Anyone using Ipad Pro as main photo editing device?

[Golfhacker27]

I have a 2013 Macbook Pro and an old Ipad. Both of which I want replace.

I currently use the MBP for editing (Lightroom) and hi-res printing (Canon Pixma Pro 100 S). Processing a few hundred images per year (Canon RAW). It also has primary storage for images as well as being the main house computer for docs, admin, banking, and the age as well as no further macOS system updates (security!) is the main reason for retiring it.

I could do like-for-like and get a new Macbook (not Pro) with M1 or M2 chip, plus a standard base model Ipad.

Similar price gets me a new Ipad Pro 12.9 inch 0.5 or 1tb storage. And add a mouse.

So the question really relates to the practicality of using an Ipad (vs MB). Especially importing RAW files and the LR software experience on both systems (IOS vs macOS).

I do wonder about printing on the Canon (are there even drivers for IOS), but this is not a major issue since I can use the old MBP for just printing.

 

[Greybeard2017]

I have a 2013 Macbook Pro and an old Ipad. Both of which I want replace.

I currently use the MBP for editing (Lightroom) and hi-res printing (Canon Pixma Pro 100 S). Processing a few hundred images per year (Canon RAW). It also has primary storage for images as well as being the main house computer for docs, admin, banking, and the age as well as no further macOS system updates (security!) is the main reason for retiring it.

I could do like-for-like and get a new Macbook (not Pro) with M1 or M2 chip, plus a standard base model Ipad.

Similar price gets me a new Ipad Pro 12.9 inch 0.5 or 1tb storage. And add a mouse.

So the question really relates to the practicality of using an Ipad (vs MB). Especially importing RAW files and the LR software experience on both systems (IOS vs macOS).

I do wonder about printing on the Canon (are there even drivers for IOS), but this is not a major issue since I can use the old MBP for just printing.

I use my iPad for initial culling but still prefer Lightroom Classic on the Mac for image processing

 

[jaberg]

I do most of my culling, cropping and global edits using an iPad — usually a Pro 12.9, but sometimes (in the field) using an older Mini. My primary software for this is RAW Power. On the rare occasion I’m masking, I’ll usually connect the iPad and Pencil to the Mac to use either Affinity Photo (which I can also run natively on iPad) or Luminar Neo.

I currently use a lab for all printing beyond 4x6 (which I can do on a Canon Selphy.) I’m considering dipping my toes back into the ink reservoirs…because I don’t learn. I rarely need to reprint something. For big, archival prints I work closely with my local lab to avoid problems but most of my competition/salon/local expo printing is done online. (Costco.)

I’d be lying if I didn’t mention that I have done quick-and-dirty edits on the iPhone while working against a salon deadline. I sent those images off to the printer while on a break and picked them up after work (when Costco printed 16x20 in-store), mounted them using the tailgate as a work surface and submitted them (an hour before deadline) on my way home. Outcome satisfactory — I’m going to miss that in-store option!

 

[BAHdog]

Yes with the iPad Air 4, Pixelmator, Raw Power, Affinity Photo, Snapseed and Focos it can do very well. Tons of previous decades of work are on an external HD that connects via the usb-c port on the Air 4. I have not used a desktop or laptop for seven years.

 

[John P. Van Smith]

Really great information. I was looking to switch to ipad. My main concern is how easy is it to cull photos on memory cards directly? Which software would you suggest for looking through photos and deleting the ones which don't measure up?

The next goal would be to move photos I wanted to keep to external HD...

Can you copy from memory cards straight to storage or must one import them to the ipad first?

Which software do you prefer to use for moving files raw power?

 

[jaberg]

While I can (physically) connect two USB C devices to my iPad Pro while using the Smart Keyboard I’ve never tested this to see if can connect two external volumes simultaneously. I’ll try it later on and report back if I think about it. (EDIT: See update in reply below)

My process is to import all photos into the Apple Photo Library,. Raw Power works directly with that Library. From there I could export copies to an external device. Alternately I could copy the image files into local storage and then move over to an external drive using the Files app.

 

[jaberg]

While I can (physically) connect two USB C devices to my iPad Pro while using the Smart Keyboard I’ve never tested this to see if can connect two external volumes simultaneously. I’ll try it later on and report back if I think about it.

