iPad 2 - Worth buying?

RichardC27

RichardC27

Suspended / Banned
Messages
3,839
Name
Richard
Edit My Images
Yes
Just a rather general thread, asking for people's opinions on whether it's worth dropping a few hundred quid on an iPad 2 or not? I already have a fairly decent laptop, that's used for photo editing, web browsing etc, and a PS3 for my gaming fix. I also have an iPhone 3GS, which obviously covers a lot of the iPad bases.

That said, I can't help being tempted by an iPad every time I have a go on one. So, in light of the above, is it worth it, or not? I'd be looking at a 32 or 64GB Wi-Fi only model, I'm not bothered about using it out and about on 3G
 
Ask yourself 'What would I use it for?'
I keep looking at one but other than having a swish bit of kit I can't think of a use for one.

Chris
 
troutfisher said:
Ask yourself 'What would I use it for?'
I keep looking at one but other than having a swish bit of kit I can't think of a use for one.

Chris
Click to expand...

Exactly what I keep saying. But then I think when I just sit on my laptop idly browsing the web, not really doing much, I could be doing it on the iPad and be a bit more comfortable. Plus I'd probably read a few e-books and stuff like that on it too. I can see the use, I just don't know if that use is worth £480!
 
Yes but you could sell your 40D put the £480 plus a bit to what you get and buy a 7D,lot more fun than an ebook!

Chris
 
Depends if you want one. I have a desktop PC, a netbook and an iPad 2. I have the netbook so I can do some work on stuff when I'm away from my desktop PC. I do web development for some people and need to use my code editor of choice and ftp client, etc. I could do a lot of it on the iPad 2 but I can do it quicker on the netbook.

I have the iPad 2 because I enjoy browsing the web with it, looking at photo's, reading ebooks, reading email, etc. I just prefer the iPad experience when I'm relaxing and just browsing the web or whatever, usually when I'm vegged out in front of the TV. :D

With regards to photography, the iPad is a great platform for showing your images to others. I use the netbook though to shoot tethered on location. So both are useful, whether you want one or both is down to you. I find having both works best for me.
 
If I had £500 to burn on something as a toy, I'd go for one... however the netbook is a lot more practical / versatile and easier....

SD card slot, USB ports and ports out to big monitor / printer etc as well.

OK it's wifi but not 3G. Can tether camera to it and comes in useful on weddings etc, as when get a few mins - much easier to see pics on a 10" screen than a 2.7" one.....

Do i want one? Christ, yes.
Ca I justify £400 for the most basic one? No.
 
iPad is very portable, take mine to places I would never take a laptop, keep records, documents, books, leaflets etc and browse the web, email etc - but mine's an iPad 1 ... I'm not sure what extra you get for the 2 except a camera?
 
not much difference between 1&2 just price and a couple of extras
 
if theres anything i have noticed with apple is that they are throwing newer products off the rack quicker than a newsagent can sell the sun newspapers. You go out and buy an ipad 2 today, this time in 3 weeks you will have an ipad 4 with newer features and abilities the 2 isn't capable of. Give them a year or two to find their feet and deal with the unexpected crashes and manufacturing faults and you may be onto a winner
 
If you try to justify buying one logically - you won't!

But once you've lived with one (and I don't mean played with it in the shop or borrowed the bosses for an hour two, I mean lived with one) you wouldn't be without it!

I'm sorry but those who comment " ... I don't see the point 'cause my laptop/netbook/desktop/kettle/deep fat fryer does everything I need and better .. I dunno what I'd use it for ... " just haven't lived with the experience. Listen to those who have!

I bought one last year to try out for a couple of months fully expecting to get rid of it - but I still have it and it's not going anywhere!
 
Last edited:
gramps said:
iPad is very portable, take mine to places I would never take a laptop, keep records, documents, books, leaflets etc and browse the web, email etc - but mine's an iPad 1 ... I'm not sure what extra you get for the 2 except a camera?
Click to expand...

Agree with this, exactly what we use it for. We have the iPad 1 & 2 and although the 2 is quicker, slimmer and has a camera, I still use the iPad 1 the majority of the time.

I just find them so convenient for browsing the web anywhere and quick access.

I'd grab a bargain and get an iPad 1 to be honest.:thumbs:

Steve
 
Last edited:
I've just bought an iPad 1 off smoothedit on here (thanks dude :thumbs:)...

I've taken it to two potential clients so far, and both have commented how excellent it is for displaying a variety of work on, so from that perspective (if/when they book), it will have paid for itself already. I can load all of my latest work onto it, without having to buy a new album every time I want to update my portfolio of images.

I use the Portfolio app (£8.99) to show off my galleries, which is pretty awesome tbh.

I can call up a gallery of the venue where the couple are getting married, if I've shot there, or show them a similar venue if I haven't.

From a personal point of view, I love having it, I can call up my Google Analytics any time I want, look at the Twitter app, play games and watch movies when I feel like it.

I've had a netbook, and I find the iPad much easier to carry around and use, plus showing clients is much easier on the iPad as the screen is better than a lot of netbooks (certainly the one I had).

Is the iPad 2 worth the extra money? I'm not convinced... the 1st gen does everything I want so I wouldn't personally pay for the 2...
 
I had the ipad 1, sold it for an ipad 2 and then gave that to the wife and got a macbook pro instead. To be honest, as great as they are, they have too many limitations to be a truly independent device.
 
