# android tablets



## jjlad (Dec 31, 2011)

So ..Staples had the Asus Transformer on a door crasher deal and I got the last one. Seems like a decent tablet. 32g micro sd cards were on sale for $39 at another place so I have this tablet with 55gigs available but unsure of how to best utilize it. I see the Photoshop Touch app but to me they got the cart before the horse. Wouldn't it have been a lot more practical to have a viewer/rater/basic editor ...esentially a Lightroom type app ...before the Touch app? Touch seems like what one would use only for more serious retouching. I don't fully understand 'touch' but have a mental block on it thinking if I do layers in touch I'll be creating this huge psd or tiff which just doesn't compute for me since tablets have limited storage and power. 
What I'd prefer is to stick a wi-fi card in the camera, have it transmit to the LR app in the tablet while shooting, then do the viewing/rating/light editing etc. and then sync up to LR via bluetooth or a cable when next to the PC.

If the Future is 'Touch' ...are they abandoning Lightroom?? Everyone will have a tablet but it seems like they need to give us one take in order to stop the headache of wondering what the heck they are doing.

Does anyone know??
jj


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## Victoria Bampton (Jan 8, 2012)

Don't worry JJ, they're definitely not abandoning LR.  Keep your eye on Adobe Carousel - there's a fair chance that will end up being the link, and it is coming to Android.  Limited functionality at the moment (no raw) but things are moving ahead quickly.


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## RunningWithScissors! (Jan 9, 2012)

*YASBS  (Linux type acronym for Yet Another Subscription Based Service)*

YASBS, and it will have to move huge amounts of data across the internet.   

I'm thinking the OP wants to do something like I want to do... I want to use my tablet (Android) to access my Lightroom database to rate files.  I do this sometimes when I'm on the couch watching TV with the family or otherwise not wanting to go to the office to use my computer.

Now, I'm using a program called Splashtop.  It uses my local network (no internet bottleneck/lag) to operate my PC remotely.  The only problem is that Lightroom's rating and Pick/Reject flags are VERY small on a 5" smartphone screen.  (see attached photo)  Now, I captured this screen shot with the programs menu up, but it has a nice little row of control keys that go across the top of the screen, just covering the black bar at the top of Lightroom.  (When in portrait mode, it is just a little bit larger on-screen, but not much, the flag is still about 1/16 of an inch in size, a small target for a fingertip.) 



However, if Lightroom were able to be modified to have a large select/reject flag set to the left of the image, in the grey area and possibly a grid of stars to rate on the right (0-6), then it would become touch friendly.


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## jjlad (Jan 10, 2012)

after composing a reply I accidentally hit +Reply to Thread because the buttons are so close ...and lost my reply.
Anyway ...thanks Victora ..I'll watch for Carosel. The Splashtop sounds ok but if one is a thousand miles from home ...


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## Victoria Bampton (Jan 10, 2012)

Carousel's now being renamed - so now you'll want to watch out for Adobe Revel instead.

RunningWithScissors' idea is quite good too.


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## jjlad (Feb 8, 2012)

The more I think about it the more I'm looking for a simple workflow for the Android.
Shoot with my camera and transfer the images to the tablet via Eye-Fi while shooting. My tablet has a 'keyboard dock' with usb ports and an SD slot so I'd put an SD card in that and have the photos from the camera go directly to it. 
The photos (raw or jpg) would automatically appear in the Android photo app that has a 1-5 rating function like LR, allowing the photos to be viewed and rated and attaching the ratings to the photos as data that LR can pull in during import.
That's all I'd ask from the app, as that would provide decent viewing 'feedback' at the shoot and have the rating done on the spot. I shoot with a D7000 and can't trust what the LCD shows as it really 'gains it up' in low light. The Android would provide a much truer image.
Back at the main PC insert that card into the main PC and 'import' into LR complete with the ratings.
In LR ..just start editing ...probably doing the highest rated "low hanging fruit" first. 
To me that would be a great timesaver and might even mean getting to bed a little earlier after a late shoot ...or not. .
On a shoot a few days ago I did it using my 17" Laptop ..Eye-Fi'ing the photos directly into LR ...which saves even more steps. That laptop is heavy and power hungry though, and with no AC nearby it was dead in 70 minutes, whereas my Android with docking keyboard (that also has a battery) will run for nearly 9 hours so that would be much better for unpowered shoots.

I suspect the above would be a timesaver on an iPad as well. 

I think Adobe should provide those apps ...free!

jj


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## clee01l (Feb 8, 2012)

> My tablet has a 'keyboard dock' with usb ports and an SD slot so I'd put an SD card in that and have the photos from the camera go directly to it.


 uh, Doesn't your camera already write to an SD card?

As for the workability with an iPad, My iPhone (camera) and my iPad (also a camera though not a great one) both share their images with the iCloud Photostream.  Making all of those images immediately available with all the other iOS devices, my iMac and my PC. I have an SD Card reader that can read the contents off my camera card onto either the iPhone or the iPad which can then send them onto the iCloud Photostream. Adobe PS Express permits me to make basic edits on my iPad to JPEGs and RAW files.

I have Lightroom on my iMAC set up to AutoImport a folder where my iCloud Photostream gets dumped, making it possible to have the images I shoot in the field imported into my master LR catalog before I get home from the field.


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## jjlad (Feb 8, 2012)

Yes the camera has 2 SD card slots. I keep the Eye Fi card in slot 1 now and a 32 g card in slot 2 for backup.

The Eye-Fi card will transmit to online storage (flickr ..other online storage (possibly iCloud (???) etc.) but I haven't tried that. I have Mozy Home for backing up my data but that takes hours to back up even a 4gb card. How long does it take for 4gb to be saved to the iCloud? 

Either way ..that doesn't seem to address 'rating' the photos on the tablet at the shoot so they can be imported into Lightroom after the shoot with the ratings already done.

jj


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