I was unable to do a direct camera card to external drive transfer by using the second USB-C port on the Smart Keyboard because that port is power only.

However…

Using a HyperDrive 6-in-1 USB-C Hub for iPad Pro & iPad Air – HyperShop.com, I was able to tranfer files from the built-in card reader directly to an external drive — in my case a SanDisk Extreme SSD — connected to either the USB-A or USB-C port on the dock. The dock also provides a MicroSD card reader, an HDMI port and a headphone jack. If power is a concern you can power and charge the iPad through the dock USB-C port but this would force you to use the USB A port for your external drive.

I am guessing, but can not confirm,that you could do the same with the less expensive 4-in-1 hub by connecting an external card reader and external drive to the USB Ports (one A, one C) on that device.

 

[John P. Van Smith]

Thank you. All your posts are exceptionally helpful

 

[jaberg]

My main concern is how easy is it to cull photos on memory cards directly?

To address this question there are image culling apps available but I’ve never used one.

Culling photos directly on cards? I don’t think it’s a great practice myself, but you can delete individual files from within the Files app. It’s possible, but my unsolicited advice is to rethink that workflow as it reduces margin for error. If you have specific reasons doing this I’m open to (honest and friendly) debate. Happy to discuss my approach and workflow in more detail. (FWIW, I do occasionally delete an obviously bad image using the camera — but I don’t work very hard towards doing so in the field.)

Pre-import, the thumbnail contact sheet on the Photos import screen allow me to eliminate obvious rejects from the import— like the 50 shots of the bottom of my camera bag when the X100V powered itself on, or the ten shots I made in “manual mode” thinking it was aperture priority. Subsequent culls are made post-import using either Photos or RAW Power. RAW Power has implemented a star rating system, and the ability to filter on those ratings. I wish Apple would pick this up (it was a feature of Aperture) as I find it useful to my review process.

I find culling, rating, and in some cases making final edits in the field, or more accurately in my hotel room or “back at camp”, to be advantageous. It’s refreshing to get back home with a series of selects ready for further work and sharing as opposed to adding the mundane chore of editing my trip to the inevitable list of things requiring my attention that accumulated while I’m gone.

 

[Andy Hewitt]

I have a 2013 Macbook Pro and an old Ipad. Both of which I want replace.

I currently use the MBP for editing (Lightroom) and hi-res printing (Canon Pixma Pro 100 S). Processing a few hundred images per year (Canon RAW). It also has primary storage for images as well as being the main house computer for docs, admin, banking, and the age as well as no further macOS system updates (security!) is the main reason for retiring it.

I could do like-for-like and get a new Macbook (not Pro) with M1 or M2 chip, plus a standard base model Ipad.

Similar price gets me a new Ipad Pro 12.9 inch 0.5 or 1tb storage. And add a mouse.

So the question really relates to the practicality of using an Ipad (vs MB). Especially importing RAW files and the LR software experience on both systems (IOS vs macOS).

I do wonder about printing on the Canon (are there even drivers for IOS), but this is not a major issue since I can use the old MBP for just printing.

Just a some of my experiences of doing the same thing here. I'm only an amateur/hobbyist, and my photos are not sold or distributed, only used for my personal needs and family.

So, as such, I went from an iMac (Late 2013) to an iPad Pro 12.9" two years ago. I was using Lightroom Classic and Lightroom (cloud version on the I-devices).

I didn't like Lightroom on the iPad, as it was missing too many key features (virtual copies, easy batch editing, external editor support, even red-eye). I also noted that the Adobe cloud system wasn't any more reliable than others services either, with some technical issues, they had been losing user's data.

I migrated everything over to Apple Photos, and I got the 2TB cloud storage (I now have the Apple One account). Of course it meant starting over with my organising and editing, but I persevered, and went ahead with that. Not something that's a great issue for me, I enjoyed re-editing the photos, and nothing has any great importance to remain as it was.

Like others, I also have a combination of extension editors - Raw Power, Pixelmator, Affinity Photo and a few others odds and ends (there are loads of apps you can use in a lite mode for free).

