iPad Pro Photography Review | Can It Replace Your Laptop?

[@The_Essential_Light]

I haven’t edited a photo on a computer in almost a year. I do all of my editing on a iPad Pro. The only reason I would use a computer is if I needed the liquify tool or if I needed to do more extensive cloning or background replacement, etc...

[@akeemthomas729]

Wow what iPad Pro you use?

[@borispradel1037]

I use an old Macbookpro and just bought a 2020 iPad Pro. I honestly expected it to replace my laptop and it has done done it in 70%. I do photo editing, correcting pdf docs and the like. The thing I don’t like about iOS iPad is file management. It’s not intuitive and even though I consider myself good at using software, there are some limitations I haven’t managed to overcome

[@paologiordano.photos]

I'm a real estate photographer. I'm thorn between buying a new iPad pro and converting my whole workflow to it or continue using my laptop. iPad seems really cool for editing on the go during train trips, where I don't feel like bringing my heavy laptop but lightroom mobile has no hdr and this is almost a deal breaker. In camera HDR on Sony has very nice results but I still don't feel like using it for every shoot and manual HDR with luminance masks on photoshop is just too slow for the run and gun real estate in my market

[@SikConVicTioN]

Thanks for pointing out the negatives, I was hoping it would make it easier to do edit quickly. This is a no go for me

[@KylerSteele]

Hoping one day the new macbooks can be optional touchscreen with pencil compatability

[@benjhaisch]

I try to touch my MacBook screen all the time now 😂

[@babyboy1971]

Benj, huge fan of your work. I just bought an iPad (Air 4) and I’m actually shocked at how good it is working with photos. I’m a headshot and portrait photographer so I don’t have a whole bunch of images to edit through, but the iPad is really spectacular. I also have a magic keyboard and pencil and it’s basically become my “laptop“. I still have a desktop iMac for some stuff but I’m delighted at how much I can do on the iPad. It’s really an awesome tool for photographers. And as you said, there’s something about holding the image in your hands and working with the pencil that just feels organic and fun. I’m hoping that they improve LR and Photoshop for iPad even further than they have already. I’m guessing with the release of the new iPad pros, they will. I’m also curious about other photo editing programs like affinity, have you tried any of those?

[@RogerJones-mountfield]

Well said 👍🏼

[@Akagami753]

Hey hi, My demands from a device are just streaming such as YT, Netflix etc. Moderate level photo and video editing. What do Suggest, should i buy an ipad pro only, or should i buy a Macbook air also?

[@Tech4YourNeeds]

It depends on what you are doing workflow to answer your question. I own the iPad Pro 2020 pair with the Magic Keyboard and the Apple Pencil. It is a very useful with those accessories it add to the experience meaning enhanced.

[@_cjmccullough]

As a wedding photographer this helped me out a bunch! Was thinking about trying to switch fully from my 2015 MacBook Pro to an IPad and with these software limitations i just don’t think it’s worth it just yet as ones sole device for efficiency sake.

[@SikConVicTioN]

My thoughts exactly. I edit photos throughout the wedding and put them on tv screens during the reception, I had much higher expectations for the iPad

[@Hugo-tk5ew]

What photo editor do you use? I have a 2015 MacBook Pro but I’m having trouble finding a software since most require macos 15.

[@_cjmccullough]

@@Hugo-tk5ew i sold my 2015 btw and got the M1 MacBook Air

[@TheBigNegative-PhotoChannel]

No Negative Lab Pro on ipad. Case closed. 😆 The casual digital photographer can certainly get along well with it.

[@ethanwasme4307]

keep justifying that autism

[@michaelgoy4504]

I own an iPad Pro for about two years now, but I have not discovered anything that allows doing ‚pro stuff‘, yet. From my point of view, the device and its specs are great, but the OS and the apps are really limiting. So at the end of the day, even as a hobby photographer I am rather disappointed and would not recommend that device to anyone. Missing color management, for instance, I consider as a ko criteria. Hopefully, things will soon change a little bit, when desktop applications will be made specifically for the M1.

[@techmaester]

The cameras don’t take good pics. I almost wasted a ton of money hoping it would compare to at least the 2018 model, but no. Both front and rear cameras have great autofocus, but image processing is very crude and looks like a filter effect in Photoshop. Hopefully next year’s model in 2022 has newer cameras and improved LIDAR integration. Also the Mini LED screen is the same as the non-LED 11” model. Either that, or iPad OS 14 does not support the high brightness, as max brightness should be almost blinding. iPad isn’t that expensive, really, just because the keyboard and pencil are overpriced and not included. You can pair a $50 Logitech keyboard and mouse via Bluetooth and save for a month of groceries.

