Didn't Wifi-Enabled SD cards used to be a thing?
July 3, 2023 6:25 AM Subscribe
After posting my recent question about getting a digital camera for my son I realize that instead of buying his a used camera, i could let him have my used point and shot that I haven't used in years. But I'd like the photos to upload to google photos so he can see them on his tablet. I remember there used to be SD cards you could buy that were wifi enabled somehow so you camera could sync automatically. Are these not a thing anymore? I can't find one. Canada.
Those were Eye-Fi cards and I had one; they used cloud storage run by Eye-Fi, and never worked all that great but did what they said they'd do. Canon apparently still offers this too, but it appears to support high-end cameras only.
You should check their digital camera, or if you're thinking of getting a digital camera look for this feature -- many have wifi built in so you can sync to a phone or the cloud.
posted by AzraelBrown at 6:45 AM on July 3, 2023 [1 favorite]
You should check their digital camera, or if you're thinking of getting a digital camera look for this feature -- many have wifi built in so you can sync to a phone or the cloud.
posted by AzraelBrown at 6:45 AM on July 3, 2023 [1 favorite]
These were never really a thing. There were a couple models that tried to launch but they didn't succeed.
The leading model was eyefi, but its been discontinued for a while. Googling suggests Toshiba flashair, might be viable which was discontinued in 2021 but may still be available.
Then you are going to run into app support issues on the iPad, so research that end too.
Modern digital cameras sometimes include wifi, i didnt have any luck with it on my point and shoot though. Pro cameras have pretty sophisticated support, but that a different market.
posted by TheAdamist at 6:46 AM on July 3, 2023 [1 favorite]
The leading model was eyefi, but its been discontinued for a while. Googling suggests Toshiba flashair, might be viable which was discontinued in 2021 but may still be available.
Then you are going to run into app support issues on the iPad, so research that end too.
Modern digital cameras sometimes include wifi, i didnt have any luck with it on my point and shoot though. Pro cameras have pretty sophisticated support, but that a different market.
posted by TheAdamist at 6:46 AM on July 3, 2023 [1 favorite]
Reading your question again I realize the ezShare limitation that was a problem for me may not be a problem for you. If all you want are photos and if your camera saves photos in a format ezShare is compatible with, it might work. You still have the challenge of getting the photos to Google Photos though, I don't know if ezShare does that itself or not. Here's a Raspberry Pi project that says it does it.
I should emphasize all of this stuff will require some hacking and be an unfriendly experience. It might work but expect to have to tinker quite a bit.
posted by Nelson at 6:59 AM on July 3, 2023
I should emphasize all of this stuff will require some hacking and be an unfriendly experience. It might work but expect to have to tinker quite a bit.
posted by Nelson at 6:59 AM on July 3, 2023
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A decade ago I used eye-Fi cards with a camera, they worked OK. Transcend and Toshiba FlashAir were other brands. Those old cards should still work, in theory, but they are hard to find and at outrageous prices.
This recent round I bought an "ez Share" card. a newish Chinese product. It sort of worked but I ran into a problem that the card's firmware was too photo-specific and I couldn't download the data files I needed. I have some detailed tech notes here.
posted by Nelson at 6:43 AM on July 3, 2023 [2 favorites]