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.

PaperLike for the 2018 Apple iPad Pro 12.9”

I just installed the PaperLike screen protector on my 2018 Apple iPad Pro 12.9” and all I can say is it is simply amazing.  It cuts down on the glare by 90-95% and I cannot see any finger print smigges on the screen.  It even feels different when touching the screen of the iPad Pro.  I don’t see any air bubbles when looking directly head on.  There are a few small ones when looking at the iPad from different angles. I will use my plastic cards to get rid of the air bubbles over time.  Even writing on the iPad Pro using the Apple Pencil 2 feels very realistic when compared to writing on paper.  All in all, it feels nice.

From the best month to the worst

So sales on Shutterstock completely tanked this month.  Compared to January of this year, sales in February are abismal.  Didn’t even make payout this month.  The only thing that saved me this month were two sales on Fine Art America.  You can click visit the site here.  I sell a lot of prints and other products that you can display wherever you wish.

In other news my contract with my employer is finished today.  I have tomorrow off but I’m supposed to start a new contract with the same employer on Monday.  We shall see what happens.  Tomorrow I want to buy an air mattress, two sleeping bags and two pillows for the summer for the 2018 Hyundai Santa Fe.  This summer I want to do a lot of camping on the weekends in the vehicle.  We will just need to buy a cooler for the food and drinks.  Otherwise we really don’t need a tent.

I’ve been thinking a lot lately that I want to quit the I.T. field and just focus on the photography.  Starting a YouTube channel maybe.  Definitely do a podcast.  I have the equipment and the software to do it so I don’t see a reason I can’t.  I have to increase my photography sales.  I want to write on my blog as well.  Get the blog more focused on the photography and the business side of photography.  Thankfully I have tomorrow off so I can do some more work and actually concentrate on the photography aspect of my life.

Niagara Falls in black and white

One of the many shots from the previous weekend.  Saturday was really nice.  Sunday turned out to be really windy with 125KM wind speeds.  A tour of a chocolate factory was in order instead.  Shot this with a Sony RX100 Mark VI.  And just used Apple Photos to do some light editing.  Not that much.  I hope you enjoy.

The only problem with the 2018 Apple iPad Pro

This weekend, my girlfriend and I visited Niagara Falls, Ontario.  I took my Sony RX100 Mark VI and my 2018 Apple iPad Pro with 512GB.  I shot a lot of photos and footage.  We got home around 7:30pm on Sunday.  I uploaded the pictures off of the SD card I use with my Sony RX100 Mark VI.  The iPad Pro, specifically iOS 12 cannot read the Sony file system.  It can get the pictures but not the video because most manufacturers store all the pictures in the DCIM folder.  Sony uses a different file structure.  I think from now on I will have to use my Canon Vixia HF G40 camcorder to shoot my video. I only shoot 1080p as I think 4K video is overkill.

I think my solution will have to either bring my Canon Vixia HF G40 with my tripod or buy a smaller Canon camcorder like the Canon Vixia HF R800.  I’m supposed to get a nice tax return next week hopefully so I’ll go to my favourite camera store here in Ottawa and pick it up.  It should be only $300-$400 to pick up a small camcorder like that.

On a complete side note, Niagara Falls is way overpriced as far as your stay and food.  Going to a restaurant is not worth it if you eat close to Niagara Falls.  A complete tourist trap.

No need for a laptop with the 2018 Apple iPad Pro

I can print from the iPad Pro.  I’ve even completed my taxes and sent them to the Canada Revenue Agency on the Apple iPad Pro.  I can edit my photos and my footage on the Apple iPad Pro.  I can pretty much do everything on the iPad Pro with carrying around a 5 pound laptop and all the other necessary hardware that you need with a laptop.

The battery life on the 2018 Apple iPad Pro is simply amazing.  I can go at least 12 hours without needing a charge.  And that’s going hard on the iPad Pro from editing photos and videos to watching YouTube on it.  I am really impressed with Face ID after being sceptical about it.  I had my doubts about FaceID working properly and slowly but it’s fast and reliable.  The 512GB hard drive is enough storage for myself since I pay Apple $12.99 a month for 2TB of backup storage.  

Apps are plentiful and most cost less than $10 and do what I need.  Affinity Photo cost less than $30 (one time purchase) and is a great Adobe Photoshop replacement.  LumaFusion is fantastic for less than $30 as well and replaces FCP X or any Adobe product.  I’m not a full time video editor or movie type so I don’t need all the bells and whistles.  I just use the iPad Pro for photo and footage editing for my small photography business and basically media consumption.

The Apple Keyboard Folio is great as well.  Keys are awesome and it feels well built.  It is no backlit which makes it hard sometimes in a dark place.  You know where to place your hands if you know how to type.  I was taught in high school way back in 1990 how to type so having a backlit keyboard is not that big of a deal for me.  The special functions keys are missing as well but I am not missing them whatsoever. 

