Apple Releases Lightning to SD Camera Reader With USB 3.0 Speeds on iPad Pro

[paul00]

I don't disagree with any of this. SD cards will become faster in time as well.

Going back to original topic though - Apple will probably update the Lighting Camera USB adapter at one point anyway allowing anyone with any memory card/camera to transfer photos and videos to their iOS devices. Current adapter works just fine and even though it doesn't support USB3.0 it's still pretty fast and beats transferring things wirelessly.

 

[Mike Oxard]

I was too...but it's time to let go. It is gone, our beloved Aperture, but it will be always be loved & remembered in our hearts.

True, I hope the Lightroom learning curve won't be too steep.

 

[0970373]

True, I hope the Lightroom learning curve won't be too steep.

It's not as bad as you think. Head over to the Digital Photography sub forum for help. There have been some discussions on it and how to best move over.

 

[manu chao]

Can you edit RAW files on the iPad now?

Sure you can, for many years already. But there are two many problems associated with it that there weren't really practical. For once, performance wasn't there for a long time, my iPad 3 takes about 10 seconds to open a 16 MP 12-bit raw file. Second workflow was way too cumbersome. If you use this adapter to import raws into the iPad (which means into the Photos app), the Photos app won't show which images are raw or jpeg (or a raw+jpeg pair). If you have an image that is there as a raw, you could then send the raw file to one of the about five apps that actually can open raw files (PhotoSmith, PhotoRaw, piRAWnha, Photogene, Mylio, and PhotoSmith hasn't receive a single update since early 2014). I think a copy of the raw file would then be stored in that app (but that might have changed in newer OS versions) and you export a JPEG or TIFF version of the converted raw image. But this would be a file by file operation, nothing like Lightroom.

http://www.engadget.com/2014/04/30/lightroom-mobile/

The only problem is that you cannot use this adaptor to import images into LR mobile. You can only import into the Photos app.

Maybe Apple's "Lightning to USB Camera Adapter" would work with a USB CF reader?

It did for a short while, then a new iOS version restricted the amount of power USB devices could draw from that adaptor and most CF readers stopped working.

 

[manu chao]

See above.

 

[manu chao]

See above.

 

[manu chao]

Wow.

Of course they ARE full frame. 645 is actually bigger than full frame. A7RII has the best sensor in the world for high res and A7SII for low light. Look it up. Nothing from Canon or Nikon can even come close.

The Pentax 645Z actually has a higher resolution than the Sony A7rII and a higher SNR at base ISO. The Nikon D810 has a slightly smaller resolution than the Sony (36 vs 42 MP) but because of its lower base ISO, it does have a better IQ at base ISO by a little bit.

 

[0970373]

Going back to original topic though - Apple will probably update the Lighting Camera USB adapter at one point anyway allowing anyone with any memory card/camera to transfer photos and videos to their iOS devices. Current adapter works just fine and even though it doesn't support USB3.0 it's still pretty fast and beats transferring things wirelessly.

Yes, exactly. I love ShutterSnitch but being able to import via cable is so much faster. I wish Apple would allow apps to import directly to other apps like SS. it would make photo management much better. But importing to camera roll then to SS isn't so bad now that swipe to select is back. I think it retains the original file name now as well. it used to rename the files.

 

[geoff5093]

Enough with the adapters Apple... Why not actually make these things in your product? The iPad Pro is certainly large enough for more ports than just a single lightning connector. Why not add a Thunderbolt, SD card, USB, etc. ports?

 

[rtdunham]

Apple has released a new Lightning to SD Card Camera Reader​

Apple sells an "iPad camera connector kit" that includes a small sd card reader that outputs to a 30-pin connector, if I'm not mistaken. And it sells a very small 30-pin to lightning adapter. Is this new product the same, functionally, as attaching one of those small adapters to the sd reader, permitting import of photos from sd card to iPhone? What is the software interplay?

 

[nilk]

It did for a short while, then a new iOS version restricted the amount of power USB devices could draw from that adaptor and most CF readers stopped working.

Is this also a problem for SD card readers connected to the USB Camera Adapter? Or just unique to the power requirements of typical CF readers?

I'm debating whether it makes sense to get the USB Camera Adapter vs the SD card reader. Maybe using USB Camera Adapter and connecting it directly to my Canon T3i might make sense when on-the-go, but also want to be able to read SD cards directly.

 

[JimmyHook]

Useless to photographers until the iPad has a file system. I need to be able to move and organise RAW files between external drives and folders. Absolutely no support for this on iPad 'Pro'. One wonders.

There is a file system on the iPad. It's called iCloud Drive. And many third party apps allow you to create local file systems (see "Documents" app).

 

[haruhiko]

There is a file system on the iPad. It's called iCloud Drive. And many third party apps allow you to create local file systems (see "Documents" app).

