Eye-Fi Pro Card, available now.

135

Comments

  • gillatgillat Registered Users Posts: 145 Major grins
    edited November 9, 2010
    Hi Dave,

    I'm totally with you. I'll remain hopeful that someone in Asia will create a good CF adapter, that we could recommend :-)
  • gillatgillat Registered Users Posts: 145 Major grins
    edited November 9, 2010
    I hope CF stays around a long time. I can't STAND SD cards. Too damn small....

    Jim,

    I think that there are many customers that feel the same as you, and that's why the camera OEM's continue to add dual-slot models, CF & SD, to keep you happy :-)

    Technically, there is no advantage to CF, especially not against SDXC. But it'll remain here, for a while, to support existing customers.
  • gillatgillat Registered Users Posts: 145 Major grins
    edited November 9, 2010
    I hope CF stays around a long time. I can't STAND SD cards. Too damn small....

    BTW, Jim, one camera OEM (Samsung) introduced a micro-SD camera :-) But micro-SD is considered "semi-removable", and I agree that IT is too small.

    SD is cool though :-)
  • Jeremy WinterbergJeremy Winterberg Registered Users Posts: 1,233 Major grins
    edited November 9, 2010
    gillat wrote: »
    Technically, there is no advantage to CF, especially not against SDXC. But it'll remain here, for a while, to support existing customers.

    SDXC will probably take the cf card off the market tbh. It will finally make sd be as fast as a cf card - with potential to be faster.

    The question after that - how long will it take for Canon or Nikon to create a professional grade, full frame camera similar to the 5DMKII and D700 that supports it? When they do that, I'll conform. Until then, SD cards are for consumers. I've seen too many SD cards fail to want to use them in anything other than a crappy point and shoot.
    Jer
  • gillatgillat Registered Users Posts: 145 Major grins
    edited November 9, 2010
    Jeremy,

    I'm going to stick with the facts, so that this won't become a religious conversation.

    SDXC is faster, much much faster than CF.

    None of the above matters, if the camera doesn't support the speed of the CF or SD card. For example, my Extreme Pro by Sandisk can do 90MBps. My D300s can only write at 35MBps. A Canon 5DmkII can handle 50MBps to the same card. The point is, the card is fast, and cameras can't handle it.

    Nothing makes an SD camera less professional than a CF model. The 1DmkIV is amazing and has dual slots. The latest Pentax medium format camera costs $10000 and is SD based.

    SD and CF cards have EXACTLY the same components: flash, and a controller. That's all. They therefore have EXACTLY the same failure rate.

    Thank you.

    Sent from my DROIDX using Tapatalk
  • Jeremy WinterbergJeremy Winterberg Registered Users Posts: 1,233 Major grins
    edited November 9, 2010
    Gillat, I agreed with you. If you read my post you would've seen that. I basically said until they make a pro body that supports the speed of the SDXC card I'm going to stick with CF.

    It may be the same technology, but I've had 4 SD cards fail on me, I have never had a CF card give me the slightest hiccup.

    I'm unsubscribing from this thread. I'd rather spend more money on a wifi grip than argue about SD cards.
    Jer
  • gillatgillat Registered Users Posts: 145 Major grins
    edited November 10, 2010
    Sounds good :-)

    Sent from my DROIDX using Tapatalk
  • gillatgillat Registered Users Posts: 145 Major grins
    edited November 29, 2010
    Guys,

    A small update on another CF adapter:

    http://forums.eye.fi/viewtopic.php?f=8&t=1352&p=12692#p12692

    Thx --

    Ziv.
  • ZanottiZanotti Registered Users Posts: 1,411 Major grins
    edited November 29, 2010
    G:

    I dont agree with your analysis that SD is 5% of the pro market. Sure they sell 95% of what is sold, but your available market excludes every mom and pop in America that has a P&S. They are never going to buy anything like a wifi card, its just too complicated.

    If you subtract out everything except pro or higher end body, I think its closer to 50/50.

    Basically, every Canon shooter who is above strict amateur, and doesn't go to 1 series bodies is excluded.

    I think an analysis of available market is more important than total.

    Anyway, its your business and you can do what you want. There is a sizable Canon market out there for you, I expect as big as your current one.

    As you say, CF appears to be limited in life, but so probably is eye fi, as attachments with wifi capability are coming on strong.

    More choice makes it tough to make money as its a small market and if it gets subdividen more each individual piece is too small to sustain itsself.

    Good luck - I would love to have one, but as a Canon shooter its impossible.

