Ipad to replace laptop for photos?

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Thinking of getting an Ipad to replace carrying a laptop on trips.
My usual workflow is to shoot in Raw then download to laptop (using CF cards) and delete duplicates, minor editing (exposure, white balance, cropping, resizing for email).
First: does the Ipad work with an external HDD? I can easily shoot 4 gb of pictures/day. So even with a 64gb Ipad at some point I would need to transfer pictures to a portable HDD.
I'm frequently in areas without wifi or cellular coverage so "the cloud" won't really help.
Is anyone doing this or similar? Or will the Ipad allow me to do this?
Has anyone tried using this: HyperDrive iPad Hard Drive (casing only)
Thanks.
 

RavingMac

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I have the first gen iPad and you could probably use it as described (I know nothing about the Hyperdrive).
Having said that, IMO the 11in MBA (MacBook Air) would be a better choice. Not much bigger than the iPad and can run Aperture or Lightroom etc.
 
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Doesn't work for me as I must first transfer the images

from CF cards to SDHC cards for the camera kit to accept them. The camera kit USB port is not powered so you cannot use it with a card reader.

I end up moving them to my MacBook Pro and then onto the iPad. Didn't save anything. I can shoot upwards of 1000 images in a day, raw and JPEG so even the 64gig is too small to use as you mention. At least for me it is.
 
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I tried doing something similar but have gone back to taking my laptop with me when I travel. On the plus side, I can use my CF card reader to load the pics on my iPad with the camera connection kit. It reads the raw files fine and then when I connect the iPad to my laptop, I use Lightroom to copy the files to the laptop. The downside is the 'copy'. I am left with hundreds of photos on the iPad and have to tediously delete them one at a time. If the IOS is ever updated to allow an easier way to delete the images, I might try it again.
 

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