Contest, Review

Wireless and Effortless Eye-Fi Media Uploads

74 Comments

This is a Sponsored Post written by me on behalf of EyeFi. All opinions are 100% mine.

Interesting Packaging

I am reviewing an Eye-Fi Share Video 4GB SD card which was given to me through a SocialSpark Opportunity. I used the card in my Powershot Canon SD800is Digital Elph and my Nikon D80 DSLR. I was so excited to be a part of this opportunity to review this product because it is one that I have contemplated purchasing many times in the past. I’d seen people at parties online who took photos that were automatically posted to Flickr and tagged with custom tags. This was all done wirelessly. I thought to myself, this would be perfect for me. I could take shots of Eva and have them automatically post to Kodak so that my in-laws could see the photos immediately and I wouldn’t have to slog through uploading a ton of photos (if you haven’t noticed I take a TON of photos!). Here is a simple explanation of what the card can do for you.

The choices for uploading photos number 28 online services and the option to have the photos automatically uploaded to your PC as well. The one major drawback for me is that you can only choose ONE location to post to at a time. I want check boxes not radio buttons on my uploading options. I want to upload to multiple sites at once and I thought that was what this card could do for me. You can enter your information for every single one of those 28 locations but only ONE can be chosen to actually upload to. This is something that I find lacking in the interface and would like for Eye-Fi to make it possible for you to upload to multiple platforms at one time. The same holds true for video uploading.

For Video, you have 8 online options and the option to have the video automatically upload to your computer. I would like to see the addition of video sharing sites like Vimeo and Viddler. I would like the ability to upload to multiple sites as I stated previously.

Special SD Card Adapter


Setup of the card was very simple. There is a special USB reader for the Eye-Fi and when you connect this and the Eye-Fi to your computer you can make specific settings to the physical card. Here is an example of one of the setup screens. I installed the software on a few computers and had no troubles whatsoever with the software installation.

Simple On Screen Instructions


One of the most important features of an Eye-Fi card, for me, was geotagging. I wanted a card with geotagging included but I did not get that card. So, I paid $14.99 out of pocket to get that feature added to the card. You can add geotagging and waypoint access to the cards by buying keys online through Eye-Fi.

I have to say, the geotagging is not good. I had a few images geotagged automatically but they were mostly around my house and in my local area. I took photos in Walpole, NH, Bellows Falls, VT, Providence, RI and Canton, MA. The only images that were geotagged were the ones I took at home and some images that I took in NH somehow got tagged with my home area when they wireless uploaded. I was not impressed with the geotagging and regret buying it. That and only a few photo sharing sites are supporting Eye-Fi’s geotaggin option and the biggie, Flickr is not. I took a look at the Eye-Fi Forums for an answer to the geotagging issues. Almost every topic in geotagging was from people who were disappointed in it. Had I known about this issue I would not have purchased the geotagging option. I probably would have spent the money instead on the Waypoint access so I could upload photos from any Waypoint location.

The geotagging issue and the inability to upload to multiple sites aside, the card performed pretty well overall. I did have a crazy late night snafu with it last night where it crashed my router because it went back through every photo in my camera and tried to upload them again. I didn’t think that the images and videos had uploaded but this morning when I signed into Picasa there they were. I chose the Picasa option because Picasa was one of the sites that could take the geotagging information. Again you can only upload to ONE photo sharing site at a time.

Is that the card?

You have many options for each of the sites that you can upload to. For example, you can make and image private when you upload it. You can set certain tags to automatically be added to the photo and you can even set custom folders. Say you are having a New Years Eve party and you want to have a real time slideshow happening. You could use your Eye-Fi card in your camera, take a bunch of shots and upload them to Flickr and have them all in one Set or have a specific keyword automatically attached to each image and video. Throughout the night as you take photos and videos they are wirelessly uploaded to Flickr, automatically tagged with keywords and put into a folder on your computer ready for your friends and family to enjoy. On the flip side if you have a wild and crazy New Year’s Eve party you might want to mark all images private and then discard the embarrassing ones when you sober up.

I think the best use of this card for me would be to give it to my Mom. The reason I say this is that I know that she has photos on her camera from six months ago. She wants to see them on her computer but that means that I have to upload them for her. This is not hard to do but it is always needed at the very last minute. With the Eye-Fi card she can shoot all the photos she wants and then come home, turn the camera on and the images will wirelessly upload to her computer. They will be put into folders by date for organizing later.

