Using ipad air 5th Generation for backing up photos and viewing OM-1 RAW files while travelling with limited/no wifi and without syncing later

[d.vcaseley-scorch.co.nz]

Lightroom Version

Lightroom Classic version: 11.2

Operating System

1. macOS 10.15 Catalina
2. iOS

I am not very computer savvy but I am about to travel again and have a very minimal weight allowance to meet. I am looking at getting an ipad air, 5th generation, with the M1 chip and a hyperdrive 6-in-1 hub to allow me to back up my photos from the SD card to an external SSD, amongst other requirements. As OM-1 RAW is only supported (so far) in a few programmes it would seem that to view the files I need the Lightroom mobile app. At this stage I don't want the photos to sync with Lightroom Classic as I will back them up from the external SSD when I return home. This is because I have limited (and slow) internet and cellular coverage where I live and the number of photos I will take will probably be in the 6-10,000 range. Neither do I wish to sync any photos from my current catalogue. I also do not want to do any culling or editing that I wish to keep while away.

1 Does Lightroom Mobile only sync photos that have been imported into the app? I don't want to sync any photos either from those stored in the ipad gallery.
2 Can I view the files in Lightroom Mobile without importing then and can I do this offline? This is mainly so I can check they have copied correctly to the external SSD and check there are no camera/lens issues.
3 If I wanted to import one or two files to play with them can I do this offline? How do I do this? Is this when I would turn the syncing off in the mobile app?
4 How do I then delete the imported photo(s) such that when I turn the ipad back on to say check emails Lightroom mobile doesn't try to sync the photo(s) to the cloud?
5 Even if somehow it did sync to the cloud how do I stop it syncing with Lightroom Classic when I next turn that on?
6 Does anyone know of any other apps using IOS that can view OM-1 Raw files?

I have seen an older post on here where the user appears to use their ipad exactly as I want to do (backup, view, import the odd photo, delete so no syncing) but I am unsure whether the RAW files were viewable without importing and I have no idea how they were then deleted such that there were never any photos to sync.

I appreciate any advice as the more youtube videos I watch the more I get confused. I can't try this before I buy the ipad air as my existing ipad is way to old in its IOS to use the current mobile app.

 

[clee01l]

1 Does Lightroom Mobile only sync photos that have been imported into the app? I don't want to sync any photos either from those stored in the ipad gallery.
[/QOUTE] Lightroom Mobile syncs to and from the Adobe Cloud. Any thing in the Adobe Cloud will sync down when Lightroom Is running. You can turn off WiFi when running and Lightroom will not Sync to the Adobe Clous and all Imports will remain in the iPad local Storage.

2 Can I view the files in Lightroom Mobile without importing then and can I do this offline? This is mainly so I can check they have copied correctly to the external SSD and check there are no camera/lens issues. [/QOUTE]Lightroom Mobile will only show images that have been imported locally OR sync’d from the Adobe Cloud.

3 If I wanted to import one or two files to play with them can I do this offline? How do I do this? Is this when I would turn the syncing off in the mobile app? [/QOUTE]In response #1 I mentioned turning off WiFi. This is what you are calling “offline”

4 How do I then delete the imported photo(s) such that when I turn the ipad back on to say check emails Lightroom mobile doesn't try to sync the photo(s) to the cloud?
5 Even if somehow it did sync to the cloud how do I stop it syncing with Lightroom Classic when I next turn that on? [/QOUTE]Don’t run Lightroom Mobile while using WiFi.

6 Does anyone know of any other apps using IOS that can view OM-1 Raw files?

. All RAW files have an embedded JPEG image in the file header. If your OS has a CODEC for the OM-1, it will read the JPEG image in the file header. You can ope the file with any image viewer to see this Camera processed JPEG. Lightroom Mobile has Adobe Camera RAW (ACR) that can read and convert the RAW data into a viewable RGB image Some time it takes a few months after a new camera is released for Adobe (or other apps the process RAW images) to reengineer the proprietary RAW format.


Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

 

[Conrad Chavez]

1 Does Lightroom Mobile only sync photos that have been imported into the app? I don't want to sync any photos either from those stored in the ipad gallery.

