Microsoft Surface 3 Tablet.

Mar 25, 2011
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I am in doubt as to a Atom Processor's ability to run Adobe Software, but they are more powerful than the first ones that came out. Certainly I wouldn't try any DXO stuff that requires real horsepower. Memory is also a issue, you will want 16GB to run serious editing software for stills. You can use less and suffer.

Web surfing, word processors, watching DVD's, and some imaging editing software should be fine.
 
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DRR

Jul 2, 2013
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I've been thinking about buying a Surface 2 as a travel computer. When I'm traveling I mainly need a browser, and if I'm shooting, I need to be able to backup and copy files and send them places.

The Surface series, with integrated USB, is a big advantage over IOS in this regard. I can also run full Lightroom on it, not for image editing, but for library management. I could delete the misfires, and then star and keyword all my keepers.

I have been almost 100% Apple for the past 20 years but for this particular use, the Surface series is better. Right tool for the right job, regardless of brand, right?
 
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surapon

80% BY HEART, 15% BY LENSES AND ONLY 5% BY CAMERA
Aug 2, 2013
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Mt Spokane Photography said:
I am in doubt as to a Atom Processor's ability to run Adobe Software, but they are more powerful than the first ones that came out. Certainly I wouldn't try any DXO stuff that requires real horsepower. Memory is also a issue, you will want 16GB to run serious editing software for stills. You can use less and suffer.

Web surfing, word processors, watching DVD's, and some imaging editing software should be fine.

Dear Teacher, Mr. Mt Spokane .
My Son want to use tablet with his Canon Camera , To show the Clients, after take their Photos---Can he Link his Canon Camera to Tablet and see before he shoot ?. What is the best tablet that you recommend, Sir ?
Thank you, Sir.
Surapon.
PS, I might want one tablet too, To check during shoot with Studio Lights set up.
 
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I tether for pro shoots with a Lenovo w520 and a 10" Android tablet. I have no direct experience with the Surface, but I have read a little bit about the current "Surface" line up. I would hesitate to tether with the new low-end unit. The higher-cost i5 or i7 variant "Surface Pro" would be a better bet. Yes, get all the RAM they offer. Is 8 the max? too bad... but know that it would be an experiment. If clients are going to be given the expectation that "they will see the picture after the shutter is pressed" speed of response is a part of the service they expect.

Surface Pro (also this new non "Pro" unit, I believe) have the advantage over tether on Android because of the Surface's larger screen (12"). Canon's tethering software is OK, just OK. There are two different packages called EOS Utility" v2 and v3. v3 is for the 5DMk3 and, I guess, the 1Dx. Older cameras require the v2. If you plan to have the subjects look through a batch of pictures I suggest that you have Lightroom "watch" the "incoming" folder so the picture navigation for demonstration purposes is in Lightroom.

Make sure the images are captured on BOTH the card and the laptop/tablet. That's a preference setting.

There will be a Surface Pro 4 later this year at about the time Windows 10 is officially released. It will be more powerful, using the Skylake processor, but I read that it is not clear how this would be configured. Further, Intel has announced delays in the roll-out schedules that place the processors in the hands of the system builders. So your son may not be able to wait.

The w520 is a great platform for this but is driven by a Sandy Bridge processor and therefore a little old. However it serves me well. I look forward to buying a Surface Pro 4 for tethering. Meanwhile I have a good "portable workstation" solution, albeit heavy and thick.
 
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Mr Surapon, I use a Samsung Galaxy Tab S, a special OTG cable from Lindy.com ( about $8) and DSLR Controller loaded on the tablet (about $8), and it's fast and very reliable.
I've spent hundreds on wireless controllers, but they very unreliable and slow to download the images, but the cable system is very robust.
I use it a lot in real estate photography and the clients love it.
 
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Hector1970

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Mar 22, 2012
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It certainly seems a way of the future. The Surface 3 to me doesn't seem powerful enough to process Photoshop and/or Lightroom. It's way short on RAM. Whether in the future they can do the hard carrying (processing) on the net and the tablet just an interface will be interesting. You'd probably need a fast connection to the internet.
It would appeal to me to be able to do basic processing on a Surface Tablet. Maybe I need to wait until a Surface Pro 4 with an I7 Chip and 16GM of Ram.
 
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cayenne

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Mar 28, 2012
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Mt Spokane Photography said:
I am in doubt as to a Atom Processor's ability to run Adobe Software, but they are more powerful than the first ones that came out. Certainly I wouldn't try any DXO stuff that requires real horsepower. Memory is also a issue, you will want 16GB to run serious editing software for stills. You can use less and suffer.

Web surfing, word processors, watching DVD's, and some imaging editing software should be fine.

Yeah, I roll my eyes every time I hear someone spouting off, that computers are going to the wayside, no one needs that much computing power just to surf the web, etc.

Man, when doing photoshop, or especially After Effects...I can bog down a core i7 chip with 16GB ram to molasses for hours at a time on a render.

I need MORE...not less....not to mention a nice, high resolution screen, and HD 1080p doesn't cut it.
 
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Mar 25, 2011
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surapon said:
Mt Spokane Photography said:
I am in doubt as to a Atom Processor's ability to run Adobe Software, but they are more powerful than the first ones that came out. Certainly I wouldn't try any DXO stuff that requires real horsepower. Memory is also a issue, you will want 16GB to run serious editing software for stills. You can use less and suffer.

Web surfing, word processors, watching DVD's, and some imaging editing software should be fine.

Dear Teacher, Mr. Mt Spokane .
My Son want to use tablet with his Canon Camera , To show the Clients, after take their Photos---Can he Link his Canon Camera to Tablet and see before he shoot ?. What is the best tablet that you recommend, Sir ?
Thank you, Sir.
Surapon.
PS, I might want one tablet too, To check during shoot with Studio Lights set up.

That's a good question. I'm not a expert on tablets. I had a Amazon Kindle Fire HDX and did not find a app to do that. Now, I bought a new Apple Ipad last Christmas, and the Canon utility would not run on it, so I gave up. Certainly, there is no issue with a Surface 3 PRO, or a laptop running a full OS (MAC or PC). Tablets seem to have more limited features.
 
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Surface 3 probably is the most powerful tablet, but still not good enough for photo editing. If you want to use Adobe software, this one is not good for you. This Atom CPU power is about equal three years old i3 CPU. With the new Intel CPU/GPU, it should be okay to run all current multimedia files, but not editing. Surface PRO should be your choice. Recently I see i7/256GB version for 1200 deals few times. Check slickdeals.net and good luck to get one.
 
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