Direct import from SD card: How is this different than via "Files"?

Forum|Forum|6 years ago
January 2, 2020
2 replies
879 views

So the most recent update allows for direct import of RAW files from an SD card. The announcement on the blog says this allows for bypassing the camera roll for the first time.

What I don't understand is that I was able to import directly from an SD card before the update (without going through the camera roll) by using "add photos -> from files" and then selecting my card reader. So how is the feature new? (Yes, it's new with ipad OS, but not with the last Lightroom update from my perspective)

I guess importing "from Camera roll" has some advantages, but are those documented somewhere? The official reason (avoid the camera roll) obviously isn't that accurate.

This topic has been closed for replies.

Michael J. Hoffman

Community Expert

Your experience may be different from mine, but before the December release, I could use the "import from Files" feature, but I could not see any attached SD card or any other external device. I was limited only to existing Files cloud locations (like OneDrive, Dropbox, or Google Drive).

G

gxr82Author

Participating Frequently

I only got the iPad pro at the end of November, but I know for a fact that I could import from SD cards in the timeframe before the release. I actually have witnesses for that as I did it after a photo walk in a coffee shop.

Michael J. Hoffman

Community Expert

Importing from Files is new, and only recently enabled with iPadOS 13.

Previously, there was no ability to import from anywhere expect the camera roll (on iOS). So you had to import twice x once from card to camera roll, then from camera roll to Lightroom. This left you with 2 copies of everything (and was a bandwidth nightmare when bot iOS Photos and Lightroom we're trying to sync full size originals at the same time).

G

gxr82Author

Participating Frequently

I'm aware of that, I'm not talking about historic versions. I specifically mentioned that I know that this functionality is new with iPad OS.

However, the "direct import" is mentioned as a new feature for the December release, and since I was able to import directly using the Files app before the December release, my question is: Why, and how is it different to doing it via "Files"?

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