    Z
    It is the purpose of life that each of us strives to become actually what he is potentially. We should be obsessed with stretching towards that goal through the world we inhabit.
  • AndyAndy Registered Users Posts: 50,016 Major grins
    edited November 29, 2010
    Zanotti wrote: »
    They are never going to buy anything like a wifi card, its just too complicated.
    lol3.gif I disagree (with real-life data to back it up).

    My wife, 3 sisters and 2 brothers have Eye-fi cards, they all set them up on their own. I've turned on countless numbers of friends with P&Ss to Eye-fi. And these are not photographers, or web-tech-savvy people. They just love how easy it was to get connected the first time, and then never have to worry about uploading again.
  • ZanottiZanotti Registered Users Posts: 1,411 Major grins
    edited November 29, 2010
    Andy wrote: »
    lol3.gif I disagree (with real-life data to back it up).

    My wife, 3 sisters and 2 brothers have Eye-fi cards, they all set them up on their own. I've turned on countless numbers of friends with P&Ss to Eye-fi. And these are not photographers, or web-tech-savvy people. They just love how easy it was to get connected the first time, and then never have to worry about uploading again.


    But they would never have discovered them without your assistance.

    Sure, they set them up and love them, but I dont think the average Joe is finding this kind of stuff out there without direction.

    I read lots of photo specific websites, but have never seen eyefi discussed outside of them. Unless its on Oprah, not many random adoptions!



    Z
    It is the purpose of life that each of us strives to become actually what he is potentially. We should be obsessed with stretching towards that goal through the world we inhabit.
  • ian408ian408 Administrators Posts: 21,904 moderator
    edited November 29, 2010
    Zanotti wrote: »
    But they would never have discovered them without your assistance.

    Sure, they set them up and love them, but I dont think the average Joe is finding this kind of stuff out there without direction.

    I read lots of photo specific websites, but have never seen eyefi discussed outside of them. Unless its on Oprah, not many random adoptions!

    I doubt the average consumer reads that many photo specific websites or magazines. I've seen Eye-Fi ads and product reviews in them and also as product recommendations in other mainstream magazines (like Outside). More importantly, I've seen the product in big-box stores. Pick one up and the benefits are obvious (good packaging)--they're with other SD cards as well. Even Amazon offered an Eye-Fi card recommendation with a P&S camera I purchased. So the word is out there and consumers are exposed to the product.

    People seek out recommendations for things, especially if their friends or family are knowledgeable in a given area. In Andy's family, it would be natural to ask him for advice just as it would be natural for your family to ask you.

    I bet the number of "random adoptions" is much higher than you think.
    Moderator Journeys/Sports/Big Picture :: Need some help with dgrin?
  • AndyAndy Registered Users Posts: 50,016 Major grins
    edited November 29, 2010
    Zanotti wrote: »
    But they would never have discovered them without your assistance.
    :nah bzzzzzzt. They're ALL OVER the radio (big time here in NYC) and 3 of the mentioned people actually heard it on WCBS 880. 1 found it via Amazon advertising.
  • AndyAndy Registered Users Posts: 50,016 Major grins
    edited November 29, 2010
    ian408 wrote: »
    I bet the number of "random adoptions" is much higher than you think.

    Especially since they advertise online, and sell 'em in Best Buy, Apple Store, and other places.
  • ian408ian408 Administrators Posts: 21,904 moderator
    edited November 29, 2010
    Andy wrote: »
    Especially since they advertise online, and sell 'em in Best Buy, Apple Store, and other places.

    And the pimply faced kid at BB recommended them thumb.gif
    Moderator Journeys/Sports/Big Picture :: Need some help with dgrin?
  • Art ScottArt Scott Registered Users Posts: 8,959 Major grins
    edited November 29, 2010
    ian408 wrote: »
    And the pimply faced kid at BB recommended them thumb.gif

    NOT one of the employees here at either of the BB's had any idea what they are for...thought they were just an overpriced off brand........even the dept manager had no idea what they were really for..........so it depends on where you are at........I sell more cameras for the local best buys than their employees do when I am in the stores....it sux that they do not educate those they hire and they do not hire people to work in the camera dept that actually enjoy photography.........

    that was about 8 months ago......I have pretty much shunned the place.......................
    "Genuine Fractals was, is and will always be the best solution for enlarging digital photos." ....Vincent Versace ... ... COPYRIGHT YOUR WORK ONLINE ... ... My Website

  • gillatgillat Registered Users Posts: 145 Major grins
    edited November 29, 2010
    First of all, Andy and Ian, thank you for the comments. You guys are awesome. @Zanotti, I'll reply below, with quotes:

    I dont agree with your analysis that SD is 5% of the pro market. Sure they sell 95% of what is sold, but your available market excludes every mom and pop in America that has a P&S. They are never going to buy anything like a wifi card, its just too complicated.