Make sure you adjust the power saving features of your cameras so that you uploads are not interrupted. I think that was my issue last night. Luckily Eye-Fi has great info on how to make the setting changes on your cameras.

I think this card would have also been great for taking photos of Eva in her first year. I meticulously took photos of her every single day, uploaded the images from the card and put them into dated folders. I can pretty much say that if I had used this card for that specific purpose I could have saved HOURS of time for other things… like playing with Eva. The card has some Good and Not-So-Good points to it, so to break this down for you:

The Good

  • Simple effortless uploading and organization (by date) of photos from your camera to computer without wires
  • Quick and Easy uploading to a video sharing and a photo sharing site wirelessly
  • Perfect for a family with distance so that Grandma can see images of the baby immediately
  • You can control the privacy on the photos and decide which photos are will be sent to photo sharing sites
  • Effortless sharing while your memories are fresh, not after they’ve sat in your camera for months.

The Not-So-Good

  • Can only upload to ONE photo site and ONE video site at a time.
  • Geotagging option needs major work. Overpriced for performance.
  • Not enough Video Sharing Site Options

Would you like to Win an Eye-Fi?

Special SD Card Adapter


Through BenSpark.com and a few other blogs (I haven’t read everyone else’ reviews yet, wanted to keep my experience totally fresh and unbiased for you) 12 Eye-Fi cards are being given away. Complete contest rules are here: http://izea.com/contest-rules-regulations/eyefi-contest-official-rules/

Contest Entry is simple.

1.) Leave a comment on this post. (Please follow my comment policy because I do moderate for spam and I like conversation and real comments).

2.) Tweeting a message containing the hashtag “#eye-fi” with a link back to this blog post.

The Contest begins at 12:01 a.m. Eastern Standard Time (“EST”) on November 17, 2009 and ends at 11:59 p.m. EST on December 13, 2009 (the “Contest Period”). Entries will not be acknowledged.

SocialSpark Disclosure Badge

74 thoughts on “Wireless and Effortless Eye-Fi Media Uploads”

  1. I was going to comment anyway, but if I can WIN, that would be even better! I’m not sure I would want to automatically upload to any sites, but then again, that may be the best way for me to ever get anything uploaded. Mainly I like the idea of the easy loading from my camera to my computer. I’m not nearly as bad as your mom, but sometimes it takes me a lot longer to get the pictures off the camera than it should. Maybe this would help.
    .-= Look at what Anna wrote blog ..Never Run Out of Toilet Paper =-.

    1. Anna,
      You can control which images get uploaded so there should be no worries about what goes and what stays, plus you can upload them as private and then decide.

  3. My sister gave my mom her first digital camera for Christmas last year, and the pictures she has taken in the last year are still not uploaded to her computer. When her memory card got full, instead of figuring out how to upload the pictures, she just bought another memory card. This would be the perfect way for her to finally get those pictures on her computer.
    .-= Look at what jenn wrote blog ..Thank You, Izea! =-.

  4. Mainly I like the idea of the easy loading from my camera to my computer. I’m not nearly as bad as your mom, but sometimes it takes me a lot longer to get the pictures off the camera than it should

    1. Seslichattv,
      Oh man you totally got me with your spam. You ripped off Anna’s comment and it slipped right by me, this is a first in a long time. Well, I think this does disqualify you from winning the prize since your comment was stolen. I haven’t been taken by a spammer in a while. Wow.

    1. Chitgoks,
      Oh man that is rough, sorry you missed the chance, good luck with winning one of these, if you do come back here and let me know okay.

  6. Wow this is an incredible product! I hadn’t even heard of this eye-fi thing before, but now I am very interested… Having a toddler, we take lots of pictures, like you mentioned, but sometimes it will take me a month or two to actually get them uploaded and organized… As you mentioned, this could be a major time-saver! wow… Count me in, and thanks for the chance to win! If I don’t win, I’ll probably end up buying one for christmas for hubby… or maybe for my stepfather-in-law! This could be good for so many people, for so many different reasons 🙂
    .-= Look at what Jaden wrote blog ..Apple Picking at Wellwood Orchards, 10/11/09 =-.

    1. Jaden,
      This is a good product overall and the timesaving efforts alone are worth the purchase, the extras are not so this particular card or even the 2GB one is worth buying because you are uploading the images anyway so why not get the smaller card.

