Best tablet for on-location preview

[WPJ]

Just bought a Surface Pro 2, and l can confirm the awesomeness. The screen is great, the system is fast and it runs any windows apps including Lightroom. The pressure-sensitive pen is great to edit photos with, and the system comes with impressive handwriting recognition (which I'm using now...)

NICE WORK. I jut got an RT let week for 149 I could not say no to that. A pro I next on my list

 

[trof2]

OP specifically mentioned issues with exposures not looking on the screen like lightroom when he gets home.

To address this, be aware that many tablets have a limited color gamut, and will ALWAYS look different from a nicely calibrated color monitor with a wider color gamut. There is nothing that can be done except to be sure you pick a tablet with as wide a color gamut as possible. Neither Lightroom or any other software can fix a limited color gamut.
The DisplayMate web site evaluates a lot of mobile displays for vatious charcheristics that are of interest to Photographers.
http://www.displaymate.com/index.html

You can see the extensive results here for some of the full sized tablets. If I were going to pick a tablet which would have a display and colors that were as close to a real monitor as possible, it would be a Kindle HDX, followed closely by the Ipad air. The Surface RT is good but the Samsung is a step down.

http://www.displaymate.com/Surface_RT_ShootOut_1.htm

Thank you for the recommendation. That is a very helpful website.

 

[jVillaPhoto]

Does anyone know if there is an iOS app out there (no jailbreak) that will let you view photos with the camera connection kit without having to import them onto the iPad first? I would love if something like that existed! I hate having to import the photos in order to view them. I have an iPad 3 if that makes any difference. If not, I'll look into a surface pro tablet that everyone seems to really like thanks!

 

[WPJ]

Surface and plug in a card reader and away you go

 

[privatebydesign]

Does anyone know if there is an iOS app out there (no jailbreak) that will let you view photos with the camera connection kit without having to import them onto the iPad first? I would love if something like that existed! I hate having to import the photos in order to view them. I have an iPad 3 if that makes any difference. If not, I'll look into a surface pro tablet that everyone seems to really like thanks!

All the Canon WFT's will let you do that via a web browser, you can look through the cards in the camera in thumbnails, full page or full resolution without downloading them to the iPad, or phone, or any browser equipped device.

 

[HankMD]

i'm using the new google nexus 7 super sharp resolution cheap and can use chain fire dslr controller unlike iOS device which STILL don't support usb host... :

+1 for Nexus 7 (2013).

I haven't tried DSLR Controller (still in beta) but seems pretty powerful.

Surface pro 2 running light room, need I say more

It's quite a bit heavier compared to Nexus or iPads. More like an ultrabook.

 

[Mt Spokane Photography]

Does anyone know if there is an iOS app out there (no jailbreak) that will let you view photos with the camera connection kit without having to import them onto the iPad first? I would love if something like that existed! I hate having to import the photos in order to view them. I have an iPad 3 if that makes any difference. If not, I'll look into a surface pro tablet that everyone seems to really like thanks!

I don't think that "everyone" Recommends the Surface Pro, there are a lot of reviews done properly by professionals. If you want a Windows8 tablet for photography, you can do better. Its not bad, just not rated as the best, and its expensive. I'm still holding off until after Christmas when we will see some big price drops on some gear. I have a problem seeing the fine details on a 10-12 inch screen, I'm going to get a tune up of my glasses soon, if that helps, I may go for a new one in January.

 

[totoreco]

iPad, iPhone with this
http://camranger.com/product/297/

 

[msatter]

Or on Android http://dslrcontroller.com/guide-wifi_mr3040.php

 

[Ruined]

It's quite a bit heavier compared to Nexus or iPads. More like an ultrabook.

Asus T100TA ($349-$399) runs Lightroom well and weighs about the same as an iPad Air

 

[pwp]

Personally I like the iPad Mini, but in reality, any of the tablets mentioned will do the job.
Here's a very cool piece of hardware for managing your tablet while you're on location:
http://www.robgalbraith.com/content_paged653.html?cid=7-11664-11812
http://www.tethertools.com/plugging-in/wallee-ipad-modular-case/
http://www.shop.tethertools.com/Articulating-Arm-Clamp-Kit-RS982BDL.htm

-pw

 

[danski0224]

... the pro is a full laptop which has a pen,and can also turn into a tablet like Waco (sp) for your pc

By this, do you mean it is possible to use a Surface Pro as a touch input device for a PC?

 

[Ruined]

Good read from someone who has owned everything: http://www.mylifeinhdr.com/2013/02/26/surface-pro-for-photographers/

 

[RLPhoto]

I'd buy a Surface Pro 2. It's a tablet when you want one and a PC when you need it.

 

[BoneDoc]

Eye-fi card along with an iPad Air .

 

[WPJ]

... the pro is a full laptop which has a pen,and can also turn into a tablet like Waco (sp) for your pc

By this, do you mean it is possible to use a Surface Pro as a touch input device for a PC?

I'll look up the name of the app again buy yes I do remember seeing an app for this

 

[danski0224]

I'll look up the name of the app again buy yes I do remember seeing an app for this

Now that would be awesome.

 

[RustyTheGeek]

All of the prior suggestions are great.

I have another suggestion but it will but it will be higher in price and compares more to the MacBook Air instead of the iPad Air. Personally I think a nook HD+, Nexus 7 or Kindle HDX would be sufficient for field viewing.

The new Lenovo Yoga 2 Pro has an incredible 13" 3200x1800 IPS QHD+ Display. It's a hybrid ultrabook laptop/tablet that weighs 3.1 lbs and the screen swivels 360 degrees. It has a i7 CPU, Haswell chipset, 8G RAM, 256G SSD, and touchscreen. Best Buy got some kind of deal on them so they are only $1200 right now if you can get one.

http://www.bestbuy.com/site/lenovo-ideapad-yoga-2-pro-ultrabook-2-in-1-13-3-touch-screen-laptop-8gb-memory-silver/1817254.p?id=1219065404810&skuId=1817254

I set a couple up for client and they are pretty amazing.

In another 2-3 months Lenovo will release an 11" Yoga 2 Pro version too.

 

[grahamsz]

Eye-fi card along with an iPad Air .

I use the Eyefi along with a Nexus 7 and it works really well. Especially with a dual-slot camera - I write low res jpegs to the eyefi so they are nearly instantly on the tablet then drop the raws to the compact flash card.

I wouldn't use it for proofing the exposure or anything like that, but it's really nice for product photography since it works on site and you can use it to proof for composition, making sure things are square, catching reflections that aren't right.