Darkroom 4.0.2 versus Apple Photos

Darkroom 4.0.2 (current version) blow Apple Photos out of the water.  Apple Photos is just a digital asset management piece of software.  It doesn’t even do that well as Darkroom 4.0.2 does it much better.  Darkroom 4.0.2 is much more feature rich than Apple Photos.  There are of course a few things missing in Darkroom 4.0.2 like noise reduction, retouch, dodge and burn, layers, a graduated ND filter like feature and masking.  I would love if noise reduction and retouching would be added to the software.  That would be enough for me currently.  I hate switching apps to do just one thing in that app and finish off in Darkroom 4.0.2.  Apple Photos is just used for the import of photos and clips for me.  I’ve tried to use the software to edit my photos but it’s just not worth it.

Years ago, Apple had a really good digital asset management for semi-pro and pro photographers but discontinued it as apparently no one was buying it which I find kinda bullshitty.  I knew a lot of photographers in my area who had a Mac who used it.  At that time Adobe’s Lightroom DAM was buggy, slow and a waste of money.  I refuse to buy into Adobe’s subscription model especially on the iPad.

If you’re a photographer working on solely on the Apple iPad, I highly suggest Darkroom 4.0.2.  It’s not Photoshop or Affinity Photo but if you need quick, good editing software that acts like Lightroom without the monthly subscription I’d recommend Darkroom 4.0.2.  After publishing this blog post, I will go on the Apple App Store to write a review and ask for the necessary features to be added to Darkroom 4.0.2.

Pixelmator on the 2018 Apple iPad Pro

I went to Parc Omega yesterday to test out my new Sony a7ii camera with the new lens.  Took about 1800 or so shots.  I’m just processing them right now and I cam up to this shot of an American Field Buffalo with an American Field Buffalo calf.  As you can see from the photos above, one is more pleasing than the other.  The bottom shot has the result of what appears to be a very good meal.  With Pixelmator on the 2018 Apple iPad Pro, I was able to get rid of said poop and the image is more pleasing.  

I find it incredible that in 2019, I can sit at a local Tim Horton coffee shop and edit a roughly 47MB photo on a slab of glass that is roughly 5.7MM thick.  This slab has a 12.9” screen, 4GB of memory and a 512GB hard drive.  I wonder what we’re going to be using for photography in another 10 years and what we’re going to be editing on as well.  We live in interesting times.

Sony a7ii and the Sony f3.5-6.3 24-200MM lens

So I traded in some of my old Canon gear along with my Sony RX10 Mark II for the Sony a7ii camera body and the Sony f3.5-6.3 24-200MM lens.  I really wanted to go back to a full frame camera.  I loved the Sony RX10 Mark II but it was getting long in the tooth as far as tech goes.  I upgraded to the full frame Sony a7II full frame body as I want to do more landscape and astrophotography photography this summer.  A few weeks back the girlfriend and I traded in our cars for SUV’s so this summer we plan on going camping at various locations.

I tested the Sony a7ii for the first time today at Mud lake in the west end of Ottawa.  The lake was pretty much frozen over and the ice is probably a few feet thick due to the freezing temps we got this year along with the tonne of snow.  The only animals I saw today was a bunch of squirrels, nut hatches, chickadees and a few other little critters.  I am planning on going to Parc Omega tomorrow to further test the Sony a7ii.  Today I ordered an extra battery charger and a battery grip for the camera.  Hopefully the battery grip will be here in a few days.  I think Henry’s has some in their warehouse in Toronto so I’m hoping I get it by tomorrow or Thursday.

I am so done with shooting Canon and Nikon products.  I never really shot with Nikon but Canon is done for me.  It’s over priced and the camera bodies are lacking in features.  The Canon lenses are fantastic though.  Probably best in the photography business.  But the bodies are lacking features.

Darkroom App for 2018 Apple iPad Pro

It is so much better than the Apple Photos app on the 2018 Apple iPad Pro.  Apple Photos is a piece of crap basically.  It is a featureless digital asset management app.  Darkroom is feature rich, almost like Adobe Lightroom CC.  I believe it cost less than $15 Canadian.  It is such a much better deal than any Adobe product.  I honestly hate the subscription model that Adobe, Microsoft, Apple use to sell their products.  Yes Apple is turning into a service company with services like Apple Music and their online storage services.

The only thing I haven’t found in the Darkroom app is noise reduction.  I typically shoot at ISO 100 during the day and I don’t see any noise at all when using the SOny RX100 Mark VI.  I can edit pretty much everything else with the Darkroom app.  I am just in love with the Apple iPad Pro and its simplicity and ease.  I’m off for a couple of days between contracts so tomorrow I am taking out the Canon Vixia HF G40 and shoot some footage.  I don’t know where yet but somewhere.

Some shots from Parc Omega

Just a sample of my day at Parc Omega this past Tuesday.  Wish I could get out there more often but work gets in the way.

My full 2018 Apple iPad Pro setup (Well, almost full setup)

So this will keep me pretty mobile since it all fits in a slim laptop bag.  I have my 2018 Apple iPad Pro with a 512GB SSD hard drive, my Sony RX100 Mark VI camera and a WD My Passport Wireless Pro (4TB) hard drive.  I just got the WD hard drive yesterday so I am still learning how to configure it and how to use it with the 2018 Apple iPad Pro.  It seems like the WD wireless hard drive is pretty easy to setup over the network.  I’m sitting at a Tim Horton’s coffee shop right now and I’ve backed up a few thousand photos to the hard drive already.  It takes a while to upload all the photos and videos from the SD card used by the Sony RX100 Mark VI but it’s actually fast.

LumaFusion, my footage editing software actually has direct wireless access, once setup of course.  I still have to learn how to use LumaFusion as I’m coming from Final Cut Pro X on an early 2013 MacBook Pro.  I have to of course start watching some YouTube videos on the software.

But this setup is simple and easy to use.  I can set it up quite easily and be up and running in about a minute.  You can of course always email me here.  I am still learning how to be a film maker and such.  I never actually went to school for it.  Just took accounting, computers and photography in school.  This I will pick up on my own.  Oh yeah!  The photo was taken with an Apple iPhone 8 Plus.  Another tool in the pocket of a photographer.