Eye-Fi cards now compatible with the Nikon D800 camera

By [NR] admin | Published: November 20, 2012

Quick update for all Wi-Fi cards fans: in their latest firmware release v5.0018 Eye-Fi resolved the compatibility issue with Nikon D800/D800E cameras.

FYI: Transcend recently announced their own 16GB and 32GB Wi-Fi enables SD memory cards.

Related posts:

  1. Nikon D800/D800E cameras are currently not compatible with Eye-Fi cards
  2. The new Lexar 1000x PRO CF cards will be shipping in 7-14 days
  3. Sony XQD memory cards now available for pre-order
  4. Interesting: Lexar XQD memory cards listed as discontinued *UPDATED*
  5. Nikon D4 owners: Sony announced faster S series XQD memory cards
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  • 800mm f/2.8 DX VR

    Why do you need an expensive wifi card when you can pick up a high speed 16gb card for just $20 nowadays??

    • lorenzo

      Despite I will never use them because I don’t have that need today, I think that with these cards you can wireless send images to internet, cell phones, iPad etc in real time, so you don’t have to remove a 1000x expensive Lexar or connect the USB cable to download photos from the field. That’s all I know, they are excellent for reporters 🙂

    • ragamofyn

      a wireless solution is great if: (1) you have a camera in a studio and don’t want to yank the card out every time you want to review a shot [very important ability when reviewing on the LCD screen just won’t cut it]; and (2) a good gimmick [read: makes you $$$] solution for the wedding party that likes the novelty of real-time photos displayed on a big projector screen.

      • 800mm f/2.8 DX VR

        Oh I like the gimmick idea . . . but you would need to have someone on the other end to censor the photos, or else the wedding party will see ever out of focus, badly exposed, or otherwise bad shot you take . . . .

        • ragamofyn

          quite true indeed! this is why I haven’t done it yet… but if you do have somebody to “man the booth”, you can even bring in a Kwanon Selphy (sorry; can’t say the “C” word around here, right?) and make on-demand prints. for the wedding that already has everything else…

        • Mansgame

          gimmick is right…most people either edit their pictures later or shoot tethered if they need their clients to see the work right way. I suppose for a wedding maybe I could have one slot shoot low res jpg and use wifi for that and save the raw on the other memory card, but again, you only want your best work out there and not any missed shots.

      • nc_mike

        That is exactly what I do in my studio! I use a Wireless USB 2,0 transmitter plugged into my D800 and receiver conneced to my PC. Being Wireless USB gives me super high speed wireless image transfer directly to my studio PC uptp 480Mbps from anywhere in my studio – far faster than a Wi-Fi 802.11N based toy. I have Nikon Camera Control 2 running on my workstation – the images display instantly as I shoot on the PC screen behind me on the wall (a small 20″ display. To my camera left wall is a 80″ Sharp LED 1080p; the 80″ is connected via a long HDMI cable to the HDMI out of my display adapter and the images are there in full life size glory as I shoot – visible to me but not my subject and visible to any guest I allow in the studio sitting on the couch opposite the 80″ LED. Yes, it clearly drives more sales and its like a lifesize real time Polaroid of yesteryear for checking posing/lighting etc.

        • DafOwen

          Bit confused – isn’t D800 a USB3 device ?

          • nc_mike

            it can use USB 2.0 as well.

    • mike

      A $20 card doesn’t work well with the D800. I’ve tried. The 95 Mb Sandisk – those work very well. But the $20 class 10s – you end up waiting forever to try to switch to live view, or do most anything else while writing to the card

  • peter2

    oy. Some expensive cards. iPass.

  • nc_mike

    Transmission over EyeFi cards are so slow – like a turtle – that its worthless for any serious use. 36MP images over a 50-150 MB/s link? Ha! What we need is a Wireless USB2 or Wireless USB3-based EyeFi solution or the like – when will a vendor provide one? C’mon vendors! Give us 450 MB/s or faster wireless image transfer without needing a wi-fi network!

    • Kuv

      I think you mean Mb/s or even KB. There’s a difference.

