EYE-FI PRO X 2 8GB Wireless SDHC Card

“The most versatile, feature rich camera memory storage card that money presently can buy”

Overview

Imagine having a camera like the studio pros do in your own home, you know, where you could take photo’s tethered to a computer but without the tether, images appearing on the computer screen in your home or office like magic

Or how about never having to worry about a full memory card complete with the latest class 6 SD performance with extensive Video, RAW and JPEG support....even Geo-Tagging thrown in for good measure...or even better... Wouldn’t it be even cooler to be able to walk around London taking photo’s while in the background your camera looks for Wi-Fi hotspots, finds one, and starts uploading your images wirelessly with the fastest and latest technology available to your website or home computer whether its on or off ?...Sound like fantasy ?

Well forget the expensive camera, all you need is one of the new “Eye-Fi Pro X2” SD cards,  If someone told me 3 years ago by 2010 this is what a 8Gb-SD cards could do by now, I would have been sceptical, But this is exactly what the Eye-Fi Pro X2 SD card can do and do well

Claimed Features

•  
  • 8GB SDHC Class 6 Performance SD Storage
  • Wireless 802.11N* Transfer Speeds
  • Life Time Geo-Tagging Service Mode Option
  • Endless Memory Mode Option
  • Ad-Hoc (Un-tethered) Mode Option
  • 100ft Range outdoors/45ft indoors
  • New easier Desktop interface
  • New X2 firmware Engine
  • Extensive RAW Support*
  • JPEG and Video Support*
  • Automatic Backup Mode Option
  • Automatic upload feature Mode Option to over 25 supported web sites, Facebook, Flickr, Youtube
  • Huge Compatibility List
  • First Class Support service

*Support list : Video; MPG...MOV...FLV...WMV...AVI...MP4...MTS

*Raw and Jpeg : CRW...CR2...NEF...NRW...DNG...PTX..PEF...RAW...RW2...MPO

*802.11 A/B/G/N: Different wireless protocols varying in release date, speed and range, “N” being the latest and fastest.

So let’s lightly explore some of these claims and features a little further, I’m going to start with what features I feel will have the biggest impact if you decide to add one of these to your equipment list.

Wi-Fi capable: I still have trouble getting my head around that this little card has a wireless radio transmitter sandwiched in between two pieces of plastic...out of the box these cards do as advertised and in a very short time I had this card streaming 10 Mps RAW and JPEG images to my laptop at a speed that impressed me. It confirms that steaming video in real time  was not just viable but a configurable feature, well done Eye-Fi !

Endless Memory: is one of the truly stunning features that holds real world attraction for any SD card user, an available option in the menu with this card, using the standard upload configuration via router/hotspot or Ad-Hoc mode, I was apprehensive in trusting the card to deleting my images off the camera once uploaded but to be honest it performed this feat without a single lost image in the six weeks of testing and over 1,600 images mostly in RAW, I suspect it uses the same integrity protocol as a web download, checking the integrity of sent data before the all clear is given to delete each image file. Endless memory can also be configured to retain images on the card only uploading when the card reaches a predefined level, which can be set from 10% all the way through to 90%  ..And of course this feature can be turned on, off or anywhere in between.

Ad-Hoc: I had a small problem at first was getting this card performing the above task in the Ad-Hoc mode; which is one of the newer and more brilliant features on this latest card. Getting this feature to work and work well, takes a bit more configuring  for the novice, but entirely possible, This feature holds special relevance for the portrait professional or dedicated  product studio photographer shooting wirelessly un-tethered or when no Wi-Fi access is available in a given area. If your intention is to set up this card for this purpose only, configuration is by far simplified but you will need a basic understanding in wireless protocols and manually setting up Ad-hoc to Ad-hoc connections, The Windows 7 connection wizard was excellent here. You also have the added advantage of an excellent support service network that from experience will walk you through with any problems you may have in using any or all feature that this card supports.

