Category Archives: Third Party

May 2 2013

Adobe Demonstrates Early Lightroom for iPad App

This should come as no surprise: Adobe is working on a “Lightroom for iPad” app. What is unexpected is that a very early version exists enough to demonstrate the concept, which is exactly what Tom Hogarty did on Scott Kelby’s The Grid program. Cnet reports:

Adobe Systems plans to release high-end photo-editing software for tablets. The new app would be a close relative to Adobe’s Lightroom software for PCs and serve as a cloud-connected companion to the program.

Tom Hogarty, Adobe’s group product manager for Lightroom, demonstrated an early prototype version of the app Wednesday on the Grid, an online show from Photoshop guru Scott Kelby.

Adobe has done a good job with PC-centric photography software, but the company needs to better incorporate Internet connectivity and mobile devices into photography workflow, Hogarty said.

The article cites Photosmith and its ability to apply metadata and then sync it with Lightroom, but also touts the Adobe app’s capability to edit raw files. I’m impressed that the demo was done on an iPad 2, which includes just 512 MB of active memory. The third- and fourth-generation iPads contain 1 GB of memory, but still, apps that work with raw formats such as PiRAWhna are slow because the memory and processing demands are so high to work with raw files.f

It’s definitely an engineering hurdle, but with tablets gaining in popularity and PCs dropping, Adobe needs to plant a flag and embrace the future. I would be surprised if Apple isn’t working on an Aperture for iPad, or some utility that syncs with Aperture; more likely, that app will be an expanded iPhoto.

Apr 13 2013

DSLR Camera Remote Discontinued

Dslr cam remote discontinued2
I started updating Chapter 3 (“The iPad in the Studio”) for the second edition of The iPad for Photographers, and discovered that OnOne has discontinued DSLR Camera Remote, their product for controlling a camera tethered to a computer via the iPad. The product was discontinued on March 12, and support will end on May 12, 2013. From the site:

The decision to discontinue the DSLR Camera Remote was made, in part, because it is a difficult product to maintain. To support new cameras, we need software development kits (SDKs) provided by Canon and Nikon. These SDKs allow us to update our software but are often delivered only after a long delay. Additionally, the DSLR Camera Remote is difficult to support. It basically glues together desktop server software, USB camera connection, Wi-Fi networking, and iOS devices together. All of the components create many potential failure points for our users. We spend a great deal of time helping our customers with network and camera issues that are unrelated to our software, to enable DSLR Camera Remote to work in their environment.

Since onOne Software’s strength has always been image processing—building software to help you make your photos look great, we want to focus our energy on that strength. Fortunately, the DSLR and mobile worlds have evolved since we first started to offer the DSLR Camera Remote. Now, there are many more options available! to solve the same problems that the DSLR Camera Remote was originally designed to address. You may want to consider the alternative options listed on the right.

If you still use the app, you can download the server software that runs on a PC.

This certainly puts an unexpected kink into my process of updating the book, but I’m not concerned. It leaves more room for me to talk about remote wireless tethering using CamRanger and CameraMator devices. The book goes to the publisher next week, so I’m on that coffee-fueled deadline treadmill that wraps up book projects. The published book is scheduled to arrive mid-May!

Oct 11 2012

Watch my Photo Club Webcast

The replay of my Peachpit Photo Club webcast is now live. See how to wirelessly transfer photos from any camera to the iPad — live! Watch as I edit photos in iPhoto for iOS! Marvel at how I can start the presentation without realizing that I hadn’t yet shared my screen with the rest of the webcast! (Whoops. Thanks to my wonderful editor for breaking in and pointing that out. It’s just the first couple of minutes.)

I had a great time doing this presentation — enough to consider doing this type of thing more often. Maybe a few Google+ hangouts going into more depth on some features? Let me know in the comments if that’s something you’d like to see.

CLick here to access the presentation.

