# Is it possible to import RAW photos from Camera to Lightroom for iPad?



## paddycochrane

Ok, Surely I'm missing something here. I've been playing around with Lightroom mobile and seeing how it would integrate with my existing (hobbyist) workflow and from what i can understand it doesn't really make sense to me?!?
Ok, picture this scenario (no pun intended) - I'm holiday, so naturally I don't have my PC desktop with me. I have my DSLR camera and my iPad because I want to travel reasonably light (I don't own a laptop).
I take a few hundred RAW photos over the course of 3 day, I have some spare time to review the photos and hopefully make some minor corrections to them, select the good ones and delete the bad ones in order to save time when I get back home. Naturally, I'm assuming my iPad along with lightroom Mobile would be ideal for this task.
The idea would be to Import the Raw images from my camera, review the photos on my iPad in Lightroom, make a few adjustments here and there, knowing that when I get home on my PC everything I've done is going to be already synced.
The above seems fairly reasonable, however sadly it isn't. Because for some reason it is not possible to import raw images from my camera into lightroom mobile?!?!
In light of this, I'm totally failing to understand the point of this application. Why would anyone bother to import their photos into Lightroom Desktop, only to sync them to Lightroom mobile, does anyone think its better do the editing on their iPad? Surely once I'm back home there would be no reason to want to edit on my iPad when my PC is sitting next to me?
I can however see the point and immense value in being able to make basic adjustments while away from ones PC and have the ability to automatically sync these adjustments with my PC, so that the bulk, or at least a part, of the work is already done before I'm even home.
I'd be delighted if someone could point out what I'm missing, because for the life of me I cant see it!!
Cheers,
P.


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## Jim Wilde

Sure, Lightroom mobile doesn't yet support the way you want to use it, though there are some workarounds identified in Victoria's new book. 

As a fellow hobbyist I agree that I'm not particularly interested in editing my pictures on an iPad, but when/if more of the Library functions are added (particularly keywords) then most definitely I'd find it very useful to be able to review/rate/keyword etc away from my desk. And there'll undoubtedly be some users who will be delighted at the opportunity to review/reject images while on the way home on the train for example.


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## Rose Weir

Re: review/reject images while on the way home on the train for example. 						
The recent Laura Shoe live webcast for this mobile function had words of this nature. She said she would be rating the images while traveling on the plane. She did make reference to the capacity of the device. That webcast will likely show up on Utube


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## johnbeardy

That's the way I see it, Rose, as Lightroom for the pub, the train, or in front of the TV. It's not for deadlines, but as a more casual loop when you move away from the computer. So I have had a long day, downloaded the photos and want to relax downstairs with the family. I can look through pictures while they're watching the TV, mark up the ones I like, maybe do some Quick Develop adjustments. That'll save me time when I'm sitting in front of the computer. Another good use is for presenting photos as a slideshow on the TV (Apple TV lets you mirror your iPad to the TV) or when you meet people and they ask to see what you do. I was showing a top London pro how he would do this and he couldn't believe it was just a matter of clicking the box next to a collection - don't I export JPEGs to Dropbox or somewhere, then have to remember how to get them from Dropbox into the app? So it's a casual loop from the desktop with automatic synchronisation.

There's an explanation here by Adobe's Tom Hogarty of why the workflow isn't camera->iPad->computer.

John


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## cdrowe

I have had the same basic questions, and hope that Adobe can make the mobile part link up better with the desktop infuture  versions.

As  RAW only shooter, my ideal workflow with this new app would be ..
  Shoot RAW photos in the field
  Import the RAW photos into my iPad with the Camera Connection Kit
  Flag photos and possibly do some edits in LR Mobile to the RAW files (or converted jpg's)
  Save the edit data, smart preview, or whatever to the cloud from LR Mobile
  Back at my desktop, import the original RAW files into a LR collection
  Have the edits I made in LR Mobile come down from the cloud and automatically be applied to the RAW files.

