K-3 and Eyefi

Phroon · 05-10-2016, 08:25 PM

A bit of an odd question that I think may have a unintuitive answer.

So I have a new K-3 II and I'm thinking about getting an Eye-fi mobi pro card so I can transfer my photos over WiFi to my computer. In the manual it says I should put the wifi card in slot SD2. If I do that and then shoot raw images onto a Sandisk card in the SD1 slot only will I still be able to transfer the images over WiFi? Would the K-3 act as a bridge between the cards? Would this transfer still be automatic? Or would I have to select the images in the playback menu and transfer them from there?

I'm tempted to get one just to try it out.

vievetrick · 05-10-2016, 08:31 PM

I don't have the pro card but do have the mobi card -I use it mostly for posting to social media on the fly. I shoot raw then card 1 then select shots convert to jpg in camera to card 2 ( the mobi card) then send to iPhone via the card. Hope that helps - ok maybe not but I love my mobi card better then flu card

Phroon · 05-10-2016, 08:47 PM

That is a potential use I hadn't thought much about.

I guess my dream workflow would be to come back home after a day of shooting, turn the camera on and just see all the raw files appear on my computer. And since the Eye-fi is 'slow' for shooting I wanted to shoot onto the much faster SanDisk in the first place.

I find right now I keep forgetting to put the SD card back in the camera after transferring so the EyeFi would save me there, but at the cost of a much slow transfer speed.

---------- Post added 05-10-2016 at 11:05 PM ----------

And I was too slow. The prices on the cards just shot up $30.

**UncleVanya** · 05-10-2016, 09:26 PM

You can copy from card to card without difficulty. You can shoot in the field with the camera set to write RAW to slot 1 and the slot 2 if it runs out of room on slot 1. Then at home you can select your files (and maybe folders) to transfer from card 1 to card 2. This will happen in camera. Then you should be able to transfer them from the card.
I do not have the pro version. I use slot 1 raw, slot 2 reduced size jpg, and then use the jpg transfers to post to friends etc.

**southlander** · 05-10-2016, 11:07 PM

I use Eye-fi on a K-3.

I set my camera up to use RAW+JPEG. The RAW is set to be saved on SD1 while the JPEG is saved to SD2. I keep the Eye-Fi card in SD2 and a very fast SD card in SD1 (as the per image write sizes to this card are much larger than to the Eye-Fi card by a factor of 10x or so) . Because I want to use the file transfer ability primarily while travelling, I set the JPEG size to something reasonably small and only of medium quality. I use the Eye-Fi to transfer the JPEGs to my Android phone or iPad for review or sharing while I am on the road. It's great for portable devices as I do not need to carry any SD card adapters for either device and it neatly bypasses all the barbed wire Apple erects around its own vision of the garden of Eden. Also, transferring RAW soon burns through the portable device storage which is a real issue if the device does not have a microSD slot (eg all Apple devices or some Android devices eg Nexus kit). When back home, I remove the card in SD1 and transfer all the RAW files to my PC for processing using an SD card slot in my computer. The JPEGs on the Eye-Fi card I eventually discard as my photo workflow is based around the RAW files. Occasionally I will use a few of the JPEGs as a guide for my RAW processing settings when I think the camera's JPEG engine has done a particularly good job of rendering the image.

At home there isn't a whole lot of point in using Eye-Fi for transfers IMO as I think the transfer will proceed much quicker using a SD card reader either built into the computer or attached to a USB port rather than uisng the Eye-Fi's wifi networking.

I can also re-process individual RAW files to JPEG and send save the resultant JPEGs to SD2 if I want to apply a different processing method or want a larger JPEG for some reason and then use Eye-Fi card to move them to another device. I have some basic photo editing software on the iPad which I occasionally use to edit a transferred JPEG before sharing. But even this ends up discarded in due course once I have done my RAW processing at home.

This approach means I can use one or more large capacity SD card in SD1 while travelling yet not run out of capacity on the Eye-Fi card in SD2 as the small JPEGs really don't take up a lot of space.

What I don't think you can do is after image capture copy a RAW file in SD1 into SD2 ie have the same RAW file appear in SD2, although I don't have the K-3 with me right now to check. For what I want to use the Eye-Fi card for, this isn't an issue for me.

I tend to have the Eye-FI card transfer disabled while out and about as it is another load on the battery and then temporarily switch it on in the evenings where I am staying to do the transfers to phone or iPad. I could though have images transferred to either device live in the field if I so desired to do an immediate review on a larger screen or show travelling companions, but battery life will take a hit. I wouldn't do this unless I knew I was carrying one or more charged spare batteries with me.

Where immediate transfer of RAW images at home via Eye-Fi would be great is if I was copying slides or negatives using my camera and a macro lens. I could immediately review each shot and re-do any fails (eg bad exposure because original negative under/overexposed, annoyingly large dust particle) before removing the slide or negative from its holder.

Phroon · 05-11-2016, 04:40 AM

Thanks for all the replies. That's given me a much better feel for what people actually do with an EyeFi card.

I'll just have to actually remember to remove my SD card from the card reader from now on.

