all. Another plus is something the competitor Smug Mug is missing: unlimited bandwidth. There is no cap on how many times people visit your album, the idea is so simple, yet so many companies get it wrong.<br /><br /><span><b>So doctor, what is your prognosis?</b></span><br />If you are a casual photographer and want a convenient way to print and share your photos, get Fotki. If you are a professional who needs tons of space and wants to sell his or her work, get Fotki. If you are somewhere in between, you should also get Fotki. The $30 USD a year are well worth the benefits this service delivers.