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  • Hey all, just changed over the backend after 15 years I figured time to give it a bit of an update, its probably gonna be a bit weird for most of you and i am sure there is a few bugs to work out but it should kinda work the same as before... hopefully :)

iPad apps for cinematographers or pro photographers?

Andrae Palmer

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Is there a list for iPad apps for cinematographers or pro photographers on here? Got the iPad2 this week and I'm on the hunt for cool apps. So far found out some cool apps for medium format cameras like "Capture Pilot" that also supports Nikon and Canon DSLR's. The app like "Phocus Mobile" is for previewing images and controlling a tethered camera.
 
Panascout is pretty awesome, its for iphone for now but I'm sure they'll release a version for the ipad2 soon... but you can still use it on the ipad 2 with out a problem... It provides you with real time data on locations about sun location, gps, and lets you use it as a type of directors view finder... I also have viewfinder pro, it puts crop marks on your screen so you can see the various framings of different focal lengths, and then screentime is always nice for calculating how much you can fit on various storage mediums at different levels of compression in different codecs.

There is also some cool release and contract apps out there that let you sign contracts on the ipad, but I haven't picked which one I particularly like yet so I'm hesitant about recommending a legal based app on the boards until I at least know which one I use...
 
Thanks Louis, I will check out the ones you mentioned. LightTrac also looks interesting for knowing the direction of the sun at different dates and times. I would love to see more RED related apps.
 
Andrae. You might also look into ProPrompter (Easy and lightweight teleprompter) It is controllable from your iphone. I believe $10

The two slates that have been mentioned frequently are DSLR Slate $10 and Movie Slate $20. Both have some advantages over the other. I just bought both.
 
Thanks Frank! Will take a look at Pro Prompter. I had Movie Slate for the old iPad that I sold last year. Was lucky enough to be able to redownload it for free. I love it... perhaps one day will get the timecode sync cable for it.
 
Hi Andre,

Couple of my favorites...

Sunrays, sunrise through sunset declination.
Artimis, like a directors VF.
pCAM, film and digital calculator.
Matchlens, lens field of view calculator between different sensors and lenses.
DOFMaster, calculates dof.
Pocket DIT, dit calculations.
Angry Birds, keeps my kids happy.

I use these on my Iphone though. Not entirely sure if they work on ipad.
 
Thanks Peter for the recommendations... those look like some real good ones.

Mike, that blog is a treasure trove... exactly what i was looking for. Thanks a lot for posting.
 
Andre,

+1 for pCAM. Very useful in the field. DOF, FOV, HMI safe speed/shutter, Time Lapse calculator, - plus a lot more.
I originally purchased it for the iTouch - works on the iPad, but at a lower screen resolution when you zoom 2X.
It does need an update with EPIC interactive info (already has REDOne in the menus)
When updated, I would be expecting the developer to add in some HDRx™ tables.

Next on my "must have list" is Helios - again, purchased for the iTouch, but works on the iPad with the same screen resolution as mentioned above. What I have found very handy is the shadow length calculator - I've been able to use it in conjunction with site surveys to determine what time city streets fall in and out of shadow.

Take a look at these as well:

Code:RED

iSee4K

AJA DataCalc

Kodak Cinema Tools

doddlePro


Not all RED specific, but good tools to have with you.

With the iPad 2 on the street (which has camera capture), I need to ask Steve Sherrick to chime in. One night in Boston, he showed me a great app for model releases in the field. Very nice - capture their image, fill in a linked form, even a place for them to verify it's them (was it an actual signature? trying to remember) Steve - name that app!
 
Brian,

thank you for your recommendations. I really wish Helios & pCAM were both iPad/iPhone compatible. I dislike the 2x up res in iPhone native apps on the iPad. Hopefully the developers are working on versions that can scale. You mentioned a few that I hadn't heard of before like doddlePro & Kodak Cinema Tools... will grab those for my iPhone.

What I really like about Movie Slate is that it scales perfectly for the iPad. I just got rid of all the apps on the iPad that weren't native... I have a weird OCD when it comes to that.

Mike,

It's cool that Final Draft is coming to the iPad... still checking out the blog to see what other goodies are out there or will be released soon. Like the featured iPad cases too. Just read the post on "Flight Record" for Parrot's AR Drone Quadracopter... I saw this in the Apple store a few weeks back and was like... darn... I gotta have it. It's now cool to know that there is an app that can record the streaming video.
 
I haven't tried Final Draft, but I did get Celtx based on the review on HHH.

