There are two troubling questions I have regarding the iPad and it's handling of photos, the answers of which could very well lead me to regret getting the smallest capacity iPad.
1. The iPad Camera Connection Kit
In it's description, the iPad Camera connection kit states that it supports the importing of RAW photos. Now, this connector is identical to the one offered in 2005 for the 4th Generation iPod, and in that case the iPod could import RAW photos, but solely for storage; it could not display them. So the question remains whether the iPad will be able to display RAW images, or simply import them for storage.
2. Which photos will it use?
I have three devices that contain my photos: my Mac, my iPhone and my Apple TV. Each device automatically uses different versions of the photos, ranging in quality best suited for the display; I don't get a say in the matter, iTunes just does it. In the Mac's case, my photos require 38GB of space. On the Apple TV, they consume 10GB of space. And on the iPhone, only 3GB of space. So which will the iPad use? If the answer to my first question is, "yes the iPad can display RAW images", then it's possible that it would use the original files found in iPhoto. That would not bode well given that the iPad I ordered is only 16GB. If the answer is no, however, I would hope that it would use the same photos as those used for the Apple TV; if a picture is good enough for a 1280x720 device then they should be good enough for a 1024x768 device.
It's unfortunate that Apple was not more clear on either of these points, as I would imagine more people would have ponied up for the 64GB model if they realized they'd be carrying around RAW photo libraries.
1. The iPad Camera Connection Kit
In it's description, the iPad Camera connection kit states that it supports the importing of RAW photos. Now, this connector is identical to the one offered in 2005 for the 4th Generation iPod, and in that case the iPod could import RAW photos, but solely for storage; it could not display them. So the question remains whether the iPad will be able to display RAW images, or simply import them for storage.
2. Which photos will it use?
I have three devices that contain my photos: my Mac, my iPhone and my Apple TV. Each device automatically uses different versions of the photos, ranging in quality best suited for the display; I don't get a say in the matter, iTunes just does it. In the Mac's case, my photos require 38GB of space. On the Apple TV, they consume 10GB of space. And on the iPhone, only 3GB of space. So which will the iPad use? If the answer to my first question is, "yes the iPad can display RAW images", then it's possible that it would use the original files found in iPhoto. That would not bode well given that the iPad I ordered is only 16GB. If the answer is no, however, I would hope that it would use the same photos as those used for the Apple TV; if a picture is good enough for a 1280x720 device then they should be good enough for a 1024x768 device.
It's unfortunate that Apple was not more clear on either of these points, as I would imagine more people would have ponied up for the 64GB model if they realized they'd be carrying around RAW photo libraries.
