Using a 9.7 inch iPad vs. a 12.9 inch iPad vs. a laptop?

Mark-P

Well-known member
I want to use an iPad to wirelessly tether, view and control a 5DM3 and a Sony ASII in a studio environment and outdoors (at different times) with a hoodman. I do not plan to keep the photos/videos on the iPad, I will import everything to a laptop after the shoot, and just delete everything from the iPad. I will attach the iPad to a separate stand/tripod than the camera.

1. I Want to know everyone's thoughts on using a 9.7 inch vs. a 12.9? Is the 12.9 too large?
2. I plan to use the iPad just for controlling the camera and viewing the photos/videos. Do you think 32GB might be enough storage for this purpose?
3. Any suggestions or workflow ideas?

Thanks.
 
I would go with the smaller one. 32 is not enough. I would get at least 128 or 256 if you can swing it. You will probably need camranger to really make this work on the Canon side. Wireless tools on Sony are very simple and Camranger doesn't yet support sony.

If tethering is an option Capture One or LightRoom work good with both cameras. Any Mac or Service does the job pretty well in those scenarios.
 
I was going to try to find a way to only send jpg files to the iPad, that is why I was planning to go with the 32GB. I also was only going to use the iPad to monitor the video and not transfer anything to it.

Would it be a bad idea to try and mount the 9.7 inch iPad to the hot shoe adapter of the 5DM3 or A7SII? Anyone have any suggestions for an adapter to do this?

Thanks.
 
Mark

I do what you describe all the time; using a 9.7" iPad and Nikon.

I have both Eye-Fi cards and CamRanger.

Eye-Fi went out of business (I think or they got bought out) by Keenai. The problems I had were the ad-hoc wireless signal between the Eye-Fi SD card and the iPad would just drop out.
This is with the iPad basically within a metre of the camera. Sometimes I had to restart the iPad to establish a link.
The Keenai app seemed a bit more reliable but not perfect.

CamRanger offers more features, but it's another device to keep charged; carry a USB battery bank, just in case.


For me, I find the 9.7" iPad just too big and awkward; I think the Mini (or large screen iPhone) is a better option.

I've thought about using a Manfrotto Super Clamp + "Magic Arm" and a mount https://www.studioproper.com.au/products/wall-mount-disk to attach to my tripod, but it's just more gear & weight to haul around.

As you are just viewing jpegs, 32GB will be fine. Just remember to delete the images after each session using PHOTO'S app on your computer.
 
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