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waloshin

macrumors 68040
Original poster
Oct 9, 2008
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I want to do video editing and photo editing on an iPad from my Nikon Z6. I am either looking at the IPad 8th gen 128 by or an Air 4th 64 gb. I am thinking the IPad 8th gen will be enough for my uses.

Or should I wait for the iPad 9th gen?
 
I will be mainly using this for casual video and photo editing when not at home. I have a beefy desktop for bigger projects.
 
I want to do video editing and photo editing on an iPad from my Nikon Z6. I am either looking at the IPad 8th gen 128 by or an Air 4th 64 gb. I am thinking the IPad 8th gen will be enough for my uses.

Or should I wait for the iPad 9th gen?
You will probably want more storage to handle the video files on your iPad while you edit (no idea what's a good threshold, but I would go with 256gb just to be safe).

The iPad Air has the benefit of sporting a USB-C port, which would make it easier to import files (via usb-c external storage) and use other adaptors and peripherals. My experience with the lightning to usb adaptor has been extremely unreliable at best.

My advice is to try looking for a refurbished 2018 iPad Pro, also for the better display.
 
I want to do video editing and photo editing on an iPad from my Nikon Z6. I am either looking at the IPad 8th gen 128 by or an Air 4th 64 gb. I am thinking the IPad 8th gen will be enough for my uses.

Or should I wait for the iPad 9th gen?
What will you be using to edit your videos? iMovie? LumaFusion?
 
Likely premiere rush or lumafusion. Lightroom or affinity for photo edits.
 
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I'm using a 2TB 11" iPad Pro. I have powerful solutions at home and in my 2019 Mac Book Pro but the kind of content I create means I need to be in the field and as light as possible. Time is money.
 
I will be using mine typically for YouTube videos, TikTok videos more casual use.

I work with legacy material at home for customers.
 
USB-C and the resulting connectivity as well as the processor make the Air the better choice of these two.
 
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Why an iPad? iPad seems geared more towards content consumption, not content creation. A Macbook Air is about the same size/weight for ease of portability, and has the full featured OS for a full desktop type of experience. Seems like editing video on the iPad would be cumbersome.
 
Why an iPad? iPad seems geared more towards content consumption, not content creation. A Macbook Air is about the same size/weight for ease of portability, and has the full featured OS for a full desktop type of experience. Seems like editing video on the iPad would be cumbersome.

It's not; LumaFusion is an excellent app. I also use Adobe Premiere on the desktop so I use that as a comparison.
 
Why an iPad? iPad seems geared more towards content consumption, not content creation. A Macbook Air is about the same size/weight for ease of portability, and has the full featured OS for a full desktop type of experience. Seems like editing video on the iPad would be cumbersome.


An iPad is far more portable than a laptop. Once opened, a laptop is much larger and more unweildy than an iPad, especially if you need to use it hand-held. In certain situations, such as being out in the field and needing to get specific content online fast, the iPad beats any laptop hands-down. I use my iPad while out in the ocean, and I can simply unzip my bag, pull it out and immediately get to work in less than 10 seconds. An iPad is much easier to use hand-held and probably much more durable overall than a Macbook.

If you've used LumaFusion for video editing, then you would know that it is essentially a desktop-level application. Affinity Photo and Designer are also the very same versions as the desktop applications.
 
An iPad is far more portable than a laptop. Once opened, a laptop is much larger and more unweildy than an iPad, especially if you need to use it hand-held. In certain situations, such as being out in the field and needing to get specific content online fast, the iPad beats any laptop hands-down. I use my iPad while out in the ocean, and I can simply unzip my bag, pull it out and immediately get to work in less than 10 seconds. An iPad is much easier to use hand-held and probably much more durable overall than a Macbook.

If you've used LumaFusion for video editing, then you would know that it is essentially a desktop-level application. Affinity Photo and Designer are also the very same versions as the desktop applications.
I personally prefer keyboard/mouse vs. touch, but you make some fair points on hardware usability in the field. I have not tried LumaFusion, but I do like recommendations, I'll check it out. Thanks!

How visible is the iPad screen in intense sunlight e.g. on the ocean? Mine is an older model and isn't that great in bright sun. It's difficult to get a feel for that indoors in the retail store.
 
I personally prefer keyboard/mouse vs. touch, but you make some fair points on hardware usability in the field. I have not tried LumaFusion, but I do like recommendations, I'll check it out. Thanks!

How visible is the iPad screen in intense sunlight e.g. on the ocean? Mine is an older model and isn't that great in bright sun. It's difficult to get a feel for that indoors in the retail store.

I have the 2021 12.9 and it seems better in the sun than my previous 2018 12.9. But intense sunlight will be a struggle for any display (other than something like a Kindle device).
 
I personally prefer keyboard/mouse vs. touch, but you make some fair points on hardware usability in the field. I have not tried LumaFusion, but I do like recommendations, I'll check it out. Thanks!

How visible is the iPad screen in intense sunlight e.g. on the ocean? Mine is an older model and isn't that great in bright sun. It's difficult to get a feel for that indoors in the retail store.

I actually use my Apple Pencil most of the time when editing videos and photos, which works really well.
With the screen on max on my iPad Pro 11, it's pretty good in the sun. I usually have the keep the brightness on max when outside in intense sunlight, but it's bright enough where I won't have to struggle at all to see small details on the screen.

It also handles saltwater spray well too. When I get back from a day on the water, I have to use a moist towel to remove the dried salt all over it. :)
 
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