Marktax · 05-11-2016, 10:57 AM

I use K-3 slots 1 and 2 for RAW (1) and jpeg (2), both normal cards. On occasion I've taken my Eye-fi card out of my Q7 and put it slot 2, developing a RAW in slot 1, and saving it to slot 2 eye-fi for transfer. The Eye-fi card doesn't need to be reformatted by the K-3. It goes back and forth between Q7 and K-3. I've since purchased a SD/Lightning cable to get files from an SD card into a phone, usually a RAW I developed in camera and resized if all I want to do is send for posting. K-1 and K-S2 have native wifi, which obviates all of that. Pentax FLU cards were an unfortunate interim technology that did not work well to get files to a phone.

Marktax · 07-01-2016, 02:28 AM

Eye-Fi has announced that after September 16, 2016, Eye-Fi cards might cease working, since they are removing support for a number of their cards and apps. I can see how Eye-Fi might no longer send to your e-mail on your home computer an image that the app in your phone had sent to Eye-Fi's servers -- a service I never needed. I'll be curious to see if this means that they can, from afar, actually disable the ability of an Eye-Fi Pro 2 card to continue allowing you to just transfer the images to your phone.

**southlander** · 07-01-2016, 06:25 AM

My read is that whatever device you have one of the about to be non-supported cards paired to on Sept 16 will be the device that it will become paired to for life. So choose your device carefully!

I'm quite annoyed by this forced loss of functionality. Currently paired to my phone. Once I next change phones, that's it for the Eye-fi card, all over. No new pairing and no way to transfer over the needed Android app.

slip · 07-07-2016, 12:38 PM

Originally posted by vievetrick

I don't have the pro card but do have the mobi card -I use it mostly for posting to social media on the fly. I shoot raw then card 1 then select shots convert to jpg in camera to card 2 ( the mobi card) then send to iPhone via the card. Hope that helps - ok maybe not but I love my mobi card better then flu card

me as well but with the Eyefi pro instead. put the jpgs at the lowest resolution so they transfer faster but still look great on the web.

05-10-2016, 08:25 PM	#1
Phroon New Member Join Date: Nov 2008 Posts: 23	K-3 and Eyefi A bit of an odd question that I think may have a unintuitive answer. So I have a new K-3 II and I'm thinking about getting an Eye-fi mobi pro card so I can transfer my photos over WiFi to my computer. In the manual it says I should put the wifi card in slot SD2. If I do that and then shoot raw images onto a Sandisk card in the SD1 slot only will I still be able to transfer the images over WiFi? Would the K-3 act as a bridge between the cards? Would this transfer still be automatic? Or would I have to select the images in the playback menu and transfer them from there? I'm tempted to get one just to try it out.

05-10-2016, 11:07 PM	#5
southlander Site Supporter Join Date: May 2012 Location: Adelaide Photos: Gallery \| Albums Posts: 1,364	I use Eye-fi on a K-3. I set my camera up to use RAW+JPEG. The RAW is set to be saved on SD1 while the JPEG is saved to SD2. I keep the Eye-Fi card in SD2 and a very fast SD card in SD1 (as the per image write sizes to this card are much larger than to the Eye-Fi card by a factor of 10x or so) . Because I want to use the file transfer ability primarily while travelling, I set the JPEG size to something reasonably small and only of medium quality. I use the Eye-Fi to transfer the JPEGs to my Android phone or iPad for review or sharing while I am on the road. It's great for portable devices as I do not need to carry any SD card adapters for either device and it neatly bypasses all the barbed wire Apple erects around its own vision of the garden of Eden. Also, transferring RAW soon burns through the portable device storage which is a real issue if the device does not have a microSD slot (eg all Apple devices or some Android devices eg Nexus kit). When back home, I remove the card in SD1 and transfer all the RAW files to my PC for processing using an SD card slot in my computer. The JPEGs on the Eye-Fi card I eventually discard as my photo workflow is based around the RAW files. Occasionally I will use a few of the JPEGs as a guide for my RAW processing settings when I think the camera's JPEG engine has done a particularly good job of rendering the image. At home there isn't a whole lot of point in using Eye-Fi for transfers IMO as I think the transfer will proceed much quicker using a SD card reader either built into the computer or attached to a USB port rather than uisng the Eye-Fi's wifi networking. I can also re-process individual RAW files to JPEG and send save the resultant JPEGs to SD2 if I want to apply a different processing method or want a larger JPEG for some reason and then use Eye-Fi card to move them to another device. I have some basic photo editing software on the iPad which I occasionally use to edit a transferred JPEG before sharing. But even this ends up discarded in due course once I have done my RAW processing at home. This approach means I can use one or more large capacity SD card in SD1 while travelling yet not run out of capacity on the Eye-Fi card in SD2 as the small JPEGs really don't take up a lot of space. What I don't think you can do is after image capture copy a RAW file in SD1 into SD2 ie have the same RAW file appear in SD2, although I don't have the K-3 with me right now to check. For what I want to use the Eye-Fi card for, this isn't an issue for me. I tend to have the Eye-FI card transfer disabled while out and about as it is another load on the battery and then temporarily switch it on in the evenings where I am staying to do the transfers to phone or iPad. I could though have images transferred to either device live in the field if I so desired to do an immediate review on a larger screen or show travelling companions, but battery life will take a hit. I wouldn't do this unless I knew I was carrying one or more charged spare batteries with me. Where immediate transfer of RAW images at home via Eye-Fi would be great is if I was copying slides or negatives using my camera and a macro lens. I could immediately review each shot and re-do any fails (eg bad exposure because original negative under/overexposed, annoyingly large dust particle) before removing the slide or negative from its holder. Last edited by southlander; 05-10-2016 at 11:27 PM.