Most of these can access the Photos library directly, so your edits are visible as you apply them from any of the apps (beware of the Raw non-destructive workflow caveats though). With most you can either edit images in the Photos library from within the apps themselves, or with some you can choose to edit an image using the 'Share' button in Photos (there is a difference though).

Affinity is the anomaly here, it's a great editing app, but doesn't integrate well with Photos.

As for importing. I use a USB-C hub device I got off Amazon, that has a selection of connections (HDMI, SD Card, USB3 sockets, USB-C and a USB-C power socket). I import directly into Photos, and simply cull and organise in Photos - usually. You can also import into a folder on the iPad's local storage, and cull there before importing into Photos.

I have the 512GB storage option, and with the 2TB iCloud, and decent broadband, I don't really worry about using a little extra capacity for culling before I import. I've also been wary of doing anything directly with a media card, they can be a little fragile when it comes to that (or have been in my experience), I prefer to get everything onto a more stable storage before I do anything.

I do also sometimes import to my old iMac, where it's a little easier to import and cull. Organising is a little easier too, most things are a bit clearer on the larger screen, so I sometimes use it simply to make some tasks easier. I've decided it's not worth trying to sell the old iMac, so I'll keep using it for the odd jobs until it expires (it is working fine on Monterey using OpenCore Patcher).

I also use the iMac to save extra copies of the images to external drives as a proper archive and backup system.

It is all possible on the iPad, but some of it is just a bit easier if you have a larger screen, and normal desktop OS. I do all editing on the iPad though, it does have a much better screen for that, and is faster.

 

[Andy Hewitt]

My main concern is how easy is it to cull photos on memory cards directly?

To address this question there are image culling apps available but I’ve never used one.

Culling photos directly on cards? I don’t think it’s a great practice myself, but you can delete individual files from within the Files app. It’s possible, but my unsolicited advice is to rethink that workflow as it reduces margin for error. If you have specific reasons doing this I’m open to (honest and friendly) debate. Happy to discuss my approach and workflow in more detail. (FWIW, I do occasionally delete an obviously bad image using the camera — but I don’t work very hard towards doing so in the field.)

I completely agree with that.

Pre-import, the thumbnail contact sheet on the Photos import screen allow me to eliminate obvious rejects from the import— like the 50 shots of the bottom of my camera bag when the X100V powered itself on, or the ten shots I made in “manual mode” thinking it was aperture priority. Subsequent culls are made post-import using either Photos or RAW Power. RAW Power has implemented a star rating system, and the ability to filter on those ratings. I wish Apple would pick this up (it was a feature of Aperture) as I find it useful to my review process.

How are you getting on with Raw Power on your iPad?

I was an avid user of it for ages, but over the last few months it's become unusable for me. It seems to have developed this issue of scrambling the image when going into Edit mode, and I can't do anything with it. If I keep clicking, then can clear, but not always, and it doesn't always happen either, but often enough I can't rely on it anymore. This is only on the iPad though, the desktop version is fine.

Sadly Nik doesn't have any idea either. Just wondered if you, or anyone else, may have seen this happen, and found something that might fix it. Cheers.

(I've tried a few things, from changing settings, to uninstalling and reinstalling the app, and even resetting the iPad completely).

I find culling, rating, and in some cases making final edits in the field, or more accurately in my hotel room or “back at camp”, to be advantageous. It’s refreshing to get back home with a series of selects ready for further work and sharing as opposed to adding the mundane chore of editing my trip to the inevitable list of things requiring my attention that accumulated while I’m gone.

I do a bit of both. Often I'll edit a few images while I'm away from home, just when I have a bit of quiet time.

 

[John P. Van Smith]

Basically switching from a notebook. Traveling to remote locations so local storage the only option. Trying to balance things so that the system is easy to use and works relatively well. Goal is of course to have well rated photos stored in at least two locations while not having to use the camera(s) for culling. Ipads seem like a viable option since they switched to USB C.

Trying to decide if I need a 1/2 TB model or if I could live with 256/512. Family enjoys culling photos and showing them off at the end of the day. Likely a holdover from the old days when it was hard to have enough memory. I don't have an idea of how well it will work at importing the whole memory card, sort and then export to external storage. I don't know how well it will allow looking at photos on external storage.

