[turtle]

So I'm looking at getting my wife an Eye-Fi X2 Explore so she can have her pictures download automatically. Most of her pictures are taken here at the house so it seems like it'd be really useful for her with pictures of the kids and all. I like what i'm reading about the "Endless Memory" and how it just auto downloads.

This particular card also has hotspot access as well a Geotagging. Anyone have any info on this other than the write up on the web site? Sure they say it's awesome, but is it really? So who out there has some feedback on these cards?

[PB PM]

I've seen a few people say this use them on the dpreview forum, but I've never seen an review of them anywhere.

[turtle]

Thanks, maybe I'll see what they are saying over there. I'm hoping someone here has heard more though.

[screensaver400]

I would love to get an SD card with GPS, but none exist. The Explore uses wi-fi to get location data (like the original iPhone now does).

If you're in big cities a lot it may work well, but if you take the camera on a hike it won't tag where that great view of the lake is.

[spotcatbug]

So... let me understand this. You replace the SD card in your camera with this thing and then, from then on, your pictures just magically move from your camera to your computer? You never have to take the SD card out or connect the camera to the computer or anything like that?

I read over the description on Amazon, and this seems to be how it works, but they never just spell it out clearly like that, so I'm thinking there's gotta be a deal-breaker in there somewhere.

Because, if it really does work like I hope it does, I'm going to have to get one of these.

Originally Posted by spotcatbug So... let me understand this. You replace the SD card in your camera with this thing and then, from then on, your pictures just magically move from your camera to your computer? You never have to take the SD card out or connect the camera to the computer or anything like that? I read over the description on Amazon, and this seems to be how it works, but they never just spell it out clearly like that, so I'm thinking there's gotta be a deal-breaker in there somewhere. Because, if it really does work like I hope it does, I'm going to have to get one of these.

Spotcatbug, yes this is the way it works. You can view a quick video demo of this at our web site: www.eye.fi - there is a quick, simple set up the first time so that you give the card access to your secure Wi-Fi networks and tell the card which computer you want the photos and videos sent to. That's it! We have a 30 day return policy if you buy from our site. Most of our retailers like Best Buy have a similar return policy (please check with them for details) so that you can test it out for yourself. You can also check the list of compatible cameras (we work with most SD-compatible cameras) at http://support.eye.fi/cameras

Let us know if you have any more questions.

Randhir (Eye-Fi)

[PB PM]

The catch is the price spotcatbug.

[spotcatbug]

Originally Posted by PB PM The catch is the price spotcatbug.

Hmmm, yeah. Although, I think I paid around $40 for my camera's current SD card. There's a 2GB Eye-Fi on Amazon for like $45. So, as long as I don't look at the current prices of regular (non-WiFi) SD cards, I should be OK.

It's been a couple months since I've used my camera. Right now I can't remember if it uses SD or miniSD cards (I can't even remember the brand of camera). I hope it uses SD, because, really, the only thing I don't like about using a camera is the clumsy "get the pictures off the thing" step. I was seriously looking for Bluetooth-enabled cameras (back when I was camera shopping) just because of this.

[PB PM]

Ah. I wouldn't want Bluetooth for photo transfers, its way too slow. It would be nice to have wireless upload, but frankly at that price, its too much. I would want a 4GB card, at the very least. Then again my camera uses CF cards so these little wifi SD cards are kind of useless anyway.

[turtle]

You can get the 4GB card for $50 right now and $100 for the 8GB card. It's steep, but might be worth it for my non-tech wife. She can get them off with the card reader and all, but it's cumbersome to her since she doesn't hadn't photos like I do.

But, you can get a Class 6 4GB for $10 and an 8GB for $20 that's just a card. So is it worth $40 or $80 to effortlessly download your pictures and video? If it works like described then it just might be worth it for my wife.

[dmegatool]

It's pretty cool that we had a reply from Randhir while we're making the transition to Hyrulenova. Hope he like Zelda...

[turtle]

So I got it today! I have to say it's worth the $50 I paid ($45 after an employee discount actually) and then some. It really is as easy as they show it. So here's my little dealing with it tonight.

I went with the 4GB version because my wife had no interest in geotagging and no expectations for using a hotspot. This was nice because it saved me $50. So after getting home I opened the package which gave simple instructions for Mac or PC. As you can see from the packaging, it's pretty obvious what you are to do.



