Apple release card reader for the iPhone

[Razeus]

Apple release card reader for the iPhone with USB 3 to boot!

http://www.imore.com/apple-releases-iphone-compatible-sd-card-reader

Forget weirdly-shaped silicone battery cases: The biggest new Apple product is, in fact, a revamp of the company's Lightning to SD Card Camera Reader. Not only does it now offer USB 3 speeds for the iPad Pro, but all iPhone models post-iPhone 5 are supported, too.

First reported by Jeff Benjamin at iDownloadBlog, this is a huge boon for anyone who travels with a DSLR (or takes professional photographs)—no longer do you need an iPad or Mac to save photographs or video you've snapped to iCloud Photo Library or Dropbox, or share images with friends. I've been asking for this capability since the release of Apple's original SD card reader, and I am beyond excited to get my hands on it.

http://www.apple.com/shop/product/MJYT2AM/A/lightning-to-sd-card-camera-reader

 

[tgara]

Yay! A great stocking stuffer!

 

[nilk]

Current iPhone will only support USB 2.0 speeds with this. Apparently the old Lightning SD card reader works on iPhone too. USB 3.0 only matters for iPad Pro.

In any case, this is awesome because it means you can do your entire photography workflow on-the-go with just an iPhone (makes iCloud Photos more compelling for an Aperture holdout, despite it's existing shortcomings). I'm debating whether to go the SD card reader route, or if the USB camera connection adapter (also newly supporting the iPhone in iOS 9.2) is the more versatile solution (maybe connecting USB directly to my camera is the option I'd want to use on-the-go, even though I wouldn't normally do that when loading photos into a Mac).

With the USB camera connection adapter I'm looking for the answer to two questions: Can you use an existing USB SD card adapter with it? Is tethered shooting possible with it? (BTW can already do tethered shooting with some Android devices)

These possibilities make me happy enough, tethered shooting would be a dream.

 

[0970373]

Have the old USB Camera adapter and the iOS 9.2 update reenabled its use on my iPhone. I like the Camera Adapter because it can support my DSLR also, which is the Canon 7D Mark I which uses CF cards. It's working like a champ so far. I tried connecting my card reader to it as well but it failed due to power. But I imagine a powered SD card reader would work.

Can't answer your question re: tethered shooting as there are many variables in order to get that working. Best bet is to buy the cable and test it with your setup. You can always return it if it doesn't work out for you.

 

[shmeffrey]

I have the lightning SD card reader and updated my iPhone 6 to IOS9.2 and it still doesn't work. It keeps saying its not a recognized accessory, but its straight from apple... wtf.

 

[chrfr]

I have the lightning SD card reader and updated my iPhone 6 to IOS9.2 and it still doesn't work. It keeps saying its not a recognized accessory, but its straight from apple... wtf.

My Lighting-SD card reader (the old one) works perfectly fine on a 6 and 6S. Perhaps try blowing any dust out of the Lightning port on the phone. (I'm taking a wild guess on that one.)

 

[tgara]

I have the lightning SD card reader and updated my iPhone 6 to IOS9.2 and it still doesn't work. It keeps saying its not a recognized accessory, but its straight from apple... wtf.

Like chrfr, I have the old lightning SD card adaptor and it works on my iPhone 5S running iOS 9.2. Maybe doing a reset of your phone would help things?

 

[calabi]

Like chrfr, I have the old lightning SD card adaptor and it works on my iPhone 5S running iOS 9.2.

Hello! I've got an iPhone 5s and thinking about getting this to use with my DSLR but I'm wondering what the copy speeds are like on a full card of RAW's.

I had the old camera connection kit for my iPad 3 but the copy speeds were very slow for RAW's.

 

[tgara]

Hello! I've got an iPhone 5s and thinking about getting this to use with my DSLR but I'm wondering what the copy speeds are like on a full card of RAW's.

I had the old camera connection kit for my iPad 3 but the copy speeds were very slow for RAW's.

For the iPhone 5S, I would expect similar speeds as you had with the iPad 3. For the 5S with the Lightning card reader and iOS 9.2, the best you can do is USB 2.0 speeds (USB 3.0 speed is only supported in the iPad Pro at the moment).

TBH, I've used the connector to transfer RAW images from my Canon 5D MkIII, but (a) its slow, and (b) the RAW images take up a lot of space on the device. I don't recommend transferring RAW images to an iPad anymore due mainly to the space problem -- you don't want to clog the iPad up with a ton of 40MB images. Instead, I'll shoot either JPGs or RAW+JPG and transfer only the JPGs to the device. It's much faster and these images take up far less space. When I get home an in front of my computer, I'll download the RAW files from the cards and import them into Photos, Aperture, Lightroom or whatever.

 

[calabi]

I don't recommend transferring RAW images to an iPad anymore due mainly to the space problem -- you don't want to clog the iPad up with a ton of 40MB images. Instead, I'll shoot either JPGs or RAW+JPG and transfer only the JPGs to the device. It's much faster and these images take up far less space. When I get home an in front of my computer, I'll download the RAW files from the cards and import them into Photos, Aperture, Lightroom or whatever.

Thanks for the reply, so if you shoot JPG + RAW it gives you the option to download one of the other? That's good if that's the case.

 

[tgara]

Thanks for the reply, so if you shoot JPG + RAW it gives you the option to download one of the other? That's good if that's the case.

I don't recall, but I do know that you can select which images you download.

Thanks for the reply, so if you shoot JPG + RAW it gives you the option to download one of the other? That's good if that's the case.

I think so, but I have not checked in a while to be honest. The better option, however, is if your camera has both a CF and an SD card slot (like my 5D3 does). For ease, I shoot RAWs onto the CF card and JPGs onto the SD card. Then I can easily transfer the JPGs easily to the iPad if I wish.

Keep in mind, Apple's iOS devices are not really designed to be used with RAW images. I've been working on this same problem since 2010, so believe me when I tell you you're going to have difficulties with a RAW workflow on these devices. I've essentially given up on RAWs on iOS.

 

[calabi]

I think so, but I have not checked in a while to be honest. The better option, however, is if your camera has both a CF and an SD card slot (like my 5D3 does). For ease, I shoot RAWs onto the CF card and JPGs onto the SD card. Then I can easily transfer the JPGs easily to the iPad if I wish.

Thanks for the advice I'm afraid I have an entry level DLSR tried with my old camera connection kit shooting RAW + JPG still very slow because it loads the RAW as well even though it's only importing the JPG.

If I shoot only JPG it's a lot faster but I really need the RAWs for Lightroom editing.

Shame because if it only looked for JPG's option it would be so much more useable.

Might grab one of these new connectors and try the speeds on my iPhone 5s vs an old iPad 3.

 

[EdwardSmith36]

I have visited the website that is given above & the card reader really looks classy and compatible. I'm glad to know that it do support all iPhone models.