Considering going with the latest generation iPad Pro to replace my 2017 Mac Book Air. What has the general experience been with light photo editing on IPP? I would mostly be using the device for internet browsing, email...usual stuff, but would like to be able to do some light photo editing along the way.
Are there any particular features of the IPP which make it attractive for editing, or am I better off going with another MBA or MBP?
Thanks in advance!
All depends on your needs and preferences to be fair.
Personally I have switched to a mostly iPad Pro setup, mine is now an older model, a 2020 12.9”, which I’ve had since new. It still serves very well though, and is quite a capable machine even now.
Of course there are limitations, but for me it does more than enough. I manage a 60,000 image collection, ranging from my old film photos (scanned from negatives and photos), as well as a variety of digital photos going back over 20 years. About half of those are Raws.
I use the Photos app, and iCloud storage, for my main library. It’s matured reasonably well over the years, and makes a good setup for sharing across different devices (if you need that), or as a way to offload local storage if you have space constraints.
With Photos I tend to only use it for basic editing on iPhone images. The editing tools on the iPad have been dumbed down compared to the desktop version, so have a more limited appeal.
However, there are options to improve this.
As someone else mentioned, there is Raw Power, from Gentlemen Coders. It’s an excellent photo editor, but needs a little extra learning to get the best from it (no more than something like Lightoom though. It integrates with the Photos library, and offers seamless non-destructive editing across devices (so you can edit ‘in the field’ and then continue on a desktop back at base if needed) - if you use iCloud storage that is.
Another is Photomator (formerly Pixelmator), which also works with the Photos library (not as well as Raw Power though), but has a different toolset. It’s probably a more ‘creative’ option.
For viewing the library, and metadata, HashPhotos is worth looking at too. Although it’s a good all rounder, I don’t like its editing tools as much, they’re OK, but don’t feel as ‘pro’ as the others to me. It’s excellent for browsing the library, and EXIF data though.
If you look at the App Store, you can find a load of apps for photo editing. Most will work with the Photos library, but some better than others, and none as well as those mentioned above.
The above also offer options for purchasing, or reasonable subscriptions (on top of your iCloud storage subscription), but all work out quite reasonable.
The most comprehensive photo editor is Affinity Photo. However, it’s awful for using with the Photos library on the iPad (it integrates on the desktop version, but not on the iPad). It can be worth owning if you buy it in one of their ‘flash’ sales.
Of course you could just go with a Lightroom subscription, but you will be stuck in their $20+ per month subscription (depending on the package you go for) forever once you start editing photos with it. This works independently of the Photos library though, and takes you out of the Apple eco-system, so things like sharing photos aren’t as easy.
So, yes, moving to an iPad Pro is certainly doable. You just need to go through how you work with photos, and whether you are prepared to compromise in some areas.
