Continuing with my series of reviews and Interviews with iPad App Developers and the App they make, here is the next review for Photography presentation software:
Article link here (with images):http://jonathanjk.com/2011/01/20/padport-ipad-app-review/
Full Text:
PADPORT
PADPORT is described as “an elegant portfolio presentation App for the iPad – designed by and for professional media artists. PADPORT allows photographers, artists and a multitude of other visual artists to assemble a digital portfolio of their works and use the iPad as a new media presentation tool.”
Quick Features
Custom Splash/Home screens.
Different themes allow you to present work in different ways.
Include contact information within the App on your home screen like a business card.
Display not only your photography but also your videos in your galleries.
Support up to 7 portfolios at any one time. Others can be swapped around when needed to suit your preferred style with clients.
Kiosk mode
Home Screen
The first thing you notice upon activation is a tidy faux home screen with placeholder text (which you personalize later).
The placeholder text spells out the different contents within the App, words like ‘QUICK GUIDE’, ‘CONTACT’, and ‘ABOUT’ greet you. But these placeholders are not just decoration. They have a functional use, providing a guided tour through PADPORT’S features. Tapping ‘QUICK GUIDE’ is the most obvious way to get started. All the text on the home screen is in a beautiful but minimal, thin Sans Serif font, called Century Gothic. You can delete the Quick Guide when you’re finished; it’s duplicated in the help section inside settings if you need it again.
Near the bottom of the home screen is a Macintosh Dashboard style icon in a White outline. Tapping it takes you to the settings so you can import your photography.
Importing images
There are two ways to add images to PADPORT. One at a time, with PADPORT through the Photo Application, or through iTunes using the sync function.
Adding images one by one from the Photo Application is simple to use but initially confusing, it didn’t look like PADPORT responded to my import request. There was no feedback given to me because of a slight delay with import. I’ve queried this with the developers and there is an update coming to make PADPORT more responsive. The delay comes from processing each image as it makes its own copy from the Photo Application.
In addition just for clarity, my test images are larger the iPad’s native resolution, I’m using a resolution of 1400 x 1024 (this is for all reviews). At the moment I wouldn’t try to import images in bulk using this method, sync with iTunes instead.
Importing via iTunes is preferable but you can't import individual folders, only the contents. iTunes will display all your images as residing in the same directory on the iPad. Once imported (57 images), scrolling through thumbnails is very fluid and response.
In PADPORT’S listing on iTunes, there is a small note for prepping your images for use with PADPORT, the suggestion is: 2046 pixels wide (as a max) x 1536 pixels high (as a max) and to use the sRGB colour space with jpgs. I didn’t do this because I want to keep my testing fair between the Apps I’m reviewing. I didn’t process my images with the sRGB colour space, but I didn’t have any problems, nor expected any.
Editing images
To create a gallery, drag images from your library (in PADPORT) to the top of the screen into a timeline. The timeline is informative enough so you can see your sequence, naturally dragging and dropping is allowed within the timeline. One thing I noted when creating galleries, is that the images don't disappear from the library after they’re selected for use within a gallery.
This means when you’re near the end of creating a Portrait gallery, you’ll find yourself scrolling up and down through all your other images to include that last portrait.
I only set up 2 galleries for my review, imagine if I tried to set up 7 galleries with 200 images? I found it very tedious in a way I’m not use too (I do tedious in different ways that suit me ;-)). I can understand the PADPORT’S reasoning behind this, because PADPORT have made sure the images don't disappear incase they needed to be used in another gallery. For British readers this way of organising your photography is like Marmite, some photographers will want to work this way and others won’t, it falls down to your working preference and not really a fault of the software.* But it is important to note.
You can’t edit your galleries outside the settings screen. The settings are separate from the presentation screens. If you want to change settings during a presentation, a single tap at the top of the screen will bring up a hidden menu to take you back to the home screen where settings icon.
Another thing to note while presenting imagery with PADPORT is that they won't be displayed full screen. All images are slightly shrunk down with your choice of theme, a black background or a drop shadow. PADPORT’S developers have responded and stated a preference for a border. But a full screen mode is coming for those who want it. One neat touch is when swiping through a gallery; you can set up a preference for looping your presentation or allowing your presentation to carry on to the next gallery.
Video
Including Video in PADPORT takes care of the problem of application switching if you needed to show somebody photos from Apple’s Photo App and some movies from the Video App. PADPORT allows you to present both together!
My test movie clip was 30 MB with some audio.
Adding a movie is just as simple as adding photography to your PADPORT library and you gallery timeline, but currently you can’t preview movie clips. You can tap on the screen to bring up onscreen controls. During presentation, movies act like stills until you tap the play button. The play icon isn’t very noticeable in version one; I think it should be. I recommend a larger icon so users can see it clearly. Swiping to the next image will stop the video immediately, it’s simple to use and doesn’t need further elaborating. I have one nitpick, (besides the aforementioned tiny play icon) I would like the option to auto-play movie files. It would make it a more seamless experience for clients and for those who don’t know how to use an iPad or see the icon. It would prevent your clients from missing anything upon viewing.
