Category: GPS

While there are are several ways now of geotagging your images and some don't care about this at all, I'm a fan of having this location metadata added to my photos as I take them. I applaud Nikon for building this important feature into their DSLR cameras and I also want to thank the various vendors that sent me units to review. However, like anything there are going to be some gadgets that I prefer over others. The good news here is that you really can't go wrong with any of the choices below. They all do what they say they do! While I've used them all and had good results, if I had to narrow it down to a single choice (and I do since I'm not going to carry them all), I would choose the Solmeta N2 GPS. Although I got off to a rough start with it and although I absolutely LOVE the di-GPS mini L and PRO series, if I had to only have ONE of these models it would be the Solmeta. Why? As I indicated in the Solmeta review. I have TWO Nikon bodies. The D700 and D5000. Unfortunately the connector to attach a GPS is different on each one. So while I do really like the di-GPS, the cable is hard wired into it. In order to use theirs with both my cameras I'd have to have two of them (one with each type of connector). The other reason I'd give the nod to the Solmeta is the fact that it does have a compass built-in for Heading. Again, not a big deal to me, but it is a feature that the di-GPS doesn't yet have. Now with that said, if I were only going to use this on my D700 (or if I replace my D5000 with a 300s), then I may lean towards the Dawntech di-GPS Pro L model. It has one feature that I love over all of these other ones and that is a built-in 10 pin terminal pass-through right on top of the unit. This way I can use the remote trigger and extension cable that I've already invested in. Lastly if you want ONE GPS that will work with both your Nikon DSLR AND any other camera, then I'd probably go with the Easytag. It has a generous 2GB MicroSD card and can be used directly with your Nikon OR capture the data and merge it with images from ANY camera later in post.

While I do like the compactness of the Nikon GP-1, it is my least favorite. It doesn't have any of the modern features of the newer models and feels antiquated when compared with the rest. Nikon, it's time to bring out the GP-2.

The GPS data is displayed in Lightroom with a link to the actual location on Google Maps

Continue reading “Nikon DSLR GPS Smack Down Results”

It's Geotagging week here on my tech blog. So today we'll take a look at the latest Nikon DSLR compatible GPS unit I've received and it's called the Easytag. 

The Basics

Like all the rest, you turn it on while you're outside and it picks up the GPS satellite signals and then adds the Longitude and Latitude to your shots so that you'll know where you were when you took them.

What I like about the Easytag… Continue reading “Easytag GPS for Nikon DSLRs”

It's Nikon DSLR GPS review Week!

I'm a Nikon shooter (you knew that) and I have a fascination for Geotagging. I love the BUILT-IN support that Nikon DSLR cameras have for GPS modules. I've tried a few different ones and of course this lead to different manufacturers wanting me to review theirs. My policy has always been if you want to send me something I'll take a look at it and I'll review it honestly. So you may or may not like what I have to say and as long as you're OK with that, ship it! So I decided to dedicate today, tomorrow and Thursday's posts to this topic and on Thursday I'll declare a winner! By winner I mean that I'll put up a comparison chart detailing what you get with each of the ones I've tried and I'll tell you out of the 4, which is my favorite.

Let's start off with a second look at the Solmeta GPS

You might remember a few weeks back I reviewed (or attempted to review) the Solmeta Geotagger N2 GPS unit with direct support for Nikon cameras. My initial review was cut short due to a cable mishap. Turns out I had the wrong cable and while the cable that shipped with my first unit worked, it was in the wrong orientation and therefore caused unnecessary stress that ultimately broke the connector at the base. I reported the problem to Solmeta and they were very responsive and offered a replacement unit. The replacement has arrived and I decided to give it another shot.

You're not going to believe this… Continue reading “Solmeta Geotagger N2 GPS for Nikon Cameras: Take 2”

If you've been following this blog you know that I'm a big fan of the Dawn Tech GPS units for your DSLR camera. Well Dawn Tech has improved on a good thing and I'm here to talk about two of their new models.

First up the NEW di-GPS Pro L

If you want a little background on the di-GPS Pro see my original review here. The NEW "L" model offers a "data Logger". The 8MB flash memory based data logger can track over 260,000 data points. While this is great for someone that may want to download this data later, I'm more interested in having my GPS location data input right into the meta data of the shots when I take them! That's what the di-GPS units have always done. However, what this feature does give me now is the ability to geotag photos where there is NO SATELLITE RECEPTION based on my last known location. This is very cool! So if you're out shooting a landscape or walking about a city scene and then you duck in to take some shots of a historic landmark your shots taken inside will still be geotagged with the last known position. VERY COOL!

All of the other goodness of the original di-GPS Pro are still intact and this GPS is hands down my favorite!

The NEW di-GPS Mini 3L D5000

I bought a D5000 last year to basically be my travel camera. So unless I'm specifically traveling to do an important shoot, I'll most likely have my D5000 in tow. When I bought the D5000 I also bought the only GPS that worked with it at the time which was the Nikon GP-1 reviewed here. While the GP-1 does work there is one thing that drove me absolutely nuts about it and that is there is no on/off switch. Basically it comes on with the camera and goes off with it. Now while that doesn't sound like a big deal, it means that when the D5000 goes to sleep so does the GP-1. While the D5000 wakes at the tap of a button, the GP-1 then takes a few moments to re-acquire the satellite and therefore may not be capturing location information if you don't wait first before firing your first few shots. Like its big brother, the di-GPS Mini series has an On/Off/Auto switch. In the ON mode the GPS stays on even if the camera goes off/sleep. Granted this will drain your camera's battery quicker, but I've found the drain to be insignificant vs. the instant ready to shoot factor. 

Continue reading “GPS for your Camera – di-GPS Pro L Review”