Yes, Lightroom on mobile syncs only photos and videos imported into it. It does not directly sync any other images on the iPad. However…
…what you want to watch out for here is that when you first start Lightroom, it asks you if you want it to auto-import from the iOS camera roll. It’s easy to click through that screen without noticing that auto-import is enabled, but if you don’t want your iOS camera photos to be auto-imported into Lightroom, you must be mindful and disable it. At any time you can make sure it’s disabled by going into the App Settings for Lightroom, tap Import, then make sure the Auto Add From Camera Roll options are disabled. Photos, screenshots, and videos have separate auto-add settings, so you can disable all of them or just some.

2 Can I view the files in Lightroom Mobile without importing then and can I do this offline? This is mainly so I can check they have copied correctly to the external SSD and check there are no camera/lens issues.

No, Lightroom only displays photos imported into it. Most photo applications on iOS work that way.

3 If I wanted to import one or two files to play with them can I do this offline? How do I do this? Is this when I would turn the syncing off in the mobile app?

You would do this using the same Add Photos button that adds photos from a camera card. It also lets you add photos from a regular iOS folder on the iPad or on externally connected storage (through the Files app), or from the camera roll.

4 How do I then delete the imported photo(s) such that when I turn the ipad back on to say check emails Lightroom mobile doesn't try to sync the photo(s) to the cloud?

You can use the normal Delete button/command.

5 Even if somehow it did sync to the cloud how do I stop it syncing with Lightroom Classic when I next turn that on?

If you want to travel without syncing, you must click Pause Syncing before leaving home, and leave it disabled until you return home. If syncing is enabled, and a network connection becomes available, Lightroom always attempts to upload any photos that haven’t been uploaded yet.

6 Does anyone know of any other apps using IOS that can view OM-1 Raw files?

If you mean the OM-D E-M1, that camera is on the supported list for Raw Power, an iOS app that is sort of a competitor to Lightroom. It doesn’t do everything that Lightroom does, but it’s capable, and can do some things Lightroom can’t. For example, Raw Power is the only raw editing software on iOS (as far as I know) that supports referenced folders like Lightroom Classic.

I am not very computer savvy but I am about to travel again…I don't want the photos to sync with Lightroom Classic as I will back them up from the external SSD when I return home. This is because I have limited (and slow) internet and cellular coverage where I live and the number of photos I will take will probably be in the 6-10,000 range. Neither do I wish to sync any photos from my current catalogue.

OK, this is the toughest answer. If a slow Internet connection at home means you do not want to sync the travel photos at all, it is possible to import into Lightroom on iPad, edit locally, and transfer to Lightroom or Lightroom Classic through a cable when you get home. The problem is, the method requires a certain amount of computer savviness because the many steps are complex and not intuitive. I’ll lay out the general steps, and if you think it sounds doable to you, we can answer more questions about it. The general steps are:

1. Keep Lightroom sync disabled at all times during the trip.
2. Use the Files app, built into iOS, to copy all photos directly from the camera card to the external SSD, completely bypassing the iPad internal storage and not opening Lightroom. This requires having both the card reader and external SSD connected at the same time, through that USB-C hub you talked about.
3. To browse photos on the external SSD or on the iPad, you can use the Files app. It has a QuickLook (large preview) image browsing feature similar to the one on macOS, so you can look through photos without opening any other software. This works because iOS 15 supports OM-D E-M1 raw files.
4. If you want to play around with any files in Lightroom, import them. But understand that importing always copies an image into the hidden Lightroom storage on the iPad, and it will always work with its copy on the iPad, not the one on the external SSD. (There is no way to import into Lightroom while referencing its location on external storage. If you want to use a workflow that can reference external storage, use Raw Power instead.)
5. When you get home, you simply copy all of your images from the external SSD (or from your cards) to your computer.

• If you don’t want to keep edits you make in Lightroom on iPad, just delete everything in Lightroom before the end of the trip.
• If you do want to keep edits you make to raw files in Lightroom, you must select and export those images using the Share > Export As command so that you can select the DNG format, which is the only way to preserve raw edits made in Lightroom, without syncing, on the iPad. Then transfer those files locally from the iPad to your computer, and import them into Lightroom Classic on your computer.

