Getting pics onto my iPad

[MoneyGuy]

I have an iPad Air2. I can't remember how to get photos from my Canon camera onto the iPad. I have a connection device that I used to transfer photos onto an older iPad but it doesn't connect to the newer one. I'm willing to buy another one that will connect to the Air2. Is that what I should do or is there a better way? I've dumped my photos onto my laptop computer. I don't know if I should transfer them from my camera or the laptop and the best way.

 

[giradman]

Hi MoneyGuy - you did not mention what laptop you own and what OS is installed - Apple's AirDrop if your hardware/software are compatible is an easy option for a small number of images. Otherwise, take a look at THIS THREAD and my post - left in the forum late last year - most is still applicable - let us know if this helps. Dave

 

[scifan57]

I have the SD card reader with the lightning connector and have used it many times to transfer photos from the card to my iPad without any problems.

Also, I don't re-use the SD cards. As one fills up I put a new one in the camera. The filled cards are kept as a backup.

 

[giradman]

I have the SD card reader with the lightning connector and have used it many times to transfer photos from the card to my iPad without any problems.

Also, I don't re-use the SD cards. As one fills up I put a new one in the camera. The filled cards are kept as a backup.

@ MoneyGuy - another option is 'wireless connection' of a camera to an iPad; my newest DC is the Panasonic LUMIX DMC-ZS50K which has Wi-Fi - requires a Panasonic app on the iPad - when the camera is in Wi-Fi mode, a personal wireless network is established between the two devices - see first image below which shows my iPad w/ the Panasonic app 'seeing' my camera's SD card - from there images can be easily transferred.

Another consideration is the EyeFi SD card which pretty much does the same by establishing a wireless network between the SD card in the camera and the iPad - NOW, I've never tried these SD cards so not a recommendation - read the reviews carefully and if interested, pick a brand and model that receives the best reviews - second image below from Amazon.

SO, if you want to spend some $$, there are several neat wireless choices. Dave
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[twerppoet]

I have the SD card reader with the lightning connector and have used it many times to transfer photos from the card to my iPad without any problems.

Also, I don't re-use the SD cards. As one fills up I put a new one in the camera. The filled cards are kept as a backup.

Unlike optical (CD, DVD), and most magnetic storage media, SD card memory has a limited shelf life. I gather 10 years is considered good.

You might want to backup your backups to something more durable. Solid state memory works by holding a small electrical charge. No insulated is perfect. Electrical charges will leak, however slowly, and those bits will be lost forever.

Of course no memory storage is proof against age (of technology if not materials).

 

[giradman]

Unlike optical (CD, DVD), and most magnetic storage media, SD card memory has a limited shelf life. I gather 10 years is considered good.

You might want to backup your backups to something more durable. Solid state memory works by holding a small electrical charge. No insulated is perfect. Electrical charges will leak, however slowly, and those bits will be lost forever.

Of course no memory storage is proof against age (of technology if not materials).

Longevity and reliability of solid state memory has always been a concern for me - I have a bunch of USB flash drives w/ important 'old' data that are approaching 4-5 years (I check each periodically) - however, these memory devices seem to have much better longevity than some of the older storage devices used, such as floppy disks - quoted below is just one recent discussion from HERE which also included the 'bar graph' shown below - not sure that I believe some of those 'lifespans' (such as the DVD-R and HD) but the SD cards fare well - my feeling would be to still check the data on these media at a 'short' interval and transfer periodically to new media - how often? Well, the chart may help? Dave

Secure Digital (SD) cards are based on flash memory and as such have a finite technical lifespan. Fortunately, the expected period of functionality tends to be comfortably long. Most flash memory cards are equipped with a wear controller to balance out the demands on particular parts of the memory, and are guaranteed to withstand about 100,000 program-erase cycles before the integrity of data storage becomes compromised. In other words, even if one were to fill and format an SD card five times every day, it would still last for more than 50 years. Most of the better memory card brands are in this context happy to offer lifetime warranties for their products (hence keep your receipt!).

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[scifan57]

Unlike optical (CD, DVD), and most magnetic storage media, SD card memory has a limited shelf life. I gather 10 years is considered good.

You might want to backup your backups to something more durable. Solid state memory works by holding a small electrical charge. No insulated is perfect. Electrical charges will leak, however slowly, and those bits will be lost forever.

Of course no memory storage is proof against age (of technology if not materials).

The original SD cards are just one of the places I store my images. They're also on several different hard drives. I'm seriously considering storing all my images on DVD R discs. They're very cheap and it takes little time to burn a disc with my newer photos.

 

[scifan57]

Longevity and reliability of solid state memory has always been a concern for me - I have a bunch of USB flash drives w/ important 'old' data that are approaching 4-5 years (I check each periodically) - however, these memory devices seem to have much better longevity than some of the older storage devices used, such as floppy disks - quoted below is just one recent discussion from HERE which also included the 'bar graph' shown below - not sure that I believe some of those 'lifespans' (such as the DVD-R and HD) but the SD cards fare well - my feeling would be to still check the data on these media at a 'short' interval and transfer periodically to new media - how often? Well, the chart may help? Dave


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View attachment 75049

One of the problems with very long lived storage media for computer data is that the storage media may well outlast any computer capable of reading the data on that media. It's important to periodically update the stored files to work with newer computers.

