Eye-Fi adds WiFi, geotagging to any camera
Apple gave a lot of airtime this week to the new geotagging features in iPhoto 09, which allows users to organize and search photos based on the GPS data assigned to them. Eye-Fi's SD memory cards will enable any camera to tag photos with a location, making the cards a great camera upgrade for iLife 09 users.
While many modern smartphones can tag their photos with GPS coordinates (including the iPhone and iPod touch), mobile cameras often leave a lot to be desired in terms of quality. To take decent pictures, most users rely on dedicated point and shoot cameras.
Adding GPS features to a camera just for geotagging the photos it takes isn't very practical, but a Mountain View-based company has packed WiFi features into an SD memory card, enabling the chip to perform an iPod touch-style WiFi location lookup using wireless base station data from Skyhook Wireless.
In addition to geotagging photos taken by any camera using the cards, the Eye-Fi card can also wirelessly upload the photos to iPhoto, as well as directly to a wide variety of online services, including Flickr, Facebook, Picasa, Evernote, and MobileMe.
The 2GB cards start at $79.99 for a basic WiFi enabled "Home" card without geotagging, $99 for a "Share" version with online upload features, and $129.99 for an "Explore" card with both the geotagging features and WiFi syncing to online services. The Explore version includes a year subscription to Wayport WiFi network access, which usually costs $14.95.
While many modern smartphones can tag their photos with GPS coordinates (including the iPhone and iPod touch), mobile cameras often leave a lot to be desired in terms of quality. To take decent pictures, most users rely on dedicated point and shoot cameras.
Adding GPS features to a camera just for geotagging the photos it takes isn't very practical, but a Mountain View-based company has packed WiFi features into an SD memory card, enabling the chip to perform an iPod touch-style WiFi location lookup using wireless base station data from Skyhook Wireless.
In addition to geotagging photos taken by any camera using the cards, the Eye-Fi card can also wirelessly upload the photos to iPhoto, as well as directly to a wide variety of online services, including Flickr, Facebook, Picasa, Evernote, and MobileMe.
The 2GB cards start at $79.99 for a basic WiFi enabled "Home" card without geotagging, $99 for a "Share" version with online upload features, and $129.99 for an "Explore" card with both the geotagging features and WiFi syncing to online services. The Explore version includes a year subscription to Wayport WiFi network access, which usually costs $14.95.
Comments
There's still a lot of high end cameras that use CF cards (which I use as well). Would be nice to see that feature on CF cards.
Using its built-in Wi-Fi, the Eye-Fi Card locates any surrounding Wi-Fi networks as you take pictures.
This will really be useful when I'm backpacking.
http://photofinder.atpinc.com/
I love the idea of Geotagging....just wish I traveled more.
Title should read 'Eye-Fi adds WiFi, geotagging to any SD Camera.
There's still a lot of high end cameras that use CF cards (which I use as well). Would be nice to see that feature on CF cards.
What about for cameras that require CF cards?
Isn't it using SDIO? I don't know if there is an equivalent mode for CF. There are CF WiFi cards, but I don't know if they work without special drivers, and most of them have a bulge sticking out the end, so they don't fit in cameras.
What about for cameras that require CF cards?
You can put the SD card in a CF converter.
K
Here's another product that seems to be popular
http://photofinder.atpinc.com/
I love the idea of Geotagging....just wish I traveled more.
that looks pretty sweet - it looks to be a GPS receiver that basically adds the EXIF info to the images based on time stamp... genius. and you can add any USB card reader to get even more memory card support...
reviews seem good:
http://www.pocketgpsworld.com/atp-ph...nder-a4032.php
and it uses a good GPS chipset:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/SiRFstar_III
From what I can gather from their crappy website (forums are down, there's not much info), Eye-Fi doesn't seem to support RAW format either. So much for ANY camera claim.
Don't all cameras support JPG? I don't know of a camera that shoots raw that doesn't support JPG. I don't think a lot of people would want to wait for raw files to transmit.
Anyways, it seems to support any SD camera, just that you have to shoot JPG to do it.
that looks pretty sweet - it looks to be a GPS receiver that basically adds the EXIF info to the images based on time stamp... genius. and you can add any USB card reader to get even more memory card support...
reviews seem good:
http://www.pocketgpsworld.com/atp-ph...nder-a4032.php
and it uses a good GPS chipset:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/SiRFstar_III
I am not sure this is correct. From what I read, it looks like it uses the Skyhooks Geotagging service and does NOT have a built in GPS tagging system. http://www.eye.fi/services/geotagging/ This simply connects to a local SkyHooks wireless access point and and gets the GPS coordinates for that. Not much use unless you are backpacking in a city with SkyHooks wireless.
The review you are referring to is the review of the ATP Photo Finder, not the Eye-Fi. Eye-Fi does NOT have GPS, just Wi-Fi. Just wanted to clear this up.