Branding
You’re allowed two themes to customize your home screen. “Essential” and “Mnmlst”. “Essential” allows for a smaller version of Century Gothic along with a cool translucent sidebar running down the right side of the screen. “Mnmlst” allows for larger fonts but no translucent sidebar. Both themes allow for different splash and home screens with your choice of primary and secondary colours for your choice of text.
When it comes to branding Home Screens, FolioBook and PADPORT are very similar because they both use textual links to tap, in order to view your galleries.
PADPORT’S Settings
As I’ve mentioned previously, PADPORT’S settings screen is separate from the presentation screen. PADPORT have made sure to separate the two. This throws up the largest User Interface (UI) difference between FolioBook and PADPORT. FolioBook relies on popover menus that can be accessed at any time. PADPORT allows the user to only access the settings from the Home Screen.
This means that while you can make changes dynamically in FolioBook (updates on the fly), I felt it took longer to travel around the menu structure. But while PADPORT separates you from your work, (so every change requires you to exit the settings screen to view the changes) it feels faster to change the settings.
Wrapping Up
At the moment PADPORT feels rigid in use because it lacks customization tools (fonts and themes included), transitions (including zoom capability, full screen mode), video library previews and oddly, a portrait orientation.
I get the impression the PADPORT team have taken a page out of Apple’s book of product design (we all know how frequently Apple are criticised for the way they operate as well). The PADPORT team have concentrated on getting the nuts and bolts right with version one. Having interviewed Chad Holder of PADPORT, it’s clear the PADPORT team have plenty in the pipeline coming (especially portrait orientation). Would I replace my printed portfolio with PADPORT? Yes I would, it’s sophisticated enough to look like I care about how my photography is being presented digitally. Does it replicate the viewing experience of my website (allowing me to handle IPTC information so I can show text and image)? No not yet, so I’d still need to fire up Safari if I wanted to show examples of captioning and intro text with my work from my website.
Hopefully updates and the value they’ll bring are coming soon, some of these features are standard fare in other portfolio Apps.** But PADPORT have the head start on video integration and a good looking user interface. PADPORT can’t claim full marks with polish but it’s clear they are going to try.
This review will be updated with new information as I review other Apps in this roundup.
*My approach to prepping images is to organise galleries from folders I’ve already created on my laptop. In the App I’m using, I hope to just select my order of preference. Of course we all work differently from one another. Other photographers will want to create a gallery within PADPORT and still have the thumbnails ready to use for another gallery.
**Other photographers might not be so concerned about the lack of customization tools, having limitations might be useful. I mention this because I still haven’t finished designing a really satisfying Home Screen with FolioBook. With PADPORT it was the first thing I did and it works really well.
Article link here (with images):http://jonathanjk.com/2011/01/20/padport-ipad-app-review/
Full Text:
PADPORT
PADPORT is described as “an elegant portfolio presentation App for the iPad – designed by and for professional media artists. PADPORT allows photographers, artists and a multitude of other visual artists to assemble a digital portfolio of their works and use the iPad as a new media presentation tool.”
Quick Features
Custom Splash/Home screens.
Different themes allow you to present work in different ways.
Include contact information within the App on your home screen like a business card.
Display not only your photography but also your videos in your galleries.
Support up to 7 portfolios at any one time. Others can be swapped around when needed to suit your preferred style with clients.
Kiosk mode
Home Screen
The first thing you notice upon activation is a tidy faux home screen with placeholder text (which you personalize later).
The placeholder text spells out the different contents within the App, words like ‘QUICK GUIDE’, ‘CONTACT’, and ‘ABOUT’ greet you. But these placeholders are not just decoration. They have a functional use, providing a guided tour through PADPORT’S features. Tapping ‘QUICK GUIDE’ is the most obvious way to get started. All the text on the home screen is in a beautiful but minimal, thin Sans Serif font, called Century Gothic. You can delete the Quick Guide when you’re finished; it’s duplicated in the help section inside settings if you need it again.
Near the bottom of the home screen is a Macintosh Dashboard style icon in a White outline. Tapping it takes you to the settings so you can import your photography.
Importing images
There are two ways to add images to PADPORT. One at a time, with PADPORT through the Photo Application, or through iTunes using the sync function.
Adding images one by one from the Photo Application is simple to use but initially confusing, it didn’t look like PADPORT responded to my import request. There was no feedback given to me because of a slight delay with import. I’ve queried this with the developers and there is an update coming to make PADPORT more responsive. The delay comes from processing each image as it makes its own copy from the Photo Application.
In addition just for clarity, my test images are larger the iPad’s native resolution, I’m using a resolution of 1400 x 1024 (this is for all reviews). At the moment I wouldn’t try to import images in bulk using this method, sync with iTunes instead.
Importing via iTunes is preferable but you can't import individual folders, only the contents. iTunes will display all your images as residing in the same directory on the iPad. Once imported (57 images), scrolling through thumbnails is very fluid and response.
In PADPORT’S listing on iTunes, there is a small note for prepping your images for use with PADPORT, the suggestion is: 2046 pixels wide (as a max) x 1536 pixels high (as a max) and to use the sRGB colour space with jpgs. I didn’t do this because I want to keep my testing fair between the Apps I’m reviewing. I didn’t process my images with the sRGB colour space, but I didn’t have any problems, nor expected any.
