[JPT]

Ricoh Innovations announced today that Keenai, their photo hosting service will be terminated.

Keenai | Photo app for cameras, iPhone, android and desktop

I don’t hear many talking about it, so I doubt it will be missed, but if anyone is using it they should read the announcement carefully, get their refund and make sure their image data is safe.

It’s actually not a Ricoh Imaging product, but another branch of the company located in California. However they were present at CP+ On the Ricoh Imaging stand once.

[MarkJerling]

I've never heard of it. Pity - It seems like a nice platform.

[UncleVanya]

I need to read to see how it impacts eyefi cards if at all.

---------- Post added 09-05-18 at 06:57 AM ----------

No mention as to the fate of the cards that used the keenai service. Ever without the service the program was needed for setup.

[stevebrot]

I need to read to see how it impacts eyefi cards if at all.

---------- Post added 09-05-18 at 06:57 AM ----------

No mention as to the fate of the cards that used the keenai service. Ever without the service the program was needed for setup.

Yep...Keenai was an outgrowth of the EyeFi acquisition.


Steve

[UncleVanya]

I have two Eyefi mobi cards that used to work but I haven't been able to get them to work lately. I wonder if this is in any way related since I went to the trouble of reinstalling them on new devices.

[RonHendriks1966]

This is no news that has any connection to Pentax camera's.

[UncleVanya]

This is no news that has any connection to Pentax camera's.

Sure it does - if it affect EyeFi mobi cards that were packaged in K-50 cameras and others. It is however more likely a more general news item.

[ronniemac]

This is no news that has any connection to Pentax camera's.

The connection is this: Ricoh own Keenai and Pentax, and that was enough for me to buy a three year subscription and then upload all my raw files from my Ricoh cameras GR and Theta and for my Pentax slrs. Storage of RAW files was one of their selling features, but part of my thinking was brand loyalty - misguided I know.

You can imagine how long the upload process took (months), but I presumed that Ricoh would look after its customers. Not so, after the end of November this year, they will delete our accounts and access to our files. If I want a refund for undelivered service, I have to apply for it.

Ricoh launched Keenai, which they advertised as an ‘elegant and effortless service – keeping memories safe and organized.’ Well, my 7,000 plus raw files are no longer safe. Of course the marketing was non existent, so it didn't develop a decent customer base. File size limitations excluded pixel shift file sizes which was ironic, and customer support was merely a gesture.

Of course, few people here will have been using Keenai, however it does not bode well for Pentax if this is what Ricoh does with companies which it acquires - and their customers. That's the connection Mr Hendriks

Rant over.

I'd welcome any suggestions for an alternative backup service for RAW files on the internet. (my jpgs are with Flickr).

[RonHendriks1966]

The connection is this: Ricoh own Keenai and Pentax, and that was enough for me to buy a three year subscription and then upload all my raw files from my Ricoh cameras GR and Theta and for my Pentax slrs. Storage of RAW files was one of their selling features, but part of my thinking was brand loyalty - misguided I know.

You can imagine how long the upload process took (months), but I presumed that Ricoh would look after its customers. Not so, after the end of November this year, they will delete our accounts and access to our files. If I want a refund for undelivered service, I have to apply for it.

Ricoh launched Keenai, which they advertised as an ‘elegant and effortless service – keeping memories safe and organized.’ Well, my 7,000 plus raw files are no longer safe. Of course the marketing was non existent, so it didn't develop a decent customer base. File size limitations excluded pixel shift file sizes which was ironic, and customer support was merely a gesture.

Of course, few people here will have been using Keenai, however it does not bode well for Pentax if this is what Ricoh does with companies which it acquires - and their customers. That's the connection Mr Hendriks

Rant over.

I'd welcome any suggestions for an alternative backup service for RAW files on the internet. (my jpgs are with Flickr).

This is what my reaction was on december 7th 2016 on the announcement of the start for this service.

I don't think that this service wil l last for many years. There are plenty offers. It's just another $50 a year offering that won't survive.

[mlt]

The connection is this: Ricoh own Keenai and Pentax, and that was enough for me to buy a three year subscription and then upload all my raw files from my Ricoh cameras GR and Theta and for my Pentax slrs. Storage of RAW files was one of their selling features, but part of my thinking was brand loyalty - misguided I know.

You can imagine how long the upload process took (months), but I presumed that Ricoh would look after its customers. Not so, after the end of November this year, they will delete our accounts and access to our files. If I want a refund for undelivered service, I have to apply for it.

Ricoh launched Keenai, which they advertised as an ‘elegant and effortless service – keeping memories safe and organized.’ Well, my 7,000 plus raw files are no longer safe. Of course the marketing was non existent, so it didn't develop a decent customer base. File size limitations excluded pixel shift file sizes which was ironic, and customer support was merely a gesture.

Of course, few people here will have been using Keenai, however it does not bode well for Pentax if this is what Ricoh does with companies which it acquires - and their customers. That's the connection Mr Hendriks

Rant over.

I'd welcome any suggestions for an alternative backup service for RAW files on the internet. (my jpgs are with Flickr).

How many cloud services have gone away in the past 5 to 10 years - not a question but a statement of fact. Ricoh shutting down this service is not the first time this has happened. Adobe and Apple, along with others offer cloud based storage, but it sure eats up bandwidth and time getting a large catalogue of raw files up, and down. Monthly backups from your pc to a portable ssd or hard drive that can be taken out of and put back in a bank safe deposit box are a lot faster to update or replace, and easier to pass on (or not) to your heirs. But no backup plan is foolproof if you don’t verify your backed up data routinely.