I am not sure this is correct. From what I read, it looks like it uses the Skyhooks Geotagging service and does NOT have a built in GPS tagging system. http://www.eye.fi/services/geotagging/ This simply connects to a local SkyHooks wireless access point and and gets the GPS coordinates for that. Not much use unless you are backpacking in a city with SkyHooks wireless.
You are seemingly very correct!!!
I was very excited the other day when I heard about the new devices. However, I quickly soured when I realized that they are not using GPS but rather that they are using proximity based upon wifi signals. I have found this (with the 2g iPhone) to be highly problematic at best and woefully unreliable.
Additionally, as you have pointed out... there is not support of RAW files... which automatically de-qualifies the product in my opinion.
This will really be useful when I'm backpacking.
Not in the least, and about as useful when I'm bicycling in Scotland and the Yorkshire Highlands. It adds wi-fi, but not geotagging.
I quickly headed for the article thinking that they had a GPS as well (not likely given the volume of the SD card). It's just a bad summary.
Sheldon
I am not sure this is correct. From what I read, it looks like it uses the Skyhooks Geotagging service and does NOT have a built in GPS tagging system. http://www.eye.fi/services/geotagging/ This simply connects to a local SkyHooks wireless access point and and gets the GPS coordinates for that. Not much use unless you are backpacking in a city with SkyHooks wireless.
The review you are referring to is the review of the ATP Photo Finder, not the Eye-Fi. Eye-Fi does NOT have GPS, just Wi-Fi. Just wanted to clear this up.
Hence the reason i quoted the post that mentioned the ATP Photo Finder as a (better) alternative.
http://forums.appleinsider.com/showp...77&postcount=9
From what I can gather from their crappy website (forums are down, there's not much info), Eye-Fi doesn't seem to support RAW format either. So much for ANY camera claim.
Now which RAW format would this be? RAW is not a standard format, it is simply a very propriety format used by the camera manufacturer for storing the raw data from the camera. DNG support would probably be a more realistic approach, though few camera companies seem to use DNG at this point.
Over and around Christmas, I had purchased 2 cards for family and friends through Amazon. Unfortunately, the first one failed after 5 shots, so I endeavored to return it and by another card at a local Best Buy. The result? That one ALSO failed. The situation occurred on a new Unibody Mac, so I called Customer Support the next day and asked them what happened? It seems the day before they had just pushed out a software update which may have bricked both cards. Needless to say, I was disappointed - the fact that a faulty Mac Software update could brick two separate cards was troubling and the fact that I bought the card separately suggests its either a systemic issue (the software or their hardware).
I kept one more for a gift on Christmas day for a non-technical family member. In the process of setting it up for her on her PC, it literally took two hours to configure the Wifi. For some odd reason, configuration of Wi-fi requires that one of Eye-Fi's central servers to be up. Further, when the access point was manually configured the photos loaded at a crawl or not at all. Given the fact you need to leave the camera on, the point of being able to upload pictures seem to be defeated. I might as well pop the card and upload the pictures myself.
If you look at their forums, many people were traumatized by their Eye-Fi experience that day. There are other posts to suggest they have hardware quality issues as well (cards either DOA or soon after the annual mark). Needless to say, at nearly 4x the cost of a "normal" card, I expect reliability. I don't think folks think about this issue but the reliability of their memory cards are paramount. If your card fails at the moment that you're taking a shot, perhaps THE shot, nothing can take that moment back. It is for all these reasons that I would urge fellow AppleInsider members caution when purchasing an Eye-Fi. At minimum due your due diligence before spending upwards of $80 for their cards.
Now which RAW format would this be? RAW is not a standard format, it is simply a very propriety format used by the camera manufacturer for storing the raw data from the camera. DNG support would probably be a more realistic approach, though few camera companies seem to use DNG at this point.
I don't see how it has to be specific to one format. The code in the device could just send any new files in any appropriate format and just send it. But I doubt anyone would be happy with how long it takes to send.
You can put the SD card in a CF converter.
K
That is an option, but a very, very slow one! I do have one of those converters (not always easy to find), but it's reserved for emergency use only to be able to use my point-and-shot's memory cards in my DSLR if I run out of space on my CFs. Still, as you point out, it's an option.
Don't all cameras support JPG? I don't know of a camera that shoots raw that doesn't support JPG. I don't think a lot of people would want to wait for raw files to transmit.
Anyways, it seems to support any SD camera, just that you have to shoot JPG to do it.
There's actually not a huge difference between my camera's highest quality JPEGs and it's RAW file sizes.
I think this is much more geared to the pocket camera crowd where the SD memory and JPEG is common (there are a few DSLRs that will take SD cards without an adaptor). I actually just wish the DSLRs included GPS without needing a huge attachment. If a tiny, $300 iPhone can include GPS, surely a $2000 camera could!
Here's another product that seems to be popular
http://photofinder.atpinc.com/
I love the idea of Geotagging....just wish I traveled more.
That looks interesting. But I'm leary of letting a device modify my photo files before I've loaded them onto my computer and backed them up! Anyone have any experience with this product?
Edit: Never mind. It looks like it doesn't work with compact flash cards.