Dual display
If you're a photographer who spends a lot of time on the road, the lack of screen real estate on your laptop can make anything more involved than checking emails needlessly frustrating. What you may not realize, however, is that the iPad can be used as a second monitor. And better yet, you can do it over Wi-Fi.
What you'll need:
- Air Display app $9.99
- iPad and Mac or Windows computer
- Unprotected Wi-Fi network
- iPad stand
While the capability to use your iPad as an external monitor has been around since the original iPad, the Retina display of the latest version offers a more compelling reason to do so, with higher resolution than your laptop and likely a wider color gamut to boot. In the image above, I'm using the screen of my MacBook Air to house Photoshop panels while the iPad is dedicated to a full screen image view. This is a small, lightweight combo that I can travel with easily and setup anyplace that has Wi-Fi access.
Air Display
What makes this all possible is a clever little app called Air Display. After purchasing the app you download a separate piece of (free) software to install on your Mac or Windows host computer. With both the iPad and computer on the same network, simply enable Air Display and select your iPad from the pulldown menu. You can move applications, windows and documents to either screen. Air Display supports iPad touch capability by converting basic gestures into mouse clicks. You even have access to the iPad's virtual keyboard for text entry.
HiDPI mode
This setup lends itself especially well to Photoshop tasks that require a high degree of visible image detail, like sharpening and noise reduction. With the iPad's huge 2048 x 1536 pixel dimensions constrained to such a small screen area, however, text and dialog boxes are very small and hard to read.
Fortunately, for Mac users running OS 10.7 and higher, Apple provides a hidden 'HiDPI' mode which lowers screen resolution (thus making text and graphics larger) but without the pixelated results normally associated with scaling digital output to a non-native resolution. Air Display offers easy access to this HiDPI option (shown above), letting you use a 1024 x 768 screen setting to produce larger screen elements and much greater readability, with only a negligible loss in image detail.
Earlier I mentioned that iOS devices do not recognize ICC color profiles. Well, since you're now using your iPad as a secondary display that is controlled by the OS of the host computer, you will see accurate colors on your iPad for any non-sRGB image as long as it is embedded with the appropriate color profile.
ICC compatibility
And for those who demand the utmost in color accuracy, running your iPad as a secondary monitor also means you can create a custom ICC monitor profile for your iPad, just as you would for any other connected display. Keep in mind though that this ICC profile is stored on and accessed by the host computer only, so you lose its benefits as soon as you disconnect the iPad.
While Air Display is very simple to setup, be aware that many corporate Wi-Fi networks have security features that specifically prevent the device sharing that the app needs to make all this work. But in a typical home, studio or hotel environment, you should have little problem making the connection.
Wrap up
The iPad has many fun and creative uses, as the long list of offerings in the App Store will attest. Don't be fooled, however, into thinking that it has no place in the production-oriented tasks that fill the days of both enthusiasts and professional photographers. By showing you three specific ways in which it allows you to work smarter and more efficiently, I hope you'll be inspired to use it for creating, rather than just showing off, your images.
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