I ditched my tablet for an e-reader on a week-long movie shoot, and I'd do it again

When you're on a film set, whether it's a major production or a tiny short film, iPads will be everywhere .

People will carry them around their necks, strap them to their waists, or litter them among tables. They're used for checking scripts, acting as wireless camera monitors, and controlling tools like remote lights and strobes.

But as someone who writes for Android Police, I've long preferred using the best Android tablets for the short films I produce. They don't always have all the same features, but I refuse to let Apple be the only way of working.

However, I recently finished shooting my latest project, and on set, I made the conscious decision not to use iPads or Android slates. Instead, I used one of my best e-readers to see how well it could function.

In particular, I used the Onyx Boox Tab Ultra C , which I've been using for years as my go-to tablet replacement for creative tasks.

It's not as advanced as a tablet, so I couldn't use it as a monitor, viewfinder, or for my favorite cross-platform productivity app .

But as soon as the shoot began, a few reasons made me confident that I'd made the right decision — and when I shoot my next project, there won't be any question about which device I will use as my companion.

A stylus for quick notes

The Boox Pen is in styl(us)

The main thing I needed a device for was handwriting. I needed something I could use to tick off boxes on shot lists, scribble notes and amendments on a script, sketch camera movement plans, and make last-minute changes to the storyboard.

I've done these tasks with various Apple and Android tablets and their first- and third-party styli, but I much prefer paper. It offers that natural handwriting feel that we've all been taught since birth, and most stylus-toting tablets I've used don't replicate that.

However, on film shoots, paper isn't ideal. If everyone has a sheaf of paper, it can become unwieldy, and people tend to leave it everywhere. Even major Hollywood movies occasionally have noticeable scripts left in the background.

E-readers are the next best thing; they're not quite like using paper, but I find the sensation more akin to that than most tablets. Using one to quickly jot a note or scribble a row on a graph feels more natural than using a tablet.

A super-long battery life

No rest for the Onyx

Shoot days can be long and arduous. You can be filming for 8 to 10 hours on the trot. Then you have to back up footage, check what you've filmed against what you planned, and then organize the next day's shooting.

All this drains a device's battery life substantially. Most tablets, including the iPad Pro and Samsung Galaxy Tab S11, have battery life estimates that hover around 10 hours. So, unless you're charging them throughout the day, they won't last for all that use.

I've been in situations where relied-upon gadgets have run out of power due to the length of shoot days, and it's one of the reasons I wanted to avoid a traditional tablet for my project.

It's another reason why an e-reader was the ideal pick. Due to their screen tech and the less power-intensive tasks they're asked to carry out, they last for absolutely ages. The fact that the Onyx has a tablet-sized 6,300mAh battery doesn't hurt either.

When I was using the slate as a normal e-reader or work device, I could go weeks without charging it. And even on set, it'd go for two or three days of heavy use before I needed to power it up. No midday power breaks here.

Software that was quick to use

All the functions I need, none I don't

As an e-reader, the Onyx is designed to put documents and files front and center. At the top of the home screen are two widgets: Library and Notes. So, the first thing I'd see when waking up the device would be my important files.

Thanks to this, when I needed to switch from my notes doc to a shot list I was ticking off, or wanted to quickly bring out a blank slate so I could sketch a room plan, the required tool was immediately available.

This is all because an e-reader is dedicated to a small range of tasks, whereas a tablet is an everything device.

On my tablet, I'm constantly losing the apps I want and spending ages hunting for them. Even if I make app folders or widgets to streamline the interface, I invariably find my sketching app or files folder lost amongst hundreds of other icons.

And that's not even mentioning the distractions. An e-reader isn't reminding me of emails, Instagram likes, or anniversaries of inconsequential photos, like a tablet is.

Now, it's worth addressing that an e-reader misses some task-specific functions. You can't use it to control lights, act as a wireless monitor, or function as a director's viewfinder, all things that specific apps can do.

For certain roles, a full-blooded tablet will be vital; it just wasn't for me.

A bonus, unexpected benefit

A big fix to a micro problem

One tiny Boox Tab Ultra C feature proved unexpectedly handy in a clutch.

I was using a drone to capture extra footage, which records onto a microSD card. On the first day, I discovered my reader had stopped working, so I had no way of downloading the files onto my laptop to back them up.

That is, until I discovered that the Onyx has a microSD card slot. When I plugged the drone's card into the e-reader and plugged it into my computer, Windows could recognize it, and I could easily drag and drop the footage off.

It was quick and easy, and it's not the first time I've used a portable device as an impromptu microSD card reader, proving once again that it's a useful feature for phones or tablets to have.

It's just a shame that, as the Galaxy S26 Ultra proves, this feature isn't coming back for most Androids .