Unfortunately, this isn't the way it works at all. I bought Victorias book which appears to have a workaround related to using Photogene to batch convert the RAW files on the iPad to jpg's in the Camera Roll which LR Mobile can work on, while preserving the original RAW filename. I hate to say it, but this is an error in the book. I use Photogene and the names aren't preserved when the files go to the Camera Roll. In checking with Photogene tech support, they agree, it is an Apple issue. Apple renames ALL files that go to the Camera Roll. That makes the work-around in the book impossible. 

I think that LR Mobile has great potential, but until it can more seamlessly link the edits and flags in Mobile with the desktop RAW files, it is just a toy for me.


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## Victoria Bampton

Hi cdrowe, welcome to the forum!  That's odd, it was working perfectly a few weeks ago when I wrote that section, and it wasn't renaming the files.  Thanks for telling me.  Which camera do you shoot with?  And how are the raw files getting onto the iPad?


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## cdrowe

I use a Nikon D7000 and/or a Nikon D7100 for my 'land' based shots, and a Canon G15 in an Ikelite housing for my scuba diving photography.

I shoot all of my cameras in RAW mode only, and when I am on the road, I load the current days shots into my iPad 3 with the Apple Camera Connection Kit.

Until now I was primarily using the iPad as my backup storage device for my RAW files while at remote locations. If I wanted to email or share individual shots while traveling, I would edit the RAW files on the iPad with Photogene or Snapseed.

My main photo processing software is Lightroom, so it was really exciting to see that I may have the ability to do a little LR pre-processing on the road with my iPad using this familiar tool. But ultimately I want to get all my remote RAW files loaded on my desktop for final processing, and storage and the current way the mobile app links to the desktop won't offer that flexibility, in fact as I think about it, will even cause me to do some steps multiple times (more than I am doing with my current workflow).

I bet Adobe will get it right, but to me the most important missing feature is the seamless linking of the RAW file edits on the iPad using LR Mobile, with the RAW files when eventually loaded into LR on my desktop. That is more important to me than adding additional editing capabilities in LR Mobile at this time.

By the way, Photogene preserves the filenames if you export to other places (Dropbox, etc.) ... just not the Camera Roll


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## TerryStraehley

I have been using my iPad for input/storing of photos for over a year now.  I gave up a bought a new laptop because getting large numbers (~1000+) photos off of the iPad after moving them to more permanent storage is a tedious process.  It was semi-tedious with iOS6, (you could do a two finger swipe to select large numbers), but that capability seems to have been removed from iOS7.  I'm leaving for a two week trip to Morocco next week and will take my MacBookPro and two 500GB hard drives.  I'll have my iPad, but won't use it photographically.

After thoroughly reading some of the posts above and experimenting myself, I can see that LR Mobile is almost useless for field work as described above. It only adds photos from the Camera Roll, which means that they are .jpg and renamed as mentioned above.  This is a definite non-starter for me in addition to the clumsy delete with iOS mentioned aove.  Until Apple and Adobe both get their acts together to make LR on the iPad look much more like LR on a real computer, I'll continue to take my MBP.


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## Jack Henry

Yes, the loss of the two fingered swipe for multi-selection is bizarre. Did they need to make room in the OS for something else???????


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## Victoria Bampton

cdrowe said:


> By the way, Photogene preserves the filenames if you export to other places (Dropbox, etc.) ... just not the Camera Roll 



Hmmmm, thanks for the info.  I'll see if I can figure out what's different in your tests from mine.


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## joihnnybyflash

Oh I'm so glad I read this thread. I have read Victoria's (excellent) book, and was about to take RAW + jpegs, move from cameral tool to LR mobile, then sync with Syncomatic (which I'd need to buy). If apple changes filenames then I guess syncing on desktop won't work? I shall await further comments with interest


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## Victoria Bampton

Rats, yep, something's changed on the Photogene workflow since I tested it just before the release.  I'll work on a workaround for that.  A simple one solution might be to rename the raw and JPEG files using YYYYMMDD-HHMMSS once they're back in Lightroom, as they all have complete metadata, and then use Syncomatic as before.

joihnnybyflash, the RAW+JPEG workflow is still working as expected - the camera import isn't renaming those.  It's only renaming when exporting from Photogene.