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05-10-2016, 08:31 PM	#2
vievetrick Veteran Member Join Date: Sep 2006 Location: Easthampton - Massachusetts - USA Photos: Gallery Posts: 5,183	I don't have the pro card but do have the mobi card -I use it mostly for posting to social media on the fly. I shoot raw then card 1 then select shots convert to jpg in camera to card 2 ( the mobi card) then send to iPhone via the card. Hope that helps - ok maybe not but I love my mobi card better then flu card

05-10-2016, 08:47 PM	#3
Phroon New Member Join Date: Nov 2008 Posts: 23 Original Poster	That is a potential use I hadn't thought much about. I guess my dream workflow would be to come back home after a day of shooting, turn the camera on and just see all the raw files appear on my computer. And since the Eye-fi is 'slow' for shooting I wanted to shoot onto the much faster SanDisk in the first place. I find right now I keep forgetting to put the SD card back in the camera after transferring so the EyeFi would save me there, but at the cost of a much slow transfer speed. ---------- Post added 05-10-2016 at 11:05 PM ---------- And I was too slow. The prices on the cards just shot up $30.

05-10-2016, 09:26 PM	#4
UncleVanya Loyal Site Supporter Join Date: Jul 2014 Photos: Gallery \| Albums Posts: 28,412	You can copy from card to card without difficulty. You can shoot in the field with the camera set to write RAW to slot 1 and the slot 2 if it runs out of room on slot 1. Then at home you can select your files (and maybe folders) to transfer from card 1 to card 2. This will happen in camera. Then you should be able to transfer them from the card. I do not have the pro version. I use slot 1 raw, slot 2 reduced size jpg, and then use the jpg transfers to post to friends etc.

05-11-2016, 04:40 AM	#6
Phroon New Member Join Date: Nov 2008 Posts: 23 Original Poster	Thanks for all the replies. That's given me a much better feel for what people actually do with an EyeFi card. I'll just have to actually remember to remove my SD card from the card reader from now on.

05-11-2016, 10:57 AM	#7
Marktax Pentaxian Join Date: Jun 2013 Location: Washington DC Photos: Albums Posts: 610	I use K-3 slots 1 and 2 for RAW (1) and jpeg (2), both normal cards. On occasion I've taken my Eye-fi card out of my Q7 and put it slot 2, developing a RAW in slot 1, and saving it to slot 2 eye-fi for transfer. The Eye-fi card doesn't need to be reformatted by the K-3. It goes back and forth between Q7 and K-3. I've since purchased a SD/Lightning cable to get files from an SD card into a phone, usually a RAW I developed in camera and resized if all I want to do is send for posting. K-1 and K-S2 have native wifi, which obviates all of that. Pentax FLU cards were an unfortunate interim technology that did not work well to get files to a phone.

07-01-2016, 02:28 AM	#8
Marktax Pentaxian Join Date: Jun 2013 Location: Washington DC Photos: Albums Posts: 610	Eye-Fi has announced that after September 16, 2016, Eye-Fi cards might cease working, since they are removing support for a number of their cards and apps. I can see how Eye-Fi might no longer send to your e-mail on your home computer an image that the app in your phone had sent to Eye-Fi's servers -- a service I never needed. I'll be curious to see if this means that they can, from afar, actually disable the ability of an Eye-Fi Pro 2 card to continue allowing you to just transfer the images to your phone.

07-01-2016, 06:25 AM	#9
southlander Site Supporter Join Date: May 2012 Location: Adelaide Photos: Gallery \| Albums Posts: 1,364	My read is that whatever device you have one of the about to be non-supported cards paired to on Sept 16 will be the device that it will become paired to for life. So choose your device carefully! I'm quite annoyed by this forced loss of functionality. Currently paired to my phone. Once I next change phones, that's it for the Eye-fi card, all over. No new pairing and no way to transfer over the needed Android app.

07-07-2016, 12:38 PM	#10
slip Veteran Member Join Date: Oct 2006 Location: 2 hours north of toronto ontario canada Photos: Gallery \| Albums Posts: 3,535	Originally posted by vievetrick I don't have the pro card but do have the mobi card -I use it mostly for posting to social media on the fly. I shoot raw then card 1 then select shots convert to jpg in camera to card 2 ( the mobi card) then send to iPhone via the card. Hope that helps - ok maybe not but I love my mobi card better then flu card me as well but with the Eyefi pro instead. put the jpgs at the lowest resolution so they transfer faster but still look great on the web.