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The FluCard Pro is the latest iteration of last year's successful FluCard, Trek 2000 International's first Wi-Fi enabled SD card. Enabling wireless uploading of photos straight from the camera, the FluCard Pro brings greater convenience to photographers everywhere.
Building a Wi-Fi radio into an SD card isn't a new idea; wireless SD cards have been available since 2007. Utilising wireless networks, such wireless SD cards allow users to bypass the hassles of cables and memory card readers when getting photos out of their cameras. The FluCard Pro is no exception; setting the card to broadcast an ad-hoc network allows photos to be downloaded directly into a computer or iOS device (such as an iPhone or iPad).
No setup is necessary for transferring files between two cameras using FluCard Pros. Our only complaint is that the transfer progress indicator - a series of beeps from the card's built-in buzzer - isn't very useful. For example, shooting interrupts file transfers, but the audio indicators don't change despite that. When careful though, this feature works as advertised.
Camera-to-Computer uploads are straightforward to set up. So long as the FluCard Pro is broadcasting, any computer is able to connect and access the contents of the card through a web browser. One can choose to download all photos on the card, or select specific images. Videos can be downloaded through the browser interface as well.
In our testing, the FluCard Pro achieved transfer speeds of 100-450KBps, a very respectable speed.
Camera-to-Mobile uploads are straightforward as well. The iOS application (US$1.99 on the App Store) connects to the same ad-hoc network used in Camera-to-Computer interaction to display all images on the card. As with the computer browser interface, photos can be selected for download directly into the iOS device.
We were unable to record exact transfer speeds on our iOS device (iPhone 4), but performance seemed similar to when the FluCard Pro was used with a computer.
Below we see the FluCard Pro's specifications, alongside similar products from Eye-Fi.
FluCard Pro Eye-Fi Connect X2 Eye-Fi Pro X2 Capacity
4GB/8GB 4GB 8GB SD Performance Class 6 Class 6 Class 6 Wireless Interface 802.11 B/G/N (5GHz band not supported)
802.11 B/G/N (5GHz band not supported) 802.11 B/G/N (5GHz band not supported)
Wireless Security WEP 64/128, WPA,WPA2 WEP 64/128, WPA-PSK, WPA2-PSK WEP 64/128, WPA-PSK, WPA2-PSK Wireless Range Infrastructure: 20m
Ad-hoc: 6m - 7.5m
27m outdoors
13m indoors
27m outdoors
13m indoors
Ad-hoc Network Support Yes Yes Yes Upload to Computer Yes Yes Yes
Companion Desktop App No (browser interface) Windows and Mac Windows and Mac Companion Mobile App iOS (US$1.99) iOS and Android (Free) iOS and Android (Free) Upload to FTP Server Yes Yes Yes Upload to Image-Sharing Services No Yes Yes Selective Sharing Yes (camera dependent) Yes (camera dependent) Yes (camera dependent) Geotagging No No (upgradeable) Yes JPEG Upload Yes Yes Yes
RAW Upload No No Yes Video Upload Yes Yes Yes Automatic Memory Management No Yes Yes Price 4GB - S$79
8GB - S$99*US$49.99
US$99.99
*Price of Flu-card Pro at Challenger Singapore
Both products are more similar than different. However, the Eye-Fi cards do have some additional features such as automatic memory management and geotagging, albeit at a higher price. Moreover, Eye-Fi cards aren't available in most brick-and-mortar establishments in Singapore, making the locally-available FluCard Pro much easier to obtain.
At the end of the day, the FluCard Pro does just what it's intended to do at a reasonable price. One only needs to decide if the additional features of the Eye-Fi series are worth the additional price and buying hassle to know if the FluCard Pro is the wireless SD card to get. Come down to the Red Dot Photo booth at the PC Show from 9th to 12th June to try this new product!
Price at only $59 for the 4Gig model for the first 10 pieces a day!
Review video now available on YouTube!
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