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## joihnnybyflash

Thanks for clarifying that Victoria


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## joihnnybyflash

The workaround using Syncomatic works a treat  If I import RAW in LR, and use develop presets (clarity, profile), and use Syncomatic to sync jpeg to DNG, would any developments done on iPad overwrite those applied during import?


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## johnbeardy

I'm not sure I understand your question or maybe I'm imagining a different workflow - what are "overwrite those applied during import". 

But let's say you apply presets on the computer, then adjust the JPEGs on the iPad, and let LrM sync those adjustments back into the catalogue. Syncomatic could then be used to copy adjustments from 123.jpeg to 123.dng, from 124.jpeg to 124.dng etc. You could do that yourself, using Lr's Sync button, but that's a bit boring with a number of pictures and is where Syncomatic is designed to help.

John


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## Victoria Bampton

joihnnybyflash said:


> If I import RAW in LR, and use develop presets (clarity, profile), and use Syncomatic to sync jpeg to DNG, would any developments done on iPad overwrite those applied during import?



Let me try wording it another way.  Does Syncomatic sync "all" Develop settings, or just the basic sliders available on the iPad?  I'm thinking all, but John can confirm/deny.


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## johnbeardy

All adjustments - except crop.

Essentially it creates and applies a preset for each pair of pictures - and presets don't include crop. 

John


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## Victoria Bampton

Victoria Bampton said:


> Rats, yep, something's changed on the Photogene workflow since I tested it just before the release.  I'll work on a workaround for that.  A simple one solution might be to rename the raw and JPEG files using YYYYMMDD-HHMMSS once they're back in Lightroom, as they all have complete metadata, and then use Syncomatic as before.



FYI, I've updated the Photogene instructions. I probably won't send out an email to everyone until the next app update (and therefore bigger book update), but the updated version's available in the Members Area if you want to download it.


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## hbottjer

This is something how I would envision LR Mobile being of benefit as well, taking a vacation or short trip, being able to get the photos in LR, and doing a quick review to rate & delete while on the train or plane on the trip home. But...I am not familiar with Photogene or Syncomatic having not thought about using LR Mobile and joining this thread until recently and (bigger problem) haven't committed to a tablet yet.  This might be the type of thing that could help convince me but I suspect I will still be lacking something.  Unless I can get my photos from my cards to my iPad, I'll still need a PC.


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## Bruce J

You can get your photos from your camera cards to your iPad with an Adobe Camera Connection Kit.  There are several apps that allow you to work on your images on the iPad and then sync them to your desktop version of LR, including LR Mobile and PhotoSmith.  Whether or not you have enough room on the iPad for a trip's worth of images depends on how much iPad memory you buy, how many other apps and data files you load up, how big your images are, and how many you plan to store before syncing back to the desktop.  I've had good success doing exactly as you describe using PhotoSmith with RAW images from a Nikon D200 and up to ~2500 images at a time.


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## hbottjer

Thank you, Bruce. I am not a pro, but a pretty good amateur. I never leave the house without a camera. My idea is when I go on location I can create a project catalog use my iPad, dump my photos, delete crap (pardon me)..I think I see it.  Vacations I can still use my great Lenovo Laptop which weighs hardly anything but has USB and WiFi...obviously I don't want my images on "the cloud" until I have reviewed them, scaled them, and put minimal copyright information information on them. I don't think LR Mobile can do keywords and copyright tagging yet can it?


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## Bruce J

hbottjer said:


> I don't think LR Mobile can do keywords and copyright tagging yet can it?



As I understand it, you are correct.  That, and the lack of RAW support, are the reasons I'm still using PhotoSmith.  I have no first-hand experience with LR Mobile; perhaps someone who does can offer more detail.


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## johnbeardy

hbottjer said:


> I don't think LR Mobile can do keywords and copyright tagging yet can it?



No, just flags and ratings.


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## erro

johnbeardy said:


> No, just flags and ratings.



Bummer. Is there any indication as to when keywords will make it into the Mobile app?


