Comments on: GPS and Nikon: Compatibility http://blog.promotesystems.com/26/nikon-gps-compatibility/ Digital Photography Technology and Accessories Tue, 17 Nov 2009 20:38:43 +0000 hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.2.1 By: Arty http://blog.promotesystems.com/26/nikon-gps-compatibility/comment-page-1/#comment-85 Arty Wed, 22 Jul 2009 16:16:27 +0000 http://blog.promotesystems.com/?p=26#comment-85 Hi Sean, When considering what we call "offline" geotagging, i.e. a GPS log that you will later use to sync to your images, you would want to make absolutely sure that your camera clock is synchronized to the GPS clock (which is a very good, precise clock to sync to by the way). The images are matched to the GPS log by the date/time stamp, so they have to be in perfect sync to make sure your tags will be correct. A part of that issue is making sure that you don't just keep your camera clock precise, but if you move from one time zone to another, you will need to switch the in-camera timezone as well. GPS logger will switch its timezone anyway when it finds itself on a new position, so unless you update the in-camera timezone, the tracking will get unbalanced. I do quite a bit of hiking, and sometimes I found myself leaving my camera clock at a setting that was two states and 400 miles ago :) Unfortunately I'm not allowed to talk at length about the technical issues as it's a part of our internal works. In regards to online vs. offline geotagging though - it is not about a certain device - it's a process that can and should be chosen carefully depending on your needs. If your workflow works better with a logger, just don't forget to consider the above to make sure it does work well for you. Hi Sean,

When considering what we call “offline” geotagging, i.e. a GPS log that you will later use to sync to your images, you would want to make absolutely sure that your camera clock is synchronized to the GPS clock (which is a very good, precise clock to sync to by the way). The images are matched to the GPS log by the date/time stamp, so they have to be in perfect sync to make sure your tags will be correct. A part of that issue is making sure that you don’t just keep your camera clock precise, but if you move from one time zone to another, you will need to switch the in-camera timezone as well. GPS logger will switch its timezone anyway when it finds itself on a new position, so unless you update the in-camera timezone, the tracking will get unbalanced. I do quite a bit of hiking, and sometimes I found myself leaving my camera clock at a setting that was two states and 400 miles ago :)

Unfortunately I’m not allowed to talk at length about the technical issues as it’s a part of our internal works. In regards to online vs. offline geotagging though – it is not about a certain device – it’s a process that can and should be chosen carefully depending on your needs. If your workflow works better with a logger, just don’t forget to consider the above to make sure it does work well for you.