      • nc_mike

        Correct…it is actually Mbps (Megabits per second). The typical EyeFi connection provides between 60 and 120 bps connection over Wireless N (even though the N spec says up to 300Mbps – you never get close to it). Wireless USB 2.0 connection provides upto an actual 480Mbps connection – ideal for large D800 files. I use my Wireless USB 2,0 connection every day with my D800 to send RAW and Large JPEG to my computer fast and flawlessly – without needing a network.

        • DafOwen

          What wireless USB system do you use ?

          • nc_mike

            I am using Cables Unlimited wireless USB 2.0 dongle pair- CU went bankrupt but I think I just found 12 more units for sale at $110USD

      • MyrddinWilt

        or baud?

        My experience with Eye-fi was exactly the same. Try to use them for video and the battery will run down long before the transfer is complete. Plus the sync software is clueless and cannot do a partial resume.

        These cards are only better if they are more convenient than remembering to take the card out and download it. But they are not.

        It is a real pity that without exception every download manager seems to be written by the clueless. I do not want to manage the process of downloading pics from a card. Just let me stick the card in, have the data sucked out into my laptop and then upload it to my duplicate storage systems when there is net connectivity. Then once the picture is saved delete it from the storage card.

        Do not ask me to sort the pictures out or do anything with them during that process. Just make a log file of the downloaded images and let me work on that offline when I am at my desk.

    • Arkasai

      Getting something like Intel’s ultra wide band wireless (which I believe is just several multiplexed wifi connections) working, you’d probably need more space and power than what you can get from the SD slot. There are fast ways of moving data over the air but it’s looking more and more like they’ll have to be external peripherals or built in.

  • lorenzo

    What I don’t know instead, just for an academic talk, is:

    If you take a xx minutes video (and assuming it fits on these cards) does the transmission begin as you start the video or only wen you stop it?

    Agree with nc_mike, great idea but probably not for 70MB pictures or videos.
    Well, reporters will use D4s and their Ethernet connector…

    • MyrddinWilt

      The Eye-Fi cards only start downloading when the recording is complete. If the transfer is interrupted for any reason at all it will restart from the beginning.

      Since the files are up to 4Gb and the software is crappy there is absolutely no chance this is going to work in any realistic environment for video.

      I have tried it and it is crap.

  • ragamofyn

    don’t bother with EyeFi. as other people have already said, the WiFi transfer rates are RIDICULOUSLY STUPENDOUSLY UNUSABLY SLOW. slow Slow SLOW. I can’t say the world *slow* enough. if you are buying these for the WiFi feature (which is the only reason why you’d buy it), get it from a store that allows returns. I’m betting 80% of you will return it.

    oh sure — it works “meh” if you shoot S-sized JPEGs (about an image every 2 seconds), but anything more than that and you’re wasting your time. very disappointed by the Class 6 version of this product and — from what the reports have said — the Class 10 improves write speeds but the wireless transfer rates are still junk.

    I’d like to see whether the Transcend cards to better (who knows). in the meantime, I give the EyeFi cards an “epic fail” if you intend to use them wirelessly for anything more than meager JPEGs.

    • Kuv

      The first problem is that even the S-sized jpegs on the D800 are still huge. If I want to transfer only the jpegs (fora kind of wireless tethering), it’s still too long a delay.

      • Jan F. Rasmussen

        Hmm in DX mode and low quality should be OK, but sort of defeats the reason for using a D800…

        • nc_mike

          Which is why I switched from EyeFi to Wireless USB 2.0 – works like a charm 🙂

  • 800mm f/2.8 DX VR

    People have been saying these are slow – can anyone tell me how they compare to the little add on wifi units that you can buy for the D3200, D5200, and D4?

    • nc_mike

      Just look at the 801.11N speeds – a typical laptop with a wireless N adapter with a typical wireless N adapter usually gets between 60-120 Mpbs top speed (even though the Wireless N spec says up to 300). If EyeFy came out with a Wireless AC version of their card it might actually be practical for real use.