    I would say that Eye-Fi's biggest challenge is awareness. BUT, that is the case with any small company that is building a brand. You would even be surprised how the "mainstream" consumer doesn't know large brands that you and I are familiar with. It simply takes a very long time to build a brand, in most cases. There are some companies that build a brand really quickly, but they're usually companies that have free services (i.e. twitter, facebook). But even with Twitter -- my mom has no idea who they are, or what they do, and she's brilliant with a Ph.D and is very in touch with tech...

    In terms of marketshare -- what I've mentioned above is factual, based on data that we've gotten from Flickr, Picasa, Best Buy, Amazon, and the NYC stores. At Eye-Fi, I've been the one that's pushing for CF, but it's a small market, even when you consider the existing market share. You shouldn't forget that all consumer DSLR's are SD based, and MOST consumer DSLR's have been on SD, for years (i.e. Nikon and Canon). Further, Nikon and Canon sell MANY MORE consumer-level DSLR's, than pro DSLR's.

    In terms of retail -- we're sold at mass retail -- i.e. Wal-Mart, Target, Best Buy, Radio Shack, Apple, etc..., and online at Amazon, all the NYC stores, and in the US, Europe, Canada and Japan.

    In terms of reviews -- just search online, or go to our web site, and you'll see reviews from all the top consumer outlets and mainstream media.

    All that said -- awareness will still take time to build, and we're fully aware of that.
    If you subtract out everything except pro or higher end body, I think its closer to 50/50.

    It's not. Sorry. Go to Flickr, and scrape their data. It's widely available. Then, compare their data with Picasa, which is also widely availble. I have other data that isn't necessarily known, since we work with all the top OEM camera brands, and I happen to own distribution sales at Eye-Fi, so I'm close with all the buyers :-)
    Basically, every Canon shooter who is above strict amateur, and doesn't go to 1 series bodies is excluded.

    Notice how the 60D just went into SD, and over time, you'll see more and more of that.
    I think an analysis of available market is more important than total.

    Please see my comment above. Like I said -- I love CF and would love to support someone that will come out with a good CF adapter solution. We keep testing them, so my fingers are still crossed. But my data is correct.
    As you say, CF appears to be limited in life, but so probably is eye fi, as attachments with wifi capability are coming on strong.

    Another incorrect assertion. Take a look at the following link for Eye-Fi Connected cameras. There are 60+ of the top selling cameras, from the top 7 brands. They're supporting us officially by putting software into their cameras, to give the user a better in-camera experience. In contrast, there are 1-2 models with built-in Wi-Fi, and you should do your own research to compare the experience of those models, to our experience. I can assure you that with those 1-2 models, you won't be able to upload to SmugMug. With us -- you can :-)
    More choice makes it tough to make money as its a small market and if it gets subdividen more each individual piece is too small to sustain itsself.

    The camera market is about 100MM units sold, on a yearly basis. Out of that, 10% is DSLR, and is growing nicely. It's not a small market.
  • gillatgillat Registered Users Posts: 145 Major grins
    edited November 29, 2010
    Art Scott wrote: »
    NOT one of the employees here at either of the BB's had any idea what they are for...thought they were just an overpriced off brand........even the dept manager had no idea what they were really for..........so it depends on where you are at........I sell more cameras for the local best buys than their employees do when I am in the stores....it sux that they do not educate those they hire and they do not hire people to work in the camera dept that actually enjoy photography.........

    that was about 8 months ago......I have pretty much shunned the place.......................

    Art, retail is challenging. Welcome to our world :-) But you should go back there, and try again. We constantly train them, and 8 months, in retail, is A LONG TIME. I'm not promising that they'll be 100% knowledgeable, and every store is different, but if you don't mind, go there, and let me know what you think, and if you see a difference. We love secret shoppers :-)

    To contrast your experience, a TV producer walked into a Best Buy in LA, and asked them for a camera. They pitched the Eye-Fi card, he's never heard of it, bought one, was blown away, called us, and hired Eye-Fi to shoot the red carpet, to upload in real-time. It was thanks to an awesome Best Buy employee (and I got to shoot on the red carpet, 3 times now) :-)

    Best Buy is the #1 camera retailer in the US, and they do really well for us.
  • Art ScottArt Scott Registered Users Posts: 8,959 Major grins
    edited November 29, 2010
    gillat wrote: »
    Art, retail is challenging. Welcome to our world :-) But you should go back there, and try again. We constantly train them, and 8 months, in retail, is A LONG TIME. I'm not promising that they'll be 100% knowledgeable, and every store is different, but if you don't mind, go there, and let me know what you think, and if you see a difference. We love secret shoppers :-)

    To contrast your experience, a TV producer walked into a Best Buy in LA, and asked them for a camera. They pitched the Eye-Fi card, he's never heard of it, bought one, was blown away, called us, and hired Eye-Fi to shoot the red carpet, to upload in real-time. It was thanks to an awesome Best Buy employee (and I got to shoot on the red carpet, 3 times now) :-)

    Best Buy is the #1 camera retailer in the US, and they do really well for us.