Interestingly, the SDHC card you see in the package is just a sticker. The actual card ships in the reader. As you can see in the open package the card is already missing. I've got it in my wife's camera and it even took these pictures.

Anyway, so I put the card reader into the USB port with the card in it and opened the image in Finder. I opened the Start Here folder and found either PC or Mac. We happen to use Macs so I went to the Mac folder. Mounted the DMG and installed the software. Simple and easy. It imported my Airport settings once I told it which network to connect to. After creating an account the card was ready to use.

I put the card into my wife's camera and started snapping. We got some good pictures of the kids, but more importantly those images started appearing on my wife's MB immediately! Default setting is to put them into the Pictures folder but after rooting through the settings some I found where I could designate iPhoto to be the drop point.

I also enabled the Endless Memory Mode which is really cool. You tell it what percentage of the recent pictures to hold on the card and it clears the rest off after transferring it to the computer. I set it for 25% because this camera rarely leaves the house and when it does it's for short periods that the card doesn't have to be downloaded right away.

If my wife was willing to share the pictures with more people before going through them we could set it to put the images directly onto online services like Flickr and such. We don't use any of them at all now, we do all the sorting locally and then she'll post as she likes later. One option I've read about but didn't configure was FTP uploading. This could be very helpful for some of my stuff.

The only real drawback I've noticed is that you have to leave the software running on the computer if you want to have instant transfers. Otherwise the card will just hold them on station until you start the app on the PC. Also, you're required to run Adobe Air on your system. There isn't much in the way of documentation in the packaging so you're forced to just follow and trust the installer. A little more idea of what options are available to set up would be nice. I wouldn't be forced to root through the preferences app to configure the card. I'm sure it's online, but I didn't care to go to their website just to run my card. I can say I don't know of any other negatives at this point.

So my take after my wife gave me her impressions; this is so worth the $50 price tag the I wish I'd paid for it sooner.

[PB PM]

Based on the usage of that camera, I agree that a card like that is very useful.

[psmith2.0]

I believe I saw a demo video of this product featuring the lovely and vivacious Erin Manning. I remember thinking what a clever idea, but I didn't follow up on it.

[PKIDelirium]

Okay, this thing looks pretty badass. Expensive, but might at some point be considered for my mom's camera if the price goes down.

[Jasoco]

So what if the computer is off? Will it not send the files? And where on the computer do the files go?

[hmurchison]

I may buy this

http://www.cultofmac.com/eye-fi-anno...e-geo-x2/40564

and I'm waiting for this

http://2ndnature.thebrew.dk/shuttersnitch/

[turtle]

When the computer is off or you are off network it just stores the images on the SDHC card like a normal card. Then once in network it begins to download automatically with the camera on.

Transfers only happen when the camera is one, so you know it isn't going to kill the battery in your bag just communicating over the network. I will say that there is a slightly more noticable battery drain with my wife's Canon SX110, though it's more likely because the LCD has to stay on longer so the transfer can happen.

Edit: I didn't realize I never came back to share how much we love this card.

It really is great for our house. My family will be running around the house doing our thing and see a great shot and take it. It's downloaded while we are still running around and there's no fuss. It just works. I can't say the software on my wife's computer has effected it's speed of abilities either. It is a 1st gen MacBook though. If you interupt an image being downloaded by turning off the camera the card picks up later when it can. I have seen it give a card error on powering back up a few times though. Turning the camera off then back on fixes it though.

[billybobsky]

Wow... if I had seen this thread when it was originally posted, I would have sung the card's praises... but I don't have to now...

We have one of these in our gel-camera in lab. it surely beats having a devoted computer/polaroids.

[Jasoco]

Man. If they made SD Micro versions of this it'd be perfect for my phone. My crappy phone. Crappy crappy phone. But it still takes pictures. Crappy 1.3MP pictures. I should look into one for my new 12MP digital camera.

Does the computer have some daemon program running in the background that waits for the camera to turn on I assume?

[PB PM]

Sounds like a nice device, but the reduced battery life (which is a given) is a bit of a downer. I suspect the camera manufactures will have technology like that built into the cameras within a year or so, which will kill the Eye-Fi cards anyway.