If there is one killer
feature I would like in a digital camera, it would be the ability to share
photos and videos via WiFi. Normally, features found on digital cameras find
their way to camera phones. But in this case, it is the other way around. One
of the reasons why people prefer taking photos with their phones is because it
is easier to share them. No need to go through the hassle of plugging your
camera to your computer. While there are some cameras with WiFi, they are very
few and usually limited to just point and shoot models. The makers of Eye-Fi card
came out with a great concept. Why not incorporate this WiFi technology into an
SD card so that you can use it with any camera? Sounds perfect, right?
I have been using my
Eye-Fi card for a several months now. Prices range from about $40-$80 depending
on capacity, I have the 4GB X2. My expectations for my new toy was pretty high,
especially when imagining being able to just share my photos like I do on my
iPhone. After using it for just a few hours, I realized that it is totally
different in terms of everyday usability. First of all, you have to first set
it up on your computer which involves setting up an account, figuring out which
features you want to use like “Endless Memory”, “Online Sharing”, etc. However,
I believe the average user will use the “Direct Mode” the most. Direct mode
works by using it with a Mac, PC, iOS or Android device. There is a free app
which you need to install in order for it to work. It seemed simple enough and
after going through the setup process I was able to transfer photos from my
camera to my iPad. The Eye-Fi card
will only transfer the photos that have been marked protected. Once it is
transferred to your device you can do the usual share options like email,
facebook, twitter, etc. Eye-Fi has a list of supported cameras, but in theory
it should work with any camera that uses and SD card slot. Luckily, my Sony
TX55 is supported and has the ability to turn ON /OFF the card’s WiFi signal.
This is important because I noticed that leaving it on drains the battery
faster.
After reading the first
two paragraphs, you might have ordered one already. But wait, everything is not
all good. First of all, the card’s WiFi is intermittent, meaning it sometimes
works, and sometimes it doesn’t. For some strange reason, no matter what I do I
can’t get it to connect with my iPad or iPhone. However, there I times, I just
turn on my camera and my iPad and it works perfectly. For the life of me I
can’t figure what I did differently. This is so frustrating because it doesn’t
work when I need it the most (Murphy’s Law I guess). It’s possible that it
could be a problem with my camera or I got a lemon Eye-Fi card.
Secondly, it only takes
about two to three steps to share a photo on your phone, compared to the six to
eight steps using your camera and Eye-Fi card. In fact it is simply faster and
cheaper to just buy a card reader for your PC or iPad and connect it to your device.
I don’t think I can really
recommend this device. While it may seem perfect on paper, the practicality of
everyday use is just too tedious. I realized why it is so much easier to share
or transfer photos from a phone. It’s because the functionality is built into
the OS, while the Eye-Fi needs to find a way to do that on its own. While this
features might appeal to some professional or enthusiast photographers, for the
rest of us, it’s just not there yet. Perhaps if Eye-Fi can somehow work with
camera manufactures to incorporate more functionality into the camera’s
firmware, then maybe that would help. Like I mentioned, my problems could be
just an isolated case, however if you search the web there are lots of people
having compatibility problems with their cards. Just something to think about
should you decide to buy one.
The Good:
-Works well (when it
works)
- Class 6 SD card
- Lots of features like
Endless memory, Online Sharing , etc.
The Bad:
- Intermittent performance
- Price
- Lots of steps just to transfer a photo
- Shortens battery life of
your camera
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