Zonerama

Zonerama.com is an online web service designed for presenting photos and videos. It offers unlimited storage and allows users to upload photos and videos, organize them into albums, and share them easily.

All basic Zonerama features are free:

Uploading photos in many formats (no limits),
Uploading 4K videos (max length per video: 5 minutes),
Creating public, hidden, or password-protected folders and albums,
Sharing via links and social media,
Client photo selection,
Shared albums.

Advanced Zonerama features are available with Zonerama Premium.

Supported Photo Formats

Zonerama supports uploading both bitmap and RAW formats via the web interface.

Bitmap formats: JPEG, JPG, AVIF, HEIC, HEIF, HIF RAW formats: RAW, ORF, ORI, NEF, MRW, CR2, CR3, PEF, ARW, SR2, KDC, ERF, MEF, 3FR, SRF, RW2, NRW, FFF, RWL, SRW, GPR, CRW, DNG, RAF, X3F, CS1

If an uploaded photo has an accompanying XMP file (metadata) and/or a DATA-ZPS file (non-destructive edits from the Develop module in Zoner Studio), Zonerama will process, upload, and display that embedded data.

Photo Upload Limits

Photo storage: unlimited
Color space: sRGB
Max image size in pixels: maximum side length is 20,000 pixels
Max file size per image: 200 MB
Max number of photos in an album: 10,000

If a bitmap photo is not in sRGB color space, Zonerama will convert it to sRGB, since other color spaces like Adobe RGB or ProPhoto RGB are not suitable for online presentation. This may affect file size.

Supported Formats and Limits for Video

Zonerama supports uploading videos in most standard formats: MPG, MPEG, AVI, DIVX, M1V, M2V, MP2V, MPV2, MP2, WMV, ASF, DVR-MS, MP4, MPV4, HDMOV, MOV, MOD, XESC, SWF, FLV, DV, TS, M2TS, MTS, M2T, RM, RMVB, VOB, ASF, MKV, OGV, OGM, WEBM, 3GP, 3G2, 3GPP

Supported codecs: H.264, MPEG-4, VP9, and AV1.

Videos are resampled for data optimization:

Resolution: 3840 x 2160 px (4K)
Bitrate: 25 Mb/s
Codec: H.264, AV1

Max video length is 5 minutes. There is no limit on the number of videos.

Videos are not immediately available after uploading, as they must be processed and optimized. The time this takes depends on video length, quality, and format.

To upload videos longer than 5 minutes, get Zonerama Premium.

Basic Zonerama Features

Uploading Photos and Videos

Files can be uploaded via the Zonerama gallery web interface, or through the Zoner Photo Studio (version 14 and later) and Zoner Studio applications.

Via Web Browser: Log into your Zonerama account. Click the Upload button to open the file upload dialog. Select files from your computer or drag and drop them into the dialog. Wait for the files to load, then save them to your gallery.

Via the program: In the Navigator panel, click the Zonerama button. Open your folder structure on Zonerama and create a new album or open an existing one. Drag and drop files from your computer storage into the album on Zonerama.

Options in the Upload Dialog

The left part of the dialog includes the file selection button and a list of uploaded files. The top right section contains the following from top to bottom: Location, Password-protect album, and Show controls.

Location

Indicates the folder in your Zonerama gallery where the new album will be saved or where the files will be uploaded. If creating a new album, this is where you name it. Use the Change button to select a different folder for the album or files.

Password-protect album

To secure an album with a password, enable Require Password. This reveals a field to enter the password. You can also add a password hint to help visitors guess it.

Show Controls

Hide download – hides the download button, preventing visitors from downloading photos.
Disable original downloads – if the album contains non-JPEG files (or JPEGs with non-destructive edits), the album will show JPEG previews. This setting controls whether visitors can download original files or only JPEG previews.
Hide photo filters – hides filtering based on metadata like keywords or color tags.
Hide photo descriptions – hides descriptions if present.
Hide photo metadata – disables display of data like capture time, GPS, or editing software.
Watermark photos – lets you add a text watermark that displays as a small signature in the bottom right or as a large text in the center of the photo.
Default for new albums – applies the current settings as the default for all new albums.

Album Organization in the Gallery

By default, Zonerama provides two tabs: Public Albums and Hidden Albums. You can add new tabs using the plus icon next to these two categories. This allows you to organize albums by themes (e.g., events, travel destinations, family members, or types of photography work).

