Eye-Fi Pro2 card

[dullbird]

Hey is anyone using the Eye Fi pro 2 card?

I'm considering getting one with my next camera purchase..

cant help but think this might be a nice way to match up a camera and an Ipad mini, when out and about at say something like a photograhpy workshop:angel::D

anyone got any feedback?

[dmdigital]

Traditionally the Eye-Fi cards have always been slow but the ProX2 is a class 10 card so should be OK. You'll notice a big difference between high speed and lesser cards in your new camera. Having fast write speed on cards is noticeable even with my little X100. On the D800 it is essential,on the D7100 it will make a big difference too. Also if your doing any video it is important.

The 8GB Eye-Fi ProX2 is only a class 6 and I would avoid that. Can't find anything about the write speed of the 16GB card. Don't expect high speed transfer rates over wifi off the cards from what I've read and also they will affect your camera battery's time between charges. For what the Eye-Fi cost you can get at least 2 x 16GB SanDisk Extreme Pro.

[p38arover]

For in the field image transfer, I use the Apple iPad Camera Connection Kit ($35) - but it uses the 30-pin connector, not the iPad Mini connector.

Apple iPad Camera Connection Kit - Apple Store (Australia) (http://store.apple.com/au/product/MC531ZM/A/apple-ipad-camera-connection-kit)

[Rok_Dr]

I use one in my D600. It's set up in the second slot to transfer the jpegs to my ipad. Raws go to the card in the first slot as they transfer slowly.

It took a bit of stuffing around to get working ( not the most intuitive of setups) but it now works nicely. Generally when travelling I transfer the photos over at the end of the day and look at them over a beer or wine.

It certainly beats buying a dedicated wireless adaptor, though an increasing number of cameras are starting to have that built in now.

Cheers

Steve

[dullbird]

Derek I have 2 32g class ten cards for the go pro...

What I like about the eye fi is it also Geo tags...its seems a bit like an all in one solution to me I was only looking at the 16g ones by the way.

you can wifi transfer, you can geo tag its a class 10 and 16g isnt a bad size for file storage.

I was only considering the one card and a good sized/speed one in the other slot as 16g isnt going to last too long with 24mp camera. as you can set up for the photos to go to either one as I'm sure your aware.

Most people have had issues with the geo tagging having to do Raw + jpeg files as they couldn't geotag the raw files, however from what I can see and read recently they have fixed this and you can now geo tag a raw file as well.

[dmdigital]

I hadn't picked up on the geotagging feature. Definitely handy. I use an Aokatec (http://www.aokatec.com/Product.html) bluetooth receiver and a Holux GPS (they didn't have an all-in-one unit when I got mine). The D90/D200 onwards all allow geotagging the NEF files and it is definitely worth it, especially when travelling :)

Shoot RAW Lossless compressed 14-bit as that is the best compromise and is true lossless compression. On the D800e that equates to 41MB files (as apposed to 77MB uncompressed). I get about 720 images to a 32GB card. The D7100 files are about 28MB in that format so you'll get about 500 on a 16GB card.

[iClick]

I've got a Canon Wireless File Transmitter WFT-E3(A) attached to my 5DMkII which sends the small jpegs to my iPad (full size and mini) and use it on almost all of my shoots. It's a great tool to have the shots previewed on a larger screen.

I'm looking to upgrade to a 5DMkIII and the canon wireless system has been redesigned and not for the better.

I was investigating the Eye-Fi pro card and it seems to get mixed reviews. Looks like something that I'll have to try for myself. Should be able to sell it again if it isn't up to par.

[Rok_Dr]

What I like about the eye fi is it also Geo tags...its seems a bit like an all in one solution to me I was only looking at the 16g ones by the way.

you can wifi transfer, you can geo tag its a class 10 and 16g isnt a bad size for file storage.

Alas geotagging only works if there are wireless networks around and you can connect to their system. Not a GPS solution so it would be no use in the country.

Overview of Geotagging | Eye-Fi Support (http://support.eye.fi/features/geo/what-is-geotagging/)

For geotagging I use the gps4cam app on my ipad or iPhone and join everything up on my pic at the end of the trip. I can also email myself the GPX track logs and plot them up later.

