iPad as the ultimate photographers companion...

[HarryPot]

So, the new iPad looks like a cool tablet for photographers. At least, it has the potential. My doubts are:

1. Can you connect an external drive to the iPad? This would be amazing to make photo backups in travels.

2. Can the iPhone OS read RAW files? If yes, does it have the sufficient capacity to display them smoothly? Somehow making a stripped down version of Aperture for the iPad would be cool, and being able to import to Aperture and then transfer them to you Mac would be cool.

3. Lastly, does the accessories for the iPad to connect SD card work with the iPhone/iPod Touch?

Thanks.

 

[Phrasikleia]

I'm going to guess it will not connect directly to any hard drive anytime soon. Nor will it go the direction of a productivity device for photographers anytime soon. It offers a great way to display JPEGs, but beyond that, its utility as a photography peripheral is very limited.

 

[al256]

So, the new iPad looks like a cool tablet for photographers. At least, it has the potential. My doubts are:

1. Can you connect an external drive to the iPad? This would be amazing to make photo backups in travels.

2. Can the iPhone OS read RAW files? If yes, does it have the sufficient capacity to display them smoothly? Somehow making a stripped down version of Aperture for the iPad would be cool, and being able to import to Aperture and then transfer them to you Mac would be cool.

3. Lastly, does the accessories for the iPad to connect SD card work with the iPhone/iPod Touch?

Thanks.

I'm still not sure about how useful it would be to use the iPad + a camera.

1. It only uploads the photos from the camera kit to a computer. Think of it as a middle man.

2. I'd love to know if it handles RAW also. Judging by its photos app still not offering any editing, I'm going to doubt there will be an Aperture lite from Apple.

3. I'll guess no but I could be wrong.

Except for what I read online, numbers 2 and 3 are guesses but I'd place money on those guesses (If I lose, we win).

 

[RobLS]

I think of the new iPad as a good product for photographers for showing clients or friends final products of your pictures. You will be uploading them to the computer anyways to work on them and go through them.

The iPad could offer a more intimate presentation of someone's photoshoot. Give them the sense that they're holding their pictures already as they breeze through them.

Not only can photographers use this as a device to present photos to clients and family/friends, it could be used for businessmen or anyone needing to show off work.

 

[Designer Dale]

I was surprised at all of the post I read on various threads from folks who actually wanted to run PhotoShop on a 10 in screen. It' a challenge on a 15 or 17 and most of us have 20-30 in screens for this. Some posters even wanted to use it like a Wacom Cintiq for digital paint and such. The Cintiq is only an input device with a color LCD that mirrors the computer.

PhotoShop will always be a power app, but you will see Elements and some sort of Aperture/Lightroom application for this device in the next five years. Storage and CPU power will be way up by then.

As for my photography, I don't want to dump my photos in RAW to any device with a max of 64 GB storage. It's just what they showed it as, a photo viewing device. There's a market for that. There's a market for a travel photo storage device with a 10 in screen and a 160 GB hard drive, too. That would be a single use device, but a nice one. Imagine being able to do that stage one edit where you toss the marginal ones in the field on a big screen.

Since this is a forum people actually read, I don't care for the names of any of the current Apple products with the exception of Mac Pro, Mac Mini and the displays. The last good product names were PowerBook and PowerMac. We'd still have those names except that they belong to Motorola and IBM (I think).

There's a good market for this, don't get me wrong. My laptop is always tied down as my workstation and this is just the ticket for web browsing at my leisure. But it won't meet my photography needs. They just keep getting bigger and bigger

In all of the criticism of the iPad, I'm left with this thought: Under Steve Jobs, Apple rolled out a Bondi blue gumdrop computer with no floppy drive, parallel port or SCSI interface. And, well, here we are...

Dale

 

[nutmac]

Apple released a similar product for iPod classic (and its predecessors) before, it was called iPod Camera Connector. It backed up every media files (RAW, JPEG, video) into iPod, but only JPEG was viewable.

I am personally ticked off that iPad lacks built-in SD slot, which would've made it a better companion.

 

[toxic]

if someone can figure out a way to tether a camera to it, it'd be nice for on-location stuff. other than that, it'd just be displaying and minor editing - which it'd potentially be good at, since it has an IPS screen. if someone (*cough*Wacom*cough*) can make usable as a pen tablet, that would be even better.

maybe this a sign Apple will start tricking IPS screens into its Macbook Pros....

 

[Consultant]

if someone can figure out a way to tether a camera to it, it'd be nice for on-location stuff. other than that, it'd just be displaying and minor editing - which it'd potentially be good at, since it has an IPS screen. if someone (*cough*Wacom*cough*) can make usable as a pen tablet, that would be even better.

maybe this a sign Apple will start tricking IPS screens into its Macbook Pros....

USB dock adapter + SDK FTW!

