This post starts a series devoted to sharing tips and tricks on how to get the best of using GPS units on Nikon platform. In this post we will find out which of the Nikon DSLR cameras are compatible with GPS units.
Nikon cameras have been compatible with GPS receivers for quite a while – to my knowledge, Nikon was the first to introduce a camera that could accept an incoming GPS signal and accompany images with resulting geotags. Other brands are slowly catching up, but so far no other professional DSLRs offer GPS-related flexibility that can be compared to Nikon DSLRs.
The first Nikon DSLR to have an input for GPS signals was D1H. It had a separate terminal for GPS connection, and this tradition has been continued in D1X. Then quite surprisingly for many, the GPS support has been stripped from the D2H. Nikon probably got enough complaints about that move – so with the release of Nikon D2Hs, the GPS support has been reintroduced, and since then it has never been dropped from the Nikon professional DSLR lineup.
Until recently the only Nikon DSLRs that could make use of GPS information for geotagging were models equipped with 10-pin accessory terminal (except D1H and D1X that used a different connector). Most users only use the 10-pin terminal for remote release, but the latter only requires 3 pins – and the other 7 just asked to be put to a good use. Nikon made what they probably thought was a wise move by getting rid of a fairly common GPS connector in D1H and D1X, and assigning a few 10-pin connector contacts for that role. The immediate result was that until relatively recently, rather few companies ventured into attempting to produce Nikon-compatible GPS receivers – simply because it required making a 10-pin compatible connector, which is anything but common. Nikon’s position was clear – we want to make extra money by making all accessories in-house vs. letting others ride that train. Well, it didn’t really work out – it took Nikon almost a full decade to come up with their own standalone unit (the GP-1), and meanwhile users had to do away with clumsy setup consisting of Nikon MC-35 cord and a (hopefully) compatible, bulky and expensive third-party receiver. I sure wouldn’t want to carry that setup around for long.
Fortunately, the 10-pin connector issue has been eventually resolved, and third party GPS units started showing up on the market. And recently Nikon made a great move by introducing the GPS support in their mid-level cameras, starting with Nikon D90 and continued with D5000. Although they invented yet another connector to feed GPS signals into these cameras (also shared with remote shutter release functionality), so the whole story about connector compatibility has begun once again.
At the time of writing this post, the following Nikon cameras are compatible with GPS:
- Obsolete GPS connector: Nikon D1H, D1X
- 10-pin terminal: Nikon D200, D300, D700, D2Hs, D2X, D2Xs, D3, D3X
- “D90 terminal”: Nikon D90, D5000.
The current version of the Promote® GPS is compatible with “10-pin terminal” cameras above, and we are working to support the “D90 terminal” cameras as well. Internally, GPS support in all above cameras is pretty much the same, but some of those cameras have extra features that may significantly affect your geotagging experience. In my future posts I will describe those features in more detail, and will give a few simple answers to questions about the following:
- conserving camera battery power when using a GPS receiver
- enhancing GPS satellite reception
- ensuring quick GPS signal reacquisition after a short break
- any other questions you might have.
Feel free to comment this post to ask any questions you want answered, and stay tuned 
When I came back from the trip, I had a few image groups that were taken at the same spot, but sometimes I only remembered to check on the GPS signal reception after a while. With the Promote Geotagging Suite I was able to fill in the blanks from the images that were taken at the same place, and hence would have the same geographic information. Promote Geotagging Suite does not fill in the date and time though, as those would be different from other shots.