Apple Using the iPad as a Photo Accessory

[deirdre]

When I went to Australia, New Zealand, and Venice Beach, I took my camera, two or three lenses, and my iPad with me at all times.

For the iPad, the Camera Connection Kit is the essential gizmo. For those of you using SD cards, that's all you need; if you use Compact Flash, you'll need to plug a CF reader into the USB port the kit provides. I haven't researched other memory formats, but I'm guessing Sony's would work similarly.

I have a 16GB iPad, so, as a practical matter, I only have 8GB memory cards. After all, I want to be able to load in ALL my photos. If I make sure my iPad's no more than half full at the start of a session and only use one card's worth, I'm good.

I tend to review pictures fairly frequently: every couple of hours, more if I have the opportunity for some re-takes if needed. In Venice Beach, I imported over lunch, and reviewed my pictures. I delete the ones that are seriously out of focus, but I've learned that I'm not looking at the full-res version of the image, so I try not to make decisions about whether or not picture A is in better focus than picture B. I'm just trying to whittle out the spectacular failures (of which I have many, especially if I'm trying manual focus).

At the end of the day, I sync back to my laptop, which is when I make the decisions about focus. I do that in Photoshop at 100%, so that's pretty time consuming, but I can usually weed out a bunch even before that.

 

[summerkl]

Thanks Deirdre - that's very helpful.

I was leaning towards the iPad and I'm leaning further now. Guess I can start dropping hints to my wife and kids about what should be under the Christmas tree for me

By the way, do you need a Mac laptop to sync? I'm hoping that it syncs with iTunes so it should work on Windows.

 

[deirdre]

It does sync with iTunes, and there is provision for syncing photos from the iPad to Windows. Essentially, the iPad is seen as a camera, much like it is on a Mac.

Edited to add: I've never tried syncing to Windows, though. I just looked it up because you asked.

 

[Prototype]

Don't forget to mention one of the iPad's biggest strengths: The IPS panel. Every time I try to show a video or photo on my laptop to a group of people, only one viewer has a good angle and everyone else has to deal with a washed out view. An IPS panel provides amazing viewing angles - close to 180-degrees. Perfect for showing off your photos to a group of people.

 

[BBW]

Brian - thanks for this information. I've only played a tiny bit with one in the Apple store...and wish I could figure out a way to justify my buying one for myself. I'm working on it.

 

[BBW]

I've been wondering how the iPad deals with RAW files. I'm sure that this has been explained somewhere but this seems like a pretty straightforward thread, so I thought I'd ask here.

Do most people download to the iPad and then eventually take their photos into Lightroom or whatever later on?

 

[Alf]

I've been wondering how the iPad deals with RAW files. I'm sure that this has been explained somewhere but this seems like a pretty straightforward thread, so I thought I'd ask here.
Do most people download to the iPad and then eventually take their photos into Lightroom or whatever later on?

About RAW: it's easy - if OSX supports your format, iOS supports it too. If you shoot jpeg+RAW, it is shown as that during import, and the RAW file remains inside your iPad until the moment you import into your PC or Mac. Lightroom sees the iPad as a card reader on my PC, and at that moment it imports your RAW and/or jpeg files as they were.
If you want to work on your images on the iPad using one app (i start to like Snapseed very much, but Photogene and Filterstorm and Photofx Ultra are also good), iOS provides your imported images to the requesting app, albeit at a reduced resolution. Apparently, if you shoot RAW+JPG the app gets the JPG (if the developers didn't ask specifically for the RAW), and if you only shoot RAW, it is converted from iOS on the fly to jpg. After you save your images they end in an album called "saved photos", separate from your imported images, and those saved jpegs too are seen as "new" pics to be imported when on your computer, with different filenames (IMG_*) from your imported images which seem untouched.

 

[BBW]

Excellent explanation, Alf! I knew you'd pull through for me! I also remember an older thread in which you discussed some of your first attempts with the iPad and your photos. I've been enjoying your use of snapseed - and I believe ugog is using that, too, if I'm not mistaken.

Do you find that you do most of your work on your photos these days via the iPad or LR or both?

I'm asking because I'm trying to rationalize things. I am interested in the iPad for other reasons...all of which are not really imperative.

 

[Alf]

Do you find that you do most of your work on your photos these days via the iPad or LR or both?