[@Topscura]

I find much of the reluctance to embrace the iPad or any tablet for that matter for career photography and video editing is generational. I’ve been using the iPad Pro exclusively for photo retouching, enhancement, video editing for 4 years now and more recently (since iOS 13), file management. It’s relative. If you never got into desktop/laptop + Lightroom/Photoshop workflow, is it really slower to edit on something else? You can batch edit in programs like Darkroom, retouch in Affinity Photo (you can really only do this one at a time anyway) etc. The only thing I miss is Capture One as a RAW converter for Fuji + Sony files. I used to have a big ol’ 5K 27inch iMac and frankly, I don’t miss it because I was tethered to a desk. I’d much rather have the convenience (mobility + battery life) excellent screen, and touch capability that iPad Pro brings. That being said I am intrigued by an M2 Mac Mini in the future to get access to C1 and FCPX again. Lumafusion is good but still not as mature for video as photo editing options are on iOS.

[@OscarD209]

I have a mac desktop and an ipad pro. You CANNOT do everything on the iPad pro. Its pretty bad at library management. Lightroom mobile doesn’t have Camera Calibration, Auto Selections, and many other tools I use regularly. However, it is really nice to pick up and edit tones and colors on the go. It isn’t worth it if you have a laptop, but it can be nice if you use a desktop.

[@benbarson2810]

Ok, boomer

[@imaaronross]

So you’ve been watching my videos, I see! Jk! I’ve been using the iPad Pro for my main workflow for almost two years now with the light supplement of an old MacBook Pro. Glad to see this option get a bit more attention, even with some of the trade-offs and compromises.

[@ginocarlini1640]

Good informative video! You said you didn't want to carry a 13" macbook. I have a 17" macbook pro that for 8 years I lugged around the world with me in hotels and airports and my location shoots... I was looking into getting an iPad pro to replace it. Still not sure...

[@eavesphoto]

Has anyone done the download speed test using a SD UHS-II card reader with a UHS-II rated card with the M1 iPad and a non M1 iPad? Or a USB-C SSD download/upload with a M1 iPad and a non M1 iPad? Just to check to see if the interface USB-C/Thunderboldt as speed bottleneck or the internal storage in the device. As a photographer download speeds from the SD cards and transfer a speed to a portable SSD like the Samsung T5 are important to me currently

[@alisinclair8529]

Lightroom I find so useful on the iPad, Photoshop I find way harder to be efficient on

[@cevisuals]

Although this video is close to a year old now, some things are coming down the pipeline that I want to see revisited in early 2022 - that namely being Capture One will be released in "early 2022" according to the latest info. Although using a laptop has been the defacto standard for remote/mobile editing, the progress by Apple to make the iPad Pro as powerful as it is along with supported features for full mouse and external devices means that I can personally carry less and do more when working on location on my street and documentary projects. Add to the equation how powerful Affinity Photo is for more in-depth editing and I honestly don't see a solid reason at this point to ever use a laptop again. If that somehow shows to be the opposite, I will get the 1TB/16GB Ram M1 MacBook Air - We shall see what Capture One entails once it's made available for the iPad Pro

[@pgtips4240]

It's never going to be a macbook but I think the ipad is still great for what it does. Hopefully some more pro apps will appear soon, but we'll need to wait and see if this happens.

[@josepheveson6187]

Would it be better for an amateur? I'm just getting into photo editing and have no plans to do anything professional. It's a macbook pro or an ipad pro and I can't decide. I'd be getting it almost exclusively for photos and lightroom - but again, only in an amateur capacity

[@PumaM90]

What did you do with?

[@Smiljo1986]

Thanks for infos. Really appreciate. Q: 11” or 12,9” if you want to replace your laptop? I see a lot of videos and reviews that 12,9” is to go!

[@luisfaustino]

Oh man the missing keyboard shortcuts are so annoying.. but worse even is different ones, like the Pick, Reject, UnPick being different in each.. and they only work on the right module..

[@pwood5733]

No

[@geneyoon11]

I've been using my ipad pro in tandem with my macbook pro and it's cool too see how you're using yours. I'm always using mine to tether to via wifi on commercials shoots for clients and using it as a monitor when filming videos. Thanks for your insight!

[@JeffHamonPhotography]

I know this is now an outdated video but I stumbled across it while researching MacBook vs iPad and geez I gotta say as I reached the halfway point of the video, it sure sounded like a list of all the CONS for why anyone would use an iPad for their workflow (as a pro 📸). IF ONLY Mighty Apple would cave to the TOUCHSCREEN laptop user interface… By the time I look at a 12.9” iPad Pro + pencil + keyboard it’s over $1699 CDN OUCH that’s a MacBook Pro 13 with 16GB RAM right there. Thanks for the detailed video and it is always good to see others’ workflows and always B learnin’ ! ✌️

[@JeffHamonPhotography]

Beautiful pics BTW! I miss the PNW 👍

[@WebInteractiveFilms]

The multi tasking and ergonomics of an iPad are terrible for computing. It's a great device for illustrations and doing stuff while on your bed or reclining on a couch. But doing a simple spreadsheet or even a document is a horrible experience and a waste of time

[@mdxb86]

So many missing features from LR and PS on iPad Pro... it's ok for quick retouch but I would rather go with macbook pro + wacom graphic tablet as a daily usage.

