[stormtech]

Ditto, mine. I couldn't get the ES explorer to work either. And same for my built in file reader. It can see jpgs but not raw files.

Thanks for that - at least I know it's not me!

I think I will just continue with what I've been doing and if I plan on using my tablet to review photos, I'll just set it to raw+.

[photolady95]

I'll probably do the same. I didn't want to edit photos on the Tablet, just view them. Though RAW+ lets me take less photos, I use a 16GB card and the most I can take a day on that is over 500 photos. Don't think I'll ever get that many photos in one day!

[JimJohnson]

If you go to Google Play and use the search term "Pentax", you will find (at this time) about 77 results. Yes, I suspect most are junk, but it looks like there are a number that would be useful ... that includes at least one RAW viewer/editor and ... a USB connected remote control that specifically lists many Pentax dSLR cameras.
PhotoIRemote

None of the good stuff is free of course.

[emalvick]

It sounds like there are two different things going on here.

1. Moving RAW files around. ES File Viewer works fine for me. It sees all files although it doesn't know the RAW files are images. This isn't much different than the way Windows Explorer works if the codecs aren't there for your RAW formats.

2. Inability to open RAW files in an editor (or viewer) that supposedly can. I don't know a lot about the specifics as I haven't tried a RAW editor, but with the Android OS, it relies heavily on what it calls media formats. By default, a RAW file is not a media/image format supported by the OS. That I am aware of, there is no way to add new media formats directly. This has been a problem I've seen in image software as well as music software (with formats like FLAC). If an application developer just uses standard Android libraries and features, the software will never be able to open a RAW file even if the software is supposed to be able to edit them. This has happened to me with music players in Android as well. These programmers make their software have the ability to do things with these formats that are not supported by the OS without thinking about how a user can actually open them. It must be possible to open them during development, but I have yet to see an actual tablet or phone have the ability to open these files. One can only hope the support for more media formats is added to future Android Versions.

All that being said, a wise app developer can usually work around the media format limitations of Android by writing their own library to open files. For instance, my current audio player can open FLAC files because it created its own media library, independent of the one the OS created. Theoretically an app developer could do the same thing for RAW formats. Of course, it may be a bit more complicated since there are a lot more RAW formats out there, but software already does this in the Windows, Mac, and Linux world. I think it just takes a bit more digging... The payware is probably where you are going to find the most success, but you'd have to be able to test it quickly so that you could get a refund.


Summary: Apps may be able to support RAW formats for viewing or editing, but it will only work if they work around the Android Media Library (and the OS), and the app developers don't often think to do that.

[johnmflores]

FWIW, I've had no problem opening Pentax RAW DNG (and Nikon NEF) files on my iPad2 using the Apple Photos app. And I'm shooting RAW DNG only, not DNG+JPG. This has worked with the K-5, K-01, Q, Nikon V1, and IIRC the Panasonic GH2.

I've also been able to open up the files in Snapseed no problem. BTW, they just released an Android version. Great simple editing app for the road.

[Brazeal]

ES explorer is excellent for seeing files on your tablet as well as on your LAN. I can connect to my HTPC and my laptop and stream movies to my tablet. You can also make shortcuts and have favorites. I have a shortcut on my home screen to quickly access my external SD card files.

For viewing RAW DNG files, I found an app called Rawpal Gallery Lite that can open RAW files. It is far from perfect, but at least you can see the RAW files, and it lists the EXIF information as well. There is also a paid version of the app, but I have not tried it. I don't think you will see a good RAW editing app on android anytime soon until CPU/GPU power increases.

You could also use the Teamviewer app to remotely login to your PC from your tablet and manipulate Lightroom or any other RAW editing program on the PC. I think that would be a little awkward and slow to do though. Lol.

[photolady95]

FWIW, I've had no problem opening Pentax RAW DNG (and Nikon NEF) files on my iPad2

I can't afford an Ipad 2 or any other Apple tablet. That's why I got this Toshiba.

Brazeal, thanks for the comments. I'll see if I can find that RAWpal, though I think I did see it will searching for a reader of DNG, not sure if it was the lite version though. I am not interested in editing anything on the tablet. I just wanted some app to be able to see my photos in the field. I can edit them once I get back to my computer.

My tablet has Logmein so I could basically do the same as you if I cared to.

[photolady95]

I downloaded and installed RAWPal Gallery Lite and it still won't read my RAW files. It asked me to plug my camera in, wouldn't even see the SD card.

[reeftool]

One of the issues I seem to be seeing with tablets is a lack of compatibility across the board. As much as we all moan and complain about Windows, the incredible range of device compatibility is astounding. We have become spoiled in that respect. It was always in a manufacturers best interest to make sure their computers were compatible with a wide range of devices. Also, manufacturers of hardware always made sure their product worked with a wide range of PCs. Android apps seem to work on some tablets and not others, even with the same version of Android. It's become ugly for phone users because when vender updates a app for a new version of phone, previous users often get left out in the cold and that appears to be the case with tablets also.

[photolady95]

One of the issues I seem to be seeing with tablets is a lack of compatibility across the board. As much as we all moan and complain about Windows, the incredible range of device compatibility is astounding. We have become spoiled in that respect. It was always in a manufacturers best interest to make sure their computers were compatible with a wide range of devices. Also, manufacturers of hardware always made sure their product worked with a wide range of PCs. Android apps seem to work on some tablets and not others, even with the same version of Android. It's become ugly for phone users because when vender updates a app for a new version of phone, previous users often get left out in the cold and that appears to be the case with tablets also.

Amen to that!

[johnmflores]

One of the issues I seem to be seeing with tablets is a lack of compatibility across the board. As much as we all moan and complain about Windows, the incredible range of device compatibility is astounding. We have become spoiled in that respect. It was always in a manufacturers best interest to make sure their computers were compatible with a wide range of devices. Also, manufacturers of hardware always made sure their product worked with a wide range of PCs. Android apps seem to work on some tablets and not others, even with the same version of Android. It's become ugly for phone users because when vender updates a app for a new version of phone, previous users often get left out in the cold and that appears to be the case with tablets also.

Yeah, I've done some app design and development for both iOS and Android. A couple of years ago there were just two screen sizes to deal with on the iOS side. It's gotten more complex (iPhone, iPad, retina/non-retina, iPad Mini, etc...) but it's still so much easier than on the Android side with dozens of different screen sizes and resolutions to deal with.

[reeftool]

Another reason I am waiting for the Surface Pro is that Windows has the built in capability for many different screen resolutions. I would assume that a capable graphics chip and drivers are built in and that our current choice of photo software will run properly as long as it's capable for Win8. It's annoying that tablet makers seem to think only about games and streaming video.

[NiftyFifty]

FWIW, I've had no problem opening Pentax RAW DNG (and Nikon NEF) files on my iPad2 using the Apple Photos app. And I'm shooting RAW DNG only, not DNG+JPG. This has worked with the K-5, K-01, Q, Nikon V1, and IIRC the Panasonic GH2.

I've also been able to open up the files in Snapseed no problem. BTW, they just released an Android version. Great simple editing app for the road.

Just to update this for new/future readers, as of January 22, 2013 on Android devices Snapseed only opens JPG images. RAW images have to be converted to JPG first.

Snapseed at Google Play store

Snapseed (Android) File Type FAQ