Sep 17 2012

Google Acquires Snapseed Developer

Very interesting: According to The Verge, Google is buying Nik Software, creators of the excellent photo-editing app Snapseed. The folks who work directly with Snapseed are moving from San Diego to Google’s Mountain View, CA headquarters to work on Google+.

I’m guessing an Android version of the app is almost completed internally, and Google will focus its efforts on offering a top-flight image editor based on Snapseed. But I also hope this doesn’t mean the iOS and Mac versions wither as a result.

[If you don't already own my book, here's a sample chapter that explains how to edit photos in Snapseed.]

Sep 10 2012

Modern Photo Convenience

My daughter’s daycare starts the school year by asking parents to bring in a bunch of photos—of family members, friends, house, and other things that help express who each kid is. The photos are sometimes trimmed and turned into a collage, then mounted on a long wall for everyone to see.

If you’re like me, you can see where this is going. Photos… printed on paper? I never print photos anymore, and don’t own—nor have the desire to buy—a photo printer. And, of course, because I wasn’t paying attention, the daycare needed the photos today.

This is why I love living in the modern world. It turned out to be no problem.

I pulled the images together that I wanted (some from Lightroom, some lying about on my Mac desktop, some already on my iOS devices) and uploaded them to Walgreens, a national drugstore chain that has several locations near me. It turned out to be more convenient for me to do this on my Mac today, but I could have easily also used the Walgreens for iPad app, which I discuss in the book.

I uploaded the image files, chose how many copies of each print I wanted, and placed the order. I specified that I wanted to pick up the prints at a Walgreens just a few blocks away from the coffee shop where I was working this morning. The total cost was about $2, and I paid with a credit card online.

Less than 30 minutes later, I received an email telling me the prints were ready for pickup. A short walk later on the way to lunch, I had the prints in hand, and they look great. At no point did I have to worry about printer ink, dropping off negatives or digital files, or even working with an in-store kiosk.

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Jun 18 2012

iPhoto for iOS: Essential Features for Photographers

Peachpit has posted my latest article, which covers features of iOS for Photographers: iPhoto for iOS: Essential Features for Photographers. If you’ve already downloaded the addendum to the book, there’s no new information, but it is a great intro to what photographers can appreciate about iPhoto for people new to the program.

It also gave me a chance to spotlight one of my favorite features of iPhoto, which also happens to be mostly useless. Here’s a hint:

Carlson2 fig06 alt

Jun 10 2012

Book Errata: Chapter 3 update, inactive link

A couple of related post-publishing housekeeping tasks:

  • The sidebar on page 52 notes that I’ll be updating Chapter 3 (“Rate and Tag Photos”) with Photosmith 2 information. When I wrote that chapter a few months ago, Photosmith 2 was still in an early alpha stage, but the developers gave me access so I could include it in the book. I’m happy to say that most everything in the chapter is still accurate, and the app’s interface did not change significantly (by which I mean the released app looks cleaner and a couple of labels have changed, but nothing serious got moved). I’m still planning on updating the chapter and posting it for free to people who’ve purchased the book, but I’ve been delayed by waiting for the app to ship (which it has; see “Photosmith 2 Now Available—Go Get It“) and other work. Some of that “other work” is directly related: Look for an ebook devoted to Photosmith 2, coming soon; I’m also updating my book “The Mac OS X Lion Pocket Guide” for the upcoming Mountain Lion release, the timing of which we’ll no doubt learn at this week’s Apple Worldwide Developer Conference (WWDC).
  • Also in the same sidebar, I note that the Chapter 3 update can be found at http://www.peachpit.com/ipadforphotographers. That link is currently not active, and I’ve alerted Peachpit. It should redirect to the book’s product page here: http://www.peachpit.com/store/product.aspx?isbn=0321820185. There’s no update there yet (for reasons mentioned in the bullet above, for those of you who skimmed quickly), but it is the same location where you’ll find the addendum I wrote that covers iPhoto for iOS and Adobe Photoshop Touch. Sorry about the glitch.