Read this post. It is important to anyone remotely interested in remote cameras.
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Taken on December 20th, 2007
These photos were automatically uploaded to this blog by a wireless router at my home that received images wirelessly from a Wingscapes BirdCam mounted on our deck. This is all made possible by a very cool new product: the Eye-Fi wireless SD memory card.
We are still experimenting with this card and I should say upfront that we've had some hiccups. However, it is very exciting to report that when we've gotten it to work properly, this wireless 2GB SD card effectively makes the Wingscapes BirdCam WIRELESS!!! This means that I can setup the BirdCam, go to work, and as soon as it captures images of birds, it automatically sends the photos wirelessly to my home computer, an online photo service (the Wingscapes blog, in this case), or both.
This first version of the product has some limitations. It will only transmit .jpg photo files (not our .avi video files). Range is limited by a number of factors (camera type, distance to Wi-Fi router, etc), and there are not many options for controlling the process. We'd like to see the ability to schedule uploads and an option that deleted images from the 2 GB card once they've uploaded.
This product was designed principally for casual photographers who do not want to connect their cameras to a cable in order to get images onto their computer. For that purpose, it works. But, I feel the value of this technology is FAR greater in applications like the BirdCam....where it actually extends the an existing product's capabilities. Expect wireless to become a common feature of digital cameras over the next few years.
Wingscapes tips its hat to the developers at Eye-Fi. They've successfully brought a problem-solving product to market that will surely be a big hit (the product is already racking up awards). We are looking forward to using the Eye-Fi card with the BirdCam and have high hopes for Eye-Fi as they work to improve this new technology. (I also have to give due credit to whoever designed the product packaging for the Eye-Fi. It is one of the coolest boxes I've seen.)
If you want to experiment with an Eye-Fi card in your BirdCam, please go for it. Because the technology is so new, we can not offer support for these wireless cards and I'm sure Eye-Fi can't offer support for application in the BirdCam. But, we got it to work and are having a ball with it. If you use an Eye-Fi with your BirdCam, please let us know how it goes.
