How-to: Use the iPad to backup photos from DSLR or Mirrorless Camera

[@DanPandrea]

As an enthusiast, Lightroom on the iPhone is the best choice for me. It's perfect for city breaks, when I'm shooting about 500 photos. I'm using the Lightning to SD adapter. After each back-up, I clear the Lightroom cache to recover the storage. If I'm going on a longer vacation and want back-up redundancy, I'll also bring the RAV Power FileHub and an external SSD (Samsung T7). The good thing is it can back-up the SD to the SSD with a touch of a button. The bad thing is the companion app won't run on iOS anymore.

[@lumixographer2185]

Great suggestions! I now have 3 apps to consider for my iPad with ssd drives😊

[@maritzas2575]

Thanks Toby. This video is very timely. I've done both in the past - travelled with and without the iPad on trips. In fact on last Arctic trip, I only had the iPad which was fine but really missed having my computer. I like using the iPad as my third backup in addition to the external drive. It just makes sense. :)

[@jLutraveling]

This is food for thought.

[@wandering.camera.guy.411]

Any update to your process? I use my 11in iPad pro to view, cull, name and some edits while on trips. Nice getting home with it done. iPad also great camping as easy to charge. I use “Photo Workflow” app to cull and name the raw + jpg (I created it because I used to hate culling). I use affinity photo to edit.

[@TimLucasdesign]

Great video, Toby!

[@agung.arifin]

Exactly what im looking for

[@JohnB551]

Thanks Toby excellent video! Have you already made the video for the steps? I couldn’t find it in the description.

[@photorectoby]

Yes - sorry here is the link vimeo.com/720528211/772a6a44e8

[@barbarakerr6882]

I'm looking for your step by step video using iPad to back up my photos. Thanks. Barbara

[@RichbergEnt]

I use a surface go and ssd hard drive to transfer photos for storage. You choose to some editing if you want, but i find it better to use rather than my iPad for fast file backups.

[@photorectoby]

The benefit of the Surface Go is you have full windows which I agree is a better setup than the more limited file structure of the iPad.

[@TheSpade357]

You might wanna use at least a 65W charger to power up the hub whenever you hook up a faster/bigger external hard drive. Great tutorial video by the way, thanks.

[@photorectoby]

Interestingly though the older spinning HD works with even the 20W charger. I suspect the SSDs require even less power. But it would be good idea to completely eliminate that variable.

[@johnshepherd2666]

What a lot of good information & so easy to follow ...well done...tell me what connection do you use to get the images from that Rolleiflex camera I see behind you onto your computer 😅😅😅

[@diverspudph]

I use Lightroom. For short (overnight trips), I would take my iPad. But for trips where I expect to take and post process lots of photos, I would take my Microsoft Surface Pro. Nearly similar form factor to an iPad, but it's a full blown computer and I can work on photos stored in external storage when needed

[@richardwagner3317]

Great suggestions as always

[@katelecates2870]

Thanks Toby, very helpful

[@eavesphoto]

Hi, I’m sorry a little late to assign questions on this video. How did you have the SSD format? Mac extended?

[@robertjames-life4768]

Assuming this all works when backing up compact flash cards?

[@shadiafadulzarur3931]

I dont have storage in my ipad, but i have a ton of space im icloud. But when jm trying to pass them froma my sd directly to icloud using the ipad , it doesnt work, it say i dont have enough memory, what can i do?

[@jd5787]

Hi! Possible to do something similar with Android or Microsoft Surface? Thank you

[@photorectoby]

Great question and you'd think that as a happy owner of a pixel phone I would have tried this.. I hadn't... but just spent the last 30 minutes trying various options-I can get my phone to see an external SSD formatted exFat but I cannot get it to import r even see photos on an SD card or directly connected to a camera. Doesn't mean it's not possible but at least with a setup similar to the iPad I can't get it to work.

[@johnwinter6061]

Issues. My iPad would not recognize 1T SSD. 128G usb OK. SLOW speed on 18mb files. Had to do one by one.