Geo Tagging: If your camera is not Wi-Fi enabled or no geo-tagging feature was available with your model, this is without doubt the smartest/cheapest feature upgrade to add to your camera that’s come your way since crystal gel laptop coolers (read my review). Geo-Tagging is becoming more and more popular worldwide. This adds location data to the meta-data time stamp of an image, allowing you to do location searches as well as search by time and date. This feature is included free with the Pro X2 card via WPS technology (Wireless Positioning System) and totally unlimited for the life of the card. The only limitation I found is to use this feature, JPEG must be used. This is to do with third party applications that use this data to seamlessly display your photos on a location indexed map with virtually no configuring required. Simply shoot and upload with your images auto embedding in whatever Geo-Tag program you choose to use and display with, Ovolabs Geo-photo (Mac) Picasa, Elements and Pro Photo Tools are all supported. One simple work around I use was to set your camera to record in Jpeg+Raw…for people like myself who prefer shooting in Raw, problem solved!

Hardware Support List: this list is far too big to quote but can be accessed on the constantly updated official “Eye-Fi” website here. This will take you directly to the extensive camera support list and yes, it’s very current.

Support: I did have the need to try out the support service and nearly fell over backwards when I actually spoke to a real human being. They were knowledgeable, new the product inside out and addressed my problem professionally and quickly. Follow up emails where also received from the person handling my ticket, the problem was resolved professionally and quickly with the minimum of fuss.

Hotspot access: utilise hundreds of thousands of Wi-Fi hot spots worldwide with extensive UK coverage serviced by local carriers including BT Open Zone, Orange, T-Mobile, Vodafone and many more. A one year subscription is included with every Pro X2 card. Never have to carry your laptop around with you on holidays again, the card will even buffer the images to memory until you come in range of a Wi-Fi hot spot then stream your photos from say Barbados to your UK home or social website freeing up memory on your card again.

Social Site Auto upload: I do see now after extensive reading the majority of users enjoying this feature, regardless with this feature is turned on or off , you choose which images are uploaded or not. With over 25 social networking, blog and photo-sharing websites or even your own site supported. This is also “Totally Free and Unlimited Service” with one year subscription included free (as stated above) with the Pro X2 card. Complaints of past models only supporting one site at a time has been addressed with uploading to multiple sites now supported  

RAW Support: Finally! The larger general community are more than happy to shoot in Jpeg but for those into their photo-editing, Raw is now supported. Note! To utilise the geo-tagging feature with the ProX2 simple set your camera to record in Raw + Jpeg.

RAW Power: Streamline your Eye-Fi with Photoshop or Lightroom by installing watch folders and set so they’ll pull images straight into your workspace and apply presets automatically.   

Range and Speed: The upload speed was better than I expected. With realistic ranges from your router in the house with a stable connection being maintain in the backyard at about 70-80 feet. When the range was exceeded images where buffered till an in-range connection was re-established…all totally automatic requiring no input what so ever….Gem‼!

Desktop interface: Updated, more streamlined and intuitive, allows you to upload to multiple websites sites and a pleasure to use.

Conclusion and Thoughts

This card is a must-have in any camera bag regardless whether you’re a amateur or seasoned professional. Its versatility and “Raw performance” in several categories, Less than four years ago, you would have had to buy several pieces of kit to cover half of the features that this one product can give you with the latest technologies thrown together into this one small package. Its versatility in so many areas is probably the most attractive thing as a consumer with set limited funds to throw around.

So if you’re into your tech or need a card that never fills up, Want geo-tagging or get rid of the constant hassle of taking cards in and out of your camera to upload images and reformat constantly, this is the card you’ve been waiting for.

Buy Now

Footnote about Adaptors

One thing I will add at this late stage is the big question on everybody’s lips, which is, “When will other card formats be addressed” I actually did quite a bit of hands-on research here purchasing a number of card adaptors to ascertain functionality. One to quote was a Sony Alfa DSLR body with 4 different CF to SD card adaptors. Brands ranging from 12 to 27 pounds. Firstly Eye-Fi’s  official stance is “we do not guarantee the functionality of any said adaptors with the full range of Eye-Fi cards nor the damage these adaptors may inadvertently cause in their use or misuse”…I think you get the picture Folks!…Use at your own peril. All cards did not provide FULL functionality with one coming very close, one was DOA and returned to “China” for replacement, this card performed the worst recording 5 images before the card reported full!. The card that performed the best came out of the States with the only feature clipped was geo-tag but even this card occasionally reported a camera fault on the LCD of “Card not Recognised” requiring a format in camera to clear it….Probably not worth the hassle at the moment but could change as manufactures catch up with the newer technology. 

Aussie Allan