Comments on: Can Photojournalists Use Apple iPad on the Field?

By: Ted Chen

Ted Chen — Fri, 05 Feb 2010 23:46:23 +0000

Yeah it would be really nice to show off your photos on the iPad. I don’t know if I can afford to buy one just for that purpose but if I had one I would definitely use it to show my friends more.

Everyone dreams, but as a consumer and a professional, when I decide whether I should buy something, I ask myself what it can do for me. If it can’t do what I need it to do, then I probably won’t get it. Future products may be able to do all kinds of things, but it won’t today’s device do all that. It’s the same as how people can fantasize about the future, but doing that doesn’t change the reality that’s in front of you.

By: ChrissyOne

ChrissyOne — Fri, 05 Feb 2010 04:58:10 +0000

“but people don’t look into the future and imagine what they may have.”

Uh… they don’t?

By: ChrissyOne

ChrissyOne — Fri, 05 Feb 2010 04:55:02 +0000

There will be no sexier way to show off your portfolio.

Imagine handing someone a laptop while you’re both standing up. See? This doesn’t happen, because laptops are idiotic to use anywhere but your lap.

By: Ted Chen

Ted Chen — Fri, 05 Feb 2010 03:09:01 +0000

I agree it’s an excellent media reader/player and probably something you want to use to show your photos to your friends. That’s probably what I would get it for, as a kind of marketing tool cum personal entertainment system. There are many slates coming out now (though none as hyped as the iPad) so who knows, we might see one that can handle more complicated uses.

By: Enche Tjin

Enche Tjin — Thu, 04 Feb 2010 21:14:16 +0000

In other words, it is not there yet for photographers. It is great for media reader tho, which it is designed to be.
Eventually it might get there one or two years from now. Meanwhile HP Slate (PC version) will be coming Q4 this year.
Let see how the PC version compare to the Ipad later.

By: Ted Chen

Ted Chen — Tue, 02 Feb 2010 23:56:18 +0000

Yup that’s what I’m talking about — the iPad now. Sure it will improve over time, but people don’t look into the future and imagine what they may have. They look at what’s available now and see if it fits their needs. So based on that, this first generation iPad doesn’t fill those shoes.

It’s about flexibility. The iPad just doesn’t have the programs nor the ports to do field reporting. We’re not talking WiFi here, and a notebook makes tethering to a satellite phone easier than an iPad. You have a point with the size, as the iPad is quite small, but there are small notebooks just as there are big ones.

All in all, the iPad is mainly for the bulk of consumers for casual use. For dedicated and serious work for photojournalists, IMO it doesn’t cut it.

By: ChrissyOne

ChrissyOne — Tue, 02 Feb 2010 15:36:27 +0000

Sure, if you look at only the iPad as it is today. But don’t you think, with just a little vision and imagination, that maybe in the near future there will be more storage and applications to fill these gaps?

You need Wifi for that laptop, so uploading can’t be done in the filed unless you have an uplink, which could work just as easily with a tablet. You think the technology won’t exist soon enough?

The first iPod was 5GB. In a few years, they were over 100. The iPad will grow as well. As will applications, like mobile versions of Lightroom and Aperture to fill the editing gap.

What you don’t address is the iPad’s size compared to you notebook. Not sure about you, but a notebook won’t fit in my camera bag, but the iPad will easily.