  8. I have looked at these cards before, but never made the jump to buy one. I take anywhere from 100 – 500 pictures a week so it would be a HUGE time saver for me!

  9. See, I’d love to get one of these, but I doubt I’ll ever be able to get it set up and get it running. It looks easy enough, but nothing ends up as easy as it looks for me :-/
    .-= Look at what The Pit wrote blog ..A Bunch of TV News =-.

  10. Oh man, I go no where without my camera and almost everyday i spend at least an hour uploading and organizing photos to my comp, then I never get them moved to Flickr …. well, you know how it goes. I want one of these! 2 cool!

    I tweeted!

  11. As a photographer, I have been toying with the idea of getting one of these for a while too!

    BTW, you sent interview questions like, a long time ago!! I am getting ready to send it to you! It’s a blond thing…..I forgot!! LOL!
    .-= Look at what Jo wrote blog ..Custom Cards Are Here!! =-.

  14. I love it. My video camera does upload directly to YouTube but I can never get it to work right and have to do it manually. Since I take tons of pictures and videos, this would be something perfect to use. It’s cute too!
    .-= Look at what Karsun wrote blog ..Why is it… =-.

    1. Karsun,
      You have a camera that uploads directly that is cool, no wires or anything wow. But since it doesn’t work right I guess not so cool. This product does upload wirelessly and that is a nice feature, good luck.

  15. I’m not sure to win the contest, but ben i have never seen goods as sophisticated as that, multipurpose, you have made complete review here, and i’m sure, many people that wish for this goods. it’s plug and pray, ups sorry.. plug n play i mean..

  17. Hi,
    Your review is very good! Even though there are some drawbacks, it seems pretty useful and thanks for pointing out it’s drawbacks.
    It’d be good if I could win one too.

    1. Tshering,
      I tried to point out all the drawbacks I found without being too negative and being constructive instead. Good luck in the contest.

    1. Karen,
      Getting organized is so hard, I find that if I miss even a day of something I get swept away and have to go back over it just to get back to treading water level.

  19. I was reading up on this a few months ago and would love to own one. I use Whrrl for my stories that I share and I don’t have a iPhone so it is difficult to use SMS to get my pictures through, would love to dump them on the card and upload them all at once. Thanks for the chance 🙂
    .-= Look at what Jennifer wrote blog ..Kuru Footwear | Review =-.

    1. TeeJaye,
      Yes, It does work on a MAC. There is even one exclusive one to the apple store, I guess because it is grey or something.

  23. WOW! This is awesome!

    This would be even better if you could have Wi-Fi access to any hotspot in a city. So if you’re out and about you can upload in real time.

    I’ll have to really consider getting one of these simply because I hate having to plug my camera in and transfer the photos and video all the time.
    .-= Look at what MacBros wrote blog ..Going Through Puberty Again =-.

    1. MacBros,
      Take a look at the Waypoint coverage, there are tons of places where it is available. Not everywhere but many places., good luck.

  24. This is the most extensive review of the product I have seen. The idea to give this to my mom is great. I could set it up and have it autopost for her. She would love it!

    Hopefully the company reads your review and updates. I am not a big fan of only being to post to one site. I probably have no need for the geotagging but glad you reviewed that option so I won’t waste my money
    .-= Look at what Buck Daddy Rogers wrote blog ..Because I Said So – Dad Edition – Balancing Family During Holidays =-.

  26. Pingback: Macro Perceptor Autobot Scientist | Everyday Pictures... Every... Day - BenSpark.com

  27. I’ve not seen these before, that is so very cool. I’m guilty of letting my camera sit on my desk for a week (or two or ten) before I get my pictures off of it.

    I agree that it would be cool if you could upload to more than one site at a time, but I mostly just use Flickr anyway, so it I can get everything to Flickr first, then I’m a happy camper!

    I’m so glad you reviewed this, because it’s going on my Christmas list, and I think I might look at getting one for my mother in law, because she treats memory cards like people used to treat rolls of film… when it fills up, she just gets another one and throws the first one in a box. Drives me mad.
    .-= Look at what Loretta wrote blog ..20 Questions with Mommy Bloggers =-.

    1. Loretta,
      I find that I don’t really need this product so I will give it over to my Mom sometime soon. I like to have a little more control over what I post than the card allows but for her it is simply getting the images off the camera that is the big deal.

