Casual and pro shutterbugs rejoice! If you"ve been looking for more storage for your photos, or just about anything, Dropbox has a beta test for you. You can get up to 5 GB of free Dropbox space, for yours to keep, simply by uploading your photos and videos via Dropbox. This is on top of the 2 GB that comes standard with a free Dropbox account.
A new experimental Dropbox build, version 1.3.12, is available via Dropbox"s forums, with a brief description of the beta test:
Hello Forum users!
Another day another build. We"re trying to snipe all the most common bugs. Keep plugging in those cameras!
During this beta period, we are also offering additional free space to test automatic uploading of photos and videos. For every 500MB of photos and videos automatically uploaded, you"ll receive another 500MB space bonus, up to 4.5GB total.[Update: To clarify, you can get up to 5GB of free space with this feature, if you count the initial 500MB space for the first photo import].
To test this build, download the build for Windows, Mac OS X, or Linux (32 or 64-bit). Then plug in a camera or a phone, and choose to import via Dropbox:
Dropbox will then copy the files to your Dropbox folder, under the "Camera Uploads" folder. As files are being copied, Dropbox will pop open balloon popups every 500 MB uploaded to inform you of any space increases for your account.
Be sure to copy photos and videos from devices, as we couldn"t get the process initiated using a SD card reader. In addition, you can freely delete the photos from your account if you need the extra space for other uses.
Want more space for your Dropbox account? Be sure to follow the extra steps on dropbox.com/free, or if you"re a student, you can also recommend friends from your school email address.
Thanks BudMan for the heads up on the forums!