Honestly the only thing that is missing is support for external hard drives.  I wish the iPad Pro did have another USB-C type port as I’d like to use more than one external device at a time.  Other than that, the 2018 Apple iPad Pro is a fantastic device.

The 2018 Apple iPad Pro is a computer replacement

I abosulutely love it.  It is truly an amazing device.  I have not needed to get onto a laptop since I purchased the 2018 Apple iPad Pro with the 512GB hard drive.  My only regret is not getting the 1TB hard drive with the 1GB of RAM version of the iPad Pro.  Over the past weeks I’ve purchased 4 dongles for my iPad Pro.  I’ve purchased the USB-C to USB-A dongle.  I actually bought two.  I bought the USB-C to headphone adapter so I can listen to music and I bought the USB-C to SD card adapter.  I also bought the Apple Pencil 2 along with the Apple Keyboard Folio which by the way is awesome.  It’s not back lit like other keyboards and it doesn’t have the function keys which I really don’t miss.  I thought Face-ID was a gimmick but once it’s setup it works flawlessly for all my apps and websites that I visit that have passwords.  I don’t even need to type in my passwords after the first time.  I like how Apple thought that out.

I have purchased apps for photo and footage editing.  Affinity Photo and LumaFusion are both amazing apps.  The rest of the apps were either free or or costing less than $6.00.  I can attach my Yeti mic to do podcasts.  Found a free podcast app today thanks to the Apple website.  Yes I am going to do podcasts.  I hate being in front of a camera so podcasts will do.  They will be short and will deal mainly with photography.   

I honestly don’t need a mouse.  I have eight fingers and two thumbs that I can use to write and touch the amazing screen on the iPad Pro.  For finer detail work in my photography of when editing my footage, I can use the Apple Pencil 2.  I don’t think I even need an external hard drive as I pay Apple $12.99 a month for 2TB of storage.  If need be I can always purchase a wireless 4TB hard drive from Western Digital

For my photography, I use a Sony RX100 Mark VI which I can attach through the supplied Sony USB cable and and a USB-C to USB-A adapter.  I can use the Apple USB-C to SD card for my footage shot with the Canon Vixia HF G40 camcorder.  There is absolutely nothing else that I need.  No laptop, no desktop.  The iPad Pro comes with me everywhere along with my Sony RX100 Mark VI.  I tell ya it’s a great combination for a single shooter type photographer.  The less I have to carry, the better.

I am one happy guy with the 2018 Apple iPad Pro.  I purchased the PaperLike screen protector which is in the mail and should be here soon.  Once that is applied to the iPad Pro, I will be secure in knowing that the iPad Pro is secured in practically every way.  I am so happy with this device.  

2018 Apple iPad Pro

I cannot be more happier than I am right now with the 2018 Apple iPad Pro.  I’ve been using it for almost three weeks now and I haven’t even thought of using my Windows 10 laptop or my Apple MacBook Pro.  The iPad Pro does everything I need from photo and video editing to writing my blog to any and all media consumption.

Even though it’s lacking external hard drive support, which I expect to come with iOS 13 or iOS 14, the iPad is magnificent.  The screen is a fingerprint magnet but I can clean it and once my Papermate comes in, in a few days that issue is to be resolved.  I don’t even miss my mouse as I either use my fingers or the Apple Pencil 2.  I use my fingers 99% of the time.  I bought the Apple keyboard folio and although it is not backlit and does not have any speciality keys like you get on a regular PC or laptop keyboard, I have not missed those keys whatsoever.

I have edited photos from my Sony RX100 Mark VI.  They get imported into Apple Photos and I can edit the photos in any application such as Affinity Photo, Snapseed or Pixelmator.  I use the Shutterstock app to upload said photos and I can even use Apple Safari if need be.  I haven’t shot any videos yet and I haven’t had an opportunity to edit short clips on the iPad yet.  This weekend, the girlfriend and I are headed to Niagara Falls, Ontario for a short trip away so I will be taking my Sony RX100 Mark VI with me to shoot photos and footage.  Editing video on the new iPad Pro should be interesting, if not new.  I will report on whatever happens when it happens.  

I may also start vlogging with the iPad Pro using the Camera App that comes with the iPad Pro.  I can attach my Yeti mic to the iPad and use it for audio recording.  I still hate appearing on camera as I do not feel comfortable on camera.  I really have to get over that

The 2018 Apple iPad Pro - Total computer replacement

I got the 2018 Apple iPad Pro about two and a half weeks ago now and I have not touched my early 2013 Apple MacBook Pro or my Microsoft Windows 10 gaming laptop since.  The iPad Pro does everything I need and faster.  Today after going to morning service with my girlfriend we decided to have lunch and go for an afternoon drive in the country since we haven’t done that in months.  I took my Sony RX100 Mark VI with me to do some quick side of the road photography.  

