A trend I’ve noticed in the past couple of years, particularly when travelling or photographing weddings, is the ubiquity of the iPad as a camera. It took me aback a little the first time I saw an iPad in the wild, but the more often I see it, the more it makes sense. For many people, the iPad isn’t just a device to be used at home or in the office, but as a device which is always there and which can often take over the majority of the roles which a desktop computer or laptop served, even four years ago. Not only is the iPad used as a slideshow viewer, but it can also serve as a repository for the photos, and even the camera itself.
Although I’ll be sticking to “real” cameras for my own photography, the main photographic advantage of the iPad which I can appreciate is the large (7″ or 10″) screen. Using a “viewfinder” of this size means that the photographer can clearly see and better frame the image when taking it. It almost harks to the use of 8×10″ plate cameras such as the Sinar F. (Although the image quality is considerably lower!)
A note to those who may try their iPad out as a camera whilst out and about: don’t forget how attractive it is to a thief, and don’t forget that it’s not waterproof…
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