Cheers

Steve.

[dullbird]

Surely if I have an iPad it can be used to create that wireless network?

iPads can be used to locate yourself so is terr any reason why this can't be used as a mobile network??

[Rok_Dr]

Surely if I have an iPad it can be used to create that wireless network?

iPads can be used to locate yourself so is terr any reason why this can't be used as a mobile network??

I suppose it could work... I haven't tried it though.

Immediate thoughts are that you would need to be within in mobile phone range and I'm not sure how the triangulation would work if your ipad was the only wireless network that could be seen by the eyefi card. Usually you need at least 3 points of reference and GPS typically uses 7+ satellites these days.

Also it seems that the merging of the locations is done on their servers so you could have a upload and download your photos which could blow your data allowance out of the water for hi res Raw and jpg files, if you are using a 3g plan on the road.

Still I'd be interested to hear if anything has used the service and how accurate the locations are.

Cheers

Steve

[dmdigital]

Yes an iPad can be a wifi hotspot. However if you don't have a 3G one then it doesn't have the built in GPS. But it gets worse reading the Eye-Fi site as it uses WPS and the iPad doesn't release this information (though it may through 3G). The fact the Eye-Fi uses a sidecar XML also means it doesn't truly geotag the file and this requires you to load the image and XML into an app that will understand this. You can also use Aperture or Lightroom to sync images with timestamps on a GPS unit's track log (Aperture will also do it with an iPhone/iPad GPS log)

If it was me I'd look at getting the Aokatec AK-G7 (can be a little cheaper on ebay).

[dullbird]

Yes I was aware that you had to run it through software to actually tag the photo

I do have a gps geo tagger here at home.


its the Jobo photogps. however I don't know whether it would work with a newer camera as I believe they are not even made anymore and secondly as much as I liked the feature I didn't like losing the hot shoe to it in case I wanted to use my speedlight.

might have ot think about it because as much as you say use the GPS unit you have reference it wasnt just the geo tagging I liked about the Pro 2 it was the transfer ability to a tablet also..

[dullbird]

mmmm now this looks like fun

Wireless DSLR Remote Control Tether for iPad & iPhone (http://www.camranger.com/features/)

[cooperrat]

That does look like a great new toy..be good to see one in action ...

[dullbird]

I reckon couple that with the Aokatec that Derek linked to and you would have the ultimate camera toys to play with.

I like the fact that you can use it for video too.

[p38arover]

Lou, what do you think of the Jobo PhotoGPS? Is it a hassle to use? The Pentax O-GPS1 is $250 but integrates with the camera in terms of writing to the RAW file, etc (and it works in moving the sensor when doing astro-photography to track star movement during long exposures).

[dullbird]

i only found it a hassle in the sense that I had to down load photos in to the program supplied with the unit so the GPS info could be attached to the photos......

I also found that when ever I had it on I would want to use my flash...I cant even remember the last time I used it....

I did have fun uploading my photos to google earth though.

The good thing I found with it is you charge it so it wasnt zapping the camera battery.

I like the idea of it writing directly to the file so I may look at getting the Aokatec so I don't have the software hassles at the end...and just look at other options for transfer...

I like the idea of being able to transfer to an Ipad one to free up space but also to be able to view images without the need of dragging a laptop along.

I'm all for wire free I carry enough electrical crap with me these days the more I can stream line that the better

[p38arover]

I wouldn't mind trying the Jobo if you aren't using it. I'm not sure whether I should try to find one or wait for the Pentax unit to become available secondhand.

[dullbird]

OK you can try it if you want..will have to find all the necessary bits for it.

I think you can download the software from their website....

[p38arover]

OK you can try it if you want..will have to find all the necessary bits for it.

I think you can download the software from their website....

Thanks, Lou. I shall await your advice.

[dullbird]

Ron I have the unit I'm currently charging it. I have the box and the CD for software although you may have to download a newer version if your running windows 7

Although they don't make this unit any more I do believe they have software for the newer operating systems.

I have to say I forgot what a well made little unit this is...it looks brand new..