For releases there's Mrelease and another called Easy Release--I haven't tried either of them but I'll probably get one or the other.
 
The app I want would involve hardware too. HDMI/SDI input hardware, to allow iPad to be used as an impromptu monitor...

Mike
 
I have a replacement/upgrade for iSee4K and it does a lot of what pCam does along with a few other apps. It has a timecode calculator, storage calculator, stores a database of cameras, data formats, etc.. It's been done for a few months now, but I can't for the life of me get Apple to approve it for the app store. Nor can I get any meaningful response or information as to why they won't approve it. It's getting very frustrating. I have created and successfully submitted (for clients) 9 different apps in the past year without a hitch..

So, anyway, I have one that I think everyone will like, if I can ever get it on the store. Sorry to bring it up when y'all can't have it yet, but it's frustrating. Very frustrating.
 
Jeff,

Please let us know once everything is ironed out with the Apple Store.
 
That sucks Jeff. I was hoping for an update. Perhaps they're favoring apps with payments directly through their store?

Well, I'm intending to sell the app... for $0.99. :/ And yes, through the app store. Actually that's the only way to mass distribute unless I require everyone to jailbreak their devices to run it. Payment would be through iTunes.

I just wish I knew what the problem was. It's passed every test that I and some other fellow developers have thrown at it. No memory leaks, runs very smooth, low memory profile, handles all OS level warnings for memory, incoming calls, etc.. Originally it had a completely custom interface on it that I really like. I thought that had something to do with it. I redid the entire app with standard Apple UIKit interface elements and followed Apple's design parameters to the letter. I have shelved the app for now until I get an answer as to why it's being rejected. I have sent in a formal letter of inquiry and all the other info, essentially demanding clarification. It's not uncommon for an app to get kick-backed with no explanation, if there are obvious reasons for it to not be accepted. But it is very rare for a properly functioning app that fits within Apple's design guidelines to come back without a specific explanation of why. Usually they will tell you if there is a memory leak or you used differing fonts on the same UI element or improperly used an Apple supplied icon, etc.. But I'm getting nothing.

I'm seriously thinking that the real issue is confusion or lack of understanding. I'm thinking that whoever has been reviewing this app, good chance it's the same person or small group of reviewers, probably does not understand the app or what it's supposed to do, so they just reject it. I've heard of other developers having such issues and it often just takes a few letters and phone calls and continuous re-submissions.

It doesn't matter if I intend to give the app away for free or sell for $0.99 or $99. That is all defined after it's approved. And there's no in-app or external payment anything. No subscriptions, no ads, etc.. The only reason I'm charging $0.99 (or intend to) is because I've accounted too many resources of my own and one employee to its development, so it's almost a bookkeeping requirement on my end. Also would be nice to see it generate a bit of income to justify continued updates.

Recently I thought perhaps one reason for rejection was the included database of camera manufacturers, models, lenses, data formats, etc.. So on the last submission, I removed all that except some generic templates for the user to start with. No approval. I removed the ability for the app to automatically update the database via the web rather than the user downloading an update through iTunes, no approval. I'm at the point where I honestly don't know what else to do...

And I just had another app approved last week that I built for a client, which is far more complicated and has many similar abilities -- database driven, custom interface, automatic updates...

I've got a kids' game that is themed for the Easter holiday that I'm trying to wrap up and submit ASAP, hopefully in the next few days. I'm hoping that one doesn't get shut down because of the holiday timing. That would really suck and I'd have to punt until next year if we miss the holiday.

Anyway, sorry about the rant... Just frustrated.
 
I like Air Display... while working in Davinci Resolve I can use it to display waveform & vectorscope. It updates pretty fast too while the footage is playing. I used to work with dual 30" displays. Now I have no space on my desk with the FSI LM-2461 (kick ass) monitor replacing the additional 30" that had the scopes. This makes the Air Display a perfect solution. I could use the scopes on the on the FSI but they are too small and obscure the video.
 
Jeff, maybe they'd approve it if it made fart noises...

I received an answer to my formal inquiry yesterday. It seems the reviewers that have viewed my app feel it's an "app collection". In other words, there's already DOF, AOV, storage, etc.. calculators aplenty and they feel mine does nothing more than to bundle several of those such apps into one app. In some ways that's kinda true, but it also does a lot more -- for example, my app is driven by a robust database with tons of cameras, formats and lenses already in place and the ability for users to add more. I'm going to re-work the whole thing and re-submit. I don't have a timeframe though... My plate is pretty full right now. :/
 
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