Is it possible to view/edit directly off a SSD drive with an iPad Air M2?

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Michael Bisset

Michael Bisset

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I am trying to view and select photos from a SSD drive to edit on my iPad Air M2 when I am working away from home. I do not want to download all my photos and wish to select those to download first before moving them into a photo editing app. With multiple days of wildlife shooting I may have thousands of photos to look through. My iPad (256gb) may be able to download a few hundred raw files from a Nikon Z8 but not enough to allow selection on the iPad.
So far I have looked at Lightroom, Capture One and Affinity Photo but they all only allow you to look at a thumbnail before selecting which files to upload to the editing app. I am only looking to do light editing and full culling and editing will be done one I get home.
While the obvious solution is to get a laptop, I would like to be able to do this on an iPad if possible.
Sorry if this has previously been discussed on this forum but so far a solution has not jumped out at me.
 
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I have the iPad Pro m2. I can view images on an attached SSD drive but the full editing programs do not work on the IPad Pro. They instead provide minimal programs that allow only limited editing functions. The screen on the 12 inch iPad Pro is excellent for viewing images and I can view them directly on an SSD drive without having to copy them onto the IPad hard drive. I can also copy files from the card to the IPad and then move them onto a SSD drive.

I have no experience with the IPad Air but I doubt you will have more capability than the IPad Pro.

To get full; editing performance your better choice is to get an MacBook Air. The smaller versions of those are similar in size to the larger IPad Pro and would be convenient to carry on the road.

I am aware that my photo buddy, who shoots with a Z8, has not been able to copy or view images on my IPad Pro. On the other hand, my images shot with the Z9 work no problem. At this point I don’t know why he is having this problem and it could perhap be an obscure menu setting.
 
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Can I ask how you view the images.? I use the Files app and I can view individual Z8 raw images and I have just discovered that I can scroll sideways from one image to the next. While there is a 'share' option available for individual full screen images, there is no way to select multiple images (other than from the icons view) and either copy them or import then into another app.
I guess you could create a new directory and save your selected images to this directory and then mass import this whole directory into a photo app. A bit clunky but would probable work.
 
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I use the Files app and yes can swipe sideways.

I am not by any means a Mac expert I recently converted from pc and am still learning the ropes. I was in the Apple Store to discuss solutions but the people in the store did not have full knowledge.

I am currently on a road trip, and was happy with the use of the IPad Pro for reviewing images. This trip only involved a few days of shooting and I have plenty of card capacity and did not need to reformat any cards. I had a 4 tb SSD drive with me but I did not have to move images.

I think if you are going to need to move images from the camera to an external drive iduring a trip it would be much easier to do that on a. current model MacBook Air.

Note I did not attempt to use SnapBridge.
 
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In respect of moving images I agree that a MacBook would be easier but I do also have an iPad solution. I have a small Caldigit USB C hub which allows me to externally power the iPad, attach a card reader and also a SSD drive. I use Files to move images from my CFexpress card to the SSD drive.
 
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Michael Bisset said:
I am trying to view and select photos from a SSD drive to edit on my iPad Air M2 when I am working away from home. I do not want to download all my photos and wish to select those to download first before moving them into a photo editing app. With multiple days of wildlife shooting I may have thousands of photos to look through. My iPad (256gb) may be able to download a few hundred raw files from a Nikon Z8 but not enough to allow selection on the iPad.
So far I have looked at Lightroom, Capture One and Affinity Photo but they all only allow you to look at a thumbnail before selecting which files to upload to the editing app. I am only looking to do light editing and full culling and editing will be done one I get home.
While the obvious solution is to get a laptop, I would like to be able to do this on an iPad if possible.
Sorry if this has previously been discussed on this forum but so far a solution has not jumped out at me.
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What I do is plug my Card into the usb port of my iPad using a usb reader, launch photos and you can view each one individually or as a group and select which ones you wish to import Onto your iPad. I have never tried to edit photos off a ssd or card using the iPad, but I suspect you can’t. They need to be imported into the Apple photos app first. After I’ve edited my photos on my iPad I than copy them to a ssd using the file app.
 
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FWI I attach a hub, CFX card reader and SSD to iPad pro USB-C port. Copy from CFX card to SSD then use the FileBrowser Pro app to review rate and 1st cull pass.

i don’t tend to edit as such using iPad only use it get rid of the rubbish however editing can be done using the LR mobile app but I find it a bit messy and just wait till I get back home to do further culling and editing etc. So in summary I use iPad for an initial cull and backup copy to SSD.

Hope this is of use.
 
