What’s A NAS And Why Every Photographer NEEDS One!

Using a Synology NAS as a photographer has been probably one of the best investments I've ever made for my photography career, and in todays video I want to talk about my Synology DS923+!
If you don't know what on earth a NAS is, well this video should clear things up and also help you figure out what NAS is right for you!
Check out ‪@SpaceRexWill‬ for heaps of amazing Synology tutorials including a very thorough one on how to get started with your NAS.
Thank you for watching, be sure to give the video a LIKE if you liked it and SUBSCRIBE for more great photography content!
Have a great day!
Follow me on Instagram: / rudermanphoto
Check out my new LR presets here! - geni.us/9Uce2
Links to buy everything I talked about:
NAS links:
Synology DS923+ (4 bay): geni.us/YjBzZ
Synology DS1522+ (5 bay): geni.us/EuyrRo
Synology 10gbe add-in card: geni.us/8nMAytG
Synology DS1823xs+ (8 bay, native 10gbe, big baller): geni.us/J13CU
Synology DX517 5 bay Expansion: geni.us/uyjZL
HDD links:
Seagate Exos 18TB Drive: geni.us/XAFQK
Seagate Ironwolf Pro (slightly more expensive, less loud): geni.us/nCQ4VjB
Accessories links:
Cyberpower UPS: geni.us/nCfzjy
WD Elements 18TB drive for backup: geni.us/eT3MyU
TPLink TX401 10gbe card: geni.us/06WdN
TPLink 10gbe network switch (cheapest option): geni.us/BwrYA
Unifi Flex XG 10gbe switch: geni.us/tb0Rv
CAT6A cables: geni.us/aJPShK
My network stuff (overkill, but sexy):
Unifi Dream Machine Pro: geni.us/xetZrw
Unifi Aggregation Switch: geni.us/QI1vt
Unifi Wifi6 AP: geni.us/37W6P
Unifi OCD Panel: geni.us/tEq4Ur6
8U Rack: geni.us/4CYX2l3
Cinematic portions filmed with:
Sirui 50mm t2.9 Venus Anamorphic lens: geni.us/jUvl1MK
Talking Head portion with:
Sigma 24mm f1.4 DG DN: geni.us/Dc9n
Lumix S5ii: geni.us/QoNek
Microphone used: geni.us/kPWBrx0
These are all affiliate links, I may or may not get a small commission if you use them - this costs nothing to you and helps to support me and this channel!
#synology #nas #photography
Chapters:
00:01: Intro
03:40: What is RAID?
05:46: What NAS Do I Buy?
09:13: What Drives Do I Buy?
11:50: What Is 10gbe?! (and do i need it?)
14:12: What Else Should I Get?
15:56: What On Earth Is That Big Silver Thing?!
19:10: My Workflow With A NAS
20:43: Downsides
24:12: Conclusion

[@TopshelfJunior]

That shot of all the drives had me CACKLING ! lol. So true man. I am OVER it, in terms of drives. Got like 30 of em... ENOUGH ! lol.

[@rudermanphoto]

That’s not even all of them, just the ones I have on hand 🥴 Can’t believe I didn’t get a NAS sooner!!

[@FoodTechLife]

I thought for sure this was going to be a..."and this is sponsored by Synology" lol. I have a DS1621+ In respects to the SSD cache, I put in 1 m.2 as read only cache and it made accessing the web interface super snappy. So for that I think it's worth it. Besides m.2 aren't that expensive anymore and I just had it laying around. Edit: Thumbs up since it's not sponsored.

[@rudermanphoto]

lol I wish Synology sent me all this! I’ll look into adding an M.2 cache but I feel like a fourth drive would probably be a better use of money to get the fastest possible transfer speeds.

[@kalistratov_photos]

Booyakasha Matthew! Thanks for letting me know these devices actually exist. I will try to get one and I'll tell my wife it costs $30

[@rudermanphoto]

Excellent choice hahaha

[@kuroexmachina]

ugreen has the best hardware for the price, but the software is non existent. ugreen doesnt even have vpn which allows you to connect from anywhere yet

[@rudermanphoto]

Yeah thats what I was reading - hopefully they flesh out the software soon enough cause the hardware is incredible for the money!

[@throughthelensart]

The biggest issue with Synology models is, they still offer 1Gb NICs on some mid range models. QNAP on the other hand may not have this powerful OS but hardwarewise it offers much more.

[@rudermanphoto]

Regardless of the NAS you go for - it’s an awesome bit of kit :)

[@Togra2o2]

I wonder if your suggestion changes now that Ubiquiti sells a 7 Bay 10gigabit Nas for five hundred dollars that fits neatly into your RACK

[@rudermanphoto]

I saw that, it was announced after I got the Synology, otherwise yes I’d probably have gotten it!!

[@Vedrajrm]

They seem way to expensive tho, Why can’t I buy a cheap used Mac mini (m1) and connect a bunch of Hdd or ssd to it? I’m sure there are third party apps which would allow me to use that setup as a NAS. I’m currently using a Mac mini with an ssd connected and jellyfin server as a media server. And it works really well. Maybe there are other such apps for other purposes as well. And also RAID?

[@rudermanphoto]

Ofcourse there are plenty of DIY options - you can use TrueNAS with an old PC too with a bunch of drives in it, but Synology is the easiest and most straightforward option in my opinion for these who don’t want to tinker with it and get it all working. You pay for convenience, regardless of what NAS you end up getting I think it’s an overall incredible piece of hardware and I sorely regret that I waited so long to get one!

[@dmille6]

once you buy a mac mini + 3 hdd's + the software (softraid) .. you'll be at roughly the same price as a synology raid system with the same drives.. but a far less elegant solution that's more complicated to maintain and run.

[@dmille6]

there are DIY solutions out there (truenas, and unraid probably being the most popular). .they work great but require a lot of tinkering and care.. i want my free time to be used for photography.. not maintaining the infrastructure to be a photographer.

[@Mowikan]

Buy a synology. Run pi-hole on it and thank me later.

[@rudermanphoto]

Forgot to mention pi-hole!! Excellent suggestion!

[@jamesabcd2266]

Synology is not bad, but its DSM 7.2.2 is ...🥴

[@rudermanphoto]

I’m still on 7.2.1, what are the issues with 7.2.2?

[@jamesabcd2266]

@ Most users on KZbin complain about the decision to remove video station and HEVC/HEIF codec support. Synology did provide an alternative solution but they are steering away from what a home NAS supposed to be like.

[@PeteD]

yikes, at that price point you'd want to be CHURNING the content to justify it

[@rudermanphoto]

Definitely! You can do it for much cheaper then I did if you don’t require such a huge capacity and get cheaper 10gbe components - but I think all professional photographers absolutely need one.