[UncleVanya]

I'd welcome any suggestions for an alternative backup service for RAW files on the internet. (my jpgs are with Flickr).

This and the related article about using bulk storage services may help: The Best Online Cloud Backup Service: Reviews by Wirecutter | A New York Times Company

[ronniemac]

This is what my reaction was on december 7th 2016 on the announcement of the start for this service.

Thanks for that information Mr Hendriks, but I must have missed it. Good prediction, wish it made me feel better, but it doesn't.

Are there any sites that you can predict lasting more than a few years? Flickr, 500pix, smugmug, dropbox?

---------- Post added 09-05-18 at 03:43 PM ----------

How many cloud services have gone away in the past 5 to 10 years - not a question but a statement of fact. Ricoh shutting down this service is not the first time this has happened. Adobe and Apple, along with others offer cloud based storage, but it sure eats up bandwidth and time getting a large catalogue of raw files up, and down. Monthly backups from your pc to a portable ssd or hard drive that can be taken out of and put back in a bank safe deposit box are a lot faster to update or replace, and easier to pass on (or not) to your heirs. But no backup plan is foolproof if you don’t verify your backed up data routinely.

I do keep backup on remote drives, but of course, drives do eventually fail and based on past experience the technology will eventually become outdated, nevertheless, keeping discs off site is a good idea.

I do have a good number of old family photos, many over 100 years old and I do value them, so perhaps the answer lies in printing the keepers or creating photo books of them. You're correct, I am thinking about what I eventually leave to my heirs.

---------- Post added 09-05-18 at 04:04 PM ----------

This and the related article about using bulk storage services may help: The Best Online Cloud Backup Service: Reviews by Wirecutter | A New York Times Company

That's a well researched article and offers some good advice, thanks for posting the link.

It's ironic, isn't it, that their previous recomendation (CrashPlan for Home) closed the service, just as Keenai are doing.

I guess all this is making me think that I should be more methodical with my external drives, and continue to use Flickr for Jpegs - Hopefully it's in safe hands with Smugmug, but of course there's no guarantee of that. As I write this, I am backing up my RAW files to Dropbox, so we'll see how that goes.

Looking ahead, I realise that I should print more, either individual photographs or photo-books. I should also be more courageous about dumping raw and jpeg files which are of little value. No matter how technology moves on, I think books and photos will always be accessible. The task now I guess is to research the longevity of various printing processes and inks!

[Schraubstock]

"In the Clouds", aptly named.

Like real clouds, they come from nowhere, appear, get big then thin out and disappear again to nowhere. Sometimes they even p**s on people.

I could not think of a better name for this service.

[MarcBenzak]

The connection is this: Ricoh own Keenai and Pentax, and that was enough for me to buy a three year subscription and then upload all my raw files from my Ricoh cameras GR and Theta and for my Pentax slrs. Storage of RAW files was one of their selling features, but part of my thinking was brand loyalty - misguided I know.

You can imagine how long the upload process took (months), but I presumed that Ricoh would look after its customers. Not so, after the end of November this year, they will delete our accounts and access to our files. If I want a refund for undelivered service, I have to apply for it.

Ricoh launched Keenai, which they advertised as an ‘elegant and effortless service – keeping memories safe and organized.’ Well, my 7,000 plus raw files are no longer safe. Of course the marketing was non existent, so it didn't develop a decent customer base. File size limitations excluded pixel shift file sizes which was ironic, and customer support was merely a gesture.

Of course, few people here will have been using Keenai, however it does not bode well for Pentax if this is what Ricoh does with companies which it acquires - and their customers. That's the connection Mr Hendriks

Rant over.

I'd welcome any suggestions for an alternative backup service for RAW files on the internet. (my jpgs are with Flickr).

I'm in a similar boat. I've been using Eye-fi since practically its inception. I have nearly 100,000 photos on the service. I was always nervous about relying on cloud storage as my only solution, so I actually have several local backups, but I am still disappointed (especially since one of the backups has gone kaput). The problem is that they want you to download all your files but their app is buggy and you can only download 500 at a time on the web app. I've installed the desktop app on a new computer and it has YET to even start downloading. The app is buggy and always has been.

My issue is not that they are shutting down (I got a screamer of a deal - like $99.00 and unlimited downloads until 2022 - so no wonder it's a loss to them, especially since they did not really market it at all). My real issue is that they have no other way of retrieving the data. I'd be willing to pay for them to back it up on a hard drive and ship it to me, but they say that's not a possibility. I am busy checking the integrity of my backups which will be quite the time sink, but I cannot lose anything. I only shoot for my own personal purposes, which means most of my pics are family photos, kids growing up, etc. I am frustrated at the lack of customer consideration on this. It's not our fault they are losing money on it, but as is typical, that's not relevant to many companies.

Anyway, looks like I'll be moving to Google Photos which will be a much higher price (but likely more realistic than what I paid for Keenai's Service).

[ronniemac]

Although Ricoh state that we would receive a notification email with a refund application form on Sept 04, I have not received one. Contacted them today so hopefully I'll get a response.

I do sympathise Marc, downloading so many files by the end of November will be a challenge. Thank goodness I have a backup on my hard drive for raw files, and kept my jpegs on Flickr. I'm now exporting all my raw files to Dropbox.

Anyone else having communication issues with Keenai?