[@techmaester]

It can in terms of power, but the keyboard and pencil are too expensive just because of the proprietary design, which is very nice and looks handsome.

[@jfbruceco]

Hi Benj, I enjoyed the video and a nice added bonus that it was well shot (colours!) and edited. You mentioned that you use a Synology NAS - can you tell me if the storage process is proprietary? I'm using a Drobo which is proprietary which has me concerned - they have been out of stock for most of the pandemic and some have reported very slow customer service. I love the idea of the redundancy it provides but if the Drobo itself crashes, i've just lost the data and I can't plug the drives into another NAS (from another company). Thanks.

[@EncresStylosPlumes]

Thank you very much for this video. Im really thinking to get an ipad pro as a main device. I have a question about presets can I install new presets that I'll buy online and creat new presets in to lightroom CC?

[@TheAlexRosas]

I don't have an iPad, but isn't the crop function in Lightroom CC mapped to 'C' and 'R' mapped to radius or masking? I have the same issue when using CC on desktop when I'm used to 'R' on Classic.

[@NoName-jq7tj]

Hello Great video. I am venturing into sports and news photography. Can the IPad Pro handle large amounts of images. Batch process them caption them & then send them through an FTP server to their destination. I will start with Lightroom then maybe have Photoshop as well. I will my store images on them the device. Rather they will be moved to an external drive.

[@swapnadinesh6831]

how about photoshop does it have full version ? . i am planning to buy ipad pro 12.9

[@donmariano5489]

Hi Benj. How about a new review for Lr especially now that Lr Mobile had the Auto Mask option😁

[@ebryan98]

You've convinced me on the NAS.

[@TheVFXbyArt]

Lightroom lives on my desktop for all of my photos. I use a separate catalog for each event Using lightroom on a laptop for remote work is seamless. Bouncing between my desktop and remote is seamless. Lightroom on the ipad is a different architecture completely. Kinda pointless. I can’t bounce from the desktop to ipad. Useless.

[@zguy95135]

Once you add the keyboard it's almost the same size as a thin and light laptop... I would rather use a regular OS with a normal file system versus the weird (although improved) ipad os system. I dunno, I have one from work and I don't like it all that much. It feels really heavy too for some reason. A lot of the iPad use cases feel forced. I personally would never choose to edit a video on an iPad if I could use my desktop or my laptop. It can do it, sure but it's not ideal. I like bringing the iPad along on a trip so I can watch Netflix, send off some emails and do some quick photo edits on a nice screen. If I was planning on doing some real work I would rather bring along a laptop.

[@mikeyestrada1674]

It can impact dramatically if you are a graphic designer, illustrator, architect, interior designer, photographer & videographer. It’s a Banger powerful device. Yes it can replace it 100% but for the regular basic consumers it doesn’t make sense so just stick to MacBooks

[@hellobrandonscott]

Yeeeeeep. Same thoughts.

[@miles5790]

how about the display??

[@mjfalcon007]

Great honest review I love it. I would love to have the iPad Pro as my main editing tool however it certainly has its limitations. I can only dream of an iPad that runs the full operating system but I cannot imagine Apple allowing that. Do you mind sharing what bag that was in the intro? It looks sexy lol

[@tsaiwee_gan9899]

How long it takes to rendering photos? Let’s say 300 photos

[@CplGoldFish21]

Sure lightroom works, but what bout photoshop?

[@AlexRapada-ft6tm]

Awesome video!

[@VibesLaCroix]

any chance your gonna review a leica minilux?

[@benjhaisch]

I would if I had one!

[@Lucas-vj8rr]

only thing i can't do on ipad is make jpeg webready

[@Spartanshaq777]

And this is the M1 iPad?

[@benjhaisch]

I believe this was before the M1 iPad was announced, but the points still stand as the software is the main bottleneck.

[@bobsingeton2719]

Not so much a review of the iPad Pro; more the pitfalls of Adobe's overpriced and under-featured software! I find my iPad Pro great for photo editing, but then I use Capture One

[@febrian3129]

Ipad pro can edit raw photos?

[@benjhaisch]

Yes

[@gregderozier3846]

Good third party keyboards available.

[@ChristianNPhoto]

As I’m watching this on my iPad Pro

[@TheVFXbyArt]

Thx for the honest views on lightroom ipad. In short: lightroom cc is from mars, lightroom classic is from venus! I have a SOLID lightroom workflow on my desktop. One catalog per event, each event organized per year. My laptop can copy this workflow, copying the catalog snd mirroring my desktop. Lightroom ipad? Its totally different and intrusive, not complimentary, to my workflow. I use the ipad mini for maintaining a portfolio and posting online. 🖕🏼to adobe for butchering a photographers workflow and creating a bloated demo software for ipads. Thats it. Full stop. 🖕🏼Adobe. 🖕🏼Adobe. 🖕🏼Adobe.

[@aestheticsurya5068]

👎