F9 Photo & Film

WiFi tethering using the Eye-Fi Pro X2 with a Canon 1D Mark IV and Adobe Lightroom

I love my iPhone’s ability to quickly send photos to friends and family wherever I travel.

I wanted similar transfer ability with my other cameras so I purchased an Eye-Fi Pro X2 to use with my Panasonic GF1. For my “real shooting” I have a Canon WFT-E2 II A Wireless File Transmitter for my Canon 1D Mark IV. Due to the ease of use and quick setup of the Eye-Fi card, I started using the Eye-Fi in the SD slot on my 1D.  I use the Eye-Fi card as the “backup card” in addition to the Compact Flash card using the 1D’s “save picture to two cards ” function.   This mirrors each photo to a CF card and the Eye-Fi card.  The Eye-Fi card will then send photos to my computer automatically.  This is very useful to review shots during timelapse and gigapan shots and is easier to setup than my  WFT-E2. The quick WiFi transfer also allows your assistant or client to review an image during a live photo shoot.

What is a Eye-Fi card?

The Eye-Fi card is a wireless memory card. It fits into cameras just like a regular SDHC card and has a built-in Wi-Fi transmitter that uses your wireless network to transfer photos and videos. You can specify which networks the Eye-Fi card uses to transfer your media. You can even automatically send images to an FTP server or online sharing site like Flickr.

The 150 dollar Eye-Fi Pro X2 vs the 750 dollar WFT-E2 II A.

Comparing the two products is unfair because the Canon WFT-E2 II A is in a different class. The WFT-E2 is designed to act as its own http web server, it allows remote liveview, remotes camera control, auto ftp of images to online servers. It has Bluetooth and USB built in for connections to compatible printers and GPS units. It is designed to mount directly to the side of a compatible EOS camera. I had been using the Canon WFT-E2II A with my Canon 1D Mark IV to tether it to my Macbook Pro to remotely control the camera and to automatically transfer images to my computer while shooting. I have been using my iPad to remote control my camera via LiveView. The Canon WFT interface is very cumbersome and is hard to setup. During a recent shoot I wanted to quickly proof photos in Lightroom and started to use the WFT-E2II for the job but it would transfer both the RAW and the JPG version of the photo making for a slow transfer. I wanted a system to do a quick review of what I had shot without being tethered by a USB cable to my laptop or have to attach the WFT.

The Eye-Fi card only does one thing; transfer images from a SD card via a WiFi network to your computer or online storage. But it does that one thing very well and it is very easy to set up. I like the fact that I can put it in the 1D and forget its there. It even imports the raw and video files off of my 1D. It has much better range that I expected from inside the 1D. I set the EyeFi software to only import JPG images. I have found a JPG transfers to my laptop in under a few seconds. Then I have Lightroom monitoring the import folder and it auto import the image (4 more seconds). You can do the same in Apple Aperture.

How I setup a file tether with an Eye-Fi Pro X2 in Canon 1D Mark IV and auto import preview photos into Adobe Lightroom

1D Camera Setup:

• Put the Eye-Fi Pro X2 card in the SD card slot on your 1D
• Put a regular CF card in the CF slot of your 1D
• Set the 1D to shoot photos to both the CF and SD card slots
• Select the CF slot as the card to review photos from

Eye-Fi Setup.

• Configure the Eye-Fi card (next para)
• Set the system to only import JPG (for speed)
• That’s it!

The setup for the Eye-Fi card is very easy. It comes with its own USB card reader and is loaded with software for both a PC and Mac.

Full install instructions for the Eye-Fi Mac OSX:

1. Install the Eye-Fi Center software

2. Insert the Eye-Fi Card into the USB card reader

3. Insert USB card reader into your computer ( PC or Mac)

4. After several moments you should see a yellow message balloon stating “Found Eye-Fi Card, Initializing Eye-Fi Card” followed by another stating “Found Eye-Fi Card, launching Eye-Fi Center”.

5. The Eye-Fi Center Registration dialog will open. Complete all fields. It is important to note that the email address you enter here will become your user name for your Eye-Fi account. Click the “Create Account” button.

6. If your Eye-Fi Card requires a firmware update you will need to click the Eye-Fi Card icon and follow the instructions in dialog window that appears

7. Choose your network from the drop down menu, enter your network password and click the “Add network to card” button.

8. Skip the “Share photos online” selecting “I don’t want to set up Online Photo Sharing now” and clicking the “Next” button.

9. The card is ready to upload photos, remove the card and place it in your camera when you see the following screen. Take a JPEG photo and wait a few moments, you should see the image and or progress bar start in the bottom right corner.

The Eye-Fi only comes as an SD card so you cannot use it in a Canon 5D Mark II. I have tried it with a Compact Flash to SD adaptor and it works with reduced range. I’m not sure I would trust it in a production environment with a large frame buffer running through the CF to SD adaptor.

This entry was posted on Wednesday, September 1st, 2010 at 7:41 am. It is filed under Photography and tagged with 1D Mark IV, 5D Mark II, Adobe, Canon, Eye-Fi, GigaPan, HowTo, Lightroom, Review, Timelapse, WiFi. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed.