Photo Transfer App – Moving Videos from iPhone to iPad

Previously my work flow with photos and videos used to be, that I would take the memory card from my Canon 600D when I’ve finished shooting, put it into my iMac and used some automation to send the files to their proper places. Used the Image Capture application to recognise the memory card and then Hazel would take over with renaming the files and moving them. Image files will go to the pictures folder and video files will go to movies. I set it so that each Individual file is given a unique name. I’m then free to use these individual pieces of content in Final Cut Pro X or I can put the images into iPhoto.

Now that I am likely to be shooting video using the iPhone and possibly needing to work with that video on the iPad, I need to rethink the workflow. Or at least I need a different workflow for files coming from that direction. I did think it would be very easy to move video files via iTunes from the iPhone to the iPad, but it actually turned out to be quite complicated. I did manage to get a video file moved to the iPad, but I was not happy with all the hoops that had to be jumped through. The answer was going to be setting up more automation either using the application Automator, Keyboard Maestro, Hazel or a combination of some of those. I do have to get those video files on the iPad to do some video editing with Pinnacle Studio.

Finding out how to move videos from iPhone to iPad

As is often the case, the answer was to do a Google search to see if anybody has had the same problem. I came across the question having been asked on the Apple website support forums. The solution to the problem that somebody had found already, was to use an application called Photo Transfer. So next I went into iTunes to check out this application to see if it would fit the bill. The good news was that the application was quite inexpensive at €2.39 and it had a number of good reviews. Also good, was that it is a universal application that works on both iPhone and iPad, no need to buy two separate versions. So I bought it.

Using Photo Transfer moving files from iPhone to iPad

I had a video on the iPhone ready to move to the iPad, so what I needed to do was to turn on the transfer applications on both devices. In the first screen you see a couple of buttons one for sending photos and videos and there is another for receiving photos and videos. So on the iPhone I click on send then I have another window which gives the choice of where I want to send my stuff to. I can choose from Apple Computer, Windows computer or another iPhone or iPad. At the same time I have also chosen to receive on the iPad and the application then looks for devices that are ready for sending.

On the iPhone the next choice to make is, which videos or photos do you want to send. Tapping on the button takes you to the list of albums which can be your camera roll or your Photo Streams. It is a very simple job just to follow the prompts through to select the photos and videos that you want to move to iPad. You can share just one photo or video or you can select as many as you want to. The next thing to do, is to click on done.

The screen on the iPad tells you to go to the receiving device, which could even be another iPhone. In my case I go to the iPad and I can see that the iPhone is in the list of devices waiting to connect. All you have to do is to choose the device and then tell the application where you want to send the photos or videos to. You have the choice to send it to the Camera Roll on the iPad or you may send to one of the albums. Then it is just a matter of waiting for the file to travel wirelessly from one device to the other.

You may find on occasions that you need to try more than once to make the connection. This really is down to how good of a Wi-Fi connection you are working on. On one occasion I couldn’t get the iPad to see the iPhone as an available device, so I closed the application down completely and restarted. When I had restarted, it worked perfectly first-time. These little connection difficulties only happened occasionally and is a small price to pay for the overall ease of use.

Moving video from iPad or iPhone to a desktop computer.

If you’re moving your video files or photo files from an iOS device to a Mac, then there is an application that you can download for free from the Mac App Store. If you don’t have this application, then another way to use it, is to use the web browser on your computer. There is a web address generated by the application Photo Transfer that you type into your browser and this also gives you a way to transfer files seamlessly to your computer. I tested this way of transferring files from iPhone to my Mac and it worked without any problems at all.

The Mac20Q verdict on the Photo Transfer application

It seems to me that a function like this should be built into the operating systems of iOS and OS X, or it should be just much easier to do using iTunes. On the other hand, the application is cheap to buy and does a very good job of transferring video files from iOS to iOS, iOS to OS X in whichever direction you want to move those files. I spent the €2.39 to buy the Photo Transfer app and I consider it to have been a very good purchase. Now that I have the videos I shot on the iPhone over on my iPad I can do the review of iMovie for iPad. Or I can once again use the excellent Pinnacle Studio, to edit my videos.