      Glad you enjoyed the review.

  28. I don’t mind that you can only upload to one site at a time. I am absolutely in love with the fact that you can upload your pics to your computer faster!
    Would love to win one of this cards.
    Thanks for the review.

  29. Have been noodling buying one of these for some time, but there are already too many SKUs and options (2GB versus 4GB, Pro Vs Geo vs Share vs Home vs yadda yadda yadda). Would love to try one to see if it has real value; right now, it’s not rocket science to transfer from my SD card to the computer and upload to Flickr, but removing some steps and doing stuff automatically would be nice IF it works every time…thanks for the review.

    1. Margaret,

      There are many versions and I think it is a bit overpriced overall. I’m also skilled enough on transferring my photos from card to computer that this really isn’t for me but great for people who might either have a novelty option for it or give it to friends and family who leave photos on their cards.

    1. @Amaanda,
      The card for video does have the ability to transfer both photos and videos. Glad you liked the review. Good luck.

  32. Pingback: Twitted by amaaanda

    1. Gary,
      Very cool. Are you using a geotagging option for all your photos? Do you have a Phototrackr? Watch my blog for a contest after the new year. I have a few of the mini phototrackrs to give away. I’ll be playing with one soon and reviewing it. Watch for that contest.

  34. I got a 2GB Eye-Fi card for Christmas last year, then realized that my pathetic little camera can only handle up to a 1GB card! I’m getting a new camera this year, and it would be great to have a 4GB Eye-Fi to supplement the 2GB that I’ll finally be able to use!
    .-= Look at what Carly wrote blog ..nothing better than a free camera =-.

  35. I don’t know, I like adding comments to my photos before uploading them, and accurate geo-tagging is important to me. I’ve even been playing with the facial recognition features in Picasa before uploading to their web albums.

    However, I could see this being useful for my parents, who (like others have said) don’t know what to do with their digital photos once taken. My Mom either shows me the photos on the little LCD on the camera, or doesn’t show them to me at all. This would be great for her (and her birthday is right after Christmas, too!)

    1. Eric,
      You might like another contest that I am doing soon, it is for a mini phototrackr and it allows you to geotag your images prior to uploading them to flickr and other locations.

      The Eye-fi sounds perfect for your mother though. Good Luck.

  36. Hey Ben, how’s it going man? I haven’t talked to you in forever. Haven’t seen you on Skype in awhile. I saw you tweet out this post so I figured I would take a look.

    This definitely looks awesome! I just bought a cheap new digital camera on Black Friday. I’m working on a new gaming news/previews/reviews/guides etc blog and I’ll be taking a lot of pictures for it.

    This could save a lot of time for sure, I’m really bad at uploading photos. As part of the gaming site I went to the midnight launch for Call of Duty almost a month ago but I still haven’t uploaded all of the photos.

    I also just got back from Affiliate Convention in LA and still haven’t uploaded those either, or written my blog post recap for it. I’m always after anything that can save me some time – we need more hours in the day!
    .-= Look at what Jeremiah Cooper wrote blog ..Welcome Pro Gamer Nation! =-.

    1. Jeremiah,
      It sounds like this would be a great product for you. Good luck with it.

      I haven’t been doing much with Skype lately. I’ll have to get back on soon. How was the affiliate convention, let me know when you have the photos and write up up on your blog.

  38. Eyefi cards seem to make it easier to transfer pics. I have an 88 year old Mother who cannot operate a computer. I would like to find a photo frame that has it’s own IP address.

    1. Rick,
      The cards are very easy to transfer pictures. I really like that and I think that will be wonderful for your mother.

  39. Great review. I had never heard of Eye-Fi until this post and now I totally want one. I take tons of photos. Like easily 300+ a day when I travel. Sometimes when I get back they just sit in my memory cards until I’m about you take photos of something else and realize I need to delete tons of photos to take the new ones. I think this would help me get more organized and save me so much time.

  41. Pingback: WordCamp Boston 2010 | Photography Every Day - Everyday Photos - Every Day Photographer - BenSpark.com

  42. Agree with you this would be nice and great if GeoTaging and Multiple upload sites function working with this Wireless Eye-Fi Media uploader card.

    Overall functions are looking great.

    I’ll give it a try.

Comments are closed.