 

[ronjon10]

I actually want the iPad to tether to my dSLR so it can display photos as I take them. That would be a huge help to me in the photographs I take. I don't need it to support RAW. It can just download the jpg version of the image I took. I also don't need photochop functionality on the device. I try to get it right in the camera, hence the need to see bigger versions of the image than I get on my camera.

It should also have easy note taking capabilities for jotting down notes in the field. The on screen keyboard probably isn't ideal for this.

If it had this tether functionality, I'd be getting it. As it is, I'll probably get a tablet PC (lenovo or something) that'll give me tethering and note taking functionality.

I do think the form factor can play a huge role for photographers in the future.

 

[PixelFactory]

I think that Apple, Adobe or even Nikon or Canon will introduce an iPad App with Aperture features. The SDK also allows for hardware aware apps so tethering to a camera could also be an option as well as having an app that is aware of external storage. The hardware might not be desktop (or even laptop) class, but I remember thinking a 100Mhz PowerMac was blazing fast.

 

[Grimace]

The iPhone photos app displays RAW files so there would be no reason to assume that the iPad would be any different.

For getting RAW into the iPad, that is a different story. I still have the camera adapter that allowed you to plug a USB cable (from a camera) directly into an iPod photo. Hopefully it still works on the iPad!

Editing would be a pain in the butt on a device like this. But, for dumping photos (slowly...) from a shoot -- that would be nice.

As with Aperture 3 (X) - I'm not holding my breath.

 

[Ruahrc]

It's cool to hear that there was at least some kind of RAW operability on the iPod photo before. Makes it promising that RAW capable photo-dumping might be in the future.

As for my photography, I don't want to dump my photos in RAW to any device with a max of 64 GB storage.

How much space do you really need? I went on a 2.5 week photography trip this past summer, where we shot pretty much every day. I came back with about 25GB in RAW pictures. Assuming I had a 64GB iPad, loaded with 32GB of data (my current 32GB iPod touch is about 85% full) I would have had plenty of space to store all my RAW photos on the iPad. If you are shooting in 14-bit RAW and have a bigger camera than I (my D80 is 10MP), I could see where having a lot of content stored on the iPad plus the bigger RAW files might be limiting with 64GB. But still, I think that even in the current 64GB configuration, it would be sufficient for the vast majority of hobby and even some pro shooters out there.

However, it is not a big stretch of the imagination to envision an iPad in the not-too-distant future that has 128GB of storage. And this I think would be enough for even a pro shooter. Built in SD cards would be nice but then if you shoot CF you're still screwed. It would have been nice but I'm willing to accept a SD card dongle.

Advanced editing is a bit dubious on this device. But for in-the-field tagging and culling, and basic editing... this has pretty big potential.

 

[nutmac]

The iPhone photos app displays RAW files so there would be no reason to assume that the iPad would be any different.

Is this true? I haven't tried in awhile, but the last time I did, it didn't display RAW files at all.

 

[Grimace]

Is this true? I haven't tried in awhile, but the last time I did, it didn't display RAW files at all.

Yep, I have about a dozen JPEGs in my Aperture Library and XY,000 RAW files and I can sync (through iTunes) whatever I want to show people on my iPhone.

 

[nutmac]

Yep, I have about a dozen JPEGs in my Aperture Library and XY,000 RAW files and I can sync (through iTunes) whatever I want to show people on my iPhone.

I was under the impression that iTunes syncs JPEG preview images, not RAW. For instance, during the sync process, it displays "optimizing for iPhone" (or similar message). The message implies it's generating special images for iPhone from RAW. In addition, the synced image reflects all the post processing parameters.

 

[Doylem]

From the little I've seen and read, I'm really excited about the potential of the iPad. Not for editing pix 'on the road' (Aperture-lite on a 9in screen? I don't think so... ) but for making presentations to clients. If would be perfect for my photography workshops: I know it will link up to a projector.

I can see it fitting into my camera bag. I do a lot of writing, and an iPad would be very useful for making notes, etc, while I'm waiting for the light to get 'interesting'. I love the idea of being able to use a proper keyboard too, for 'proper' writing when away from home.

I'd love to be able to 'unload' pix onto an iPad after a day's shoot in the wilds, if I'm not going to be home for a while. Yup, I can see myself making a lot of use of one... as well as for reading books, magazines, being on the web, emailing, etc. C'mon Apple, let's see those iPads coming off the production line... and don't screw us on the price here in the UK...

 

[HarryPot]

There's a market for a travel photo storage device with a 10 in screen and a 160 GB hard drive, too. That would be a single use device, but a nice one. Imagine being able to do that stage one edit where you toss the marginal ones in the field on a big screen.

This is what I think could be done easily. I mean, for most amateur photographers, 64GB might be enough. Plus, I guess the iPad has the hardware capabilities to accept external drives. This would practically make it a perfect travel companion. Being able to have a backup in a small device on the go, and that this device replaces all the needs you might have in a travel from a laptop.