    • Mike

      Can’t say how they compare (gee I’m useless). I can say that I got one for a D5100, and used it for a month or so before I switched to another card. I got the highest end eye-fi card, and video just kept failing (to record for any length of time). Not transferring, just the actual recording. When I switched to another card, problem was solved. I actually liked the auto upload to my computer and to smugmug, but as others have said, the battery on the camera drained to quickly for anything other than sporadic shots of the kid at home

  • Steven

    Everybody likes to hate on the Eye-Fi cards and say that no one would use them…especially a professional. Well, that is just not true. I use one and it is an EXTREMELY important part of my workflow. I would go so far as to say VITAL. But, like any piece of equipment, you just have to know what it does and doesn’t do well.

    People are right to say that it would be foolish to just them ONLY to shoot RAW…but, I think, that shows a lack of imagination. Besides, why would you be shooting RAW to an iPad anyway? I find the JPEG transfer rate to be quite tolerable…dare I say, fast. In fact, on the D800, I find its transfers even faster than when I was shooting a Canon 1Ds2. Here is what I do…

    – D800…use both card slots. Sandisk 32gb card in one and Eye-Fi Pro X2 in the other slot.

    – Set the camera to record RAW to the CF card and medium JPEG to the other.

    – Set my 27″ iMac (or occasionally my MacBook Pro) to create an ad hoc network.

    – Create a “watched” folder for Lightroom and voila! A nifty wireless tethering solution 🙂

    I now have both a useful and convenient way of working with clients. having this means it is incredibly easy to check details with clients (hair, jewelry, tags, etc.), confirm composition and sharpness, or most importantly to show and teach the “models” who are usually completely inexperienced, since my main work is with high school seniors, as well as, get feedback from all those involved.

    I also don’t have to worry about the limitations or risks of using wires and iI don’t have to worry about something hanging off the side of my camera, risking damaging something on either the camera or computer end. I can move all I want (even in and out of the studio, spontaneously) and I don’t have to treat my camera like it’s brittle, since that did become an issue for me shooting wired with my canon.

    I was terribly disappointed that the D800/Eye-Fi didn’t get along in direct mode, but now (verified last night) I can go back to using my iPad w/shuttersnitch, literally, in the field 🙂

    FYI, for anyone wondering about the rest of my workflow, after the shoots, i load up the RAWs from the CF card. I use the JPEGS in the clients selection process since the RAW files do slow my computer down. Later I match up the selections and toss the JPEGs.

    Is the Eye-Fi card for everyone? I doubt it. Is it a total gimmick that has NO place in a pros kit? No, and I think LOTS of photographers (who work with people) could benefit greatly from it.

    • MyrddinWilt

      I think the capabilities of WiFi are awesome.

      The problem I have is with the EyeFi realization. It is only really working for you because you have dual slots and so you don’t need to worry about resolution. That is fine but this is all a pale shadow of what it could be.

      The cameras should have WiFi built in. The chips cost about $5 now. It is a no-brainer.

      Put WiFi in the camera and we can start using it as a replacement for PocketWizards and the like. Radio flash with no distance limits at all (can use WiFi base stations connected by Ethernet).

      • Steven

        A few times I have shot in high resolution and it still worked very well…in jpeg form.

        I completely agree that this should be built in and would love to see one of the faster standards implemented…but until then I’m satisfied 🙂

        Strangely this is probably one of those situations where we will see the innovations coming from in the bottom end…and then maybe they will come up to the high end cameras.

    • pix555

      I just wanted to use the eyfi card to transfer JPEG’s to my Nexus 10 but after five hours of total frustration trying to set this piece of crap up I gave up. I took out my scissors and cut this thing into little pieces. Eyefi doesn’t even offer telephone support anymore, so it makes it three times is difficult to accomplish this supposedly simple task.

  • Zaphod

    It is not. It still does not handle tif or nef images.

  • EYEFI hater

    I am amazed that any of you have even got this piece of crap to work. No matter what I try it will not connect to my laptop, either directly or via the net. The customer support is non existent and documentation a joke….. Big thumbs down for this product!

  • antonius

    Hi Mike, i was just reading your comments about your use of the

    Cables Unlimited Wireless USB Device Dongle with your d800 in the studio and wondered how you attach it as my D800 (uk) has a USB3 micro socket not a normal usb2 one. do you use an adaptor of some sort?

    many thanks
    Antonius

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