The iOS 9 document picker also supports Dropbox, OneDrive and Google Drive.

 

[hiddenmarkov]

The iOS 9 document picker also supports Dropbox, OneDrive and Google Drive.

My cloud provider is called.....My NAS' system name, setup right I can see it anywhere (assuming not a country IP range I have a firewall rule for to not allow the connection). Its made by synology, so I get a wide range of applications native and 3rd party to run on it for more use.

Not asking for access to /etc/var/bin/...etc files structure...just a small pice of user directory and a file manage window that opens to my NAS really.

Not all use the cloud for business, data or personal reasons. I can't afford to pay google for 8.1 tb of data space for several years. Kind of why I got the NAS....last time I priced google to support that I would have paid the same for my NAS in about 1.5 of service contract pricing. My NAS should last many years beyond that 1.5.

 

[iCloudStrife]

If you need USB 3 speeds, I almost never plug my phone in other than to charge. Maybe it would be nice for backups...but I just use iCloud. For the iPad Pro it would be nice to transfer files onto it, but you still have to go through iTunes so I tend to avoid that.

If you are not already aware, your Health data does not get copied if you use the iCloud backup option. This may not matter to you; but if it does, I suggest you make local encrypted backups of your iPhone instead. There's nothing worse than losing months (or years) of meticulously-gathered Health data if something goes wrong.

 

[haruhiko]

My cloud provider is called.....My NAS' system name, setup right I can see it anywhere (assuming not a country IP range I have a firewall rule for to not allow the connection). Its made by synology, so I get a wide range of applications native and 3rd party to run on it for more use.

Not asking for access to /etc/var/bin/...etc files structure...just a small pice of user directory and a file manage window that opens to my NAS really.

Not all use the cloud for business, data or personal reasons. I can't afford to pay google for 8.1 tb of data space for several years. Kind of why I got the NAS....last time I priced google to support that I would have paid the same for my NAS in about 1.5 of service contract pricing. My NAS should last many years beyond that 1.5.

I wish Apple would support file sharing protocals like SMB, it will be really great considering that I also have several shared drive across my home network. It's doable, some apps like Infuse video player has implemented it, I'm sure Apple can do it if they want too, since they have a product called the Time Capsule and the harddisk inside can be shared over the network.

 

[whtrbt7]

Anyone know if this new SD to Lightning card reader is actually running at full USB 3.0 speeds? Last I checked we were limited to the speed of internal storage on iPads and I haven't noticed an increase of storage speed on the iPad Pro yet. Then again, I think my SDXC cards only support like 95MBps so isn't it a moot point?

Edit:
Max USB 2.0 speed is 60MBps so my cards could read faster on an iPad pro supposedly if the NAND and controller on the iPad Pro is fast enough. The new UHS 3 cards can support about 150MBps so it might be nice for some looking to upgrade. I'm hoping to see someone test this new SD to lightning adaptor compared to the old one.

 

[Tech198]

convenient : Microsoft has ports built into their hardware..
less-convenient: Apple does this via adapters as a cost.

I don't use sd cards... I buy flash drives by the dozen... like donuts..

 

[576316]

There is a file system on the iPad. It's called iCloud Drive. And many third party apps allow you to create local file systems (see "Documents" app).

Can I use it to view files and folders stored on external storage devices and move files back and forth between the two devices?

Still useless.

 

[driftless]

Does the iPad Pro handle RAW files?

Yes, they all do. However, the PP apps are limited in ability.

What I really want is to be able to move files from my iOS SD card into Dropbox and not use Photos as a go between.

FYI - http://www.thephoblographer.com/201...ing-the-laptop-editing-workflow/#.VmiKHjYbvPl

 

[maflynn]

Yes, they all do. However, the PP apps are limited in ability.

What I really want is to be able to move files from my iOS SD card into Dropbox and not use Photos as a go between.

FYI - http://www.thephoblographer.com/201...ing-the-laptop-editing-workflow/#.VmiKHjYbvPl

Thanks, that's interesting. I'm not sure given my workflow and needs, the iPad Pro is a good fit but what you provided is informative.

 

[ILikeAllOS]

While SD cards are being more the norm for PROSUMER cameras, this is an ignorant comment. CF cards ARE faster. This isn't really something to debate. When you shoot in high bursts as a professional photographer would, a CF card is faster. You don't have time to wait for cards to buffer/write to SD cards. My Micro 4/3 cameras all work with SD cards, which is much more convenient. The latest Pro cameras by Canon & Nikon have both SD & CF cards though. I still only have the 7D Mark I so it's CF cards in that.

Yes, SD cards are becoming more widely adopted but they are a far cry from what a CF card can do.