[@pieromonteverde3169]

Damn you Toby! After all these years trying and failing trying to make the iPad system to work, you decide to make this video? LOL! Even worse after finally getting convinced to order a decent and light enough Mac M2 to edit while on our trips! 🤣

[@photorectoby]

haha -well my attitude has changed(some) and the iPad has become more capable. But I am excited for your M2 - it's such a fast way to comb through all those puffin shots :)

[@michaelduva5217]

hi ! did your iPad sleep ?

[@joshuahorner2639]

I know this is an older video but would this work for CF Express Type B cards? What I want to do is download my photos from my Nikon Z9 to my iPad, then put them on. Samsung T7 External HD. Is there a hub for CF Express Type B cards?

[@JPStaats]

Haven’t come across those yet. SD is the consumer standard so unless CF Express become main stream, I suspect the status quo to prevail unfortunately.

[@gooddad11]

You can get a usb-c cfexpress B card reader and connect that to the Anker hub

[@grassmanBoca]

Maybe I missed it I didn’t see make all the connections

[@garymyers472]

How about GNR box (sp?)

[@photorectoby]

I reviewed the original Gnarbox and found it to really suck. I have heard the newer version is is better (I should revisit) and if you don't already own an iPad it might be a more economical option but what I really like is so many people already own an iPad - so with just a $30 hub it becomes a very useful option for backup AND edit.

[@garymyers472]

@@photorectoby My iPad Pro was recently stolen and I am hoping to replace it with the newer one soon. I would appreciate a review of the newer Gnarbox. For most of what I do the iPad Pro with 2TB would work. Thanks forvthe review

[@garymyers472]

With an IPad Pro how easy is it to burn DVD to archive photos on?

[@jaym5938]

1) This only works on iPads with USB-C ports (The CCK is necessary for Lightning ports) 2) If setup works before trip - don't do any updates till 'after' your trip. Apple is known for its obstructive updates. 3) The cloud is a joke. Fast Internet is one thing, having enough 'data' on your mobile device is quite another...not to mention the waste of data when uploading then downloading at home. Just wait and use a USB connection or AirDrop. Blame Apple - it's flashy on the outside but a joke on the inside.

[@edkight6447]

Wouldn't a Lightning to USB-C adapter work ? Not familiar with the term CCK. thanks

[@thomasfalkowskiphoto]

While not a cheap solution, a Gnarbox SSD resolves all of these issues.

[@photorectoby]

I reviewed the original Gnarbox and found it to really suck - buggy, hot and not very reliable. I have heard the newer version is is better (I should revisit). If you don't already own an iPad it might be a more economical and simpler option to go with Gnarbox but what I really like is so many people already own an iPad - so with just a $30 hub it becomes a very useful option for backup AND edit.

[@thomasfalkowskiphoto]

@@photorectoby I did not own or test the 1st Gen of the GNARBOX however, I have heard it was not very good. I 100% agree with your assessment on many people already owning an iPad and likely a compatible external drive. So for not much extra they can back up and edit in the field without a laptop. Though as you mention it can be a somewhat frustrating experience at times. One thing that I feel is missing from the whole iPad + external drive setup that the GNARBOX offers is both backup validation via cryptographic hashes as well as the ability to do incremental backups on the fly. This eliminates importing duplicates if you forget to format your card after your last backup. It seems like there should be an app for the iPad that could provide this functionality without having to pay the premium for a hardware specific solution like GNARBOX. That said I have not found one.

[@timothylinn]

As the owner of a 1TB Gnarbox 2.0, I can agree that the second gen product works well as a backup. That said, the company died in 2021 and had been struggling for a while before then. For existing owners, it remains a viable solution until the hardware dies. Its software link to iOS will probably die first due to compatibility issues over time.

[@infrarouge75]

So slow to do it liké this. Buy a small true computer liké 14'' or 13'' Asus and for thé same weight wo Can have thé speed if USB C 10Gb transfer and i7 power for software.

[@glennawalker7660]

You talk way too much. Get to it.