laptop alternative

[MCAsan]

Earlier this month I got an iPad Pro with 512GB of storage space. Intent is to avoid purchasing another MacBook or carrying the current one into the field. So the eclipse shots I made yesterday, I read the JPG and ORF files from the SD card into the iPad's camera roll. That was quick as it is a USB 3 transport on iPad Pro models. On iPad I culled images and could have edited them in Photos (not) or Affinity Photo. When I got home I hooked up the iPad to the MacBook and used Image Capture to copy the files from the iPad to the designated MacBook folder. Again that was relatively quick over USB 3 transport.

So if you want to simply and cull in the field, an iPad is a real alternative. If you want to edit in the field you likely have to use Photos (not), Affinity Photo, Lr Mobile. I will use Affinity Photo when I am in the field and have to produce a completed image such as at a photo contest. Given a choice I would rather edit at home on a large screen and have access to many different post processing options.

I also checked out the Sandisk iXpand flash drive. You run a correspond app on the IOS device and then you can move files between the flash drive and iPad. So after I do a field edit, I can use the iXpand to turn in the image for a contest.

So for my workflow, an iPad plus an iXpand flash drive should let me avoid carrying a laptop. I will later check out the WD My Passport Wireless Pro which backs up SD cards to a hard drive. That is one way to have your images on a hard drive, on the iPad, and in a Dropbox or Adobe server if there wifi available with decent bandwidth.

 

[Alexander.Of.Oz]

Personally, I'd have gone with a MacBook air, so I had full access to good remote tethering connected by cable, so you're not chewing through your cameras batteries so quickly and also to allow access to image editing programs. Same physical size basically, and 1.35 Kg as compared to the iPad's Pro's 0.7Kg.

I'm glad your system works for you though, McA.

 

[MCAsan]

We shoot wildlife and landscapes. So tethering for us is not an option. What I like about our solution is that I can spend $3500 on an iPad Pro and a 5k iMac versus, a 15" MacBook Pro and still need a 4k or 5k monitor. So for the wife and me this is both a matter of convenience and economy. We will likely retire our 2013 MacBook Pros at Christmas and go iMac for the desktop. And with Affinity Photo for iPad, we will have a serious editor in the field if we need one.

 

[Alexander.Of.Oz]

When my iMac dies, I'll be going a MacBook Pro, with a connected screen at home, so that I have the full Adobe RGB gamut to edit with, instead of being limited to the P3 gamut of the latest iMacs.

 

[Mark0]

Interesting. I'll be watching this for a wee while.

I just have a rMBP 2014, no external screen and I don't really do culling of images until I'm home. I don't tend to go far away though to shoot - or for a long time either. I do like seeing how others go abut their photography from an organisational point of view though.

 

[MCAsan]

When my iMac dies, I'll be going a MacBook Pro, with a connected screen at home, so that I have the full Adobe RGB gamut to edit with, instead of being limited to the P3 gamut of the latest iMacs.

Adobe RGB and DCi-P3 gamut are almost the same in handling blue. AdobeRGB does more greens and DCI-P3 goes more shades of red. You can run a calibration tool and calibrate the iMac for Adobe RGB if you don't think DCI-P3 is close enough.



http://www.astramael.com

https://creativepro.com/how-do-p3-displays-affect-your-workflow/

 

[robgendreau]

Yeah, see this for some iPad Pro in action by Tony Northrup.

I'm waiting to see how the new iOS 11 and esp file handling is gonna work out. I use Lr Mobile, and it's getting so good that for some stuff, as Northrup notes, it's better and faster than the desktop. Given the prices of MBPs now, and although I hated a lot of the workflow in iOS, it's getting to be a better contender all the time. I was just considering as well that I might need a wider gamut for some proofing I needed to do, and the P-3 and retina resolution is pretty awesome to have. Yeah, you don't have all the space, but if you've got a desktop, as MCAsan notes, maybe the iPad Pro is a better complement.

I'm wondering if you've tried Astropad with the iPad, photo apps, and iMac? seems like a lot of the functionality of a Wacom. Add not needing even a non-Cintiq Wacom, and the combo seems even more valuable.

EDIT: And BTW, I believe the camera on the iPad Pro 2d gen is the same as the iPhone 7/7+, and it takes some awfully good RAW photos itself. Not exactly a good form factor for a camera, but for some tasks kinda useful.

 

[Alexander.Of.Oz]

Adobe RGB and DCi-P3 gamut are almost the same in handling blue. AdobeRGB does more greens and DCI-P3 goes more shades of red. You can run a calibration tool and calibrate the iMac for Adobe RGB if you don't think DCI-P3 is close enough.



http://www.astramael.com

https://creativepro.com/how-do-p3-displays-affect-your-workflow/

http://www.colourspace.xyz/the-new-apple-imac-and-the-dci-p3-colour-gamut/
Mentions that:

The main issue I have with P3 as a monitor colour gamut is that it is smaller than Adobe RGB in the cyan and green area so it covers less of typical CMYK printer colour spaces. It is larger than Adobe RGB in reds and yellows but even with larger gamut inkjet printers you loose more greens than you gain reds. So for the core markets for wide gamut displays – photographers and prepress – P3 is less suitable, but I suppose it is still an improvement on sRGB.

https://macperformanceguide.com/blog/2015/20151106_1728-DCI_P3-vs-ProPhoto-NEC.html
Mentions that:

As shown below, I calibrated my NEC PA302W today. The gamut plot shows that the calibrated PA302W greatly exceeds the gamut of the DCI(P3) color space aka “Digital Cinema (DCI)”. In other words, working in DCI(P3) means chopping off a big chunk of greens and red and blues*. Colors of intensity that add extra pop to an image when present. This is why I do all my work in 16-bit ProPhotoRGB: its gamut is even larger than that of the NEC PA302W, thus letting me see everything the display is capable of (because the image has not been mashed and mangled to fit into a smaller range of color).

My photographic printer demands CMYK output, not RGB, so I think I'll still be looking at not using the latest iMac's if I want full benefit of the wider range gamut that most all modern cameras are capable of using and producing. Currently for print projects, I work in 16-bit ProPhotoRGB, even though my iMac can't produce its full gamut. At least this way the printers can make any last minute alterations if they are necessary before print, using their wide gamut displays.

 

[Apple fanboy]

Adobe RGB and DCi-P3 gamut are almost the same in handling blue. AdobeRGB does more greens and DCI-P3 goes more shades of red. You can run a calibration tool and calibrate the iMac for Adobe RGB if you don't think DCI-P3 is close enough.



http://www.astramael.com

https://creativepro.com/how-do-p3-displays-affect-your-workflow/

Glossy screen and lack of uniformity won't be fixed by calibration. And you can't do hardware calibration on any Apple screen.

 

[MCAsan]

As a retired engineer, all I can say is the iPad Pro and a 5K iMac should fulfill my workflow and economic requirements.

Folks with other requirements should of course seek other solutions.

 

[robgendreau]

Yeah, and since we're talking mobiles, consider this analysis: http://www.displaymate.com/iPad_Pro9_ShootOut_1.htm

If anything the newer 10-12 iPad Pros might perform better. Of course that's just overall measurements for certain tasks; and the problem of needing an external monitor still exists for certain color work. But as the OP notes, that is helped by a mobile + desktop setup.