# Using an iPAD and external drive for travel



## AlanF (May 3, 2018)

I am eyeing up ways of reducing weight for my forthcoming weight-restricted safari. One thought has been to leave the MacBook Pro at home and use an iPAD for initial downloading, preliminary editing, and then backing up on an external drive. But, a real drawback of the iPAD is its incompatibility with plug-in drives. It seems that you have to connect wirelessly, and there are not many compatible drives - the LaCie Fuel and Mypassport wireless are mentioned on the web. I also use .cr2 files.

So, I would like advice on a) software for preliminary editing of .cr2 RAW files and b) backing up.


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## lion rock (May 3, 2018)

For a long while I was using a mini iPAD 4 for such a case to review and do simple .jpg edits. I used Photogene to edit the .jpg. This was fine until iOS did an upgrade which rendered Photogene unusable and the developer of Photogene vanished. The iPAD was also great with CamRanger as a combination, too.

I use HyperDrive products, "ColorSpace"(older generation) to copy from CF and SD cards. Works well. There is a HyperDrive WiFi module you can use with the drive so that communications can be established between the drive and iPAD.

Good luck.
-r


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## Mt Spokane Photography (May 3, 2018)

I think you can use a lightning to usb adapter, the issue is finding a app that works to transfer files to the drive. Android tablets are a little easier, but not easy.

I think that just buying a bunch of high capacity cards might be simpler, it eliminates the need for a power source for a drive. This article for lightroom cc mobile discusses a raw workflow. You do not have to upload images from LR CC Mobile, that can be turned off, or at least, you can turn off access to cellular data.



https://forums.adobe.com/thread/2191720

card readers are available, I'd be careful to read reviews and make sure they work with lightroom.

https://www.amazon.com/Reader-Lightning-Camera-Connection-Adapter/dp/B077XS3S3W/ref=sr_1_4?ie=UTF8&qid=1525376441&sr=8-4&keywords=lightning+card+reader


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## Mt Spokane Photography (May 3, 2018)

The details of keeping the edited files on a external device is a tough one, I'm assuming that you don't have space to store them on the ipad.

Getting a cheap Samsung Tablet that lets you store files on a micro SD card up to 64 or 128 MB might be a option. I have three of the cheap Galaxy Tab A's and I've installed LR CC on them, but not tried to save files on the SD card. 

I think I'll play with it, I was debating bringing my laptop or one of the tablets on a trip next week. I have a otg cable somewhere around here.


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## zim (May 3, 2018)

I usually just take a little windows 2 in 1 notebook with me, does the job, easy


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## Mt Spokane Photography (May 4, 2018)

After spending 2 or 3 hours trying different otg apps with my tablet, I finally found one that worked reasonably well with a exfat formatted card, most do not - beware.

Then, I copied some raw files into the adobe folder, imported them, edited them, and clicked save to device, which saved a jpeg. Thats when I realized that I could not save a edited raw unless I saved it as a DNG or had a sidecar file with it.

I can save the edited images back to a hard drive or other device as jpeg or save the original cr2, but I have not figured a way to save it with edits back to a external card or drive. 

With a laptop, there will be the same issue, you have to convert to dng or merge a lightroom catalog or have a sidecar file. Even using DPP, you can save as a cr2 file, but it contains the edit information so you need DPP to see the edit.


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## privatebydesign (May 4, 2018)

I use the iPad Pro and the WD My Passport Wireless 4TB very happily on trips.


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## AlanF (May 4, 2018)

Thanks so much for the replies so far.


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## dcm (May 4, 2018)

privatebydesign said:


> I use the iPad Pro and the WD My Passport Wireless 4TB very happily on trips.



Which software?


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## Mt Spokane Photography (May 4, 2018)

I guess that one of the considerations is the availability of power and high speed internet.


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## privatebydesign (May 4, 2018)

dcm said:


> privatebydesign said:
> 
> 
> > I use the iPad Pro and the WD My Passport Wireless 4TB very happily on trips.
> ...



I use Lightroom for image editing and the WD app My Cloud. Integration is not quite seamless yet but it works well enough for general use, I wouldn’t say it was a professional solution if you need to go over the iPad storage, shoot RAW and need to output a large number of finished edits, but for casual and keen amateur shooters it works. 

Lightroom for Mobile is a great tool that is pro grade.



Mt Spokane Photography said:


> I guess that one of the considerations is the availability of power and high speed internet.



Internet is not needed to use the wireless HDD I mentioned, it sets up its own network that the iPad connects to. I have found battery life to be very good on both the iPad, I have the larger Pro version, and the HDD, I have the 4TB version.


