Workflow (SD card to PP file transfer) for Sony RAW (.ARW)

Discuss Photomator and photo editing.
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2019-04-10 06:54:21

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.
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2019-04-10 09:38:19

Without having access to that device and the associated app, it's difficult to suggest all that much BUT as far as I know, you should be able to mass import into the Photos app. Is that workflow not right for you? If so, could you elaborate a little why that is?
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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!)