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## Jack Henry

Bruce J said:


> You can get your photos from your camera cards to your iPad with an Adobe Camera Connection Kit.  There are several apps that allow you to work on your images on the iPad and then sync them to your desktop version of LR, including LR Mobile and PhotoSmith.e.




Bruce, are you sure you can load into LR Mobile via a camera connection kit? I thought the only way was via a cloud sync via the desktop app.


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## paddycochrane

Ok, Surely I'm missing something here. I've been playing around with Lightroom mobile and seeing how it would integrate with my existing (hobbyist) workflow and from what i can understand it doesn't really make sense to me?!?
Ok, picture this scenario (no pun intended) - I'm holiday, so naturally I don't have my PC desktop with me. I have my DSLR camera and my iPad because I want to travel reasonably light (I don't own a laptop).
I take a few hundred RAW photos over the course of 3 day, I have some spare time to review the photos and hopefully make some minor corrections to them, select the good ones and delete the bad ones in order to save time when I get back home. Naturally, I'm assuming my iPad along with lightroom Mobile would be ideal for this task.
The idea would be to Import the Raw images from my camera, review the photos on my iPad in Lightroom, make a few adjustments here and there, knowing that when I get home on my PC everything I've done is going to be already synced.
The above seems fairly reasonable, however sadly it isn't. Because for some reason it is not possible to import raw images from my camera into lightroom mobile?!?!
In light of this, I'm totally failing to understand the point of this application. Why would anyone bother to import their photos into Lightroom Desktop, only to sync them to Lightroom mobile, does anyone think its better do the editing on their iPad? Surely once I'm back home there would be no reason to want to edit on my iPad when my PC is sitting next to me?
I can however see the point and immense value in being able to make basic adjustments while away from ones PC and have the ability to automatically sync these adjustments with my PC, so that the bulk, or at least a part, of the work is already done before I'm even home.
I'd be delighted if someone could point out what I'm missing, because for the life of me I cant see it!!
Cheers,
P.


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## Jim Wilde

You can add images from the iDevice into a collection in LR mobile, by adding them to the Camera Roll and using Auto-Import, and they will sync back to the desktop app. Note at this time Raw is not supported, only Jpeg.


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## Jack Henry

Ah. The intermediate step of the camera roll.


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## hbottjer

I was looking at the Apple Camera connection kit in a store today, it uses the "old" connector on one end and USB on the other (or SD adapter). My iPad mini uses the lightning connector. Now I do have an adapter for the old to lightning connector I assume that would work? And since it is not a powered device I could not use a card reader; one of my cameras I use frequently uses CF cards so I would need to attach the camera and not a card reader which would require power, correct?  I just got the iPad and am ready to start experimenting.


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## Jack Henry

Get the correct kit to start with. using adaptors into adaptors is fraught with dangers.


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## hbottjer

Thank you, Jack Henry. Unfortunately my main camera uses only CF memory cards, not SD cards.  I do plan someday to purchase another camera that would use SD cards however that will be another major investment.  I am already heavily invested in Olympus equipment, an Olympus E-1, E-3, and E-PM1 (which is the only one that uses SD cards) and am considering purchasing an OMD E-M1 since I already have a variety of lenses.  The adapter I have is the Apple Lightning to 30 pin adapter but I know it's never good to use adapters.


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## Victoria Bampton

They do a lightning to usb too - just avoid the 30 pin one.


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## Jack Henry

in that case hbottjer, you need this one. And then a normal USB CF Card reader.

Or buy a Nikon 800 (or several other models) and you can use BOTH SD & CF cards. I do NOT understand the reasoning on that decision.......


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## hbottjer

It might be too late for the Nikon as I am so heavily invested in the Olympus line already (lenses, flashes, etc.) I can try the lightning to USB cable but am concerned that the card reader might need to be powered and the iPad might not provide the power needed.  First step is to really get my LR catalog organized in a way I can best leverage LR Mobile!  Thanks for your assistance and replies.


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## Victoria Bampton

Try a lightning to USB adaptor, plugged into the camera rather than a card reader.  The camera provides the power needed, so that works fine.  That's what the lightning to usb adaptor was built for in the first place.


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