Editing images
To create a gallery, drag images from your library (in PADPORT) to the top of the screen into a timeline. The timeline is informative enough so you can see your sequence, naturally dragging and dropping is allowed within the timeline. One thing I noted when creating galleries, is that the images don't disappear from the library after they’re selected for use within a gallery.
This means when you’re near the end of creating a Portrait gallery, you’ll find yourself scrolling up and down through all your other images to include that last portrait.
I only set up 2 galleries for my review, imagine if I tried to set up 7 galleries with 200 images? I found it very tedious in a way I’m not use too (I do tedious in different ways that suit me ;-)). I can understand the PADPORT’S reasoning behind this, because PADPORT have made sure the images don't disappear incase they needed to be used in another gallery. For British readers this way of organising your photography is like Marmite, some photographers will want to work this way and others won’t, it falls down to your working preference and not really a fault of the software.* But it is important to note.
You can’t edit your galleries outside the settings screen. The settings are separate from the presentation screens. If you want to change settings during a presentation, a single tap at the top of the screen will bring up a hidden menu to take you back to the home screen where settings icon.
Another thing to note while presenting imagery with PADPORT is that they won't be displayed full screen. All images are slightly shrunk down with your choice of theme, a black background or a drop shadow. PADPORT’S developers have responded and stated a preference for a border. But a full screen mode is coming for those who want it. One neat touch is when swiping through a gallery; you can set up a preference for looping your presentation or allowing your presentation to carry on to the next gallery.
Video
Including Video in PADPORT takes care of the problem of application switching if you needed to show somebody photos from Apple’s Photo App and some movies from the Video App. PADPORT allows you to present both together!
My test movie clip was 30 MB with some audio.
Adding a movie is just as simple as adding photography to your PADPORT library and you gallery timeline, but currently you can’t preview movie clips. You can tap on the screen to bring up onscreen controls. During presentation, movies act like stills until you tap the play button. The play icon isn’t very noticeable in version one; I think it should be. I recommend a larger icon so users can see it clearly. Swiping to the next image will stop the video immediately, it’s simple to use and doesn’t need further elaborating. I have one nitpick, (besides the aforementioned tiny play icon) I would like the option to auto-play movie files. It would make it a more seamless experience for clients and for those who don’t know how to use an iPad or see the icon. It would prevent your clients from missing anything upon viewing.
Branding
You’re allowed two themes to customize your home screen. “Essential” and “Mnmlst”. “Essential” allows for a smaller version of Century Gothic along with a cool translucent sidebar running down the right side of the screen. “Mnmlst” allows for larger fonts but no translucent sidebar. Both themes allow for different splash and home screens with your choice of primary and secondary colours for your choice of text.
When it comes to branding Home Screens, FolioBook and PADPORT are very similar because they both use textual links to tap, in order to view your galleries.
PADPORT’S Settings
As I’ve mentioned previously, PADPORT’S settings screen is separate from the presentation screen. PADPORT have made sure to separate the two. This throws up the largest User Interface (UI) difference between FolioBook and PADPORT. FolioBook relies on popover menus that can be accessed at any time. PADPORT allows the user to only access the settings from the Home Screen.
This means that while you can make changes dynamically in FolioBook (updates on the fly), I felt it took longer to travel around the menu structure. But while PADPORT separates you from your work, (so every change requires you to exit the settings screen to view the changes) it feels faster to change the settings.
Wrapping Up
At the moment PADPORT feels rigid in use because it lacks customization tools (fonts and themes included), transitions (including zoom capability, full screen mode), video library previews and oddly, a portrait orientation.
I get the impression the PADPORT team have taken a page out of Apple’s book of product design (we all know how frequently Apple are criticised for the way they operate as well). The PADPORT team have concentrated on getting the nuts and bolts right with version one. Having interviewed Chad Holder of PADPORT, it’s clear the PADPORT team have plenty in the pipeline coming (especially portrait orientation). Would I replace my printed portfolio with PADPORT? Yes I would, it’s sophisticated enough to look like I care about how my photography is being presented digitally. Does it replicate the viewing experience of my website (allowing me to handle IPTC information so I can show text and image)? No not yet, so I’d still need to fire up Safari if I wanted to show examples of captioning and intro text with my work from my website.
Hopefully updates and the value they’ll bring are coming soon, some of these features are standard fare in other portfolio Apps.** But PADPORT have the head start on video integration and a good looking user interface. PADPORT can’t claim full marks with polish but it’s clear they are going to try.
This review will be updated with new information as I review other Apps in this roundup.
*My approach to prepping images is to organise galleries from folders I’ve already created on my laptop. In the App I’m using, I hope to just select my order of preference. Of course we all work differently from one another. Other photographers will want to create a gallery within PADPORT and still have the thumbnails ready to use for another gallery.
**Other photographers might not be so concerned about the lack of customization tools, having limitations might be useful. I mention this because I still haven’t finished designing a really satisfying Home Screen with FolioBook. With PADPORT it was the first thing I did and it works really well.
Last edited: