[Digikam-users] Which on line photo repositories work well with DigiKam?

[brad]

On Wednesday, September 05, 2012 09:28:02 AM Simon Cropper wrote:
> 
> I am looking for an on-line solution to publish my photographs (e.g.
> Smug Mug, Red Bubble or maybe my own store using Coppermine or Gallery).
> 
As fas as i can tell smug mug would be the best option for digikam integration 
and on-line store and commercial use.

I feel this is probably a common concern w/ digikam users. It would be nice to 
hear the experience of others. The ultimate goal would to order prints w/o 
having to leave digikam. 

I don't *think* coppermine has any integration w/ digikam, and Gallery 
integration is seriously lacking at the moment since Gallery has had a major 
change in their protocol. I have been working on getting this to work better 
w/ digikam, but i don't have a lot of time to dedicate. Eitherway, neither of 
those services offer an on-line store (since you have to host yourself).  I 
also tried piwigo.com that uses the piwgo hosting software, which is free OSS, 
but i wasn't very impressed w/ login system running in the clear (i.e. over 
insecure http). Lastly, i have used picasa, which has nice integration w/ 
digikam, however i already feel google has enough of my information w/o 
photos. 

> 
> Several things come to mind...
> 1) preferred file format and colour profile
> 2) ability to recognize metadata, like title and tags/keywords
> 3) whether varying sized images need to be uploaded separately or the
> on-line store creates the various sizes available for purchase
> 4) Commercial exposure? Anyone had success measured in sales in using
> particular companies
> 
>From your list of wants above, it sounds like smug mug is your best bet. I 
haven't tried its integration w/ digikam so i cannot comment on that. I 
believe they offer a free trial so you can try it out before paying. I thought 
about using their service, but the cost/year isn't worth it for me, yet; as i 
am not a pro nor even a decent amateur. 

Personally, i have used other on-line print services, e.g. mpix (btw i'm in 
the states, location may be a factor if you intend on ordering prints on-
line). 

Good luck and cheers,
 -- brad