Apple's iPad camera adapter supports USB audio, keyboards - Page 2

I don't know if the ear phone audio out Jack handles a mic as well, I m just echoing the comments in the article:

"Electronista provided a roundup of the findings yesterday, first noting that one test by TidBITS discovered that the kit will work with most any USB headphone, headset or microphone. This makes it possible to either listen to music or take a VoIP call through off-the-shelf computer accessories. The call quality via VoIP was reportedly "terrific," making it more appealing to use Skype if you don't have a Bluetooth headsets."

That said, it would be interesting to use high quality headsets that require USB such as the Plantronics.

The thing that I first thought of was music - specifically car kits etc for use with a iPhone. Surely it will work on them too, right?

Music through the earphone mic and then routed through a car stereo (for the pleasure of the community ) always has degradation.
If we can get music routed out through the USB connector directly in the back of the car stereo, it should result in awesome ('far out' for you oldies) sound.

Also, I hope the good folk at TomTom will take notice of this and cut the stupid requirement for a bluetooth connection for voice when a dock connection is more than enough.

I'm thinking of modding my car kit with a file or something to use this connector..

Here's the M-Audio USB devices. As a percentage of overall iPad sales, these types of uses will be miniscule. But for those that do this kind of work - DJs, mobile recordists, et al - the iPad with one of these portable USB audio interfaces would be quite powerful. Some good software on the iPad for recording could be a nifty setup.

- Jasen.

If they have USB ports on them then why do you need the USB adapter for the iPad? Why not just plug the supply iPad cable into the device? Does it not use USB-A? Also, it looks like at least some of them are powered via USB so the iPad won't work in that regard. You'll need a split USB cable to power it from a separate source or the device will have to have a separate input for power.

Either you're being very deep and obvious, or totally oblique, but in either case, I simply don't follow what you are saying here.

Could you put this into plain English?

Various makers have come out with audio/mic adapters for iPods and iPhone. I think it is just a matter of time before something comes out for the iPad that will turn it into a portable studio.

One example: http://www.sweetwater.com/store/detail/ProTrack/

The recording apps for the iPhone are currently OK and some have been used to actually create CDs for sale (some hip hop group wanted a "on the street" sound) as is. With the bigger screen and better CPU o the iPad, somebody should be able to develop an awesome app that, in combo with an audio interface, could really make for an awesome system that would satisfy many a need.

Or is a current portable recorder (eg, Zoom's H4n) were made to connect to the iPad that would be great.

I'm not sure what about that statement isn't plain but if you aren't getting it then clearly I'm not relaying something well.


For iPhone OS v3.0 SDK Apple created APIs that allowed 3rd-party HW vendors access to the 30-pin connector. This allows them to make pretty much any HW attachment they can conceive of and allow apps to connect to this HW. This means that a camera attachment can be built for the iPad.

The last bit about nostrils is because someone surely would respond stating that the camera needs to be at the top, so I reminded that the iPad can be turned in any direction one wishes.

OK. Got it. (The bit about the 180 degrees and nostrils threw me off. Must be time of day.....)

Thanks.

Yeah, 2 of the 3 axis would show the back of the iPad if you turned it 180°. I didn't quite think that through, I just didn't want to continue the "in the box" thinking by referring to the Home Button as the bottom of the device and the opposite end as the top.

I heard from a developer that Apple requires some kind of special addition to Blue Tooth adapters for them to work with iPhone, making it an added effort and expense to obtain that coveted "Works with iPhone" stamp. Is this also true for the 30-pin port?

I had asked him if he was going to make an app for a device recently released with BT... he said the maker had chosen not to install whatever it was that Apple required and thus it doesn't work with iPhone despite both devices having BT.

Sounds a bit limiting on Apple's part. Is it true?

I have no idea what Apple would have requested but I don't doubt it, they can do some wonky things and their BT profile isn't the best.

The iPod Dock Connector looks more straightforward. It's been in use for 5 or 6 years now and there are thousands of devices using it. I figured it just used the USB protocol for data transmission.