I do have a device which is small and will copy memory cards directly to external storage but they tended to dislike the workflow. Hoping maybe a Ipad or two will work well or maybe ipad and one notebook who knows. Still pondering the options.

Camera model is Sony A7 III or similar.

Trying to decide which software to try first. Raw Power has my eye. Only current ipad software I have for photos is Affinity Photo.

I was mainly looking for if it was a viable path and try to minimize mistakes. Don't order a 256 if I really need the extra space etc...Anyways thank you for your time the information is insanely helpful.

 

[John P. Van Smith]

How are you getting on with Raw Power on your iPad?

I was an avid user of it for ages, but over the last few months it's become unusable for me. It seems to have developed this issue of scrambling the image when going into Edit mode, and I can't do anything with it. If I keep clicking, then can clear, but not always, and it doesn't always happen either, but often enough I can't rely on it anymore. This is only on the iPad though, the desktop version is fine.

Sadly Nik doesn't have any idea either. Just wondered if you, or anyone else, may have seen this happen, and found something that might fix it. Cheers.

(I've tried a few things, from changing settings, to uninstalling and reinstalling the app, and even resetting the iPad completely).

I find culling, rating, and in some cases making final edits in the field, or more accurately in my hotel room or “back at camp”, to be advantageous. It’s refreshing to get back home with a series of selects ready for further work and sharing as opposed to adding the mundane chore of editing my trip to the inevitable list of things requiring my attention that accumulated while I’m gone.

I do a bit of both. Often I'll edit a few images while I'm away from home, just when I have a bit of quiet time.

Is there another program you have used to replace raw power?

 

[Andy Hewitt]

How are you getting on with Raw Power on your iPad?

I was an avid user of it for ages, but over the last few months it's become unusable for me. It seems to have developed this issue of scrambling the image when going into Edit mode, and I can't do anything with it. If I keep clicking, then can clear, but not always, and it doesn't always happen either, but often enough I can't rely on it anymore. This is only on the iPad though, the desktop version is fine.

Sadly Nik doesn't have any idea either. Just wondered if you, or anyone else, may have seen this happen, and found something that might fix it. Cheers.

(I've tried a few things, from changing settings, to uninstalling and reinstalling the app, and even resetting the iPad completely).

I find culling, rating, and in some cases making final edits in the field, or more accurately in my hotel room or “back at camp”, to be advantageous. It’s refreshing to get back home with a series of selects ready for further work and sharing as opposed to adding the mundane chore of editing my trip to the inevitable list of things requiring my attention that accumulated while I’m gone.

I do a bit of both. Often I'll edit a few images while I'm away from home, just when I have a bit of quiet time.

Is there another program you have used to replace raw power?

I’ve actually found Photos itself does well enough for my needs for most images. Otherwise I use Pixelmator Photo.

I like to keep a non-destructive workflow. Photos of course does that, as does Raw Power (by storing its editing data within the Photos library), and they maintain that across multiple devices.

Pixelmator uses an external sidecar file, and they can be absolutely huge, so I tend to do editing in that, but delete the sidecar files once I’ve finished. Of course that means I have to start again if I want to tweak anything.

I also have Affinity Photos, but it’s integration is very clunky, so I hardly use it.

There is also the original Pixelmator, which actually works as an extension in Photos, but it is very limited in that role.

Cheers.

 

[jaberg]

How are you getting on with Raw Power on your iPad?

No issues of that nature. Last problem I had was the occasional export of a black image — fixed in a recent update. Hope it gets sorted soon.

 

[Andy Hewitt]

How are you getting on with Raw Power on your iPad?

No issues of that nature. Last problem I had was the occasional export of a black image — fixed in a recent update. Hope it gets sorted soon.

Thank you. Oh well, just a vague hope there . I’ve been talking to Nik about it, but he can’t replicate it, and has no ideas on why it’s doing it on my iPad. If it was a desktop I’d be looking at third party installations. But I don’t think anything in an iOS device could be such a cause.

Cheers

 

[jaberg]

Is there another program you have used to replace raw power?

I’d add to Andy’s response that I personally wouldn’t let his current experience alone put you off from RAW Power. I don’t discount the problem but, by all appearances, it’s of limited scope. I haven’t had any issues of this nature . There are currently no “deal stoppers” breaking my workflow.

