Last year I released a video explaining how to wirelessly tether your camera to an iPad by jailbreaking the iPad. Since then Eye-Fi has released a firmware update that makes wireless tethering possible without the need for jailbreaking. Now, not only is the whole process much easier to set up, it is also much cheaper because you no longer have to pay for the more expensive Pro Eye-Fi card, you can make this work with the cheaper Connect X2 card.
Today Eye-Fi released an update to their iPad app which includes some pretty helpful updates.
New features:
- Landscape mode support in the gallery view
- "Add network" button to automatically add the Wi-Fi network to the iOS device even when the Direct Mode network is not broadcasting
- Directly transfer from iOS device to computer when they are on the same Wi-Fi network (requires the user to set the computer destination for the iOS device in Eye-Fi Center again to enable this feature)
- Email up to 5 photos through the native mail app
User Interface:
- Show icons for items pending transfer and actively transferring
- Icon in the tray to indicate when connected to a Direct Mode network
- Added Spanish and Italian languages
- Double tap to zoom into a photo (only on iPhone4 and iPads)
- Smoother transitions when swiping through photos
- Single tap to dismiss the navigation elements in single photo view
- Provide feedback when card is not paired to device on a Direct Mode network
Other:
- Stability improvements
- Turn off video transfers from the Eye-Fi Card to the iOS device if the video type is not supported by iOS
- Screenshots are now automatically uploaded
If you had a little extra money I would suggest buying the ShutterSnitch iPad app as it has many more professional features and the new version is extremely stable. I've also found that I still prefer the older jailbreaking method of tethering (which requires the more expensive card) for a number of reasons. If you have your device jailbroken anyway, the "old" way may still be the best way.
Youtube version
Eye-Fi X2 Wireless SD Card The Eye-Fi X2 card is the perfect companion for any SD capable camera (and some CF cameras can use this adapter). Almost every photoshoot we do now has the iPad tethered for close monitoring of our images. [Amazon | B&H Video]
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Apple iPad 32 GB Almost every photographer these days is on the go, and the ipad is the perfect travel companion. The battery life is simply awesome for all your multimedia needs when traveling, and the ipad has become our favorite digital portfolio. Also the iPad allows a photographer to easily tether to a camera for on site review which is really cool. This is not a replacement for a true computer but it's definitely a good accessory for any photographer. [Amazon | B&H Video ]
Does it work with RAW files as well? Or only in JPG mode?
I think it works with RAWs but I don't know why you would want to do that. It would be crazy slow.
... and I guess an iPhone or iPod Touch can be used in the same way right?
yes
Lee:
Can you connect to a laptop with wifi instead of the iPad, iPhone, or iPod Touch?
yup. I find it slow for some reason though, for all applications. Definitely not as quick as Lee's in the video
Ok I posted a video on this months ago including compatibility and work around see weblink below this will answer you questions for you.
<a href="http://www.youtube.com/user/grimlightimages" rel="nofollow">GrimLight TV See How These Eye Fi Cards Work</a>
Thanks for the post, Lee. We actually sell a CF adapter that works with Eye Fi Cards. We've blogged about it here: http://tethertalk.com/2011/09/28/solutions-for-tethering-to-your-ipad.
My 5D MKII runs CF cards only. need a different solution :(
I used mine first with a friend's Rebel XS since it wouldn't work with my 40D. This was after testing it with a Sony NEX camera. Now I have a T2i, and it works wonderfully.
And you can also get an iPad to HDMI adapter and plug it into a TV! What you shoot will be instantly (within reasonable transfer time) on the screen for all to see. You can specify the Eye-Fi to transfer only the images you choose. Not everything has to be sent to the iPad.
Pity there isn't a HDMI -> iPad, so you could just directly tether it as you would camera -> tv. Granted, they wouldn't be able to shuffle through the images, but there'd be no lag. As soon as it's up on your camera LCD, it's up on the screen. Have that in a custom box that is mounted directly above the camera and you're sorted.
Alex,
Try this link and you might get a chance to do just that.
Patrick
This is nice,and now with the new iOS 5 it will "iCloud" your Pictures to all your devices. Awesome. :)
I am in the same boat as everyone else with the CF card. The other thing they're missing is that new cameras may have SD cards, but when I have money to upgrade I spend it on glass, not the camera body. People tend to use their current camera body for years before they upgrade so CF will be around for a while yet.
I just purchased the Eye-Fi and adapter after reading this awesome post, but it just won't work on my Canon 5D
I keep getting Cannot format card, try creating the folder on the card and that didn't work either.
Any suggestions will be greatly appreciated.
I've got the same trouble but with a 7d...
Any suggestions ??
some/most adapters don't work with specific cameras (depending is they are UDMA or not). it's a very meticulous thing. i got eye-fi to work with the 5Dmkii: http://danylophotography.com/blog/?p=439
I would also recommend reading Rob Galbraith post too about this (there's a link in the post too)
Doesn't work worth a hoot in my wife's Canon Rebel XSi. Signal drops in and out and if you're more than 2-3 feet away from your iDevice, forget about it. I can see this being useful if your goal is to use your iDevice as a backup storage medium or if you want to automatically upload lower quality jpgs to photobucket or flicker, but for real-world tethering (using an iPad to quickly view higher res than the screen on the camera, for example), at least with the camera we tested it with, it's worthless. We're taking ours back today.
Will this work with Windows 7 based tablets?
has anyone tried this with the new Ipad, I had and ipad 1 and just upgraded and now all the pics are blurry
http://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/969450-REG/camranger_1001_camrange...
Does anyone know if the Eye-fi works with the canon Mark ii??
I want to mount a small video camera with quality zooming on a 10+' pole
and tether it to an iPad that I can control below while holding the
pole. Application is competitive soccer from the sideline. I don't want to spend enormous money, but want it to be good enough while not sacrificing too much quality or features. What is the quality but reasonably priced solution? Recommendations?