Loss from Digital Cameras

Photographic prints fade and degenerate over time, and the memory eventually becomes lost. This is where digital preservation fares better, as it can be stored conveniently in a low-cost CD or DVD for decades to come, and can be shared with everyone around the world at one click of the mouse through the internet.

The Perils of Digital Preservation

Unfortunately, there is a flip side of this technology as well. It is as easy to lose the data as it is to save it. This can happen in the following ways:

• Some companies use a ‘lossy’ technology in their cameras. In these models, new photographs are preserved by deleting the older ones and making space. This may even be an automatic process, and the user would not realise the disaster till it is too late. In most cameras though, the software is programmed to ask the user whether the deletion of old photograph has his or her approval.



• While using a digital cassette, you may unwittingly wipe the older photos by clicking the new ones on them, overwriting them in the process.



• Like all gadgets, a camera may be dropped, sat upon, or lost. Fire, water, and sand are common ways of damaging a camera at a holiday location.



• You may have dumped all the photographs on your hard disk – only to discover that the disk is infected (so the files won’t open) – or it has crashed.



• Audio visual files are sometimes damaged as the excessive compression or the low-grade card does not support the file types, producing poor quality sound and picture.



• Files are also damaged during sharing. This is becoming an increasingly common menace as people share and swap photos through the internet. A virus may attack the file and spread easily as the photograph or video clip is forwarded to various people.

• While using a cassette, always ensure that it is empty, or you have wound it to the point from where it is unused.



• Use good quality disks to record in camcorders, and clean the camcorder with a soft cloth.



• Check whether your still camera memory is full before taking more photographs.



• Take regular outputs on to a hard drive, and after that, burn your photographs on to a CD or DVD. A DVD is definitely a more sensible choice when it comes to audio visual files.



• Photographs can also be saved online and off-site in ‘spaces’ provided by companies.



• Preserve photos online by mailing them to others and yourself, but ensure that that is not the only place where they are preserved. There must be backup of all photos mailed.



• Then there are the good old ways of taking printouts and putting them into the album, and saving the memories on tapes.

• Is the photo replaceable? You may love looking at the photo of a rose bush in bloom, but surely you can get it back again. On the other hand, you will never again get back those moments when your child learnt to walk.



• Occasions are important, but how important? A birthday will come every year, but your wedding won’t, neither would a funeral.



• Sometimes, the moment is very important, such as your child’s expression on getting the graduation certificate, or your grandmother smiling at you without her false teeth.

Article Source: http://www.a1-articledirectory.com

James Walsh is a freelance writer and copy editor. For more information on computer crime and Computer Forensics see www.fieldsassociates.co.uk

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