But, and a big BUT, Apple has never been one to open their platforms. So I don't see how this can be done without hacking the device, a la Apple TV.

Editing would be a pain in the butt on a device like this. But, for dumping photos (slowly...) from a shoot -- that would be nice.

Yes, I guess heavy editing will never be able on a tablet. But being able to sort photos, compare and rate them, upload to the web, and maybe little editing like contrast, exposure, etc. would be nice.

"All these things that take so much time in the post-processing, easily done with your fingers while..."

Yep, I have about a dozen JPEGs in my Aperture Library and XY,000 RAW files and I can sync (through iTunes) whatever I want to show people on my iPhone.

As far as I know, iTunes converts the photos to JPEG format. Tho I'm not sure.

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Completely out of the topic: I can't wait to see the first restaurant/bar to implement the iPad in their day-to-day activities. Imagine an electronic menu. It might already exist, but this one would have an Apple behind it...obviosuly much better.

 

[John.B]

The camera connection kit looks great if your camera shoots SD or SDHC, but not so much for CF card users.

 

[GoCubsGo]

The camera connection kit looks great if your camera shoots SD or SDHC, but not so much for CF card users.

Exactly. Apple is closing out the "prosumer" line of cameras their shooters. Not super awesome if you ask me, an owner of cameras that use CF card.

 

[Grimace]

You can still connect the camera itself (via USB) to the iPad -- but that does drain the battery during transfer.

Edit from prior post: I'm probably 100% wrong on the iPhone's ability to show RAW - I had no idea that iTunes was making JPEG versions. That definitely makes sense!

 

[anubis]

I'm not exactly sure what the iPad offers me...

The ability to dump up to ~60GB of photo files would be kind of nice, except that if that's all I was using it for, it would be far more cost effective for me to just buy 60GB worth of compact flash cards to put in the camera.

I guess it might be useful to help chimp photos on site, since it would be easier to judge the quality of a photo on a 10 inch screen than the tiny 2 inch screen on my 5D... except that I might as well do that on my iMac at home...

I do weddings primarily, and maybe it could be helpful to show the B&G some of their wedding photos that I've downloaded while they're eating dinner... except that I'm lucky to get 5 seconds of free time during a wedding, let alone enough time to download photos to the iPad, pick good ones, and present them to the B&G on location. Don't really know if that would be worth the $$$

All in all, a photographer would be much better served spending their $500+ on other things.

 

[stagi]

I don't think they will allow a external drive to be hooked up otherwise I agree with you, it would be a great way to do a first edit (by that i mean just pick the keepers) could be much faster with touchscreen vs a traditional computer. I am sure one day when the macbook pro is multi touch editing will be much quicker

 

[joelypolly]

So many possibilities people are missing

I think we would be waiting until some apps are release before this really makes sense.
Personally I think the iPad combined with a Eye-Fi card, some sort of camera control and a photo organisation app would be perfect.

anubis: in your case you arrive at an event and start shooting with the Eye-Fi card automatically uploading photos to the iPad. When people start eating you can review photos and perhaps quickly tag some as available for print. The iPad can send the downsized JPGs directly to your office for your assistant to print. By the end of dinner prints are available for purchase. This is just one potential use of it.

Other people have mentioned tethering and perhaps there can be a app to do time-lapse photography and automatically turn it into a movie.

The 3G enabled version also comes with a GPS which can auto geotag photos that are uploaded by the Eye-Fi card.

There are many possibilities that make it quite an exciting time

 

[CrackedButter]

I agree with others that this would be great so show clients your photography. Only last week, I was showing showing some images with my laptop, clicking through them. It feels so old now!

This would be so great and they can hold it and look for themselves.

When I get my iPad, I can travel and leave the laptop behind and just end up using the laptop for Photoshop, Indesign and Aperture work. The iPad would become my main machine. From what I've read, there is a file system the user can access so I can download files as I go. Only 58 days to go!

 

[wheelhot]

yeah, I do thing the iPad will show its appeal when the apps start rolling in. Look at the iPhone, many people bought it for what? the apps. And those who aren't bothered with the apps usually dont even get the iPhone.

Anyway, it does make me rethink what will do with my notebook if I get the iPad cuz think of it this way, a notebook is something like a desktop on the go, but it is never as powerful as a desktop which is why many photographers still have a desktop/iMac/PowerMac as their main workstation.

Now, if I were to have a desktop to do my main work, then why do I need a notebook for? I will usually only use my notebook to store photos (temporarily backup from camera), web browsing, do some writing but most of the time I only use it for the internet. So if the iPad keyboard works and allows us to use a CF reader (since there is none) to transfer photos. I feel I will end up using the iPad more then my notebook