Several other good features of the HDD, it has an SD slot that you can put a card into and it will automatically back it up into a dated folder. It also has a USB socket that if you plug a camera or card reader into it will make a dated copy of everything on the card in the reader or the camera. I put movies and images I might need and all sorts of stuff on it to take along, it really is a useful little tool that doubles as a regular drive for the laptop or desktop. I have found the WiFi and app pretty robust and would recommend the combination to anyone to try out. They make a range of SSD versions now too.

http://www.canonrumors.com/forum/index.php?topic=34318.msg704669#msg704669


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## dcm (May 4, 2018)

privatebydesign said:


> dcm said:
> 
> 
> > privatebydesign said:
> ...



Thanks.


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## tomscott (May 4, 2018)

Buy a macbook instead, similar size, its so small there is barely any penalty to carrying it. 0.93kg the 12" retina is excelent obviously not full RGB but... it has a full OS, has a proper keyboard, its a great compromise. 

The 1.4ghz i7 of the current generation are within 10% of the top build to order 3.1ghz i5... obviously under sustained load the higher watt CPUs are better but not for review and the odd edit. The macbook 1.3 i5 is about 8% slower than the 1.4 i7 so its still a competant machine.

When you actually pick it up and realise how small and light it is yet the screen is big enough to edit on.

With the latest update to lightroom the experience is really good, it used to be so slow it was unusable. I have the 2015 base version which is significantly slower than the 2017 base m3. Mine only benches 2500 4400 vs 3600 6700. In fact the base m3 is faster then the 2016 m7. 

The only issue in the field is that the USB C port can only power one powered device at a time so if you use a dongle, it needs to be plugged in to use two drives at once.

If your only using one drive just buy a USB C to USB 3 cable off amazon for a few £.


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## AlanF (May 4, 2018)

tomscott said:


> Buy a macbook instead, similar size, its so small there is barely any penalty to carrying it. 0.93kg the 12" retina is excelent obviously not full RGB but... it has a full OS, has a proper keyboard, its a great compromise.
> 
> The 1.4ghz i7 of the current generation are within 10% of the top build to order 3.1ghz i5... obviously under sustained load the higher watt CPUs are better but not for review and the odd edit. The macbook 1.3 i5 is about 8% slower than the 1.4 i7 so its still a competant machine.
> 
> ...



The MacBooks are very nice little machines. But, I have a top of the range 13" MacBook Pro, which was built to order with a 3.5 gHz i7 chip (and 1 Tb storage). It is 22-25% faster than the top of the range i7 MacBook, and can work at sustained higher speeds because of its greatly better cooling. As it is only 440g lighter than the Pro, I am reluctant to use it instead. The 10.5" iPad Pro is 893g lighter, which is a big difference.


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## AlanF (May 4, 2018)

privatebydesign said:


> I use the iPad Pro and the WD My Passport Wireless 4TB very happily on trips.



The reports on the My Passport Wireless on amazon.co.uk are mixed, with a large number of 1* ratings and complaints. How much does it weigh - I can't find the info in the tech specs?


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## privatebydesign (May 4, 2018)

AlanF said:


> privatebydesign said:
> 
> 
> > I use the iPad Pro and the WD My Passport Wireless 4TB very happily on trips.
> ...



450 grams, with the case and cable 525.

To be clear, if I am *working* away I bring my 15" MBP and the WD HDD, if I am on one of my travels, vacation, self commissioned travel images etc and want to travel light and I am not that fussed about doing serious editing while I am away but do have want the capability to cull, rate, do 'normal' editing and upload a picture here and there the iPad with Lightroom and the WD HDD are what I take.

For me both workflows have a purpose and after years of traveling heavy with multiple bodies, lenses, bricks of film and 'stuff' I have enjoyed the last few years of comparative simplicity with one body, often one or two lenses, a small tripod, battery powered printer, and the iPad, it all fits in a ThinkTank Urban Disguise 50 V2 and never gets a second look at airports or wandering in less than savory neighborhoods.

If I was working I would not recommend purchasing the iPad and WD HDD as a pro workflow solution at this point, its close to being workable but not their yet; for less than pro work it can be more than adequate if you go into it with your eyes open. It won't be efficient for 1,000's of images, it has limitations etc, but if you have an iPad Pro and want additional storage the WD HDD works well in my experience. It is not the same as a tablet with a fully functional file based operating system and a plugged in HDD.


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## Mt Spokane Photography (May 5, 2018)

privatebydesign said:


> The reports on the My Passport Wireless on amazon.co.uk are mixed, with a large number of 1* ratings and complaints. How much does it weigh - I can't find the info in the tech specs?



450 grams, with the case and cable 525.

...


The SSD version is 235.3g, It sounds like a appealing choice. Can it be kept in a pocket or bag and still wirelessly connect?

I'm almost convinced to get one.

https://www.the-digital-picture.com/Reviews/WD-My-Passport-Wireless-SSD.aspx


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## privatebydesign (May 5, 2018)

Mt Spokane Photography said:


> privatebydesign said:
> 
> 
> > The reports on the My Passport Wireless on amazon.co.uk are mixed, with a large number of 1* ratings and complaints. How much does it weigh - I can't find the info in the tech specs?
> ...