Can you dig it?

I don't think this will work, at least not without the camera kit, or I suppose the dock perhaps. I tried connecting my digital camera to the iPad with a female-to-female adaptor and it did not work. The iPad did not recognize that a camera was connected and the camera did not recognize that it was connected to anything. Something is going on inside Apple's camera adaptor, though what it is, I have no idea.

You just don't get it.

Apple is one of the only people in the industry designing things the way they do: figure out what you want the device to do and then distill it down to the essentials needed to do that very, very well.

Everyone else thinks that more features and more ports improves a device, but that's just not the case. Adding features that only 0.01% of users need doesn't make sense - it makes the device more expensive, heavier, and more breakable for everyone in order to satisfy a tiny number of people - most of whom are better served with a regular laptop, anyway.

If Apple adds USB (even if they could find a way to make it fit) and an SD card, why not a CF card? Or any of the other 30 memory card formats? Then, what happens when a new one comes out? Throw your iPad away?

If you want to transfer files from your phone to the iPad, the camera connection works for ALL cameras - regardless of which memory card format it uses. It is also likely that future cameras will continue to have USB connections, so the iPad will be useful with the next generation of cameras, as well.

Let's see the logical extension of this "Why couldn't Apple have added an SD slot or USB slot". A small number of people use parallel port printers. Why didn't Apple add a parallel port. And we control some devices with serial ports. It needs a serial port. Oh, I have an old ADB keyboard around here somewhere. Apple should really have included ADB. And I might find myself somewhere with Ethernet, but no Wifi and too remote for 3G service, so it needs an Ethernet port. And what if I'm on a desert island with no Ethernet, either? They need to put a modem in this thing.

ANY of those items could be argued, but Apple did the only rational thing - they narrowed it down the the minimum required to be a great device - the tiny percentage of people who need something else can find a workaround or buy a regular laptop. It doesn't make sense to add a zillion features just because SOMEONE might want them.

Bump for an answer. My wife won't use an iPad if the only data connection is wireless. (Don't ask. Please.) So, I am very curious to know if the MBA ethernet adapter will also work.

I remember a report several months ago about references to ethernet connectivity that were first discovered in the 3.1 SDK. If it won't work now, then maybe with the 4.0 update. I am encouraged by seeing other kinds of uses for the USB port other than just camera connectivity.

Most excellent!

I've got to say I'm totally surprised that the USB adapter supports anything other than DCIM import. I think I said in another thread that I would eat my hat or something like that...

I'm pleased to be wrong.

It would be handy if the camera adapter worked with the current iPhone OS. Has anyone tried the adapter on the 3GS iPhone?

I have an Aiptek video camera with a sd card , it makes Quicktime compatable mp4's and would also like a quick check of my vids in the field---maybe I don't need to spend $30 to interface it, just a $1.80 adaptor?

No, the RAW file is not imported, only a lower resolution JPEG preview image, which most cameras create. You will not be able to store your RAW images on the iPad and erase the SD card for re-use.

Can you point us to a site that backs this up? According to Apple the "iPad and the Camera Connection Kit support standard photo formats, including JPEG and RAW.". Using the word "support " in reference to the iPad for RAW would be false advertising if it did not, in fact, support RAW, but only JPEG. And the fact that it asks you to delete the images afterwards makes for a very bad experience if uses think the iPad now stores the original photos.

The only thing I can think of is the USB cable that comes with iPad is limited in functionality, but since it's already used for power and for syncing everything should be working already. These FAQ, as well as Apple's site, llead me to believe it should be possible.

http://obamapacman.com/2010/04/apple...ook-video-faq/

Exactly. We can't bring a cell phone into our local court house if it has a camera. The iPad would be perfect for bed side clinical systems in hospitals. add a camera and it becomes a privacy issue.

What part leads you to that conclusion? All I know, is I tried it and it did not work. I suppose it's possible that Apple disabled one of the connections within the included USB cable to make it impossible to bypass their accessory kit (a dirty trick, if true), but the only way to prove that would be buy a third-party 30-pin to USB cable and see if that worked.