    I was in retail for quite a while and yes 8 months is almost an eternity....99% of my shunning of BB has to do with other concerns not photographically...it has to do with practices of the computer sales and mgt forces.....
    I wll go back in as I am about ready to do some comparisons on the D700...so I will have to bag up a lens and a CF card to go play in the near future..........they will never have any of the D3's so I am still trying to find wiothout traveling to Chicago or NYC..............

    Keep up the good work for those pesky non pros :Dmwink.gifrolleyes1.gifrofl
    "Genuine Fractals was, is and will always be the best solution for enlarging digital photos." ....Vincent Versace ... ... COPYRIGHT YOUR WORK ONLINE ... ... My Website

  • gillatgillat Registered Users Posts: 145 Major grins
    edited November 29, 2010
    I wll go back in as I am about ready to do some comparisons on the D700...so I will have to bag up a lens and a CF card to go play in the near future..........they will never have any of the D3's so I am still trying to find wiothout traveling to Chicago or NYC..............

    Keep up the good work for those pesky non pros :Dmwink.gifrolleyes1.gifrof

    Right, they cater to the consumer, so they may have the D700 in some stores, but won't have the D3s in any stores.

    Personally, I'm waiting for Nikon to come out with the D700 replacement. It's 2.5 years overdue, and the D7000 is amazing, but the D700 replacement will be even more amazing. Several people in the office that just don't want to wait, took the plunge on the D7000. According to Ken Rockwell, it has more resolving power than any of the full frame sensors, today. I'm sure that it'll change, with their next full frame camera, and I'll be all over it, and sell my D300s on eBay :-)
  • SamSam Registered Users Posts: 7,419 Major grins
    edited November 29, 2010
    Gill,

    It's been awhile since I looked at your product.

    I see you can now transmit RAW files.

    I have a 5D II and my intended use would be to transmit the RAW files to a laptop on the job / shoot site and simply use it as a wireless thethered shooting system.

    Does this seem practical? How the heck would it work? Do I need additional equipment? Are the transfer rates fast enough for use in the real world?

    Can I continue shooting while the the images are transferred in the background or do I need to wait until the shot image is uploaded before taking the next shot?

    Thanks!!

    Sam
  • TelephotoTelephoto Registered Users Posts: 15 Big grins
    edited November 29, 2010
    Sam wrote: »
    Gill,

    It's been awhile since I looked at your product.

    I see you can now transmit RAW files.

    I have a 5D II and my intended use would be to transmit the RAW files to a laptop on the job / shoot site and simply use it as a wireless thethered shooting system.

    Does this seem practical? How the heck would it work? Do I need additional equipment? Are the transfer rates fast enough for use in the real world?

    Can I continue shooting while the the images are transferred in the background or do I need to wait until the shot image is uploaded before taking the next shot?

    Thanks!!

    Sam


    Sam, no offense, but there are three pages of discussion here on how this doesnt work with Canon camera's and especially the CF based Canon 5DMII.

    Did you even read the proceeding threads?

    Tele.......
  • gillatgillat Registered Users Posts: 145 Major grins
    edited November 29, 2010
    Sam, comments embedded below, with links:
    I see you can now transmit RAW files.

    Correct. The Pro X2 uploads RAW images.
    I have a 5D II and my intended use would be to transmit the RAW files to a laptop on the job / shoot site and simply use it as a wireless thethered shooting system.
    UNOFFICIALLY. Eye-Fi does not support CF adapters officially. But if you want the latest info on an adapter that would work, here is more info:

    http://forums.eye.fi/viewtopic.php?f=8&t=1352&p=12692&hilit=delock#p12692
    Does this seem practical? How the heck would it work? Do I need additional equipment? Are the transfer rates fast enough for use in the real world?
    You would get 12mbps (megabits per second) so that's about 1.5MBps. If you're shooting a 30MB RAW image, for example, it'll take about 12 seconds.
    Can I continue shooting while the the images are transferred in the background or do I need to wait until the shot image is uploaded before taking the next shot?
    The camera ALWAYS take priority. You can shoot whenever you want, and once the card finishes to write the new files, it'll resume uploads, where it left off. It's a Class 6 card that will sustain 12MBps (mega bytes per second) of write speeds, and will also sustain that speed, through the DeLock adapter.