]]> By: Sean http://blog.promotesystems.com/26/nikon-gps-compatibility/comment-page-1/#comment-83 Sean Tue, 21 Jul 2009 22:28:32 +0000 http://blog.promotesystems.com/?p=26#comment-83 Thanks for your reply, Arty. I think I'm going to settle for the solution of buying a GPS logger, and, when I want to geotag photos, I'll look at what my position was at whatever time I took a given photo, and do it manually. I've been told that there's software that automates this process, and can do it for RAW files, too. I don't take lots of photos, and I usually isolate a very small number of them from the rest, to undergo a long post-production process. So if I take 200 photos in a day, I'll later work on as little as 20 of them. And out of those 20, there are probably 10 that I really like, and those are the only ones I would really care about geotagging. And I would really only care about geotagging if I took pictures while hiking. In that situation, it can be pretty cool to see the location you photographed on Google Earth. But if you're showing photos of Paris to a relative, they really don't expect you to say anything more specific than "at a museum," "in a square," or "by some church," when asked about where you took a picture. But back to the original discussion... So, I understand GPS more than less. I own a GPS receiver which is useless without a computer, a GPS navigation system built into my car, and a handheld GPS navigation system. I think a blind, dumb GPS data logger which I can sync with my computer after I've taken all of my photos would complete my collection. In the end, I want to have this automatic geotagging working (although I don't want it so badly as not to consider more practical solutions). But what do you mean by "special formatting?" As for the proprietary connector cable... I think it has no relationship with the actual GPS device itself, and I could get it working with my GPS receiver. I could just buy it off someone who bought a GP-1 for their D300 (or any other camera which doesn't employ the cruelly different port the D90 does (these people will end up with a useless cable on their hands)). Sorry about the length of my reply... Thanks for your reply, Arty.
I think I’m going to settle for the solution of buying a GPS logger, and, when I want to geotag photos, I’ll look at what my position was at whatever time I took a given photo, and do it manually. I’ve been told that there’s software that automates this process, and can do it for RAW files, too. I don’t take lots of photos, and I usually isolate a very small number of them from the rest, to undergo a long post-production process. So if I take 200 photos in a day, I’ll later work on as little as 20 of them. And out of those 20, there are probably 10 that I really like, and those are the only ones I would really care about geotagging. And I would really only care about geotagging if I took pictures while hiking. In that situation, it can be pretty cool to see the location you photographed on Google Earth. But if you’re showing photos of Paris to a relative, they really don’t expect you to say anything more specific than “at a museum,” “in a square,” or “by some church,” when asked about where you took a picture.
But back to the original discussion… So, I understand GPS more than less. I own a GPS receiver which is useless without a computer, a GPS navigation system built into my car, and a handheld GPS navigation system. I think a blind, dumb GPS data logger which I can sync with my computer after I’ve taken all of my photos would complete my collection.
In the end, I want to have this automatic geotagging working (although I don’t want it so badly as not to consider more practical solutions). But what do you mean by “special formatting?” As for the proprietary connector cable… I think it has no relationship with the actual GPS device itself, and I could get it working with my GPS receiver. I could just buy it off someone who bought a GP-1 for their D300 (or any other camera which doesn’t employ the cruelly different port the D90 does (these people will end up with a useless cable on their hands)).
Sorry about the length of my reply…

]]> By: Arty http://blog.promotesystems.com/26/nikon-gps-compatibility/comment-page-1/#comment-81 Arty Tue, 21 Jul 2009 15:15:13 +0000 http://blog.promotesystems.com/?p=26#comment-81 Hi Sean, It's hard to say whether your receiver will work with the D90. There are different versions of the NMEA protocol, and to make things more complicated, Nikon cameras require some special formatting. Not to mention that D90 uses a proprietary connector to receive GPS signals. I would recommend trying to experiment with a GPS without your camera at first - it's a pretty expensive test bench. You may want to try using our GPS-N-90 unit as your geotagging solution for now - and keep on hacking your GPS module at your spare time :) It surely is fun! Hi Sean,

It’s hard to say whether your receiver will work with the D90. There are different versions of the NMEA protocol, and to make things more complicated, Nikon cameras require some special formatting. Not to mention that D90 uses a proprietary connector to receive GPS signals. I would recommend trying to experiment with a GPS without your camera at first – it’s a pretty expensive test bench. You may want to try using our GPS-N-90 unit as your geotagging solution for now – and keep on hacking your GPS module at your spare time :) It surely is fun!