AFAIK, Apple no longer allows anything like that. I saw a bunch of cool stuff for iPhone recording, but AFAIK, none of it is current.

Apple locks down the 30 pin adapters. You need to apply to Apple to get them. And Apple does not (AFAIK) license anyone to make add-on recording equipment currently.

If anybody has better info, I'd love to see examples of current iPhone gear.

Flip Mino HD cameras won't transfer the MP4 video, which uses H.264 codec, to the iPad which means the AVI video of the Flip Mino [SD] is also a no go. Does any camera work with a direct connection? Why do people doing these reviews always do a halfassed job of testing? Don't make me start my own review site!

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http://discussions.apple.com/thread....5450&#11425450

Only if they pass Apple's scrutiny and biases. They only sell the 30 pin connectors to selected companies.

AFAIK, there no longer exist the cool docks one could use for the iPhone to turn it into a multi-track recording studio.

The hardware attachments are locked down by Apple. The lack of cool 30 pin attachments is a huge disappointment.

The universe is currently restricted to mundane stuff like speaker docks and the like.

Can I plug in a mouse?

That way I can play flash games...

.... how about that wifi SD card? does it work on the iPad?

It's still not clear to me how exactly the iPad handles RAW images, particularly those that don't have a fullsize imbedded jpg inside (Nikon's .NEF format, for example). Does the iPad download the RAW image and display it fullscreen on the iPad, or does it create a jpg version and leave the RAW file on the SD card? I'm confused because I tried sending a .NEF RAW file to my iPad, and all it could display was a tiny jagged thumbnail in the middle of it's screen.


What does the iPad do when the camera hasn't created a fullscreen jpg preview? Does it create it's own jpg, or stick you with the postage-stamp sized thumbnail?

So what about a GPS? I use my Garmin on the go and would love it if I could sync my portable Garmin 60csx. I understand there is a GPS navigation available on the ipad, but I use this gps for offroad (using a topographical map on the Garmin) purposes on a quad. Too dusty and impractical to drag the ipad out with me.

Rad..

I have so been trying to work that word back into the mainstream, and failing miserably.

Don't roughly 99.9% of cell phones and notebooks/tablets/netbooks have a camera or webcam? It's kind of hard to avoid.

Bitchin'!

Im still not clear on this either. I also don't know what they meant by "full" 2048x1536 in the article. Full? Full what?

Being able to unload my card would have been half the reason for getting the camera kit. Other half is Flickr while on the road. But I'd end up uploading again if i cant get max resolution onto the iPad. Not good...

Read the original article:
http://www.ilounge.com/index.php/bac...onnection-kit/

Quote: "Resolution: If youre worried that youll be capped to sending out low-quality photos from your iPad, theres some mostly good news to share. Rather than chopping JPEG pictures down to 800x600 as is done with iPhone photos, the iPad defaults at e-mailing images out at roughly 3-Megapixel resolution: 2048x1536 for typical 4:3 point-and-shoot images, or 2048x1364 for 3:2 DSLR images. EXIF data is stripped for re-sized images. If you select an image manually using the Copy button and Paste it into an e-mail, you can send the full-resolution version out instead, complete with EXIF data."

--

I.e. if you use the default iPad settings to share/email images your photos will be sent at preview image size: 2048x1536.

Note: the pics will also be stored inside the iPad in their original resolution*, allowing you to use the iPad to backup your images from the card - without loosing resolution (or EXIF-info).
Also, if you want you can use copy/paste to email pictures in original size.

*if I understood the article correctly.

RAWs will be downloaded to the ipad. if the raw format isn't supported then it will still be available to your computer upon sync, just not viewable.

I'm hoping Apple comes out with either a compact version of GarageBand or Logic (Logic Lite anyone?) for ipad and a MIDI adapter. Can you imagine Apple's version of either a control surface, or a sheet music app with built-in syth functions. Would be great.

Thanks Kendoka. More info on actual RAW experience here. (dpreview)