Web-Based Photo Services Compared

[Suhit Gupta]

<div class='os_post_top_link'><a href='http://reviews.digitaltrends.com/guide82.html' target='_blank'>http://reviews.digitaltrends.com/guide82.html</a><br /><br /></div><i>"With the overwhelming popularity of digital cameras these days it is easy to take hundreds of digital photos at a time and then not know how to share them with others. Emailing batches of photos or snail mailing memory cards aside, an easier option exists in the form of online photo sharing and storage web sites. These sites usually offer for free or a very small charge, the ability to store quite a few photos as well as letting you set up public or private folders with which to organize and share your pictures with others. We’ve picked out some of the more popular sites and listed them for you here in no particular order along with a basic overview of features to help you get started in choosing the best photo site for your needs."</i><br /><br /><img src="http://www.digitalmediathoughts.com/images/photobucket.jpg" /><br /><br />I have tried all the services in the article except Photobucket and off the ones I have tried, I really do feel that Flickr is well ahead of the rest, at least in terms of features. It is not that I am just supporting the most banal service, it is more that I find Flickr leading the way in terms of innovation in the field. Would any of you disagree with me here?

[Vincent Ferrari]

Yep.

Wholeheartedly.

Zooomr is way more innovative than flickr.

1. They were the first to have real geotagging integrated into the service.
2. They have trackbacks for photos so you can tell who's linking them.
3. They created portals which are kinda like pictures in pictures but more than that.
4. They have smartsets that compile your images based on criteria you select.
5. Zooomr is 100% free with no limits for all customers.

In Mark III, the upcoming release they'll allow you to sell your photos and keep 90% of the proceeds. They're also adding a bunch of new stuff, some of which I know about and I promise you it's going to be more than innovative; it's going to be flat out unrivalled.

Flickr, on the other hand, seems somewhat stagnant as far as new features goes. The "community" aspect is highly overrated, and the fact that they're just now allowing sets of sets is proof that it takes a hell of a long time and they don't listen to their users (when they launched it they said that it was the most requested feature over the last few years. Why did it take so damn long then?).

Understand, I'm not biased against flickr. I think it's great, but as far as innovation goes, services like SmugMug, Zooomr, and even Tabblo (to a lesser degree) are way ahead.