Photo finesse: Eyefi Mobi Pro Wi-Fi SD card

Liberate your inner Lichfield

Obscured by clouds

One curious feature, or lack of it, is that the latest version of the desktop utility contains no browser. While the browser that accompanied previous cards was under-powered – as there was no way to get an image from the browser into Photoshop, for example – at least it provided an overview of uploaded images.

Use your browser to view your photos in the cloud, where you can merge collections together

Now, there's no indication whatsoever that an image has been uploaded successfully, unless you open the utility directly (or the download folder itself). Images are automatically uploaded to the Eyefi cloud, however, where they're stored for seven days – or indefinitely, if you opt for the £35 annual membership. You can use the cloud browser to view, download, crop, rotate and delete your images.

If you have an iPhone or Android phone (Windows phones are not supported) you can download the free Eyefi app, which receives low res JPEG versions of files uploaded to Eyefi Cloud. In addition, if you're out on location and away from a Wi-Fi network, the Mobi Pro card becomes its own wireless base station, and will then send images directly to your phone or tablet.

The Eyefi Cloud website allows you to crop your images – although it's unclear why anyone would want to do this with a RAW file

A preferences setting allows for the transfer of RAW images as well, which are then stored on your device until the camera is in range of your Wi-Fi network; naturally, downloading such large images to your phone will consume both time and bandwidth.

In practice, I found the process of connecting an iPhone 6 to the camera card while shooting away from the studio to be unreliable, with the iOS app frequently (but not always) refusing to connect to the Eyefi network, despite the phone claiming to be connected to it. It may perform better with other handsets, so your mileage may vary, but if you stick to connecting the Mobi Pro to a network access point, you should be trouble free.

The Eyefi Cloud site shows basic EXIF (exchangeable image file format) information about your captures, and allows you to add tags for quick sorting and retrieval of stored images

The Reg Verdict

Remote shortcomings aside, the Mobi Pro is a seriously useful piece of kit that should speed up the workflow of any photographer, particularly those producing a lot of studio-based work: the camera can now remain on its tripod, while images are automatically transferred to the computer. While many cameras now have built-in Wi-Fi capabilities, at £66 this card represents a significant upgrade for those that aren't wireless-enabled. The ability to transfer RAW files means that the Eyefi card has finally grown up. ®