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agrumpybirdphotographer said:
FWI I attach a hub, CFX card reader and SSD to iPad pro USB-C port. Copy from CFX card to SSD then use the FileBrowser Pro app to review rate and 1st cull pass.

i don’t tend to edit as such using iPad only use it get rid of the rubbish however editing can be done using the LR mobile app but I find it a bit messy and just wait till I get back home to do further culling and editing etc. So in summary I use iPad for an initial cull and backup copy to SSD.

Hope this is of use.
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Many thanks. FileBrowser Professional looks very promising. I might give it a try.
 
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agrumpybirdphotographer said:
FWI I attach a hub, CFX card reader and SSD to iPad pro USB-C port. Copy from CFX card to SSD then use the FileBrowser Pro app to review rate and 1st cull pass.

i don’t tend to edit as such using iPad only use it get rid of the rubbish however editing can be done using the LR mobile app but I find it a bit messy and just wait till I get back home to do further culling and editing etc. So in summary I use iPad for an initial cull and backup copy to SSD.

Hope this is of use.
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Which hub and how fast is it? I found the ones I tried to be way too slow.
 
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Hooligans Imagery said:
Which hub and how fast is it? I found the ones I tried to be way too slow.
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I’ve used both the following.

SATECHI USB C Hub Multiport Adapter V2 - USB C Dongle - 4K HDMI (60Hz), 60W USB C Charging, GbE, SD/Micro Card Readers, USB 3.0 - USBC Hub For MacBook Pro/Air M1 M2​

Minisopuru USB C Splitter, 10Gbps USB C Hub Multiport Adapter for Laptop, USB C Hub Power Delivery with 100W PD (Not Support Video), USB C to USB C Hub, USB Type C Hub for MacBook Air/Pro, iMac.​


Not sure about the speed as such but both worked OK transferring Z9 files, apologies for the bold type but the Amazon links wouldn’t work for some reason.
 
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LR Mobile will bypass the Apple photos program, but it will want to load the selected images to the cloud (with the option of leaving behind SmartPreviews). This might work for you as I believe it will read the external drive (or connected camera). While I have been using Classic and legacy versions of LR for years, I have just recently started playing with LR Mobile (w/Premium subscription). You may want to look at it a bit more to see if it can do what you want.

--Ken
 
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Further to the suggestion that FileBrowser Pro might be a good may to move around files, I have given it a go and am generally quite impressed. It is like the Files app but with added functionality. It has better ways to view and select files and the transfer options are very extensive by linking to physical and cloud storage devices. Exporting files directly into Lightroom, using file sharing, is provided which gives an option for subsequent editing.

My first major file transfer with FileBrowser Pro involved the transfer of 1222 Z8 raw files (mainly FX but some were DX crop) and 10 video files (total photo and video 65 GB) from a Delkin Black (325GB) CFexpress card to a Samsung T5 1 TB SSD drive using a Caldigit USB C SOHO Dock. All files were transferred in 8 minutes. The iPad Air (M2) 11 inch, which I used has a USB C port with a theoretical maximum transfer speed of 10Gb/s. The newer iPad Pros have a M4 processor and a thunderbolt port which is theoretically 4X faster. It would be interesting to know if this makes files transfers any faster as I suspect the card reader and SSD drive speeds may be a limiting factor.

Overall I think this file transfer time is satisfactory and if it proves reliable on repeated use, it will become my travel workflow for backing up and doing light editing on photos when I am away from home. If using a hub, card reader and SSD drive attached to an iPad, it is highly recommended to power it from a USB C power source to ensure everything works well.
 
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I just received and installed the CalDigit hub for use on my M2 IPad Pro.

What I am looking for is a way to transfer files from a card on the computer to an external drive.

The Caldigit has four USB plugs and one card slot. Three of the plugs are USB C and one “regular: USB.

The problem is, one of the USB C plugs has to be used for an external power source, the second has to go to the single USB C port on the IPad.

I have a Delkin CF Express B card reader. I can definitely power the tablet and read the card reader at the same time with the cal digit.

I should be able to put a compatible storage card into the caldigit and move files onto and off of it. That slot uses SD 4.0 and micro sd 4.0 slots. It cannot however be used for the CF Express type B cards. I could bring some extra SD cards and move data off of my computer card onto one of those.

It appears I am NOT able to attach two external USB C devices at the same time. This means I can’t have my USB C card reader attached along with a USB C external drive. One of those needs to be a USB B cable.

To save money on my IPad I did not spring for the larger hard drives. My IPad is limited to 256gb internal storage space. I would much prefer a way to transfer files through the hub into backup storage.