 

[Jim Wilde]

Only one thing to add to the information provided by Cletus and Conrad: if you import some images into LrMobile for a quick look, and then delete them in LrMobile, all while syncing is paused, one thing to be aware of is that the deleted images are NOT immediately deleted. Instead they are moved into the Lightroom "trash can" which is called the "Deleted" special album and so they still exist within the LrMobile's internal space on the device. They remain there for up to 60 days (to give the user the chance to recover them if they were deleted in error), and the thing to be aware of is that if you subsequently resume syncing on the local device before those 60 days are up, Lightroom will immediately upload those deleted images to the cloud where they are stored in the master "Deleted" album for possible access from all Lightroom clients in your ecosystem. However you can avoid that by remembering that, after deleting images on the iPad while syncing is still paused, you can then open the "Deleted" album on the the same device and permanently delete them from "Deleted", which removes them completely from your ecosystem and thus would stop them being uploaded inadvertently.

 

[d.vcaseley-scorch.co.nz]

Hi Conrad

Thank you for this explanation and I think I follow it all. I have the new OM-1 camera released in March this year (not officially Olympus but everyone still references as such) and the RAW files from this camera are so far not recognised by IOS as far as I can tell or RawPower.

If I have understood everything as long as in Lightroom Mobile I keep the sync disabled at all times. I can import them into Lightroom Mobile, check them over, maybe try and few edits and then delete them. If Lightroom Mobile's sync is disabled then I can still turn the ipad wifi on when it is available to check emails etc without the fear of Lightroom trying to sync anything to the cloud.

One question I have though is do I need to ensure that nothing is turned on (or conversely is turned off) in my Lightroom Classic in case some photo inadvertently makes it to the cloud?

I guess as I get more used to the system and if I get a better internet connection I may end up syncing one day.

Cheers

 

[clee01l]

Hi Conrad

Thank you for this explanation and I think I follow it all. I have the new OM-1 camera released in March this year (not officially Olympus but everyone still references as such) and the RAW files from this camera are so far not recognised by IOS as far as I can tell or RawPower.

If I have understood everything as long as in Lightroom Mobile I keep the sync disabled at all times. I can import them into Lightroom Mobile, check them over, maybe try and few edits and then delete them. If Lightroom Mobile's sync is disabled then I can still turn the ipad wifi on when it is available to check emails etc without the fear of Lightroom trying to sync anything to the cloud.

One question I have though is do I need to ensure that nothing is turned on (or conversely is turned off) in my Lightroom Classic in case some photo inadvertently makes it to the cloud?

I guess as I get more used to the system and if I get a better internet connection I may end up syncing one day.

Cheers

Some clarification: Lightroom Mobile will always sync whenever the app is running and the WiFI is enabled. AFAIK, there is no way to disable Lightroom Sync when Lightroom is running.
So if you want to import into Lightroom Mobile, turn off WiFi before starting Lightroom.

In LrC, the only images that sync (up to the Adobe Cloud) are images in collections that have been set to sync and the Special Collection called “All Synced Photographs. You can also disable sync in LrC without disabling WiFi or the internet


Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

 

[Jim Wilde]

Some clarification: Lightroom Mobile will always sync whenever the app is running and the WiFI is enabled. AFAIK, there is no way to disable Lightroom Sync when Lightroom is running.
So if you want to import into Lightroom Mobile, turn off WiFi before starting Lightroom.

You can simply Pause Syncing in LrMobile whilst still having a network connection (tap on the cloud icon and tap on the Pause Syncing button). Just like you can pause it in LrC and LrDesktop..

 

[clee01l]

You can simply Pause Syncing in LrMobile whilst still having a network connection (tap on the cloud icon and tap on the Pause Syncing button). Just like you can pause it in LrC and LrDesktop..

Great! I missed that when looking at LrMobile on my iPadPro.


Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

 

[d.vcaseley-scorch.co.nz]

You can simply Pause Syncing in LrMobile whilst still having a network connection (tap on the cloud icon and tap on the Pause Syncing button). Just like you can pause it in LrC and LrDesktop..

Thanks for this Jim. Just to clarify if I Pause Syncing in LrMobile does this stay paused until I click on it again, as in when I close the app and reopen it later, or do I need to Pause Syncing every time I open the LrMobile. Might seem a silly question but I am loathed to do anything with LrMobile until I have a better idea of how it works as I'm terrified of either clogging up my internet at home for days or worse stuffing up my main catalogue. Note at this stage I am not interested in either syncing to or from Lightroom Classic.

 

[Jim Wilde]

It stays paused until you decide to resume syncing again.