iPad pro any good for photographers?

pmrud

pmrud

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Peter
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Hello all,

firstly sorry, but due to the many things that life throws at us I have not been on here for a while hopefully I can back into visiting on a more regular basis!

Well as the title says, is an iPad pro any good for photographers? I'm talking as a replacement for my ever slowing laptop, so it needs to be able to download pictures from my sd cards, store images, back them up to external hard drives, run Photoshop and be suitable for the actual editing process and occasionally print images.

Anyone out there actually using an iPad pro as a replacement to a laptop, I would be interested in hearing your thoughts
 
pmrud said:
Anyone out there actually using an iPad pro as a replacement to a laptop, I would be interested in hearing your thoughts
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I mainly use it in three functions.

Tabletop work.
I fix it to the light table and, through Capture Pilot, I work
the layout as the camera sees it, live, so I can do tweakings,
control the flashes and the camera remotely.

Corporate portraits
Mounted on a stand, It serves as a preview monitor for the
clients or ADs

Portfolio
On the road, all shoots may join my portfolio to show potential
clients or ADs
 
Thanks Kodiac, not the sort of stuff I will doing but interesting to know it can handle it. My laptop is currently my main PC, so I want to know if it would be a viable option as a replacement or do you see it more as an addition to a a PC?
 
pmrud said:
I want to know if it would be a viable option as a replacement or do you see it more as an addition to a a PC?
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Since the connectivity is seriously inadequate, but through
WiFi or Cell, it will not replace the laptop at this point.

Tethered camera to LT via USB
All flash heads Air Remote controlled through Studio Pro
within LT.
Through WiFi, Capture Pilot will exchange with the server,
now the LT, all taken photos instantly for appreciation and
control both the camera and all the flash heads remotely.

Perfectly integrated solution: Apple + Profoto + Nikon.

It costs… but so cool to work with.
 
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I don't think any tablet save maybe the Microsoft Surface Pro 4 is currently capable of fully replacing a PC.

From a photography perspective the main restriction is software, most of which only runs on Windows and isn't available yet in a suitable form on the "mobile" operating systems.
Sure there are mobile versions of Lightroom and Office, etc but they aren't close to what the Desktop/Laptop versions offer.
 
Every now and again I look at this and conclude that functionality of hardware and software are so crippled I quickly shelve the idea.

Instead I bought a 12" Macbook which isn't that much bigger and does the job fine. Wouldn't want it as my only machine as it's a bit slow for bulk processing but is great for photo editing on the move.
 
I bought an iPad pro just over a month ago with plans to use it instead of my MacBook. After 7 days I took it back and got my money back.

The iPad pro is really just a large iPad not anything special, it has all the limitations and the only real benefit is if your arty and like to be able to use a pen to draw.

As a presentation device it's probably one of the best, as an application device its probably one of the worst tablets out there.

It won't replace a laptop or MacBook in MY opinion.
 
pmrud said:
Thanks Kodiac, not the sort of stuff I will doing but interesting to know it can handle it. My laptop is currently my main PC, so I want to know if it would be a viable option as a replacement or do you see it more as an addition to a a PC?
Click to expand...
They don't really have the speed and storage.

But then I would never recommend a laptop either :)
 
Thanks for the replies everyone, it doesn't look like it will be an iPad pro then!

I need a new tablet and was leaning towards iPad as I currently have a 7" android tab which is next to useles since the latest android update and seeing the TV adds for the iPad pro I thought it might be perfect solution. I'll probably just go for a cheaper ipad now and treat it just like a tablet! as its intended!
 
I have an iPad Pro and find it brilliant to use IN ADDITION to a desktop computer. As has already been said its main limitation is the operating system. If only Apple would allow it to run OSX instead of IOS. The reason I got one was for when I am on holiday or away from home. I can transfer the photos from my camera to the iPAD, review, flag, rate or delete photos, carry out Lightroom edits (LR Mobile is actually quite powerful). Once at home, I can transfer the images to my desktop system including all edits.

Yes you could do all of what I do on a laptop, but as you cannot sync catalogues between 2 systems (laptop & desktop), it gets a bit messy having to export catalogues and remember which is the most up to date. With the iPad and iMac, LR CC comes into its own

So in summary, yes I find it great for photography, but only as a supplement to a desktop system.
 
The iPad Pro is an iPad with more powerful hardware and a larger screen, it doesn't fundamentally change the way you work with it.

That Apple tries to position it as any form of desktop replacement is quite risible and actually detracts from the product in my view as that's not what it's good at.
 
iPad Pro does work for me (like mentioned before) in addition to my desktop (or MacBook Pro) .. on certain assignments I can just travel with the iPad Pro and do my shooting.. transfer images to Lightroom.. edit in Lightroom and export to my online Galleries.
I would say that getting a wireless keyboard and the apple pen would be my suggestion ... those do add bit of flexibility to the way you use it.
Would I at the moment consider replacing my MacBook Pro with it.. nope. Still too much lacking in the software department
But for your basic editing, certain amount of storage.. definitely has been a useful tool into my arsenal of gear.

