I have started using Pixelmator Photo and it seems to work really well so far (I have used Pixelmator on iPad and iMAC for a long time).
I like to shoot RAW on my a6300. I have a Rawpower Filehub to move files to/from by iPad from SD cards and external SSD, and found that I can get individual RAW files into PP using the workflow described in this video (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JaW1RlIauOE). However I cannot find a way to move multiple .ARW files to somewhere on the iPad that I can then load them into PP (it is painful to have to 'share' them individually in to PP). I can get the files onto the iPad into a folder called "Documents" using the Rawpower app but PP does not let me look in that folder to import the photos. I suspect this is a limitation in iOS but if anyone can work out a workflow that will work for multiple .ARW files that would be brilliant.
The reason I want to do this is for when I travel. My Macbook Air is so old that the screen resolution is useless for editing and I don't need a laptop for any other purpose so cannot justify upgrading, hence want to use my iPad Pro for lightweight editing on the road.
Workflow (SD card to PP file transfer) for Sony RAW (.ARW)
2019-04-10 06:54:21
2019-04-11 04:21:14
Hi Andrius, I just tried loading via an SD adaptor dongle and as you say that does allow multiple .ARW files to be loaded at once. The problem I have had with this in the past is the length of time it takes to load the thumbnails to then select which photos I want to load. I've only recently got my a6300 and started trying RAW shooting, and with the bigger file sizes I'd expect the thumbnail load times may be even longer.
I had thought that using a wifi SDD/SD device would enable me to make a backup from the SD cards daily, and to more quickly copy the files I want to the iPad for editing. This does work as anticipated for jpeg, but when I try to copy .ARW files I get an error message "iOS only supports copying JPG, JPEG, PNG picture and MP4, MOV and M4V video files to iPhone / iPad camera roll." I can however get a single file into PP using the "Share" option, but that means doing it one file at a time and the need to keep switching between apps. Interestingly I can copy multiple files in the iPad "Documents" folder, but I cannot work out how to access that from anywhere on the iPad.
If PP allowed the "Documents" folder, or the external SDD for that matter, to be added as a Location that would solve the problem - but perhaps they are constrained by iOS.
Perhaps someone else out there has worked out a way to achieve a slick workflow for RAW files?
(PS. I suppose I could use a new SD card every day, or delete all the photos on the SD once I have copied them to the SSD, and just use the dongle to load all files each day, but both these options have obvious drawbacks!)
I had thought that using a wifi SDD/SD device would enable me to make a backup from the SD cards daily, and to more quickly copy the files I want to the iPad for editing. This does work as anticipated for jpeg, but when I try to copy .ARW files I get an error message "iOS only supports copying JPG, JPEG, PNG picture and MP4, MOV and M4V video files to iPhone / iPad camera roll." I can however get a single file into PP using the "Share" option, but that means doing it one file at a time and the need to keep switching between apps. Interestingly I can copy multiple files in the iPad "Documents" folder, but I cannot work out how to access that from anywhere on the iPad.
If PP allowed the "Documents" folder, or the external SDD for that matter, to be added as a Location that would solve the problem - but perhaps they are constrained by iOS.
Perhaps someone else out there has worked out a way to achieve a slick workflow for RAW files?
(PS. I suppose I could use a new SD card every day, or delete all the photos on the SD once I have copied them to the SSD, and just use the dongle to load all files each day, but both these options have obvious drawbacks!)