I'd never only have an iPad. It doesn't do nearly enough for that. However, since I got my iPad 2, I've used it every single day. Which is a lot more than I can say for my laptop which only gets used when gaming, or doing work.

The 2 is perhaps now worth that much more than the 1, but I definitely prefer it, if only for the lightness and the smart cover. Haven't hardly used the camera but might do if my wife ends up getting an iPhone that can do FaceTime.
 
i never wanted an ipad until 2 wks ago when i bought an ipad2' now i couldnt be without it, bit of browsing in comfort, bit of tvcatchup.com in bed, RealRacing2 HD is absolutely awesome which reminds me i must order a hd connection so i can hook it up to the tv...

but most of all being a guitarist/general musician i cannot belive how useful it is, Garageband is stunning I bought the iRig dongle and I can hook my guitar up and record my ditties, with unoticable lag aswell..

it took me getting one to see just how useful it is
 
I see tablets as an excellent way of showing off the port. They have control and can smoothly flick between pics and is a more tactile experience in meetings.

Even the lowly Advent Vega is dual core, but runs on Android 2.2 and is easilly hackable to improve performance on sites like modaco. For £199 quid it is nippy and has a capacitive screen.. Viewing angles off line are poor though. But it takes the micro SD card and will take anything from the 4gb (supplied) upto 32Gb.

For me itwould also mean we can both be doing things online at the same time. It is my next purchase somewhere along the way, whether or not it is an Ipad or an android device...

Quad core will be here sometime around September or October.. So will be even faster machines. So may go with a second had Ipad 1 or an android device.. Then pass it on..
 
I kept trying to justify buying one as having an iPod touch and MacBook pro I did not think I needed one. When the iPad 2 came out I could not resist any longer but actually decided to buy the iPad 1 with 3G and with the price difference bought a compact camera and eye-fi card so I don't miss having a camera built into the iPad. The new eye-fi cards let you download straight from your camera to the iPad wirelessly.

I have read that Apple have the knack of making things that we don't know we need until we use them and that is true of the iPad. Now I wonder why I waited a year. I have never been happy with magazine downloads and as a result the pile of old magazines keeps growing. Now however I actually prefer reading mags on the iPad and being able to download titles such as Outdoor Photography is great. So no more piles of old magazines as i can just keep the digital copy. With app after app being released I get more and more use out of mine. It is just an amazing tool. There are so many useful features for the photographer and more being released.

It does seem very expensive before you buy it but now I would not be without it.
 
ive just been down this route , and went for an ipad one - paid £300 for a 32gb mrk1, the ipad to is only slightly faster and a bit lighter , for £600 its not worth it... At £300 though i now have a really good light portable mini to take everywere with me , with the SD card adapter you can plug it in and it reads my 60d raw files fine ! and quite quickly... people even use the wirless sd card senders, there are loads ofphotoraphy apps, its also a nice way to take your images with you everwere to show people ,
 
tomkbucks said:
the ipad to is only slightly faster and a bit lighter
Click to expand...

you watch the Real Racing HD framerate comparisons and I think you will see 'slightly faster' is a tad understatement, plus if you want to play the game like this...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PjgP5eNM2sY

you're gonna need an iPad2

also you got camera and 3 axis gyro, all reasons why you will start to see 'enhanced for iPad2' and 'iPad2 only'..

saying that alot of the iPad2 enhancements are currently all about the 3d gaming, so if that isnt likely to be your thing and you can get an iPad1 on the cheap fair do's..
 
Last edited:
I still can't justify having one, not at £600,

even an iPad first generation can't really be justified,

can it be forced to support flash for web browsing?

:)
 
I had the first iPad, i do a lot of travelling so using this for browsing on the move, movies, games etc its a brilliant device.

I recently upgraded to the iPad2 simply for the extra speed and graphical performance

useful for photographers to show off their shots, most people know how to use it, so you can just let people at it at their own speed.

The thinness of the new one is just incredible, how they seem to have made everything faster and sharper from the first one and even made it smaller (it feels LOADS smaller than the first one)

If you want to use one for a portfolio and maybe a few games the 16gb will be fine, is £379 really too much?
 
MDR said:
I kept trying to justify buying one as having an iPod touch and MacBook pro I did not think I needed one. When the iPad 2 came out I could not resist any longer but actually decided to buy the iPad 1 with 3G and with the price difference bought a compact camera and eye-fi card so I don't miss having a camera built into the iPad. The new eye-fi cards let you download straight from your camera to the iPad wirelessly.

I have read that Apple have the knack of making things that we don't know we need until we use them and that is true of the iPad. Now I wonder why I waited a year. I have never been happy with magazine downloads and as a result the pile of old magazines keeps growing. Now however I actually prefer reading mags on the iPad and being able to download titles such as Outdoor Photography is great. So no more piles of old magazines as i can just keep the digital copy. With app after app being released I get more and more use out of mine. It is just an amazing tool. There are so many useful features for the photographer and more being released.

It does seem very expensive before you buy it but now I would not be without it.
Click to expand...

Where do you download this from? Been thinking of a subscription but would rather a download if possible. Are there any other magazines available as downloads?
 
J.D. said:
Where do you download this from? Been thinking of a subscription but would rather a download if possible. Are there any other magazines available as downloads?
Click to expand...

It is available in the app store just do a search for Outdoor Photography. Currently the app cost £1.79 but you get to download one issue for that.

You can find more titles available at www.pocketmags.com

I used to say I would never pay to download a magazine or book but the iPad has changed that. I would now rather buy a magazine by download as I prefer reading it this way.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top