Canon has officially unveiled irista, its cloud-based image management platform designed as a central point for photographers to store, share and manage their photo collections.
Previously known in beta form as Project1709, irista is not strictly for Canon users. The platform is aimed at photographers regardless of which brand of camera they shoot with, or even which device it was shot on, be it camera or smartphone.
Chief among irista's features is a tagging system that allows photographers to label their images anything they like and filter them accordingly. You can also create as many different albums as you wish.
The platform also allows you to edit your images' EXIF data. The service also supports a wide range of file types, including raw, and places no limitations on file size.
What's more, you can also sync irista with your Facebook or Flickr accounts and share your images directly from the service.
Beta users who have already been using the platform can also expect a few new features, including Memento, a new viewing option designed for photographers who are storing large volumes of images. Memento determines your most important images, based on what you've shared and had comments on. When you then click on the Memento viewer it will pull all of your best work into view.
Search functionality is also improved, with users now able to search images that haven't been tagged, as well as images you've shared to different social networks (or not shared), by lens type and a number of other options.
Canon has also added a batch download option for those who sign up to one of its tiered storage options.
Storage options
The service will launch with tiered storage options, depending on your needs. The 'entry' tier is free of charge and offers up to 10GB of cloud storage space.
Photographers who require more storage space can choose from a 50GB option, priced at £4.49 (around $7.50/A$8/€5.50) per month (or £45 annually), or a second option of 100GB priced at £9.99 (approx $16.70/A$18/€12.30) a month or £99 annually.
What's more, additional storage can be bought beyond the 100GB tier for photographers with larger collections. These 'bolt-on' packages include:
- Bolt-on 20GB £2.49 monthly (approx $4.20/A$4.50/€3) or £25 annually
- Bolt-on 50GB £4.99 monthly (around $7.50/A$8/€5.50) or £49 annually
- Bolt-on 100GB £8.99 monthly (approx $15/A$16.25/€11) or £89 annually
