Best method to save pics?

[DasBoot]

Hi!
I'm new here and I'm sure this question has been asked "to death"!
The last time I did a job professionally, I was using Nikon F4s.
So that gives you an idea of how long ago i was in the photo biz.
At present, I'm using a Nikon CoolPix 4000 just to shoot the baby, wife and myself.
Both pics and videos.
What do you folks consider the best method for saving everything?
I'm now downloading everything from camera to HD(PICASA) to CD-Rs.
Sony I think.
I plan on re-downlding them every 3-5 yrs.
Am I on the right track?
Are some CDs better than others?
I see some posts making a distinction between "DVD" and "CD".
Is there a difference?
How about an external drive?
How much can they hold and how much do they cost?
Any and all info is appreciated.
Thanks!

[Rocketball]

Can't really answer your question about the quality difference in CD's, but I highly reccomend the used of an external hard drive for storage of your image files.

I bought a 300 GB Seagate external hard drive on Ebay about 3 months ago for $130 including shipping. Hard drive storage is getting extremley cheep, and I wouldn't reccomend the sole use of CD's for your storage, and I'm sure many users here would say the same thing.

I also use Picasa for downloading and organizing my image files.

[shootem]

I use external hard drives and dvd's. There is a difference in quality between brands (both dvd's and external harddrives...)
I recommend burning files on to two dvd's of different brands. This is still all so new, it's all pretty much speculation, however files degrade over time. Just how much time is not clear. Some recommend burning onto archival gold dvd's. Since I can't really afford that, I use one tdk and one memorex, on a dvd that will hold 8+ GB (burns in layers). I also have LaCie external harddrives. I started out with 2 250 GB hard drives, but as they are full, am going to get a couple of 500 GB drives. Much depends on the size of your files. I save "done - as in sized and ready to print files in tiff - and they are 70mb's each....
Also, currently it is recommended to reburn those DVD's every 2 years if those files are important.
I keep one set of dvd's off site.

"so many files - too little hard drive space"!!!

Carolyn

[DasBoot]

Thanks guys!
That's pretty much what I needed to know.