Is an iPad worth it?

[npdale]

Hey, so this is a question that's been buzzing in my head - I used to have an iPad 1... my wife has an iPad3... I use a macbook pro for pretty much everything... I'm rarely without it - I'm a DOP and photographer and I also have an iPhone 5, so I'm looking for peoples opinions on where they think an iPad would fit into my life ... sounds odd but I'm interested to hear peoples opinions and how they use their own in conjunction with other devices such as a laptop etc.

One use I can see is as a possible portfolio display for images.. so another question would be -- is a mini large enough for this purpose?

Thanks guys - look forward to the discussion

 

[carjakester]

ive also thought about having an iPad for reviewing photos/videos but never got the adapter. I could imagine a mini would be perfect for that. If you aren't sure whether you'll like having one give your wives iPad a go and see for yourself.

For me i have an iPad 4 and an iPad mini. My 4 used to be my go to but with the size of the mini i think it is perfect. My 4 just sits on the couch and i use it to airplay videos to my apple tv which it does just fine, my mini i bring with me to school to take notes as well as have at my bed to watch tv or browse the internet etc.

 

[moonman239]

You could buy Photoshop or iPhoto for the iPad, or use the iPad to show pictures.

My suggestion is to go ahead and buy the iPad. Assuming you don't damage it, you have 30 days to return it.

 

[teknikal90]

i find that the ipad replaces my computer for most 'home' stuff
i used to spend a lot of time in front of my computer on my computer desk doin 'home' stuff ie. facebook, listening to music, reading the news, emailing, paying bills, banking, youtube...etc etc.
the iPad replaces that function of my MBP and does so in a more convenient way for me (on my couch, on my bed, in the coffee shop etc.)

now, the MBP reserved exclusively for work and more heavy-weight computing.
what that does, is that my macbook pro looks pretty well brand new, even after owning it for two years.

 

[mtneer]

You may be better off asking this question on a photography forum, where other people may have integrated an iPad into their workflows. The audience here maybe more generalized to what you are looking for. Even if you can buy and return an iPad for 14 days; there is no such trial period for iOS apps. You may just burn some money trying everything if things don't work out.

 

[s2mikey]

You may be better off asking this question on a photography forum, where other people may have integrated an iPad into their workflows. The audience here maybe more generalized to what you are looking for. Even if you can buy and return an iPad for 14 days; there is no such trial period for iOS apps. You may just burn some money trying everything if things don't work out.

Good advice. Hard to get the correct answer here with a specific use case like that.

 

[irnchriz]

Hey, so this is a question that's been buzzing in my head - I used to have an iPad 1... my wife has an iPad3... I use a macbook pro for pretty much everything... I'm rarely without it - I'm a DOP and photographer and I also have an iPhone 5, so I'm looking for peoples opinions on where they think an iPad would fit into my life ... sounds odd but I'm interested to hear peoples opinions and how they use their own in conjunction with other devices such as a laptop etc.

One use I can see is as a possible portfolio display for images.. so another question would be -- is a mini large enough for this purpose?

Thanks guys - look forward to the discussion

For your purposes the Air would be better as the screen is better for displaying photos etc. if you are not too fussy about not having full gamut then the mini will do.

 

[kathyricks]

I consider a 13" or 15" rMBP essential for any kind of serious or semi-serious mobile photo editing. I dumped my iPad Air for a rMBP and love it as compared to the iPad which is so limiting because there's no pointing device, no OSX folder system, no real keyboard, a mere 1 GB of RAM and the processing power of only an Intel Core 2 Duo Processor.

The Surface Pro 2 is the only tablet that has notebook like power and functionality but they cost $1700 when decked out - as much as a base model 15' rMBP. So for that kind of money I'd rather have the 15' rMBP.

 

[LostSoul80]

Good advice. Hard to get the correct answer here with a specific use case like that.

Exactly. I bet there are only 2 photographers on these forums, only one of which using an iPad for photography related tasks.

 

[Shanghaichica]

I consider a 13" or 15" rMBP essential for any kind of serious or semi-serious mobile photo editing. I dumped my iPad Air for a rMBP and love it as compared to the iPad which is so limiting because there's no pointing device, no OSX folder system, no real keyboard, a mere 1 GB of RAM and the processing power of only an Intel Core 2 Duo Processor.

The Surface Pro 2 is the only tablet that has notebook like power and functionality but they cost $1700 when decked out - as much as a base model 15' rMBP. So for that kind of money I'd rather have the 15' rMBP.

I watched a show yesterday and there was a professional photographer on there. He also said that any serious/professional photography should not be doing any work on an iPad.

 

[Newtons Apple]

Each has to make their choice depending on needs.

To me the iPad replaced the laptop on the lap just cruising the Internet. Laptop is really for emergency use now as the desktop does all the serious stuff allowing the iPad to be mostly recreational!

As an avid photographer, there is no possible way that an iPad could handle my PhotoShop needs. Maybe one day when something rumored the iPad Pro comes out but not in the near future.

Everyone is different and in my case, I ask myself do I really still need a laptop?

 

[Badrottie]

Being a photographer, iPad is not for you because it requires a lot of editing raw or what else you are better off with your current MBP. I love taking pictures from my iPhone but never worked on my iPad at all. I am surprised Aparture 3 can upload pictures to my iPhone/iPad real nicely.