If I have this wrong let me know, but I think I am going to either have to find a USB B external drive or a USB B card reader.

If someone has figured this out let me know, thanks.
 
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I have a Caldigit SOHO hub which leaves me with a free USB C and USB A connector, both at 10 Gb/s, when I connect to power and to my iPad. I connect my card reader to the USB C connector and a Samsung T7 to the USB A connector with a USB C to USB A cable. Once I have backed up my CF Express card in the SSD drive I remove the card reader to connect a second SSD drive so I can now make a second backup.
 
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Michael Bisset said:
I have a Caldigit SOHO hub which leaves me with a free USB C and USB A connector, both at 10 Gb/s, when I connect to power and to my iPad. I connect my card reader to the USB C connector and a Samsung T7 to the USB A connector with a USB C to USB A cable. Once I have backed up my CF Express card in the SSD drive I remove the card reader to connect a second SSD drive so I can now make a second backup.
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That answers my question thanks. I just need a USB C to USB A cable I must have a lot of those laying around.

Your system makes good sense to me, I come away with two copies and then it should be safe to reformat the card.
 
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I recently received the Caldigit hub, latest model advertises as 2x transfer speed compared to the older model.

I did not run detailed speed tests. I did find that plugging my Delkin card reader in the USB C port allowed reasonably fast connection speeds. On the other hand when I plugged the SSD drive into the regular USB port I though it was kind of slow.

Next test will be trying to move images from the card reader to the SSD drive. The question is whether the transfer speeds would be reasonable for copying cards while in the field.

If someone has already tested tghe is out I would appreciate feedback.
 
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wotan1 said:
I recently received the Caldigit hub, latest model advertises as 2x transfer speed compared to the older model.

I did not run detailed speed tests. I did find that plugging my Delkin card reader in the USB C port allowed reasonably fast connection speeds. On the other hand when I plugged the SSD drive into the regular USB port I though it was kind of slow.

Next test will be trying to move images from the card reader to the SSD drive. The question is whether the transfer speeds would be reasonable for copying cards while in the field.

If someone has already tested tghe is out I would appreciate feedback.
Click to expand...

I did not try the Caldigit but supposedly I had other ones with 10gbs. I found with my M1 iPad that it was way too slow with Z9 sized files for me to consider in the field. My suggestion is you take a fixe amount of files 20gb or whatever you might shoot in day and time that. I have decided that I will replace my 2018 MBA and travel with that. It allows me to cull on the flight home.
 
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I did order the one in HH's video. I am encouraged by his speed tests and the built in reader.... but he was not doing what is proposed here (and what I would like to do in order to back up in the field). I will report my results when I receive the device in August). It supposedly supports iPadOS 12.4 or later.....
 
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Steve Pumilia said:
I did order the one in HH's video. I am encouraged by his speed tests and the built in reader.... but he was not doing what is proposed here (and what I would like to do in order to back up in the field). I will report my results when I receive the device in August). It supposedly supports iPadOS 12.4 or later.....
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I checked and this is apparently a brand-new device currently only available for preorder.

It would be nice if it proved to work well and it is nice that it has a built in CF Express B card reader.

I look forward to your report on how it works.
 
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Hooligans Imagery said:
I did not try the Caldigit but supposedly I had other ones with 10gbs. I found with my M1 iPad that it was way too slow with Z9 sized files for me to consider in the field. My suggestion is you take a fixe amount of files 20gb or whatever you might shoot in day and time that. I have decided that I will replace my 2018 MBA and travel with that. It allows me to cull on the flight home.
Click to expand...

I've done some more transfer speed tests with the iPad Air M2 256GB, using the native Files app to transfer a directory containing 106GB of files ( 2049 .NEF files (FX & DX) with 21 .MOV files) from a Delkin Devices 325 GB CF Express B card in an Angelbird USB C card reader to a Samsung T5 SSD drive through a USB C to USB A cable, using the Caldigit USB C SOHO dock. The dock was powered during the transfer.

I had previously used the FileBrowser Pro app but this has hung on me a couple of times during transfers and also seems much slower.

Using the USB C hub, the 106GB transfer took 4 min and 39 seconds. I did the same transfer using the USB C ports on the front of my Mac Studio M1 and this took 4 minutes 36 seconds. Would the transfers have been even faster if I had used a T7 SSD drive !

This test suggests that file transfer times using a M2 iPad Air are no different from those using a desktop computer. They would also suggest that a M2 iPad should be more that adequate to facilitate file backup while out in the field, if powered by a USB C PD supply.

These results almost seem too good to be true but I did the iPad transfer test twice and got the same result. Is there a flaw in my methodology?
 
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