I would like to share the following info on 500px.

To taste the water I submitted a few dozen images to 500px.
I had assumed a decent level of security so I took no precautions.
I uploaded 3000 pixels (bigger side) since that was the minimum requirement to sell.
I had not yet realized that you could upload low res and then upload hi res in the market.
The preview image was about 700/1000 pixels (bigger side) when seen on my screen, so it looked ok.

I then stumbled using Google image search on 500px pictures which were MUCH bigger.
Since I doubt that Google will resort to shady behaviour, this looked like something wrong in their site.

If you right click on the image it tells you that the image is copyrighted and do not allow you to download.
But we all now that is a fake protection.

I started looking at the source code of the page displaying my images. The link to the image was in plain sight. No attempt to obfuscate the url with some fancy javascript footwork as many do.
Not a big problem since you assume that the link is to a low res picture.
Alas, this is not so.
In my case the 3000x2000 picture has ,yes, been downsized but to 2048x1370.
This is WAY to big for showcase purpose. Is is bigger than a full HD screen (1920x1080).

I really wonder why the feed a 2.8Mpx asset to the browser.
This rise some questions.
1- are they grossly incompetent ?
2- are they aware but have their reasons (which I would like to know) ?

The only reason I see is that they did it for 4K monitors.
If this is the case they should have some code to feed the browser according to screen resolution and not scatter 2.8Mpx media everywhere.

Hope this helps.

Hi dirkr,

Thanks for your suggestion. Many of our users prefer to share higher-res images, so we provide the low-res option for those who don't. Duly noted about the watermarking

Sorry, but what low-res option are you talking about? Do you mean the option where we should upload two different versions of the same photo, one for the community and one for licensing?

That's not really an option, it's rather a pain...

Or is there somewhere an option where I can choose that only a low-res version will be used for the community? Where do I find that?

It's a mystery to me how many top photographs are uploaded to 500px without any watermark at all. I don't understand the intention behind that from the photographers.

They are there for the glory.
Many are thrilled just to be seen and liked.
I may add that in a very fine composition a watermark will spoil it, unless you are D�rer.

They are not there for the money, contrary to us, venal laborers 

  Not interested in uploading there until they resolve the Watermark issue. They don't seem to put a priority in preventing theft. Even the the lowest microstock agencies get this right, from the day they start.

Same here. That and their upload capabilities.

No Watermark = No Upload   

I wonder how many posts and threads about this we already did and how many more we will before that change...  Amazing, how hard it is to be done by so great and professional agency/ seller, trully amazing. So far it looks like they don't want more our work.

I don't understand the commotion about watermarks at a site like 500px to be honest. It's a portfolio presentation site first and foremost, and as such leaves the choice of watermark to it's users. I for example put my own custom watermark into my images. For the market I then upload a larger, unwatermarked copy. Where's the problem?

Sure, if you want to dump a 5000 image portfolio, the process will be painful. Still less so than uploading to, say, Alamy or iStock, but still painful. But large stock portfolios is really not what 500px is about.

Why not give us the option to add watermark and small size upon upload? It would make using 500pix for licensing so much easier.

Or add it als a preference Option somewhere.

The current multistep upload process is just painful and so for now I have given up.