I guess I never used it massively though and its always been kept in my camera case.

did you want me to post it to you Ron?
Oh I just want to make sure you realise that I'm not giving this to you to keep:)

[p38arover]

Thanks, Lou. No, I didn't expect to keep it. The opportunity to try one before committingst to buying one is great.

The recent software has Win 7 support. I've just downloaded the user manual.

I'm happy to ride over to pick it up (probably en route to Scouse's place) - not this weekend as I am working at the Penrith Show (photographic section) on Saturday and going to my father's 93rd birthday on Sunday.

Hmm, I just read the manual. I wonder if my hot shoe is triggered when the shutter speed is above 1/180th second?

[dullbird]

I thought a hot shoe meant its live once something is connected???

[p38arover]

I thought a hot shoe meant its live once something is connected???

So did I until I read the PhotoGPS manual. It mentions that some cameras don't output a trigger to the shoe in some situations. Mine has a max sync speed of 1/180th so maybe there is no sync trigger above that.

However, thinking about it, the Pentax GPS triggers off the hotshoe so maybe it won't be a problem. I'll put a flash on and test it.

[dullbird]

I would of thought that would likely be older cameras and the compacts which they say you can use on some.

If your able to fire a flash I reckon it would work. I guess that's the beauty of trying it.

[dmdigital]

Mine has a max sync speed of 1/180th so maybe there is no sync trigger above that.
The max flash sync speed is only to inform you the fastest shutter speed at which entire sensor is visible for when the flash fires. So as long as the unit is getting a trigger from the hotshot it should be OK.

[p38arover]

Dunno what happened to my post that should be between Lou's and Derek's....

I did some testing with my Pentax AF540FGZ P-TTL flash in auto mode and it seems to limit the max flash speed to 1/180th sec.

With a couple of older flashes, the flash wouldn't fire when the shutter speed was set faster than 1/180th.

However, if I set the AF540FGZ to high speed sync, I could set the shutter speed much, much higher than 1/180th second.

More experimenting needed.

[dullbird]

I think it will work as long as it sends the pulse up to the hotshoe when the shutter is released.

[p38arover]

Derek or Lou, can you split the posts about the GPS off to another thread so that Lou's thread isn't completely hijacked!? :p

[dullbird]

It doesn't matter Ron.....

[dullbird]

Well back to the eye fi card...

from what I can gather it doesn't have to be near a network and doesn't have to rely on the mobile network of the ipad as it pings its own network for the iOS device to connect to....to transfer images.

Set up Direct Mode for iOS | Eye-Fi Support (http://support.eye.fi/features/direct/ios-eye-fi-app/)

[p38arover]

Lou, may be of interest:

Battle of the Wi-Fi Cards: Eye-Fi and Transcend SDHC cards reviewed: Digital Photography Review (http://www.dpreview.com/news/2013/08/29/battle-of-the-wi-fi-cards-eye-fi-vs-transcend?utm_source=notification&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=generic)

[dullbird]

Yeah I read that thanks Ron.....

It gives it a fairly good report.

think there will always be some for and against for anything and even though it has some flaws the general consensus that I read is everyone thinks its pretty good.

I'm going to get my camera today so I'm considering picking up an eye fi also

[dullbird]

Yes an iPad can be a wifi hotspot. However if you don't have a 3G one then it doesn't have the built in GPS. But it gets worse reading the Eye-Fi site as it uses WPS and the iPad doesn't release this information (though it may through 3G). The fact the Eye-Fi uses a sidecar XML also means it doesn't truly geotag the file and this requires you to load the image and XML into an app that will understand this. You can also use Aperture or Lightroom to sync images with timestamps on a GPS unit's track log (Aperture will also do it with an iPhone/iPad GPS log)


If it was me I'd look at getting the Aokatec AK-G7 (can be a little cheaper on ebay).


Well I got mine the other day and put it on the this morning....

what a neat little unit..much smaller than I envisaged plugged it in did the calibration and took a photo and well it just worked.. pretty accurate too as i looked at it in light room on the map function it was probablu out by a few meters but I dont know whether that was because of the way I did the calibration as the instructions were in chinglish :D

Over all I'm pretty happy.....I think my remote is also waiting at the post office for me

as for the eye fi card thats on hold only because I would really like a cam ranger:)