Confused about how iPad2 connects to other devices.

[GARoss]

First post so be gentle! I'm shopping but need to be sure iPad is the right one.

iPad2 is a fantastic produce. My wife & I have played with my son's iPad & like it very much. But, when we tried to connect his external HDD it gave an error. This product would be ideal for my wife & I except for external storage. Here's what we need. We're going to Alaska next July & we'll be taking lots of RAW photos & also 1080P video. That kind of data eats up hard drive space like crazy so we'll need external storage. I've read about Hyperdrive & Colorspace which could be solution but they mention that it's compatible with HD 720P video not HD 1080P. I suspect that iPad will not play 1080P but all I want to do is store it on the external HDD until we get home.

So, SDHC or external HDD like Hyperdrive & Colorspace. If I can store to these we're good to go. Anyone have experience with these?

 

[K1W1]

You can't connect an unjailbroken iPad to external storage. Period.
If you want additional storage you will need to use something like Dropbox or some other Cloud based service to upload your photos to. The iPad will not transfer movies via the CCK either only still photos.
All up for the particular use you want a cheap Netbook with a 250GB hard drive may be better value for money. Maybe even a Macbook Air plus a USB HDD if the budget will cover it.

 

[GARoss]

A notebook would take care of the data issue but iPads offer a pay as you go internet that other tablets & notebooks done seem to offer. That's why we were hoping to work this out with a new iPad2.

 

[leelai]

You could purchase a mifi, which is a portable 3G wifi modem Here Australia they are available prepaid and you can connect a few devices at the same time. Of course there is the upfront cost, $100.00 and upwards. I don't know what sort of coverage is available in Alaska though but it's something to think about. I'm sure someone else will chime in here who does know.

 

[KevinJS]

If photographs are a big deal to you, I would steer well clear of the iPad, if it is to be your only camera. The camera is not much use for still pictures, and is likely to be a big disappointment to you. Much better to use an iPhone 4S. If you do decide to get an iPad and want to upload content, most of the hotels along the Alaska Highway have wifi, and Dawson Creek BC has a public hotspot that you can access from anywhere in the downtown area. (I found it a few days ago while having a tire replaced.)

Good luck on your trip to Alaska. You are picking a good time of year. BC and the Yukon are spectacular in July. You certainly will not have any shortage of material for your photographs and videos.

 

[KevinJS]

The photograph was taken with my iPad 2. I have the same shot from my iPhone 4, which unfortunately will not upload to the forum, but the difference is huge. 216kB from the iPad, and 1.68MB from the iPhone.

 

[lzed]

The photograph was taken with my iPad 2. I have the same shot from my iPhone 4, which unfortunately will not upload to the forum, but the difference is huge. 216kB from the iPad, and 1.68MB from the iPhone.

You have to remember that the iPad does not have the same camera setup as the iPhone. While apple does no tell what the resolution is they say the front (the one facing you when looking at the screen) is virtually identical to that in the iPhone 4 or the 4th gen iPod, ie VGA video. The back camera is similar to that of the 4th gen iPod and hd (720p) video at 30 frames a second and 1280x720 stills which is about 1megapixel so they are nowhere near the 5megapixel that the iPhone has.

I use a digital camera that is 12 megapixel and when I travel I always have my iMac and 2tb hdd along so I don't even think about using the cameras in the iPad and with the 2tb drive storage is not a big issue. Also the photo programs, I use aperture on the iMac, have a lot better tools than anything available on the iPad. My one son has a iPhone and he takes a lot of casual pictures with it but he has a 12 megapixel camera if he is traveling. Just easier that way.

I think a lot of people really want better cameras in the iPad but will have to see if apple is listening.....

 

[KevinJS]

You have to remember that the iPad does not have the same camera setup as the iPhone. The REAR (corrected from original quote) camera is 5 megapixel while the front is only 1 megapixel

The rear camera on the iPad is the same as the one on the front of the iPhone. Both are only really suitable for video capture, for apps such as FaceTime and Skype. The rear camera on the iPhone is the only one suitable for still photography, and is extremely good at the task. As you say, it is 5MP, and the one on the 4S is 8MP, which is better than a lot of stand-alone digital cameras.

The front camera on the iPad is worse still, at only 0.3MP, adequate for Skype but little else. Apparently, the iPad was never envisioned as a photographic device. If you think about it, an 8MP camera would actually be a problem on video conferencing, as the data flow would be too much for most Internet connections and would render the device useless for it's intended purpose.

I think the OP will be disappointed in still photographs taken with the iPad, and the reason I took a similar shot with both devices was so that I could compare the two. Suffice it to say that I won't be using my iPad for still photography.

 

[GARoss]

I didn't consider using the iPad2 as a camera. Remember, I haven't purchased yet so I'm not familiar with all it's features.

For photos & video I have a Canon 60D (18 meg) & a number of HQ lenses. It's 90% camera, 10% video; meaning the video is great but not the primary purpose of the camera. But, RAW images are large & video eats @ 60gb for an hour of video, primarily because this version of AVCHD has non compressed PCM audio. We plan on shooting far more than that.

Other tablets will transfer to & from with external devices via usb. For whatever reason, iPad apparently accepts data which can later be transferred to a computer (at least this is my understanding). But, the pay as you go internet & other functionally is perfect for us.

Perhaps, iPad isn't the way to go. As suggested, a non tablet, pay as you go internet device would do the trick. Then add a laptop with 200-300gb of HDD & not worry about it's lack of pay as you go internet.

 

[GARoss]

If photographs are a big deal to you, I would steer well clear of the iPad, if it is to be your only camera. The camera is not much use for still pictures, and is likely to be a big disappointment to you. Much better to use an iPhone 4S. If you do decide to get an iPad and want to upload content, most of the hotels along the Alaska Highway have wifi, and Dawson Creek BC has a public hotspot that you can access from anywhere in the downtown area. (I found it a few days ago while having a tire replaced.)

Good luck on your trip to Alaska. You are picking a good time of year. BC and the Yukon are spectacular in July. You certainly will not have any shortage of material for your photographs and videos.

We're flying into Anchorage then renting an RV. We'd love to go to BC & the Yukon but not sure if we'll get there this trip.

I know there are map apps, Maplets, (itunes.apple.com/us/app/id337841739?mt=8&ls=1) for the iPad2 & I believe we can download detailed maps which won't require the internet.

The main reason for wanting pay as you go internet is once our vacation is over my wife wants to use the iPad while doing garage sales, flea markets & estate sales as she often needs to look up to find the value of items while at a location. She then resales on eBay. But, we don't need full time for that, just a few months a year.

 

[KevinJS]

Well, give me a wave as you fly over. I'll probably be trundling along the Alaska Highway.

Hope you have a great trip.

 

[GARoss]

Will do Kev,

We've been to Alberta a few times & would like to visit again some day. Waterton Lakes & Baniff National Parks have some of the best scenery we've every seen.

Looks like the Oilers are off to a good start; 1st place in the Northwest! Good luck the rest of the season.