Posts Tagged eye-fi

Occasionally, I run across a gadget that leaves me wondering, “How did they do that?”

The Eye-Fi Explore Video wireless memory card, that plugs into digital cameras and uploads still photos and videos, is one of those. While it has some limitations, what it does is pretty amazing.

The Explore Video card will connect and automatically upload pictures to your computer through a wireless router on a home network. It can also connect to thousands of Wi-Fi hotspots around the country. And it can upload, without ever taking the card out of the camera, to photo- and video-sharing services such as Facebook, Flickr, Picasa and YouTube.

It works with cameras that use SDHC storage and is the same size as a conventional card. The 4 GB Eye-Fi card will hold more than 500 pictures, at highest JPG quality, on my Nikon D90.

Just think of the possibilities. Travelers can easily upload and share pictures from the road. Or, I could walk around the house taking family photos while they transfer to the computer automatically. The card has good range and the signal even holds up well through walls.

I found it takes 10-15 seconds to upload a high-resolution picture to the computer with file sizes of 5-7 MB. Videos, if your camera supports them, can take much longer because of the bigger file sizes. I didn’t find any objectionable battery drain with my D90.

The Explore Video card can also geotag photos, adding location information which can be seen with some programs and Internet-based sharing services.

Setting up a computer to receive the photos is quick and easy, using a card reader that plugs into a USB port. The card can be set up to connect to encrypted routers. (Time out for a reminder—always encrypt wireless signals at your home or office. You never know who might be driving by or trying to connect from next door.)

Eye-Fi’s online support is excellent and addresses just about any question imaginable on setup and operation.

There are some limitations.  The main one is connecting to many free, public Wi-Fi hotspots.

Eye-Fi cards will seamlessly connect to Wayport hot spots. There are more than 10,000 across the U.S., including hotel, fast-food restaurant and airport locations.

The trick is trying to connect to other public Wi-Fi signals. It can be done, but only if the signals are unencrypted and do not use a splash or log-in screen.

There are also some limitations on geotagging, which does not use GPS for determining locations. Instead, it homes in through the locations of nearby wi-fi signals without connecting to them. In areas with few signals, geotagging might not work.

Some cameras provide more support for the card than others. For example, some upper-end Nikon DSLRs will show on the screen when photos are being uploaded. Most cameras do not show any indication when an upload is in progress, though you can choose to be notified by e-mail or text message when it completes.

The Eye-Fi Explore 4GB Video card retails for $99.99, but you’ll find it on Amazon for less. That includes one year of access to Wayport hot spots. After that, the price for Wayport access is $14.99 a year.

For travelers who take lots of pictures and like to share them with family and friends, the Eye-Fi Explore Video card can make the task a whole lot easier. And it won’t take up any more room in your bag.