Key Points

  • Network-attached storage (NAS) is a file-level storage system that makes stored data more accessible to networked devices. It makes sharing, managing, and editing files much easier. The My Cloud EX2 Ultra NAS drive was voted the best overall NAS for photographers.If budget is a concern, the BUFFALO LinkStation 210 may be for you.

NAS drives can be an absolute game changer for photographers storing all their photos on an array of external drives. Network Attached Storage, or NAS for short, allows you to have a massive library of files in one place, either attached to your network or directly plugged into your computer.

© Lost_in_the_Midwest/Shutterstock.com

Luckily, we have compiled a list of the 5 best NAS specifically for photographers.

  • Best Overall: My Cloud EX2 Ultra NAS drive Best Media Server: Synology DiskStation DS218playMost Feature Rich: QNAP TS-251+ NAS drive Most Storage: Synology DiskStation DS1520+ Most Budget Friendly: BUFFALO LinkStation 210

Best Overall: My Cloud EX2 Ultra NAS drive

My Cloud EX2 Ultra NAS drive is the best overall NAS for two because of its easy setup and excellent performance.

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Available in various size options, WD preinstalls two hard drives in the NAS for you. We recommend starting with the 4TB one. We also would like to note that you can purchase the NAS with no disks and populate it with your own if you already have two drives you would use instead.

Unless you are trying to hit a tight budget, we typically recommend going with a NAS with at least 2 drive bays so you can set it up in RAID mode. Without diving too deep into what RAID is, it allows one of your drives to fail and not lose any data.

Best Media Server: Synology DiskStation DS218play

Synology DiskStation DS218play is a NAS that doubles up as a media hub, allowing you to cast images and videos on mobile devices or Smart TVs.

  • 2-bay NAS with optimal multimedia solution for home users4K video transcoding on the fly with 10 bit H.265 codec support. Operating Temperature : 5°C to 40°C (40°F to 104°F), Storage Temperature : -20°C to 60°C (-5°F to 140°F)Up to 112 MB/s and 112 MB/s sequential reading and writing throughput, respectivelyOver 112 MB/s encrypted sequential reading throughput and 112 MB/s encrypted sequential writing throughputPowered by a 64-bit 1.4 GHz quad-core processor with 1 GB DDR4 RAM

Synology has earned an amazing reputation in the NAS community, and for a good reason. No matter the price point you are looking at, they probably have a NAS drive that fits your needs and performs exceptionally.

The DiskStation DS218play has a unique party trick over other drives in this lineup. So regardless of what device you have closest to you, you can have access to your whole library of photos. Its enclosure has 2 drive bays, but Synology does not include any drives. So be sure to factor that cost into your total budget when making a decision.

Most Feature Rich: QNAP TS-251+ NAS drive

If you are after a feature-rich NAS, that is not a pain to set up, the QNAP TS-251+ NAS drive is the perfect NAS drive for you.

  • Qnap Turbo Nas Ts-251+ Nas Server - Intel Celeron Quad-core (4 Core) 2 Ghz - 2 X Total Bays - 8 Gb Ram Ddr3l Sdram - Gigabit Ethernet - Hdmi - Network (rj-45)

While not the cheapest item, QNAP TS-251+ offers robust hardware and loads of features that justify its price. You can quickly set up this NAS on a Mac or PC so it can appear as a local drive. With that simple process, it feels like you are getting all the simplicity of an external drive while having all the features of a NAS.

One drawback with this NAS is it does not include any drives with the enclosure. But it is nicer to add your own drives that way for something at this level. You can ensure you get the speed and amount of storage you need.

Most Storage: Synology DiskStation DS1520+

If you are busy professional photographer with an own studio and a team working with you, the Synology DiskStation DS1520+ will meet your storage needs.

With its maximum capacity being 108TB, you will not have to worry about running out of space anytime soon. You can get a DX517 expansion kit to upgrade your NAS to 15 drives if you need more. In addition, the excellent hardware inside allows you to edit off the NAS without transferring the files to your computer first.

DS1520+ is super exciting and powerful and might be a bit overkill for personal use. Anyone running a medium to large-sized studio will benefit from it though, Synology does not include drives with this NAS.

Most Budget Friendly: BUFFALO LinkStation 210

One of the affordable NAS in the market, the BUFFALO LinkStation 210 is perfect for anyone looking to save a buck.

The LinkStation 210 still offers excellent performance and up to 8TB of storage. There is also a simple setup for automatic backups for both Windows and Mac OS. Despite all that sounding wonderful, there is one more feature that makes this NAS worthy of being on this list. It has a built-in BitTorrent client that allows you to upload and download data without stretching your computer resources

Buffalo does include drives in this NAS. To get the best bang for your back, we recommend going for the 6TB option.

Picking out and purchasing a new NAS can be tricky, especially if you have never used a NAS before. There are three things we typically look at before recommending a NAS.

  • Amount of StorageBackupSpecial Features

Amount of Storage

Decide how much storage you need in a NAS. If you all your work won’t into it, the NAS is not worth it. Some NAS drives will come with preinstalled drives. If you already have drives, or are looking to customize your drives, a diskless NAS will be a better choice.

©Lost_in_the_Midwest/Shutterstock.com

Backup or Working Off It?

Special Features

The special features of a NAS can be the deciding factor after you have gone through those first two steps. For example, the QNAP TS-251+ is a fantastic NAS, but how feature rich is the main reason it made it onto this list. So, be sure to go through the special features of a NAS before making the purchase. Those creature comforts and special features cannot be overlooked.

What To Know Before Buying a NAS

Unlike an external hard drive, NAS drives are not a simple plug-in a USB cable, and its ready to go. The setup of it can be quite involved. So, if you have never set up a NAS before, we highly recommend looking at an option that has a simplified setup process. The easy setup process is a special feature like we were talking about before, which could be a selling point for a NAS.

Or, if you want a more involved NAS, we recommend watching a how-to video before making the purchase to make sure everything you need to do is something you are comfortable handling.

Using a NAS: What’s It Like?

If you have never used a NAS before, using one that is built and optimized well feels absolutely amazing. Especially for something like photography, where if you have been doing it for a couple of years, the number of files you have can be overwhelming. A NAS puts them all in one place. We highly recommend picking up a NAS, whether you do photography as a hobby or a profession. It will change the way you interact with your files forever. If you are more of a videographer, we also 5 excellent NAS for you here.

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