iPad Camera Connection Kit Review

Aug. 13, 2010 - PRLog -- Camera Connection Kit Boxceived my iPad Camera Connection Kit and have had some time to try it out.  The Camera Connection Kit was one of the features available for the iPad that convinced me the iPad would work for my needs.  First, I had to be able to use the iPad while traveling for work.  With VPN capability, etc., those aspects were filled.  However, one of my key needs was to be able to load images from my cameras as I have done up until now to my laptop or netbook.  I needed to be able to backup my images so they wouldn't be accidentally deleted or otherwise lost.  I also wanted to be able to review my images and do some limited editing in order to post on SmugMug, Facebook, etc.  Now that I've gotten the Camera Connection Kit, and been able to try it out, I can confidently say that this will work to meet those needs, and it meets them well.
USING THE KIT
Left to Right: USB, SD Adapters
The iPad Camera Connection Kit comes in a very tiny box, and is actually two small devices that plug into the iPad's dock connector.  One of the devices has a standard USB II socket that can connect to a camera's USB port.  (The kit doesn't come with a USB cable, but requires that you use the cable that came with your camera.  In most cases, this is just a standard USB cable with a mini connector on the camera side.)  The other device is like an flash card reader that can accept SD or SDHC memory cards.  In reality, this is like getting two kits in one.  I'll likely use the USB adapter and my wife can use the SD adapter with her camera.
You start by turning on the iPad and plugging one of the adapters into the dock connector.  You then either plug in an SD card or a cable connected to your digital camera.  The iPad will recognize the device and launches the "Photos" app displaying thumbnails of what is contained in the camera's memory or the SD card.  You can then either download all the images into the iPad or select specific images to download.
After downloading, the iPad groups the images into "events" much like iPhoto, based on the date the image was taken.  You then have the option of emailing the images, sending them to your MobileMe account, assigning to a contact, usings as wallpaper, or copying them (to use elsewhere on the iPad.)
RAW FILES
Raw files are copied and displayed with little trouble.  The iPad automatically generates a JPG file with a lower resolution (and thus smaller file size.)  I have noticed that when you choose to send the file to MobileMe, or via email directly out of the Photos app, it attempts to send the Raw file.  I have not been able to successfully send a file this way though, at least with the ~20 -30MB raw files from the 5D-MKII.  In one case the application seemed to crash and the iPad returned to the home screen when trying to copy send an image via email.  In another, it just seemed to send the file but there was no evidence that it was sent now was any email recieved.  In another case, the file seemed to work on transferring to MobileMe, only to display an error after getting nearly 100% complete.  I suspect these are all problems because of the raw file size, and frankly this is not what you would typically want to do with raw files.
Copying the image from the Photos app and then pasting it into an email works successfully and uses the reduced-size JPG file.
EDITING IMAGES
I have two free photo editing programs that I've loaded onto my iPad (these were highlighted in the first iPad App Roundup on this site) -- PhotoPad and Foto Editor and both were able to open images imported through the Camera Connection Kit from the events or "all imported" albums.  The programs are evidently given the JPG version of the file being edited.  So, simple editing on the road can be done nicely with the images downloaded from your camera.
TRANSFER SPEED
Transfer Time vs Transfer Size
Copying files from your camera or SD card is quite speedy.  I copied a few different sets of images and videos both through the USB cable and the SD card.  I found that it was transfering around 6MB per second.  The transfers from my Canon 5D-MKII via the USB cable were actually quite a bit faster than the SD card from my Canon PowerShot SD800IS.  The differences probably have a lot to do with speed of the flash cards involved.  For the record, the 5D was using a SanDisk Extreme UDMA 16GB CF card and the SD800IS was using a SanDisk Ultra II 2.0 GB SD card.



VIDEOS
I mentioned videos, yes, the kit will transfer video files.  Not all are viewable on the iPad itself though.  I transferred a video (.MOV file) from my 5D and while it transferred fine, it was not viewable on the iPad.  The iPad requires an H.264 that is 720p or less resolution and the 5D file was 1080p so that's likely why it didn't work.  I also transferred videos (.AVI files) from my SD800IS and these were viewable on the iPad since they were only 160x120 or 640x480 resolution.
I tried to transfer files from my Flip UltraHD video camera.  This was met with an; "Accessory Unavailable: The attached accessory uses too much power." message from the iPad.  The Flip has always been a little picky on power.  It charges through the USB connector and seems to draw quite a bit of power.  During charge the Flip likes to complain about being "too hot" or says the battery's not charging, so this didn't surprise me too much.  Undaunted, I got a powered USB hub and connected the Flip to the iPad through that, and it transferred without a hitch.  The Flip videos were not viewable on the iPad however.  The resolution shouldn't be the problem since it's 720p.  I think the bitrate may be too high at about 9 Mbps.
TRANSFERRING FILES TO YOUR PC
While the iPad can't play some of the movie files, all the movie files and all the image files (JPG and RAW) can easily be transferred to your desktop.  On the Mac, I found the best way to do this is using "Image Capture" that is included in the Mac OS.  After connecting the iPad, with ImageCapture, you just drag and drop the image and video files to any location you like.
I also tried (after someone suggesting this) to connect the Camera Connect Kit to an iPhone.  Seems like this has been disabled or otherwise not included since it didn't work, giving a "This accessory is not supported by iPhone" message.
In summary, I think my thought that I can abandon the netbook for travel and use the iPad for my business, personal, and now photographic needs has been very successfully confirmed.  The transfer speed and ability to do some editing of images on the road is going to work great.  I'm now very glad that I ordered the 64GB iPad 3G (which should be in the next hour and 15 minutes!)  The extra space will come in handy when using the iPad with the Camera Connection Kit.  I'm also intrigued by a comment at the end of a post on the Camera Connection Kit at Terry White's blog that hints at a version of Lightroom being prepped for the iPad!  That would be a great addition to this setup, although I've tried Lightroom but am still stuck on Photoshop -- old habits die hard.
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