But to that end, if you are at the point where you are using a high end pro camera that uses CF cards, why wouldn't you have your laptop with you anyway? For that kind of work load, there's no tablet - access to file system or not - that is going to be more beneficial than bringing a laptop to manage that workflow. You should be dumping cards onto drives every night and backing those up to a 2nd drive.

I can't tell if you're agreeing with me or not but yes CF is faster and superior to SD.
What I'm saying is just that most people are going to use CF or the replacement XQD in their DSLR, while consumer point and shoots will use SD cards.
However consumers are not buying point and shoots as much anymore as most people stick with their phones instead. So that means there is really just 2 groups of people to target, those using their iPhone which has no storage card, or those using DSLRs like the flagship Nikon D4s or the flagship Canon EOS-1D X which use only CF/XQD cards.
I think it would make more sense then to release a CF card reader for the iPad Pro but even then, like you said most people with flagship DSLRs will dump this stuff to their laptops, back them up on drives and organize their photos in Lightroom.

 

[0970373]

I can't tell if you're agreeing with me or not but yes CF is faster and superior to SD.
What I'm saying is just that most people are going to use CF or the replacement XQD in their DSLR, while consumer point and shoots will use SD cards.
However consumers are not buying point and shoots as much anymore as most people stick with their phones instead. So that means there is really just 2 groups of people to target, those using their iPhone which has no storage card, or those using DSLRs like the flagship Nikon D4s or the flagship Canon EOS-1D X which use only CF/XQD cards.
I think it would make more sense then to release a CF card reader for the iPad Pro but even then, like you said most people with flagship DSLRs will dump this stuff to their laptops, back them up on drives and organize their photos in Lightroom.

I agree that CF cards are faster and superior to SD cards at the moment yes. But I also agreed with @paul00 that SD cards will be the wave of the future and will inevitably become fast enough to replace CF cards in true PRO cameras. Write rates just aren't fast enough on even the best SD cards yet. Mirrorless cameras are becoming much more accessible and provide the step up from P&S cameras and I'm finding more people with them. They provide a much better quality photo for a variety of price points. And they are getting better and better every year as well as smaller...which is why CF cards are on their way out. But we're a little ways away from that still. SD cards allow the camera to become smaller - this is the trend for sure.

I don't think an Apple CF card reader is necessary as the USB Camera Adapter works just fine with my 7D. I think that would cover that segment well enough. I haven't tried it yet but a powered card reader would probably also work on the USB Camera Adapter.

Side Note: Film is the best medium of all from an artistic perspective. It's less convenient, it's more expensive and it's a pain to develop. But it's still my favorite - and it's the one I use the least.

 

[driftless]

Thanks, that's interesting. I'm not sure given my workflow and needs, the iPad Pro is a good fit but what you provided is informative.

Hi Mike,

Here is my workflow for stills: I shoot m4/3's, mainly Olympus OMD's & GH4's. On two short recent trips my wife and I took roughly 700 pictures on each trip. I shoot LF JPEG+RAW, so that is 1,400 pictures. I upload them to my iPad and do a quick cull. Any pictures that I want to share immediately I use one of a couple apps to do basic editing on the JPEG and send it off. I prefer to do work on my iMac and the beauty of Photos/iCloud is that those pictures are already on my iMac when I return home. Once on my iMac I can work with RAW and export any pictures that I want to to LR/PS or another file structure.

For video it is a little more complicated. I don't find that it works well to import video into the iPad, well, at least large files. I video TED-style talks, a documentary, and a web based cooking site. Normally I just download SD cards into my iMac and skip the middle step. However, for the TED-style talks we have two cameras and a Tascam recorder and the total file(s) size ~35+GB. Rather than use a laptop, I have turned to using a SanDisk drive to back-up on site. http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00DR8LAE2...olid=BTFYX1EP6CX7&coliid=I3GT12XBFZETLM&psc=1

I am quite happy with the workflow for stills. I will be OK with video once there is high capacity/faster drive than the current ScanDisk.

- David

 

[driftless]

I agree that CF cards are faster and superior to SD cards at the moment yes. But I also agreed with @paul00 that SD cards will be the wave of the future and will inevitably become fast enough to replace CF cards in true PRO cameras. Write rates just aren't fast enough on even the best SD cards yet. Mirrorless cameras are becoming much more accessible and provide the step up from P&S cameras and I'm finding more people with them. They provide a much better quality photo for a variety of price points. And they are getting better and better every year as well as smaller...which is why CF cards are on their way out. But we're a little ways away from that still. SD cards allow the camera to become smaller - this is the trend for sure.

I am not sure what a "true PRO" is. Mirrorless cameras offer a range of options from upgrades to P&S cameras to "true PROs". Certainly indie and documentary videographers have adopted mirrorless with the GH4 and Sony A7S II. Take a look on B&H, etc., at some of the new SD cards designed to accommodate 4K; there have been a lot improvements to SD cards lately.