Well from a professional point of view on the iPad it is not geared up for the kind of imagery I shoot. If i go to a wedding and shoot between 1000-2000 images there isnt a good program like the pro aps on the mac say. I use lightroom and its great because if you use multiple libraries you can work on the single library like an album and edit them on the fly with a laptop then import the changes back into a studio mac like a mac pro and continue working on them, then if you have someone else working with you you can export the album as a library again and send that to another employee to edit some more and after everything is finished it can be synced to a main library. This is the way i work, plus it is all non destructive.
Now the iPad isnt really geared up for this, hopefully IOS5 will bring something new to the table for developers. The potential is massive but atm it is easier to use a laptop because all the pro aps are readily available. Also atm there isnt much of an option through IOS4 to send your images anywhere, apart from the web or iphoto... and really it would just be easier to import them straight into a desktop or laptop to start with. Because it takes twice the amount of time and im not sure if this is the case with the new iPad but with the USB connector it takes literally forever from your camera! Instead of 5 mins for an 8gb card its more like 20-30 mins, well it is on the mk1 iPad. If im out on a shoot I probs only have 20 mins with a client so taking that long just for them to see isnt feasible.
Im not disagreeing with a previous post, but I find it hard to believe that a simple app would produce better images than a pro app like lightroom. If that is the case I would go back and have a play with lightroom as the file is the same regardless what app you use, it is the editing. Lightroom has endless possibilities I find this hard to believe.
Anyway back on track, so if these aps eventually get ported over to IOS and are compatible with the studio counterparts I think the iPad may have a great place in the photographers kit. Just from other posts i can see people already being fond of using them, But im guessing these image are not for any export usage like newspapers, magazines etc. More of a preview tool, "here are a couple of images I have previously taken, we could do something along these lines.." or "here are a few pics I took of your wedding today" its great for that or even as self promotion using it as a tool to show clients images, and lets be fair they look great and clients like to play with intuitive gadgets.
As it sits the iPad doesn't have room in my kit because its just as easy to use a laptop and the laptop is better value money and has more space, power and all the programs work in the studio and on the go and are all compatible. And the iPad is an expensive indulgence if you got a 64gb you need to drop £600! You could buy the new Canon 100mm F2.8 IS for that! If you are a photographer you eat space! my 5D MkII on raw fill up disks quicker than I can buy them. my 4TB raid and 4TB in the mac pro are nearly full just from this years clients. most of my shoots are between 4-6gb x that by 3-4 a day and you get the scale. 6x4+24gbs so i would have to get the 64gb model simply for space and less recycling of images, where as my little 13" MBP has 2 1TB drives in it (removed the optical drive) so less back and forward which is nice.
So maybe in two years but for now the old laptop does everything better for work purposes except the main point that it is waaayy less fun! haha No Work No Play ;P
Tom Scott
