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up vote 3 down vote favorite

Simple question:
What Eye-Fi cards support adhoc networks?

On the Eye-Fi website, there are not many details of the cards and there are three types listed:

  • Pro
  • Mobile
  • Connect

In addition on Amazon I see:

  • Geo
  • Explore
  • Eye-Fi made be SanDisk?

Itai pointed out that there is also:

  • Toshiba FlashAir
    However it is currently not available in North America

My idea is to use one of the cards and some custom written software on a laptop to setup a "mobile" studio without needing to rely on a network. Being able to display the images I take instantly for the subject on a nice screen anywhere with the least amount of gear would be awesome!

[Edited 09/03/2012]

Update [09/07/2012]:

I just received a Pro x2 and can confirm that there are several ways to connect to the card:

  1. Connect over a wireless network [card -> router -> computer]
  2. Set up an adHoc network and connect the card to that [card -> computer]
  3. The card does broadcasts its own network, allowing devices to connect [card -> computer]

I have had the best performance over an adHoc network with images transferring quickly, although not instantly. I have yet to try transferring RAW files. The software allows you to pick a folder on the computer to save the images to.

share|improve this question
1  
The Pro models definitely supports ad-hoc networks, allowing any device which supports the Eye-Fi software (PC, iOS, Android, OSX?) to acquire images directly from the card. The transfer speed for JPEG images (pro models also supports RAW, others do not) is between one and two seconds, with a bit of lag before the first frame if the card was just switched on. I'd leave this as an answer, but it doesn't directly answer your question, and I'm not 100% on whether all models support ad-hoc connections. – Tzarium Sep 4 '12 at 13:10
@Tzarium, Thanks, That seams to be the only information I can find too. I may as well just buy the pro x2. – Onlyjus Sep 4 '12 at 13:18
I just checked the feature-chart on the official website. It seems like at least the Connect, Mobile and Pro X2 cards support direct connections of JPEGs, I'm unsure about the other models and earlier generations though. – Tzarium Sep 4 '12 at 13:21
1  
Uhm, nevermind. I got curious and dug deeper into their support section. True Ad-hoc networks are only supported with the Pro cards, according to: support.eye.fi/cards/networks/ad-hoc-networks-pro-cards-only/… – Tzarium Sep 4 '12 at 13:27

2 Answers

up vote 1 down vote accepted

Firstly, the Geo and Explore are the names of older Eye-fi cards that are no longer in production. Because they are no longer in production the rest of my answer will disregard them.

Now if I understand your question correctly you are asking if you can connect to an ad-hoc network where an ad-hoc network is a network that is in existence without any dedicated infrastructure nodes(read routers).

tl;dr Yes they can connect to an ad-hoc network.

If you were to create an ad-hoc network on say your laptop you could connect your Eye-fi card to the network created by your laptop and configure the card to automatically upload files to a folder on your computer for viewing.

However, this may be more hassle than it is worth considering Eye-fi has produced a feature called "Direct Mode". This seems to be similar to what Itai mentioned with the Toshiba FlashAir. Basically you can configure you Eye-fi card to broadcast a pre-defined wireless network that your computer can use to receive photos from the card. Then your card would upload directly to your computer. Please see the full details at http://support.eye.fi/features/direct/enable-direct-mode-to-computer/

I feel it is also worth mentioning that Eye-fi has also produced apps for iOS and Android that can enable the same direct mode photo storage and viewing on your mobile device.

It is also important to note that if the Eye-fi is able to access another trusted network it will choose to upload pictures to your computer, the cloud, mobile devices, etc. instead of using the direct mode network. You still get the same feature just without the ad-hoc network. I suspect this is to reduce the battery drain on the camera due to the card broadcasting a network vs connecting to one.

I hope this helps. I have had a good experience with my Eye-fi card (Connect X2) and I am currently thinking about buying a Pro X2. Having the automatic backup to flickr/my computer is a nice piece of mind. The endless memory feature is also pretty awesome.

share|improve this answer
Thanks for the answer! I went ahead and picked up a Eye-fi Pro x2. From the responses on here I think it is exactly what I want. I already started writing a python script to look in a directory and display the most recent photo. I am going to try and bypass the Eye-fi software and write my own do do exactly what I want. I'll let everyone know how it goes. – Onlyjus Sep 5 '12 at 0:40
Got the Eye-Fi Pro x2 today! Got an adhoc network to work with no problems. The card also produces it's own network, which I guess is the "Direct Mode". – Onlyjus Sep 7 '12 at 2:29
up vote 3 down vote

You can get the same result by doing the reverse using a Toshiba FlashAir card because a FlashAir card is a WiFi hotspot. So you can connect the laptop or other network-enabled device such as a phone or tablet to the Flashair.

Sorry to hijack the brand you are looking for but I think it will serve your purpose.

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So it seems that the FlashAir is an adHoc network? – Onlyjus Sep 3 '12 at 18:17
It doesn't seem like it is available in the united states yet. It is on ebay for ~$140. For that price I could almost get two of the EyeFi Pros. – Onlyjus Sep 3 '12 at 18:30
It is an access-point, just any router or gateway. So, devices connect to it instead of it connecting to a device. I guess that is what you mean by AdHoc Network. – Itai Sep 3 '12 at 18:32
So an AdHoc network is usually a device to device connection without the need for a router. The FlashAir is an access-point so it acts like a router. Either way, it will accomplish what I want, only if it was available... – Onlyjus Sep 3 '12 at 18:50
OK. Thanks for clarifying AdHoc. Indeed, it is not exactly the same. My guess is this year for a North American release. That should make it more affordable one hopes. – Itai Sep 3 '12 at 19:10

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