Public and Hidden Albums

Any folder you create can be marked as public or hidden. The visibility is not determined by the folder name, but by a “hidden” flag. The Hidden Albums folder has this flag enabled by default. You can remove this flag or apply it to other folders.

To change visibility settings, hover over the folder name and click the pencil icon. Then choose Hide folder from the menu.

Albums in public folders are visible to anyone who visits your gallery. Albums in hidden folders are not visible unless you share a direct link to the folder or a specific album inside it.

If you share a link to a specific album within a hidden folder, other albums in that folder remain invisible. If you share a link to the entire hidden folder, all its contents will be visible to the recipient.

Sorting Photos in an Album

To change the order of photos in an album, log into your account, open the desired album, and click the gear icon in the top-right corner. Then select Sort photos from the menu.

By default, photos are sorted by capture date in descending order, so the newest photos appear first. You can also sort by Filename, Date taken, Date of uploading, or Manually. Any of these can be set as the default sort order for new albums.

Album Description

To edit the album description, open the album and click the gear icon in the top-right corner. Then select Edit Album Description.

Photo Descriptions in an Album

Open a photo and click the three-dot icon in the bottom-right corner. Then select Show description panel.

Displaying EXIF Information

Each photo taken with a camera includes metadata known as EXIF data. EXIF contains details such as the capture date, camera model, and exposure settings.

Zonerama keeps the original photo with all metadata intact and displays this information. If the metadata contains GPS coordinates, the photo's location is shown on a map.

You can view EXIF data by clicking the info icon ("i" in a circle) in the bottom-right corner of a photo.

Shared Albums

The Shared Albums feature allows you to create albums that other users can also upload photos to. All shared albums are protected by a password for photo uploads, so only authorized contributors can add content.

Any existing album can be turned into a shared album.

To enable this, log into your account and open the specific album. In the top menu bar, click the Sharing Options icon and choose Shared Album. A dialog will appear allowing you to choose whether only logged-in Zonerama users can contribute, or if guests without a Zonerama account can also upload.

Client Proofing

The Client proofing feature allows album owners to create a unique link that lets clients choose specific photos from the album.

To set this up, log into your account and open the desired album. In the top menu bar, click the Sharing Options icon and choose Client proofing. A dialog will appear with settings for customizing the selection process.

Once configured, copy the provided link and send it to your client. After the client makes their selection, a marker will appear on the selected photos within the album.

HDR Content Display

Zonerama supports displaying HDR content on devices that support HDR. This includes not only compatible hardware but also the operating system and the web browser being used.

More information is available in the article: Zonerama brings Your 10bit HDR Photos to the Web.

Click the gray Sharing Options icon (three connected dots) in the top-right corner of the album. You can share your profile, an entire album, or a single photo—depending on what is currently displayed.

After clicking the Sharing Options button, select your preferred method of sharing.

Facebook and Twitter – Share photos directly to your social media profile.
E-mail – Send a message with photo previews directly from Zonerama using our template. Just enter recipient email addresses and your message.
Link – Copy a direct URL that points to the specific album or location in Zonerama.

Password-Protecting Albums

You can lock an album with a password, giving access only to selected viewers. Share the password with them directly, or add a password hint to help them guess it.

Albums can be password-protected during creation or afterward: When creating a new album, check the Password-Protect Album option below the album name. Click Require Password, then enter the password viewers will use to access it.

To protect an existing album, click the gear icon for that album and select Password-Protect Album. Enable Require Password and enter the desired password.
You can also password-protect entire folders (which contain albums). Hover over the folder name, click the pencil icon, and choose Password-Protect Folder.

Hiding the Download Option

Each time you upload photos, you can enable the Hide Download function in the right section of the Upload Photos window. This disables the download icon for photos. This option is also available after uploading. When viewing a specific album, click the gear icon, select Show Controls, and enable the Hide Download function.

Adding a Watermark to Photos

When uploading photos, you can add a protective watermark using the Watermark photos option. If other users download the photo, the watermark (i.e., the text defined in the watermark settings) will be embedded in the downloaded copy. The original photo remains unchanged. You can also add or remove a watermark afterward. Open a specific album, click the gear icon, select Show Controls, and enable or disable the Watermark photos option.

Contacting the User

By default, the option to contact the user is turned off. If you want visitors to be able to contact you through your gallery, click your photo/avatar in the top bar, select Zonerama Settings, then go to Emails and Notifications. There, check the option Contact Form, and save the settings.