    Thanks!!
  • SamSam Registered Users Posts: 7,419 Major grins
    edited November 29, 2010
    Telephoto wrote: »
    Sam, no offense, but there are three pages of discussion here on how this doesnt work with Canon camera's and especially the CF based Canon 5DMII.

    Did you even read the proceeding threads?

    Tele.......

    I read and looked at the Eye-fi site. It looked like it will work with a 5D II and an sd to cf adapter.

    Sam
  • gillatgillat Registered Users Posts: 145 Major grins
    edited November 29, 2010
    Sam wrote: »
    I read and looked at the Eye-fi site. It looked like it will work with a 5D II and an sd to cf adapter.

    Sam

    Sam, just make sure that you read my post above, and that you get the right (DeLock) adapter. Otherwise, it will not work.

    Thx --

    Ziv.
  • SamSam Registered Users Posts: 7,419 Major grins
    edited November 29, 2010
    OK,

    I am thinking that if the total cost is in line this would be a cool usable thing.

    I am also guessing that if I bought a Eye-Fi SD card and I couldn't get it to work with my 5D II I could return it. If it did work that would give you conformation and ivcrease your potential market.

    I don't understand the physical components needed. I am thinking obviously the camera, then an SD (Eye-FI) card to CF card adapter, after that I am lost.

    Do I need an express card, an DeLock and or both?

    Still not clear on how the Eye-Fi card communicates with the laptop., but thinking the express card / DeLock do that?

    Here is a completely unprofessional no expense diagram of my potential set up. :D

    Sam
  • kdogkdog Administrators Posts: 11,680 moderator
    edited November 29, 2010
    Sam, the Delock is the SD/CF adapter. You simply plug the EyeFi into the Delock CF adapter and plug that into your camera. The EyeFi then will operate on your wireless network. No need for any additional computer h/w, assuming it already is on your network.
  • SamSam Registered Users Posts: 7,419 Major grins
    edited November 29, 2010
    kdog wrote: »
    Sam, the Delock is the SD/CF adapter. You simply plug the EyeFi into the Delock CF adapter and plug that into your camera. The EyeFi then will operate on your wireless network. No need for any additional computer h/w, assuming it already is on your network.

    Ok, I couldn't find any DeLock products available in the USA. I did find a Delkin Devices one for $24.99, but don't know if this is the same.
    Seems like what I want is an Ad Hoc network. If I understand this I can shoot wireless to the computer at the South Pole. No WiFi necessary.

    Ideal for wireless tethered shooting.

    After trying to find additional info I did find one post were the poster said he couldn't get it to work with a 5D II, but no details were given.

    I also found a lot of negative comments on reliability and software interface. ???

    Maybe I'll wait for the next generation. :D

    Sam
  • gillatgillat Registered Users Posts: 145 Major grins
    edited November 30, 2010
    Sam,

    Comments below:
    Ok, I couldn't find any DeLock products available in the USA.

    Then please don't purchase the card. It'll only work with the DeLock adapter.
    I did find a Delkin Devices one for $24.99, but don't know if this is the same.
    That's exactly the adapter that DOES NOT work with the 5DmkII
    Seems like what I want is an Ad Hoc network. If I understand this I can shoot wireless to the computer at the South Pole. No WiFi necessary.

    You mean no router necessary. ad-hoc Wi-Fi IS Wi-Fi.
    Ideal for wireless tethered shooting.

    correct
    After trying to find additional info I did find one post were the poster said he couldn't get it to work with a 5D II, but no details were given.

    It DOES NOT work with any adapter, OTHER than the DeLock adapter
    I also found a lot of negative comments on reliability and software interface. ???

    We've taken in 120MM photo and videos over the last few months. I'm pretty sure that we're reliable :-) But like every other consumer product -- people will always have issues, and that's why we have Support, to help them out. Compare our reviews, to the reviews of the $1000 grips and how we work in noisy Wi-Fi environments :-)
    Maybe I'll wait for the next generation. :D

    The current generation is already the 2nd generation and is rock solid and is thus sold everywhere, but you should not purchase it until you're able to find the DeLock adapter.

    Thx.
  • ziggy53ziggy53 Super Moderators Posts: 23,764 moderator
    edited November 30, 2010
    Thanks for the information Ziv. thumb.gifclap
    ziggy53
    Moderator of the Cameras and Accessories forums
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