iPad Camera Connection Kit + Raw?

[Photoboothguy]

They say that editing photos (RAW too) will come in the next version and I have no doubts that the iPad 2 has enough power to handle it.

Have doubts.

Food for thought. My main PC (i7-920, 6GB RAM) process my 21MP RAW files just fine. My i5 laptop (4GB RAM) struggles a bit, but is managable. My wife's Dual-Core 1.8GHz laptop crashes. When it does actually work, it take about 20 seconds just for the RAW file to load in LR3, and editing at that point is really slow.

At an event recently, I used my wife's laptop to tether to my camera. I had to dumb down the resolution to 5MP RAW just so the files would load fast and I could do quick edits before printing. Any larger file would cause massive delays or crashing.

Considering an iPad2 is weaker than any dual-core laptop on the market, I'd say editing RAW files will incredibly slow and painful, and probably not worth it. The same goes for any Android tablet.

[AntMason]

I don't really want to *edit* photos per se, I just want something with a long battery life I can preview them on an least a 10" screen, especially for astophotography images so I can tell I got a crisp focus on stars / constellations. Transferring them on to the device to clean off memory cards in a pinch would be a nice bonus.

[baycruisers]

I don't really want to *edit* photos per se, I just want something with a long battery life I can preview them on an least a 10" screen, especially for astophotography images so I can tell I got a crisp focus on stars / constellations. Transferring them on to the device to clean off memory cards in a pinch would be a nice bonus.

I've largely decided to NOT buy an iPad2 (though truth be told, I'd love to have one) until I see how the Android market for tablets shakes out by the end of the year. I don't expect any tablet to allow me to make anything more than basic edits like cropping, brightness & contrast and maybe HSL, so I'm not sure I see the point (for me.) And, of course there's the hardware/connectivity issue. I do have an Android phone (a Droid) and have found some apps that are actually quite useful, including free apps that record waypoints that can be used with geotagging software.

On the other hand, a tablet for surfing, email, e-books and general web use is very appealing and I can't wait to talk my wife into letting me buy one.

[AntMason]

Based solely on the link provided by someone earlier (Photosmith – The Grand Tour | Photosmith – the iPad mobile companion for Adobe Lightroom), upon deeper inspection this app definitely could make me want an iPad over Android or a netbook (it'd be getting other uses, like an e-reader for my technical books that aren't suitable for a Kindle), unless Android has something even closely comparable in the works. I really appreciate all the info from everybody...and great news, I convinced my boss to buy me an iPad 2 (when they finally get them back in stock)!

[AndyNJ]

Have doubts.

Food for thought. My main PC (i7-920, 6GB RAM) process my 21MP RAW files just fine. My i5 laptop (4GB RAM) struggles a bit, but is managable. My wife's Dual-Core 1.8GHz laptop crashes. When it does actually work, it take about 20 seconds just for the RAW file to load in LR3, and editing at that point is really slow.

At an event recently, I used my wife's laptop to tether to my camera. I had to dumb down the resolution to 5MP RAW just so the files would load fast and I could do quick edits before printing. Any larger file would cause massive delays or crashing.

Considering an iPad2 is weaker than any dual-core laptop on the market, I'd say editing RAW files will incredibly slow and painful, and probably not worth it. The same goes for any Android tablet.

You can't really make that distinction though. Sure, a regular computer is way more powerful, but it's also doing a TON more in the background and the applications are bigger and more bloated. They use more resources.

I'm one of the beta testers for Photosmith and the full 100% zoom of a 15.9MP RAW file renders faster than it does in Lightroom on my Macbook Pro (mid-2009 model). That says a lot.

Also, take a look at Filterstorm Pro which has just been submitted for approval. This app is pretty much Lightroom for the iPad in the sense of what it can do (editing, tagging, rating). The developer tested it with 21MP RAW files and I've seen videos of it in action. It's insane.

The iPad 2 is WAY more powerful than you think it is and developers can do a lot if they know what they're doing. You're not going to get full Photoshop or anything, but I think that editing close to what Lightroom offers is definitely in the cards. I would bet on it.

[AntMason]

I just wanted to come back and provide an update. I went out and compared the latest android tablets versus the iPad 2, how they felt in my hand, and the software available.

In the end I bought a 64gb iPad 2 and a camera connection kit. The following day I went to a festival at the local zoo and took about 3gb worth of RAW images. After coming home I put in my SD card with no additional app purchases, and lo and behold it transferred all of the RAW images without taking any longer than my quad core desktop with lightroom, and I was able to easily flip and zoom through all the images, delete the worst throwaway images, and when I had trimmed it down to a good set of images, hooked it to my desktop and lightroom imported what was left directly from the iPad.

The screen is great, the battery life is crazy, the camera connection kit works smoothly, and best of all Photosmith will hopefully be coming out in the app store in a few days with the ability to edit and tag raw files then sync to lightroom. I'm definitely glad I made the purchase.