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A question about Catalog backup

AgostinoM
If I have a Catalog with originals images stored into it (that is, not referenced images), when C1 performs a backup of the Catalog, are those image files backed up as well?
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Comments

15 comments

Date Votes
  • Permanently deleted user
    I don't think so: all it does is backup the index/structure and store the backups within the catalog container. This is one way to rollback in case the catalog gets corrupted.

    You can easily verify this. On the Mac, C1 catalogs are really packages. Right-click to "Show Package Contents". Within, you'll see the various backups. Do a "Get Info" on one of the backups and check its size. I'll bet you'll see that it's MB large, not 10's of GB.

    If you really want to back everything up, use a program like Carbon Copy Cloner or ChronoSync.

    Also, I'd suggest NOT using managed catalogs. Reason: C1 clearly states that the images are saved within fields in the database in a way not extractable by other programs. Versus Aperture, which stored the original images in a Finder-readable folder structure within the managed catalog's package. OTOH, the images in a referenced library can easily be accessed by LR, AfterShot Pro, Aperture, etc.
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  • George Barron
    [quote="Nature Isme" wrote:
    I don't think so: all it does is backup the index/structure and store the backups within the catalog container. This is one way to rollback in case the catalog gets corrupted.


    This is correct.

    If you really want to back everything up, use a program like Carbon Copy Cloner or ChronoSync.


    Or you can just use Time Machine. It will back up everything including your original images.

    Also, I'd suggest NOT using managed catalogs. Reason: C1 clearly states that the images are saved within fields in the database in a way not extractable by other programs. Versus Aperture, which stored the original images in a Finder-readable folder structure within the managed catalog's package. OTOH, the images in a referenced library can easily be accessed by LR, AfterShot Pro, Aperture, etc.


    This is confusing to me. I import my original images into the Capture One Catalog which means (I think) that they are 'managed' and not 'referenced'. If I right click the Capture One Catalog and open the package there is a file there called "originals" or something to that effect. Buried in a tree of folders organized by date are my original NEF files. I am almost sure these can be opened by any available software, even "Preview". They can also be copied or dragged out of the folders, although dragging them out will make them inaccessible in CO. I can't verify this 100% because I'm not at home but I'm pretty sure I did all of this when I first began my Capture One Catalog. I'll confirm this once I get home.
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  • George Barron
    I went home and checked and can confirm that if you import your originals into the Capture One Catalog you can right-click on your catalog and open the package contents. From there you can open the "Originals" folder and find your original image files. From there you can do whatever you want to with them and they will behave like any other .nef file, or whatever your format is. (Again, if you move them CO may not be able to find them from within CO.)

    So, for basic backup, running Time Machine on another drive and also backing up your CO Catalog (also on a second drive) should be sufficient to keep your edits, keywords and metadata, etc. This is what I do but consider it a bare minimum backup strategy. It would be better to also backup to offline or offsite drives as well.

    I do wish that CO would back up the entire CO Catalog including any images that reside there. For managed files this would be a simple and handy way to back up. This is how the Aperture Vault worked.
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  • Permanently deleted user
    This is good information. My response about the imported files being embedded into the actual database came from a comment made either during a P1 webinar or from a piece of documentation (sorry; I don't remember which)—it was a source that should have been trustworthy.

    On the Aperture Vault-like backups: you can accomplish the same thing with Carbon Copy Cloner or ChronoSync—both in Aperture and Capture One. I've been using ChronoSync for several years for this purpose, even when I had the option of Aperture Vaults. The reason back then was that Aperture Vaults are/were read-only, whereas CCC and CS backups can be used as direct substitutes for the original library, which is what I view a backup to be.
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  • Wesley
    Any major differences with CCC and Chronosync? I was planning on getting CCC.
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  • Permanently deleted user
    [quote="Wesley" wrote:
    Any major differences with CCC and Chronosync? I was planning on getting CCC.


    I am using CCC for years, and am happy with it. I don't know ChronoSync...
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  • John Doe
    You can also try BackupList+, which is freeware (you can make a donation if you're satisfied with the product): http://robdutoitsoftware.com/
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  • HansB
    Thanks for that link, John Doe. I didn't know it. so I'll check this one out, too.

    Up to now, I've been using rsync. And I have successfully used SyncTwoFolders, which is donationware, too. http://throb.pagesperso-orange.fr/site/ ... TwoFolders


    Regards,
    Hans
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  • Permanently deleted user
    If you don't have either, just go with CCC; it does the job and is useful for full, bootable backups. I use CS more for synchronizing directories among volumes (Macs, or in the case of C1, the photo library). I think every Mac user should have CCC AND use it at least for full, bootable backups. Whereas Time Machine's OK for restoring a lost volume, it can't create a bootable backup, so I use TM for "going back in time" and CCC for backing up my boot and other complete volumes.
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  • John Doe
    AFAIK, SuperDuper! and BackupList+ can make bootable clones too.
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  • Permanently deleted user
    [quote="Nature Isme" wrote:
    If you don't have either, just go with CCC; it does the job and is useful for full, bootable backups.


    I was saved by CCC when the HDD of my old iMac died : I could recover all my files after having started my computer from my bootable external HDD obtained from CCC. Just perfect.
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  • Permanently deleted user
    Yes, both SuperDuper! and Backup+ can make bootable clones. I used SuperDuper! for years (the paid-for version that can also do incremental backups), but the developer doesn't seem to be doing much with it anymore. I can't speak to Backup+ because I've never used it.

    CCC's wonderful. The developer keeps it updated as needed and apparently worked with Apple to fix some OS level issues while El Capitan was in beta. I like that willingness to work with Apple if needed.

    While I'm still licensed for SuperDuper! and CCC, at this point I only recommend SD when someone wants a good, free, full backup only application. For serious backup I recommend CCC—it's got a lot of useful capabilities that are lacking in SD that I won't go into (there's ample documentation easily available online).
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  • Permanently deleted user
    BTW, CCC's saved me LOTS of work several times—only once for the "obvious" case of "hard disk died". I also use CCC things like:
    - migrating volumes to newer devices, such as when I moved all of my machines from HD to SSD;
    - cloning my boot and other important volumes for testing new OS releases. This saved me loads of heartache during a couple of OS updates (not that Apple would break anything in an OS update...).

    The idea of cloning to test an OS update is (or should), IMO, going to become increasingly important for more users. Sometimes, a piece of important software doesn't get updated for a newer OS, but will actually work fine with it. You just don't know until you test it. This gets really important when the developer of something you rely on either stops supporting the new OS or goes belly-up altogether (example: Aperture, which still works in El Capitan, but will really die eventually). At that point I prefer to test the old version on the new OS before committing to the new OS, and also to be able to test alternatives without messing up my working environment.
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  • George Barron
    I recently downloaded Folder Sync from the App store. I got the free version. I simply use it to sync the "Originals" folder in my Capture One Catalog file on my desktop hard drive with an "Originals" folder on the same external hard drive that has my CO catalog back up on it. Cheap and free.

    With the free version of Folder Sync you cannot do scheduled syncs but the 'pro' version of the app is only $8.

    In the meantime, Time Machine backs everything up to another external drive.

    I still wish Phase One would include a backup capability to back up your entire CO Catalog which would include your originals if you kept them in the CO catalog. I may submit this as a feature request.
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  • Wesley
    We could use one of these programs to create on-the-fly backup copy of the photos to an external HDD during tethering, right? 💡
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