So,here is my dilemma.  I love taking pictures of my three kids.  I snap so many pictures, they must be starting to think I am a member of the paparazzi, stalking them.  The problem is, what can I do with all of these pictures.  My family is always harassing me to email them photos or create new web albums.  But to do that, I have to download the pictures from  my camera to my computer, sort through the photos, decide which photos to share, choose an online service, and then upload them to the web so I can invite others to view them,  Overall, this is a pretty cumbersome and time consuming process.  I have always felt there must be an easier way to share my photos, and now there is, thanks to Eye-Fi.

Eye-Fi takes all of the complication out of sharing your photos and videos by combining a memory card and wireless transmitter into one tiny accessory.  The Eye-Fi is essentially an SD/SDHC memory card, and is compatible with any devices which use SD or SDHC memory.  What makes the Eye-Fi card unique is that it contains a tiny wireless transmitter, which allows it to utilize any wireless network to upload photos and videos directly from your camera.  It even comes in five flavors (including two 2Gb and three 4Gb versions).  You can see how the different models compare by checking out this chart.  In the meantime, we will be looking at the 4GB Pro version, which is the most feature rich of the Eye-Fi models. 

To get started, you will first need to set up the card. To do this, just insert the card into any computer which is connected to a wireless network, and download the Eye-Fi wireless manager. 

Once installed, the wireless manager will allow you to give the Eye-Fi card permission to access your wireless network and designate which of the nearly two dozen photo sharing services you wish to use. 

You can connect as many services as you like, but the Eye-Fi can only upload to one at a time, so you will have to designate which one is the primary service for uploads.  The Eye-Fi Pro also allows you to access any public hotspot around the country, meaning you are never far from sharing your photos.

Once you have the card all prepared, you are ready to start snapping photos.  Just insert the card into your camera’s memory card slot, like you would with any other memory card and away you go.  Point-click-shoot-save.   I found the memory card portion of the Eye-Fi worked about as well as any other standard memory card, with pretty much average read and write speeds.

The real magic begins when you are within range (about 90 feet) of your wireless network or hotspot.  Just turn on your camera and let the fun begin.  Your pictures will be automatically uploaded to whichever online service you designated, as well as the Eye-Fi manager on your computer.  I thought the upload speeds felt a little slow, but once I compared them to the upload speeds from my computer to the same online services, they turned out to be pretty close to the same speed.  The only downside to all of this is that your camera must be turned on in order for Eye-Fi to connect to the network, so you may want to turn off any sleep settings and consider plugging the camera into an AC outlet before you begin uploading.  Otherwise, your batteries are not likely to last long. 

By default, the Eye-Fi card will upload every image on the card.  You can change this to manual from the wireless manager on your computer.  Once manual is activated, only images you designate (by marking them with the protect tool) will be uploaded.  This is a great way to maintain control, especially if you want to conserve battery power by only uploading your favorite photos.

Finally, every photo you take will be automatically geotagged.  I thought this was fantastic, especially for archiving purposes.  Twenty years from now, those photos will have a nice map attached to them showing exactly where they were shot.  How cool is that?

The best mobile gadgets are those which take something you were going to do anyway, and make it easier.  That is exactly what I found with the Eye-Fi.  Look, most of you take digital photos so you can share them, and many of you use an online service to accomplish that.  With Eye-Fi, sharing is now as easy as simply taking a picture.  Instead of 10 steps, Eye-Fi has reduced the process to a single step.  Just point-click-and share.  My only question is how all of you have lived without one of these for so long.

What I Liked:

• The combination of 4Gb of storage and wireless connectivity
• Geotagging
• Hotspot compatible
• Automatically connects with dozens of online services
• Easy to setup and use

What Needs Improvement:

• Requires camera to be turned on to upload, which can drain batteries
• Only SD/SDHC compatible

Where To Buy: www.eyefi.com

Price: $149.99 (Eye-Fi Pro version)

Related posts:

1. Eye-Fi Unveils Next Generation Wireless Storage Cards
2. Eye-Fi Wants To Give You This Camera…Read On To Learn How To Enter
3. New YouTube Videos Teach You Everything You Need To Know About Eye-Fi
4. Mini-Review SD and Memory Card Storage Options From Proporta
5. WiFi for Digital Cameras