Yes it can. 

The WiFi range is good, the SSD version came out after I got mine but I like the size and cost of the regular version too!


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## privatebydesign (May 5, 2018)

Mt Spokane Photography said:


> The SSD version is 235.3g,
> 
> https://www.the-digital-picture.com/Reviews/WD-My-Passport-Wireless-SSD.aspx



I think you misread that, 


> Compared to the tiny bus-powered portable hard drives such as the WD My Passport portable hard drives, the WD My Passport Wireless SSD is noticeably larger and heavier (16.2 vs. 8.3 oz, 460.3 vs. 235.3g), accounting for the substantial battery and additional electronics required for the wireless functionality.



The 235 is for the regular bus powered My Passport, not the My Passport Wireless.


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## eml58 (May 5, 2018)

Using the Seagate Wireless Plus 2 TB

https://www.seagate.com/au/en/consumer/backup/wireless-plus/#specs

Quite happy with this item, small enough, light weight, and it works with both Apple systems & or Windows.

The WiFi system is first rate.

I was using this with my iPad Pro, MacBook Pro, but have dropped both those from my travel gear and now utilise the Seagate Wireless Plus with my Wacom Mobile Studio Pro 16", it is a windows based machine while travelling, but tethers to the Mac when home if required.

I run Creative cloud (Lightroom & Photoshop) plus On1 RAW and the set up works flawlessly with the Seagate either through the WiFi or plugged direct to the Wacom.


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## 360iViews (May 5, 2018)

AlanF said:


> I am eyeing up ways of reducing weight for my forthcoming weight-restricted safari. One thought has been to leave the MacBook Pro at home and use an iPAD for initial downloading, preliminary editing, and then backing up on an external drive. But, a real drawback of the iPAD is its incompatibility with plug-in drives. It seems that you have to connect wirelessly, and there are not many compatible drives - the LaCie Fuel and Mypassport wireless are mentioned on the web. I also use .cr2 files.
> 
> So, I would like advice on a) software for preliminary editing of .cr2 RAW files and b) backing up.



You might-could use that iPad Pro and a Gnarbox or LaCie. I have both, and are used for different types of shooting/downloading/editing. The Gnarbox is good because I can download image files to it, then do immediate editing on my phone or iPad. On a trip to Disney back in March, I did a quick download, edit and post to Instagram while waiting for the wife and kids to finish their ride. I don't use the editing software provided by Gnarbox, because I have Adobe Cloud - LR, PS & Pr are on all of my mobile devices.


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## Mt Spokane Photography (May 5, 2018)

privatebydesign said:


> Mt Spokane Photography said:
> 
> 
> > The SSD version is 235.3g,
> ...



I read that backwards, after double checking, you are, of course, right.

I'm still interested.


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## AlanF (May 5, 2018)

This site gives very good reviews of back-up systems. https://havecamerawilltravel.com/photographer/wd-my-passport-wireless-pro-review/ Go to near bottom of page and there is a table plus links to reviews of other devices.


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## Vivid Color (May 5, 2018)

Mt Spokane Photography said:


> I guess that one of the considerations is the availability of power and high speed internet.


OP: This is a very important point and not one to be underestimated. I don't know where you are going or the conditions you will be facing, but when I went to Tanzania a few years ago, I made the decision to stay in lodges not tented camps so I'd have more and continued access to power. What I didn't know at the time is that many of the lodges in remote areas also rely on generator power and the power is often cut out for a bit when they change the generators. Some days, I barely had power to sufficiently charge my camera batteries. One day, I had no power and was really glad I brought along the huge flashlight my tour provider had sent me before I left on the trip. My trip was also weight restricted (to 33 pounds total) and I'm glad I made the decision to leave the extra weight of an iPad and external drive at home (I also considered this for a while) and instead take enough SD cards that I wouldn't need to worry about taking extra stuff along to back them up to reuse them. I'm glad I made this decision as it not only allowed me to take another change of clothes along, it also freed up time for me to do and see other things on the trip--things I would not be able to do when I got back home. Don't get me wrong, I believe in backups and have my files triple backed up once I move the images from the cards to my computer. But, so far at least, I've never lost an image on an SD card. (Maybe this is more of a risk on CF cards, I don't know.) I should probably note that I grew up with film so it's no big deal for me to not view my photos until I get back home. (Plus, I've already seen previews on the back of my camera, which is way more than I ever got to do shooting film.) Everyone is different, but for me, unless I'm going on a dedicated photo workshop in which I am expected to process my images and share them with the group, it's more important to me to enjoy my time on my trip, and experience to the fullest my being in a foreign place. Especially one that is hard and expensive to get to. Good luck on your trip! --Vivid


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