From your list - possibly the storing of images is one where I see the the amount of internal memory might not be enough.
(and depending on your choice of editing software??)

So it is useful... but maybe not quite ready to replace a laptop....
 
The new IPad was released this week. Not that big a jump over the Pro but 4G LTE cellular is standard.

I have the Pro and use it with the Canon Connect App to live preview what my tri-pod M5 and 750D are showing then I can release the shutter. A very expensive remote comtrol in other words.

As I have Adobe CC, I get the full version of LR on the IPad which can be useful for quick edits and useful for dowloaded Netflix films ehen I am away.

TBH, the IPad is useful but incredibly limiyed. When I am using my motorhome wherein I have a MacMini and a decent screen, the IPad is in fancy remote control mode. As said above, it is not a replacement for a decent spec pc/lapton.

Steve
 
Hugh Jarse said:
The new IPad was released this week. Not that big a jump over the Pro but 4G LTE cellular is standard.
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The new iPad is actually a step down from the iPad Pro models. It's an entry level device and is essentially a small upgrade over the iPad Air 2 (though also slightly larger) ... and the entry level version (£339) is WiFi only, need the £429 version for 4G. Extra storage (128GB vs 32GB) is an extra £90.
 
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Eloise said:
The new iPad is actually a step down from the iPad Pro models. It's an entry level device and is essentially a small upgrade over the iPad Air 2 (though also slightly larger).
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I just saw the 4G bit and assumed it was an improvement across the model range.. I have the 12" pro which I have been too busy to unpack. My sister is having the current one when I do.
 
I have the iPad pro (smaller version) and it is a very powerful tablet. I've used it for Adobe work (e.g. Comp) but not directly for editing images. Excellent screen, it automatically adjusts brightness and tone to the space you're working in. I recommend the case with the integrated keyboard if you want to do any typing.
 
I use an iPad Pro 9.7 for most of my editing and haven't been near my laptop in months. I can transfer images wirelessly from my Fuji X30 or via the Apple SD card reader from my Nikon. Snapseed can now handle RAW images, and has become increasingly capable as a photo editor. There are lots of other editing apps available - Pixelmator is also very good. I really like having the ability to do fairly complex edits anywhere - like on the train on the way home from street shoots in the city. Couple the iPad with an Apple Pencil and you have a really handy combo for editing and annotating. I'm no Apple fanboy - this is my first Apple device - but so far I love it.
 
I have to admit I posted earlier in this thread to say no way it couldn't replace a laptop/desktop for all editing and I partly said that because I've yet to have a tablet that could deal with 36MP RAW files.

I still stand by that its not a full replacement but I picked up a Samsung Galaxy Tab 3 on Friday which is basically the Android equivalent to the 9.7 iPad Pro.
I tried Lightroom Mobile for the first time in ages and its fantastic, I can do almost anything I would do with Lightroom on the PC and it deals with the huge RAW files with ease, I even download a 50MP file from the Fuji GFX and it seemed great too if a little slower. The stylus makes a big difference!

Again I would still keep a PC for a lot of things but for editing on the go or travel this thing is great.
 
If that's an Amoled screen beware of burn in, my 10.5 Samsung is on its 3rd screen in 18months. If it is an Amoled get a program of google play that gets rid of burn in and use it regularly even if you think you don't need to.
 
Ive had the large iPad pro since it came out. I got it mainly for sitting on the couch at home and doing internet things, rather than sit in the corner on my PC and be unsociable lol.

Over the past year ive found i use it more and more to do photo type things, mainly with Lightroom mobile. In fact i sue LRM a lot more than i use the desktop version these days, although mainly because my son is normally playing games on my PC so i cant get on it.

The Pro has a USB3 speed lighting port, so transferring raw files via the Apple SD card takes a lot less time than in the past and on the older ipads. Once on there i can view and edit the raw files in LR and then export them to wherever i need them (mainly Google drive, sometimes Facebook). It also transfers the raw files and edits back to my desktop LR via the built in sync, although it can be slow if doing a lot of files.

Two things that i have issues with. The first is LRM will only use the Adobe Standard colour profile (without a work around), so i need to go to my PC to change this if needed. The second is storage space. Mine is only 32GB so doesn't hold many files. I tend to look on the iPad as a quick way of editing or viewing a small selection of files, say after being out shooting for the day, and not so much as an image organizer. It just cuts down the time i would spend on my PC (when i can eventually get on it). When i do get on it the files are there and ready to be tweaked if needed.
I do have extra storage devices that work via the lightning port, so i can off load most of the files to those, but i tend to use SSD's to store my image files on my PC.

Of course this wont work for everyone, but i do find it works for me most of the time.
 
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