RAW support: anticipating the camera connection kit

[vini-vidi-vici]

Just spitballing...I have a 5D and I uploaded 6100 pics over the last two days..but it took FOREVER for the 'optimizing for iPad' to stop. Wound up doing it in batches of 700-800 pics.

Cheers!

To each their own, but.... 6100 pics on the iPad? I just upload my best/favorites, as rats all I want to show anyway. I'm a photographer, and produce tens of thousands of images, but only have ~hundreds on the iPad as a portfolio.

 

[Ikyo]

I transfered a raw image saved from Aperture in the standard cr2 format and it displayed great. I didn't notice any issues with it being optimized/changed at all. I will need to do some additional testing, but it appears to be working great.

 

[nutmac]

I transfered a raw image saved from Aperture in the standard cr2 format and it displayed great. I didn't notice any issues with it being optimized/changed at all. I will need to do some additional testing, but it appears to be working great.

You transferred images via iTunes or by emailing? If it was via iTunes, then your iPad has JPEG not RAW.

 

[David.L]

I shared it and mailed it to myself and all I have is a big,blurry thumbnail. It's a 10MB image.

I mailed myself one of my D90 .NEF's and I get a tiny thumbnail... But I know that the jpeg preview saved in the raw is full-sized. Oh well : (

I was planning on buying the kit, but now I think I'll hold off, 16GB SD cards hold a lot anyway...

 

[Hammie]

Anyone know if the kit will support transferring other files to the iPad?

Or if they will expand the usage of the SD card or USB ports?

I'm considering purchasing, but would only use it for other purposes. I shoot RAW and process in Lightroom. Only the pictures I want to share would be synced to the iPad, anyway. Not all 40,000+ images that I have.

 

[Travisimo]

It will be interesting to see exactly how RAW files are handled via the connection kit. Right now, this is what seems to be happening:

- If you import RAW photos into iTunes and sync photos, it will "optimize" the photos for the iPad (presumably converting them to JPG). This implementation is fine since you probably don't really want the entire RAW photo on the iPad anyway if you are syncing from iTunes.

- If you e-mail yourself a RAW file and open it up, it appears to show a very small thumbnail image. This is obviously pretty worthless since you are using a lot of storage space but not getting to see the actual RAW file.

- Most importantly is how the Camera Connection kit imports/views RAW files when you plug in a camera or SD card. Will the iPad "optimize" photos that are being imported like iTunes does? The advantage of that would be that you'll presumably get fairly hi-res JPGs during the optimization and could check for detail or enjoy the photos for viewing. The downsize would be that you couldn't use the iPad for storing RAW photos directly. You'd still have to keep the RAW files on your memory card. Now then, IF the iPad simply copies the RAW files to your iPad and shows that crappy tiny thumbnail, then there's really no point to saying the iPad supports RAW other than the ability to store the photos for later transfer to a computer.

I'm hoping that when you plug in a camera or SD card, the iPad will either allow you to view the RAW image directly (not likely) OR it will do an "optimization" like iTunes does so that you can still enjoy a hi-res photo for viewing. I'm hoping for the latter, but the former is probably more likely. Why? Because if the iPad can "optimize" the RAW photos, then that means it also must have the capability of viewing the RAW photos since it is actually doing a conversion when optimizing.

I guess only time will tell, but perhaps the best solution would just be to shoot RAW+JPG. But then will the iPad show you TWO photos of everything you import (one good JPG and one crappy thumbnail for the RAW)? Lots of questions!