 

[giradman]

One of the problems with very long lived storage media for computer data is that the storage media may well outlast any computer capable of reading the data on that media. It's important to periodically update the stored files to work with newer computers.

Vintage standards and legacy hardware is already w/ us - I've been looking at Apple's 'new' MBPro - MagSafe charging port, SD card, HDMI, and USB inputs are gone - now the options are either 2 or 4 USB-C/Thunderbolt ports - I have 5 external USB HDs for my TM & cloned backups - so would need mini-dongles/adapters or obtain an all-purpose solution like the one below from Amazon - just wish that Apple would have left at least one USB port to accommodate my external HDs, USB Flash drives, and also my USB-SD card adapter. I might have bought a new MBPro this coming spring, but will delay my decision. Dave
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[scifan57]

Vintage standards and legacy hardware is already w/ us - I've been looking at Apple's 'new' MBPro - MagSafe charging port, SD card, HDMI, and USB inputs are gone - now the options are either 2 or 4 USB-C/Thunderbolt ports - I have 5 external USB HDs for my TM & cloned backups - so would need mini-dongles/adapters or obtain an all-purpose solution like the one below from Amazon - just wish that Apple would have left at least one USB port to accommodate my external HDs, USB Flash drives, and also my USB-SD card adapter. I might have bought a new MBPro this coming spring, but will delay my decision. Dave
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View attachment 75055

That adapter looks quite interesting but it lacks the one connector I'd need. There's no Thunderbolt connector, which I'd need for my external hard drives.

 

[giradman]

That adapter looks quite interesting but it lacks the one connector I'd need. There's no Thunderbolt connector, which I'd need for my external hard drives.

Feel the pain! I have two Thunderbolt 2 external HDs plugged into the back of our iMac (doing redundant TM backups) - once a week I do redundant cloned backups (Carbon Copy Cloner) using USB-3 HDs. On my laptops, all of my HDs are USB-3. Apple offers the adapters shown below, and smaller mini-ones are available on Amazon. Dave
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[twerppoet]

Longevity and reliability of solid state memory has always been a concern for me - I have a bunch of USB flash drives w/ important 'old' data that are approaching 4-5 years (I check each periodically) - however, these memory devices seem to have much better longevity than some of the older storage devices used, such as floppy disks - quoted below is just one recent discussion from HERE which also included the 'bar graph' shown below - not sure that I believe some of those 'lifespans' (such as the DVD-R and HD) but the SD cards fare well - my feeling would be to still check the data on these media at a 'short' interval and transfer periodically to new media - how often? Well, the chart may help? Dave


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View attachment 75049

The information you supplied does not appear to address the difference between a usable lifetime of the media/device as opposed to the shelf life (memory integrity) of media that is not being used. With optical media they are about the same. With SD Cards the difference between how long the device will keep working and how long the media will retain data without being plugged back into a computer is distinct. The fact the the SD card is still usable after ten years on the shelf is not the same as the data still being uncorrupted after ten years on the shelf.

On the other hand it's unlikely that SD cards will still be a thing in 10 years. If anyone wants to keep data backed up for thier lifetime, or beyond, they have to be prepared to migrate it as technology advances; if for no other reason than that the devices to read the media will no longer be available.

 

[giradman]

The information you supplied does not appear to address the difference between a usable lifetime of the media/device as opposed to the shelf life (memory integrity) of media that is not being used.......

Hi TP - thanks for the input - my point was that these 'solid state' memory devices appear to have more longevity regarding maintaining the accuracy of their data than some of the legacy storage options, like floppy disks - of course, whether a device 'sits on the shelf' or is used (or abused) on a daily basis will impact on its reliability - not sure how well this has been tested, but camera SD cards can certainly go through a lot of abuse that would impact on their reliability.

Personally, I would not rely on flash memory SD cards or USB flash drives to store my 'important' data on a long term basis (whatever that may mean, e.g. a few years vs. decades, the former more likely for me); if so, I would check their status often and transfer to 'newer' media, as needed. SO, presently if others visit this thread and want to know about 'long term' storage of their personal data, what would be the recommendations? At the moment for myself, I am using redundant magnetic & SSD storage devices (don't trust having just a single backup) - if expense was not an issue, I would switch to SSDs only but continue to use redundant devices, i.e. at least two.

What the future will bring will likely not be of much concern to me at my age, but even using DNA storage is being contemplated, so there are plenty of guesses beyond what is currently available. BUT, just my two cents - Dave

P.S. Optical storage (e.g. CD-R, DVD-R, or rewritable optical media, the latter that I would not trust) has been discussed - not a bad option but needs to be tested periodically - probably a dozen years or so ago, I made a bunch of CD-Rs of a lot of ripped CD music as MP3 files for my basement workshop (had about 6 hrs per disc) - listening to several recently and all playing fine - just an anecdote that might be of interest.

P.S.S. Some may believe my suggestion of DNA storage just a laugh? But, the future of computer storage is 'wide open' and likely not be seen in my lifetime - however, take a look HERE for some discussion of DNA as a potential storage option - fascinating stuff - has worked on the planet for well over a billion years -