Out of the Newsroom

After a long hiatus, I am rediscovering my passion for photography in my mid-life. I could spend a small fortune on cameras and accessories, and probably already have–but my favorite photo gadget purchase of recent memory is something called the Eye-Fi card.

The Eye-Fi looks like a standard SD (secure digital) memory card. It fits any digital camera that uses this particular format of memory card (about the shape/size of the top half of a thumb) and aside from providing the standard 2 gigabytes of memory for your pictures, what the Eye-Fi also does is wirelessly connects your camera to your computer or home wireless network, through what is called “WiFi” in some circles.

This is a big deal because it means that your camera can just zap pictures you take through the air to your computer or even a photo-sharing website (like Flickr or Picasa) with no cables and no fuss at all (after a brief, but pretty simple set-up procedure.) The original Eye-Fi cost 100 bucks, but the maker is about to come out with three new models of the card, including one that adds “geotagging” functionality, so that your camera will know exactly where it took each picture as well.

It’s one of those things that you almost have to try to get exactly how cool of a deal it is. Check it out at Eye-Fi’s website www.eye.fi Keep an eye out, the original Eye-Fi card could get discounted after the new models arrive, even though it appears to be pretty much the same as the new mid-range model called the Eye-Fi “Share”.