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0 pointsAuracle3y ago0 comments

I mean, I don’t understand how I could really use an iPad in my workflow as a photographer. Everything is slower without a keyboard, and for raw editing I use a whole bunch of knobs.

I could see maybe using it at the right type of session to quickly review images on a larger screen, but the last time I looked into it there wasn’t a super great way of doing that. Maybe I could cull photos on my iPad but unless I transfer for the photos to it and then back off I’d need to work over my network and that’d probably be slow…

Everything relating to moving files, SD cards, etc. is just a hassle in Apple tablet/phone world. Ironically, a PC just works.

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psychomugs3y ago

Dodging and burning and masking and using other photo-related tools with a mouse and keyboard feels like I'm producing a very calculated photograph. Using a stylus and multi-touch screen feels closer to the original affordances of crafting and manipulating a physical photograph. For the best of both worlds, I use the iPad in Sidecar / second-screen mode so I can use keyboard shortcuts with 1:1 stylus input.

AuracleOP3y ago

Oh, I agree about the mouse bit - but Wacom (etc.) tablets have been around forever. I’d also much rather keep my head straight and my arm at rest on my desk all day.

smoldesu3y ago

Same goes for music production. I've tried using a few iPad DAWs over the years, but it's so much slower than using a keyboard and mouse, or just popping open your Macbook with Live. Apple already has a product segment that does fairly well with this market, trying to force the iPad into being something it's not just looks silly.

KuiN3y ago

I see a lot of people using an iPad for music alongside a proper computer with a full featured DAW. You don't need a mouse or keyboard shortcuts for idea generation, sketching out rough concepts from inspiration on the go or playing with some of the pretty unique synths & other tools available on iPad. For modular synth simulation I've found iPad with Pencil to be a much much better UI for me than using a mouse.

psychomugs3y ago

Producing may be faster on desktop for now because they've had a large head start on optimizing the interfaces for mouse and keyboard, but those affordances are still a subset of what you can do with a touch screen. Touch screens won't replace dedicated controllers with physical knobs, but digital knobs are surprisingly usable.

smoldesu3y ago

> but those affordances are still a subset of what you can do with a touch screen.

I disagree. A gesture-based workflow won't replace Pro Tools' keyboard shortcuts, unfortunately.

musictubes3y ago

Touch is far better for performance though. Watching Suzanne Ciani seamlessly integrate her Buchla modular rig with the ipad makes me appreciate just how good the ipad is. A regular computer would be far more cumbersome to use with hardware synths in the moment.

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psychomugs3y ago

Similar things were probably said about smartphones with touch screens being inferior to physical buttons.

After using my tablet as a second screen for production, photo editing, CADing, and coding, it's become woefully apparent that the mouse - a tiny singular cursor - is an inferior grandfather to an interface that _also_ supports multitouch, and the only thing holding tablets back is software. Obsidian is a good example of a mobile app that has parity with its desktop version in both maintaining its keyboard shortcuts but also enabling touch interactions closer to the affordances of physical notes.

Let's check in again in a few device generations.

musictubes3y ago

Think live performance instead of DAW work. Using a sequencer, effects, or additional soft synths on the ipad along with hardware synths is much nicer than fiddling with a mouse or trackpad.

smoldesu3y ago

"Much nicer" is a bit of a stretch (I use a touchscreen laptop with my DAW). The difference between clicking-and-dragging a knob is not that different from tapping-and-dragging one. Same goes for performance; the iPad is not velocity sensitive, and it does not have aftertouch. At that point, you're probably adding in a MIDI keyboard or other hardware, at which point you may as well just perform with a real DAW and leave the iPad at home.

j / k navigate · click thread line to collapse

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psychomugs3y ago

AuracleOP3y ago

Oh, I agree about the mouse bit - but Wacom (etc.) tablets have been around forever. I’d also much rather keep my head straight and my arm at rest on my desk all day.

smoldesu3y ago

KuiN3y ago

psychomugs3y ago

smoldesu3y ago

> but those affordances are still a subset of what you can do with a touch screen.

I disagree. A gesture-based workflow won't replace Pro Tools' keyboard shortcuts, unfortunately.

musictubes3y ago

2 more replies

psychomugs3y ago

Similar things were probably said about smartphones with touch screens being inferior to physical buttons.

Let's check in again in a few device generations.

musictubes3y ago

Think live performance instead of DAW work. Using a sequencer, effects, or additional soft synths on the ipad along with hardware synths is much nicer than fiddling with a mouse or trackpad.

smoldesu3y ago

j / k navigate · click thread line to collapse