Both, and I'll tell you why.
First, I'm still mostly learning composition and using my camera in P-mode, so some postprocessing is often needed after the fact on RAW files.
Second, the iPad screen is very convenient for reviewing and selecting whic pics are to survive and be eventually processed.
Third. Here the roads diverge: well-lit or lucky pics get the sofa treatment (with snapseed these days), difficult ones wait for Lightroom.
Fourth, when using Lightroom I only look at the results on the iPad screen, which - albeit small - is much better than my old flat panel for judging results. I use AirDisplay as a secondary screen for LightRoom. I think that if it's good enough for Ctein to work on, it's good enough for me to play.
When on Lightroom, I reprocess entire sets of the pics I like. Often the result is quite different from what Snapseed produced, and I like both results.

 

[BBW]

AirDisplay? Aha, something new for me to read about! So do you use AirDisplay as the monitor for LR on your iPad?

Hmm, all good food for thought and for whetting my appetite even more, I think.

Next question - how much GB does one need on an iPad? I'm assuming that you don't hold all those photos forever on the iPad...

 

[Alf]

AirDisplay? Aha, something new for me to read about! So do you use AirDisplay as the monitor for LR on your iPad?

Reference: Ctein1 Ctein2

Next question - how much GB does one need on an iPad? I'm assuming that you don't hold all those photos forever on the iPad...

Sigh, not. I delete after importing into lightroom (those RAWs are big). After working on LR, though, I export them again to a folder named "iPad photo sync" on my desktop. Prepared a preset with the largest iPad allowed resolution to do that

I got a 64GB, wifi only (supposedly it will stay at home), and an exported version of each pic I did not delete since shooting digital is inside it, filling less than 8GB.
When I'm not home I just bring lots of cards.

 

[BBW]

Thank you, Alf. I would never have considered the big iPad.

What else do you use it for? Do you read books on it?

How does one play a DVD or CD on an iPad, if I may ask?

 

[stratokaster]

I used my iPad 2 exclusively on my recent trip to Belarus. I downloaded photos to iPad, sorted them and deleted unsuccessful ones. When I got home, I connected my iPad to my Mac and imported the images into Lightroom library - easy! If I was a reporter, I would tweak pictures using Photogene (easily the best photo editor for iPad) and upload them to Flickr.

 

[Alf]

What else do you use it for? Do you read books on it?

Lots of forum lurking!
Then reading, some writing, net tv (mostly aljazeera these days) and books. It's great for manuals, and quite good for fiction (paper is stil best). Plus there are some good apps and games.

How does one play a DVD or CD on an iPad, if I may ask?

Audio and video should get on the iPad via iTunes, but recent updates allow you to reach your library on your computer from the iPad, and apps work for accessing the rest.
This does not help for physical disks, of course (but Handbrake helps).

 

[BBW]

Thanks to you both.

It seems weird to me that the iPad would not play DVDs. Handbrake, eh? So does this mean if one has a DVD and puts it on their Mac (or PC) that it allows you to view it on the iPad?

I'm a huge Apple fan, but I am surprised about not being able to use DVDs or CDs. I guess I want it all.

 

[deirdre]

Reference: Ctein1 Ctein2

Ctein's an acquaintance of mine; I've just scheduled him to speak at a science fiction convention this weekend.

 

[BBW]

That's cool! You should be sure to give us an update!

 

[Alf]

It seems weird to me that the iPad would not play DVDs. Handbrake, eh? So does this mean if one has a DVD and puts it on their Mac (or PC) that it allows you to view it on the iPad?

You know, in the iPad there is no place where to insert a disc.. So you just convert. Takes some time, but at least it has presets and the price is right. CDs can easily be ripped by iTues itself.
Of course, having most of your library already on the computer helps. Still undecided on my old discs, as ripping everything would take ages.

 

[BBW]

Thanks Alf, you're certainly doing your best to convince me! I never realized that one could "rip" a DVD video? I'm too behind the times. What I was thinking was that it would be a very handy way to watch a movie DVD, say if my other half didn't want to watch it...and I could then just go into another room or sit in bed with Colin Firth.:tongue: But I'd have to use something like Handgrip to convert the DVD first via iTunes? Or just hope that Netflix had it available as a "play now"?

Sorry I'm so ignorant about this stuff. Of course I can use my lap top for this sort of thing, too.

I have got some corneal and retinal issues going on with my eyes and need to see if even using a screen to read is worse or better for me... If I find out that using the iPad would help for reading books, well then I'm sure that I'd want to get one because I am an avid reader. I also like the idea of being comfortable with something like the iPad to go on to Serious Compacts, etc. So all this is a means to possible rationalization.

 

[Crsnydertx]

BB, re reading books, I primarily use a nook (B&N reader similar to amazon Kindle). Reading on the backlit iPad screen reportedly causes eyestrain after a while, so I've stuck with the nook for heavy reading. And it's very addictive..buying way too many books!