I recognize that not everyone shares my view that the most expensive iOS app I use is still cheap as chips, (relatively speaking) but, given the modest cost, I would encourage you to try Raw Power for yourself. To help assuage any concerns, the Raw Power Support Forums are openly accessible. You can view for yourself the bug reports, support requests, and developer responses.

I concur with Andy’s statements about the stock Photos app. Those who haven’t tried Photos recently should. It is much improved. I also use it for an increasing number of edits and adjustments. It has its detractors, (not a few who are still grumbling about the loss of Aperture on the Mac) but in my experience it’s a worthwhile “first step” for sixty-second adjustments. Just know that if you decide to move on to RAW power you’ll generally be better off reverting your image back to the original and starting from scratch from within that application. You will have to do this if you want to make RAW adjustments to an image that was previously edited in another app. Otherwise you’re working against a JPG (or HEIC) and not the original RAW file.

 

[Hwntw]

Raw Power, definitely

 

[Andy Hewitt]

Is there another program you have used to replace raw power?

I’d add to Andy’s response that I personally wouldn’t let his current experience alone put you off from RAW Power. I don’t discount the problem but, by all appearances, it’s of limited scope. I haven’t had any issues of this nature . There are currently no “deal stoppers” breaking my workflow.

I recognize that not everyone shares my view that the most expensive iOS app I use is still cheap as chips, (relatively speaking) but, given the modest cost, I would encourage you to try Raw Power for yourself. To help assuage any concerns, the Raw Power Support Forums are openly accessible. You can view for yourself the bug reports, support requests, and developer responses.

Sorry, my bad. I wasn’t meaning to completely disregard Raw Power, or even not recommend it, I was only describing my experiences and current setup.

Raw Power should certainly be a first consideration for anyone looking for an alternative photo editor. Nik is an excellent dev, that deserves support for his work. I just wish I could discover why it won’t work properly here.

I concur with Andy’s statements about the stock Photos app. Those who haven’t tried Photos recently should. It is much improved. I also use it for an increasing number of edits and adjustments. It has its detractors, (not a few who are still grumbling about the loss of Aperture on the Mac) but in my experience it’s a worthwhile “first step” for sixty-second adjustments. Just know that if you decide to move on to RAW power you’ll generally be better off reverting your image back to the original and starting from scratch from within that application. You will have to do this if you want to make RAW adjustments to an image that was previously edited in another app. Otherwise you’re working against a JPG (or HEIC) and not the original RAW file.

Indeed so. To be fair, it is what I generally do anyway. And of all the non-destructive editors there are for the iPad, Raw Power seems to be the most economical on resources.

Following up on your price comment, IMHO they are all so cheap on the iOS versions, it’s actually easy to suggest buying all of them anyway. Then you have a good choice of ways to edit any photo - you can own Raw Power, Pixelmator, Pixelmator Photo and Affinity Photo for the cost of a couple of months Adobe subscription

 

[jaberg]

I hope you didn’t feel I was “calling you out” Andy. I didn’t take your report as an attempt to steer anyone away. Nor do I want anyone else to feel that my response was an attempt to sweep problems under the rug.

Buy them all… Absolutely my view as well. I have all of the applications you list, and more. Support as many of these Indy/small developers as you can. If their product doesn’t make the cut for your current workflow, so be it. It’s there even if it only does one thing well every other month. And you never know what the next release might bring. Without our dollars, pounds and yen… that release may never happen.

I recognize we all place different value on our time, but I am continuously amused at those who expend multiple hours researching the nuances of, and asking highly targeted questions about, a $US 5 app. Get a general feel for the app. Sure. Legit. Glad to help and contribute my nickel. Once it passes the initial sniff test, just buy the damn thing and find out for yourself. Though I admit I have found myself engaged in the same behavior, searching for reviews — and forced myself to stop.

It’s not a $1000 bit of kit. Often the app cost is less than I’ll spend on beer consumed while performing the search. On more than one occassion I’ve been asked to perform specific tests that would involve time valued in multiples of the app cost.

I’m not referring to anyone, or any tests, in this thread. I took the image transfer test upon myself to satisfy my own curiosity — and added a potentially useful trick arrow to my quiver.