Problem-Getting photos from the camera into the computer:
Real estate photography gets easier once you've set up your
Eye-Fi WiFi SD card, just put it into the camera and go take photos. It looks like any other SD or SDHC card, but it does a lot more. Once I've identified it to my office and home wifi networks, it will automatically connect with them when in range.
When I return with a bunch of photos, the card finds the wifi network and immediately begins to upload the images through the network to the folder I've set up on my hard drive. It keeps me up to date with how it's going, and lets me know when it's finished.
Using Flickr or Picasa is easier too:
If you use Flickr or Picasa for online photo storage, the card can also be set up to automatically send your images to those services as well. This is in addition to placing them on your hard drive. This takes on a whole new meaning when you're out and about and taking a lot of photos. You can pick up any WiFi and have photos sent up while you're away from the office or home.
The card can also geotag the photos based on the location of any wifi it's picking up.
Endless memory feature means less hassle:
The card also provides an "endless memory" feature. Whether you're using a 2 GB, 4 GB or 8 GB card, you can stop worrying about running out of space, but still keep images on the card for extended periods. You can tell the card to hold all images until a certain percentage of the card is full. It will then start deleting the oldest photos that have been uploaded.
I've set mine to allow the card to get to 70% of capacity before deleting older images. Since it's uploading every time it finds wifi, once it starts to get full, older images are deleted to make room for the new ones.
Deciding on the card and the cost:
First, determine if your camera is compatible, and many are,
at their site here. Many cameras and brands have been tested.
There are several different storage sizes for the card, as well as different features available. Go to the
site's product page here to research which should be best for you. One other feature available on some cards is the ability to store and upload RAW format images.
To shop prices, from around $45 to $145, check out these links to get the best deal.
I'm a tech geek, but this product really is helpful:
True, if you hang around this site for a while, you'll find that I've tried a whole lot of technology products and services. I do love tech. However, I bought another Eye-Fi card for the household, as it just makes life a bit easier when dealing with a lot of digital images.
If your real estate business has you, or even an assistant, taking a lot of photos, this card can make it faster and more secure to get those images where they need to be and backed up. Though I mentioned Flickr and Picasa, there are a number of online sites that the card can work with, including SmugMug, mobileme, snapfish, and more.
If your camera also takes movies, they can be handled the same way. Email notification keeps you informed as to when photos have been safely uploaded. It's a very useful tool in my business, so check out the links above to see if it's right for yours.