]]> By: Sean http://blog.promotesystems.com/26/nikon-gps-compatibility/comment-page-1/#comment-80 Sean Tue, 21 Jul 2009 14:49:10 +0000 http://blog.promotesystems.com/?p=26#comment-80 I've been searching for a good GPS solution for my D90 for a while now. I was very disappointed when I discovered that Eye-Fi didn't use "real" GPS (although I had been suspecting it)... The GP-1 is prohibitively expensive ($220). Come on... That's too much to spend on metadata. And now that I've mustered up the courage to look into DIY solutions, I find out that my camera requires an extra special amount of attention. It's like I'm not meant to ever get geotagging going. So, can someone tell me whether it's feasible to get my HI-204III GPS receiver working with my D90? The receiver uses the NMEA protocol, and works fine on my computer, but connects via USB (it has a strange little black box along the cable, which, along with the computer saying something like /dev/usbserial/, makes me think that it converts the serial connector into a USB connector (I don't really understand this stuff)). I have a tiny bit of DIY electronics experience, but (at the moment) very limited access to tools such as soldering guns, ohmmeters, etc... I’ve been searching for a good GPS solution for my D90 for a while now. I was very disappointed when I discovered that Eye-Fi didn’t use “real” GPS (although I had been suspecting it)… The GP-1 is prohibitively expensive ($220). Come on… That’s too much to spend on metadata. And now that I’ve mustered up the courage to look into DIY solutions, I find out that my camera requires an extra special amount of attention. It’s like I’m not meant to ever get geotagging going.
So, can someone tell me whether it’s feasible to get my HI-204III GPS receiver working with my D90? The receiver uses the NMEA protocol, and works fine on my computer, but connects via USB (it has a strange little black box along the cable, which, along with the computer saying something like /dev/usbserial/, makes me think that it converts the serial connector into a USB connector (I don’t really understand this stuff)).
I have a tiny bit of DIY electronics experience, but (at the moment) very limited access to tools such as soldering guns, ohmmeters, etc…

]]> By: Arty http://blog.promotesystems.com/26/nikon-gps-compatibility/comment-page-1/#comment-33 Arty Thu, 02 Jul 2009 13:05:10 +0000 http://blog.promotesystems.com/?p=26#comment-33 Thanks for your comment, Dave! I'm sure it's a good product, but as per BHPhotoVideo listing, it's almost twice as expensive. Not everybody is shooting with a GPS indoors, especially if you have to pay such an extra for this ;) Every product has its niche, and ours seems to fit the bill for a lot of people. Also, I didn't see a Nikon D90 compatible version in GeoPic's product range. Thanks for your comment, Dave! I’m sure it’s a good product, but as per BHPhotoVideo listing, it’s almost twice as expensive. Not everybody is shooting with a GPS indoors, especially if you have to pay such an extra for this ;) Every product has its niche, and ours seems to fit the bill for a lot of people. Also, I didn’t see a Nikon D90 compatible version in GeoPic’s product range.

]]> By: Dave http://blog.promotesystems.com/26/nikon-gps-compatibility/comment-page-1/#comment-32 Dave Thu, 02 Jul 2009 12:49:30 +0000 http://blog.promotesystems.com/?p=26#comment-32 I have a GeoPic II - its much better than the other GPS-in-a-box solutions out there as it has three modes of operation including a proper low power mode and a freeze mode for indoors. Check it out: www.customidea.com I have a GeoPic II – its much better than the other GPS-in-a-box solutions out there as it has three modes of operation including a proper low power mode and a freeze mode for indoors.

Check it out: http://www.customidea.com

]]> By: Arty http://blog.promotesystems.com/26/nikon-gps-compatibility/comment-page-1/#comment-18 Arty Sun, 07 Jun 2009 22:10:38 +0000 http://blog.promotesystems.com/?p=26#comment-18 Maybe D1X can accept GPS signal from both 10 pin and the 2.5mm jack? Here is an interesting article from a guy who made a DIY GPS cable for D1X using a 2.5mm jack: http://www.pfranc.com/projects/g45contr/nikon.htm Maybe D1X can accept GPS signal from both 10 pin and the 2.5mm jack? Here is an interesting article from a guy who made a DIY GPS cable for D1X using a 2.5mm jack:

http://www.pfranc.com/projects/g45contr/nikon.htm

]]> By: Gerard http://blog.promotesystems.com/26/nikon-gps-compatibility/comment-page-1/#comment-17 Gerard Sun, 07 Jun 2009 21:14:55 +0000 http://blog.promotesystems.com/?p=26#comment-17 I'd like to pint out a little mistake, if I may. The Nikon D1x aso uses the 10-pin connector. I ought to know because I used it with the MC-35 and Etrex Vista ;) I’d like to pint out a little mistake, if I may. The Nikon D1x aso uses the 10-pin connector. I ought to know because I used it with the MC-35 and Etrex Vista ;)

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