After coming home and changing I took out the SD card reader USB-C dongle I bought from Apple and inserted the SD card into the reader.  I plugged it into the iPad Pro via the USB connection.  And nothing.   No application opened up and nothing happened.  I unplugged the card reader from the iPad Pro and took out the SD card.  I replugged in the SD card reader and re-installed the SD card.  And nothing.  A quick online YouTube search and I have to plug the Sony RX100 Mark VI directly into the camera.  When I got the iPad Pro, I purchased a USB-A to USB-C converter.  I plugged my USB-A cable into the camera and into the USB-C to USB-A converter and voila.  On the Sony  line of cameras, you have to set the camera to be a mass storage device for the Apple iPad Pro to recognize the camera and SD card where the pictures are stored..

I have yet to try using my Canon Vixia HF G40 camcorder with the 2018 Apple iPad Pro but I am assuming that it’ll just as easy if not easier to import video files.  Yesterday I purchased 2TB of online storage with Apple as I plan to only use the iPad Pro for the foreseeable future.  I am hoping that iOS 13 will support external hard drives.  I a m so hoping for that.  I can actually do with out a mouse for the Apple iPad Pro.  The Apple Pencil 2 does the job of a mouse just fine.

The apps I use mostly are LumaFusion for video editing which I haven’t used yet.  I of course use Apple Photos to manage my photos along with Pixelmator, Affinity Photo and Google Snapseed to edit my photography.  To upload photos to Shutterstock I use Shutterstocks own app or if I have more than 100 photos to upload at one time I use FTP Client Pro to upload photos and footage to Shutterstock, Pond5 and Storyblocks.  For writing the blog I use BigTouch Pro.  For other documents like my resume I use Apples own Apple Pages.  For spreadsheets it’s Apple Numbers.  For music, it’s Apple iTuens of course.  Yes iTunes needs a rework but it suits my needs just fine so far.

The only downsides of the 2018 Apple iPad Pro are all the dongles and support for an external hard drive.  In hind sight I should have probably purchased the 1TB Apple iPad Pro.  I know there are other options out there for external storage like wireless hard drives and I probably will look into that at some point.  But right now storage is not an issue.

In conclusion, the 2018 Apple iPad Pro is just an amazing device.  It is not perfect but it’s close to being a full computer replacement for most people who just consume media, surf the net and check emails.  There are pretty much apps for everything.  For the every day mom and pop photographer, an iPhone and an iPad are pretty much all you will need.  Maybe some storage with Apple, Google, Dropbox, Amazon or another provider and you’re pretty much set.  The girlfriend and I are planning on traveling a lot this year so it’s much better for me to just carry around an iPad and one or two cameras.  Currently I am shooting with a Sony RX100 Mark VI, a Sony RX10 Mark II and a Canon Vixia HF G40.  For most photography I will be using the Sony RX100 Mark VI.  For time lapse, I can use the Sony RX10 Mark II.  For sit down stuff I can use either the Sony RX10 Mark II or the Canon Vixia HF G40.  All will work wonderfully with the 2018 Apple iPad Pro.  I cannot wait for the spring, summer and fall to come.

The perfect computer that really isn’t

The perfect computer that really isn’t a physical style like computer but is a computing device.  Of course I am talking about the 2018 Apple iPad Pro.  I’ve been using the 2018 Apple iPad for a week now as my daily driver to check and reply to emails, media consumption and photo and footage editing device.  I have not even touched my Windows 10 based PC or my early 2013 Apple MacBook Pro.

What I love about the iPad is the portability and accessabitilty.  It is always on and always with me.  I can be setup in less than 15 seconds.  Just pull it out of my carrying case and plop it onto a table.  I have all the apps that I could possibly want.  And the apps are totally inexpensive.  I think I pad $20 Canadian for Luma Fusion to edit footage.  I bought Affinity Photo for $29 for the iPad Pro.  Those are the most expensive apps that I’ve purshased for the iPad and they are all that I really need.  I bought some blogging software for $7.  I’ll have to buy an FTP app to upload footage to Shutterstock, Pond5 and Storyblocks.  The Apple Pencil 2 is now my mouse.  It’s exactly like a mouse except in a different form factor.   I can take my iPad Pro along with my Sony RX100 Mark VI with me anywhere and I can just blend in without carrying a huge DSLR and laptop with me.  Just my iPad and my pocket camera.

The downsides of the iPad is the dongle life and no support for external hard drives connected via USB-C.  Hopefully iOS 13 will at least fix the external hard drive problem.  You can already connect a 4K monitor to the iPad Pro   I really don’t want to connect to a WI-FI external hard drive.  While working with the iPad, I’ve found workarounds and solutions to the iOS 12 file system.  I haven’t tested my SD card holding my Sony RX100 Mark VI shots yet.  I plan to do that this weekend.  I’ve read somewhere Sony and the iPad file systems are incompatible but that’s just a rumour so far.  I want to test it out for myself.

Now time to go do some photography.