So, I've had a bit of an epiphany recently re my iPadPro

I've realised that I'm not a professional photographer.............even though I think I should be :-)

So, what does that mean?

Like most here I've got some excellent camera's and powerful computers and pro level software, but, the thing is, when I look at my photo library of almost 15,000 or so images that I have in my C1 catalogue most are snaps that could just as comfortably live in Apple Photo's as jpegs and certainly be more accessible to the rest of my family.

All this means is that for 99% of my photography I don't need or indeed use any of the features of C1, or DXO Photolab 6 etc. I load my images into a NAS, catalogue them in C1 and then my family use the NAS app to see the pictures and this could be changed to a shared Photo's library.

For the other 1% I'm dragging the raws out of C1 (well exporting out) into iCloud Drive into a folder structure that works for me so that they can be shared between the iPad and M1 MBP for editing / printing, where I am using Raw Power and the Affinity Suite on both the iPad and MBP, with Raw Power being used as a lightweight DAM and the Affinity Suite as the editor.

I now split my photography into family stuff and more considered work, with new raws going direct into iCloud, and any family type stuff I'm going to convert to jpeg and just put into the family accessible library (NAS or Photo's - haven't made my mind up on that yet), with the more considered work going into named folders to be curated from there.

Since I've gone down this route I've not touched C1 or DXO and I can't say that I've noticed any difference in the quality of images I get out. It's a different route to the same end state for me which is a final image in a 16bit tiff for printing.

One thing I have noticed is that I much prefer editing on the iPad (M2 iPadPro 1tb model) than the laptop, I'm finding the pen really is better than a mouse in most cases. If I do need the laptop, well the images are already in iCloud so I can finish on the iPad and continue on the MBP.

I own C1 V22 and DXO PL6, but going forwards it's likely that I'll just leave C1 at v22 and I may keep updating DXO, as I do find it has some useful features, but so far, it's been affinity as the editor of choice recently.

All very liberating

Anyhoo just my ramblings on apple kit and photography

Cheers
Andy

Yup, the photos that are worth sharing and preserving are those of your family, even when ultra low quality.

The camera industry has backed itself into a corner. I bet the demise of Amazon's DPreview will accelerate decline.

Lenses not compatible across brands (M43 only somewhat)
Different Raw formats
JPEG often not the best quality (less so in recent years)
Need dedicated software for Raw processing
Too many pixels (especially in recent years)
Unaffordable prices

So it's no wonder most people take pictures with cellphones. And HEIC overcomes many JPEG drawbacks.

This is well-said.

What size iPad Pro are you using?

I regularly use an iPad Pro 12.9 (3rd Gen) to edit files from all of my cameras.

I’m using the 12.9” version. I was thinking of getting the 11” version, but playing around with an iPad air I though the 11” was too small for editing on

FWIW with the latest iPadOS, you can now run the 11” iPad Pro at the same resolution as the 12” with the "more space" display zoom setting. This and Stage Manager has totally transformed my humble 2018 11” model.

Thanks for the tip, I wasn’t aware of that. Of course on the 12.9” version you get a bit more screen estate again

Andy and others, do you find that colors on your iPad match colors on your Macbook?

My sister's do not, but she has an old iPad and iMac. I have Macbook but not iPad.

All of my images from either my Fuji X-T4 or my iPhone 14 pro max start my workflow on my iPad. They are all imported into LRM and I do most of my work these days on the iPad. They sync to LR and then they sync to LRC. I pull them down in LRC and move them into a file structure that I keep on my Mac/external drives.

I adore using the iPad Pro 12.9” and an Apple Pencil for editing. To me, it just feels like I’m working directly with an image rather than on a computer.

Not, Andy…but I find they’re very close in practice. Certainly within the tolerances of my own print/display workflow…which doesn’t involve a Pantone book.

I’m not sure that this photo does it justice, but here’s a side-by-side comparison of my 2016 MacBook Pro and iPad Pro 12.9 (3rd Gen). Neither have the latest (better) display tech available from the newer generation versions.

As to moving pics around based on various criteria, I gave up on that long ago and invested in XnViewMP so as to add key-words which can be used for searching; for example, the keyword "family" can bring up a "contact sheet" showing only 'family' pics. XnViewMP's search tool is excellent ... other criteria can include EXIF stuff, IPTC and/or XMP tags - and it can be set to recurse through all sub-folders ...

Pretty much. I've just compared the same image in the same software on the iPad M2 and M1 MBP and I can't tell them apart

Agree, the only drawback to me with the iPad is no access to proper printer drivers. If Apple enable full printer support I could and probably would ditch the MBP, as I'm finding I'm using it less and less now.

When the C1 App gets more features and moves closer to the desktop in terms of capabilities, and if DXO released an iPad version of PhotoLab, and if Apple enable full printing support then I'd move fully iPad.

I could be looking at image editing with currently a mix of:
Capture One app
The full Affinity suite (Photo & Publisher I use most, Designer rarely) in fact I do all my printing out of Publisher
Raw Power
Mylio - just checking out as a Dam, looks very promising and would be the hub for all my DAM needs, and be able to edit with a set of pro grade software tools that are currently way cheaper than all the desktop equivalents

And video editing with:
LumaFusion - Video
DaVinci Resolve - Video

I'm not an Adobe fan, but you can throw LR & PS iPad version into the mix as well. Basically, nearly everything a hobbyist would need with the exception of printing

Photos. RAW Power, Snapseed and now Photomator are the most used. I have Affinity Photo as well.

That’s a lot of “ifs”….. 😀

While I don’t print much anymore and no longer have a home printer (labs are inexpensive and make more sense for me at this point give my low volume) I must agree that iPadOS would greatly benefit from full printer support.

For me, the iPad is the primary device…. With LRM….. Virtually all of my images are never edited on a Mac. The MBP is in the workflow at the end only to help with local storage/file structure.

Definitely a few ‘if’s’ in there, but I could live without DXO & C1 desktop versions as I’m using RawPower for a lightweight DAM (might go to Mylio) and Affinity for raw conversion and editing already. C1 Raw conversion is available if I want it with the app. For me it’s the lack of printer support as I’ve an Epsom P800 that I use for my prints

My ipad plays a significant role in my photo work/play. I use it as my primary device when I travel, loading photos into LR and doing some editing in LR and/or PS as I have time and inclination. When I get home I transfer all those to my desktop computer along with edits and continue working on them. Apple pencil makes precise edits possible. I agree with those who noted how nice the display is to work on.

But the other use for my ipad is just plain fun. I keep it loaded up with lots of free or cheap photo and art aps - Snapseed, DistressedFX, Fresco, Icolorama, Procreate, Pixelmator, Express, etc and just play. And Apple Photos is always there to keep up with the things that are not "of Adobe" so that I can move any of it I want back to my desktop as I see fit.