It is possible to get it to work, but you have to remove A LOT of the casing, and actually you would even need to remove some of the PCB (see how it sticks out of the cut case), which will quickly cause great problems if you overdo this.

(yes, that extra cut out is for the new “3D” white dot)

While some brave souls will attempt to do this and will probably manage, This is not a solution I will recommend to our customers.

Forum thread showing the modification

We’re working hard on a successor to the Unleashed D200+, and are redesigning it to make sure it fits the D800 properly. We will make existing customers some sort of an upgrade offer, be it trade in, or just a loyalty rebate of some sort, we still need to work out the details on that. So don’t hesitate to get the Unleashed D200+ for your current camera, while you’re saving up for that D800 – you’ll be able to upgrade the Unleashed as soon as we have the new version ready.

Sorry… I wish I had better news than this.

From our point of view, the greatest news is that Nikon is sticking with the socket for GPS devices they introduced with the D90, which they’re now including in all their consumer DSLRs. We’re happy to be able to tell you that our Unleashed Dx000 will be compatible with the D3200!

Apart from this, I’m also looking forward to how well the WU-1 wifi-adapter will work – and how it will differ from the excellent wft-e5 for the D4. The latter works remarkably well, and allows camera control including liveview from any browser. I’m glad the WU-1 is so small – that way it won’t interfere with the Unleashed Dx000, and both can be used at the same time.

“Map” is now one of the main views available in Lightroom, in which you will see a big map, with markers in all the spots on the map in which you took photos. If you zoom out, markers too close together are merged. Instead of an empty marker representing a single photo, a number is displayed on that marker, indicating the number of photos taken in that area. You can also choose to load GPS tracklog files, and have Lightroom 4 display these on the map. These tracks can even be used to indirectly geotag photos that are not yet geotagged, by matching the timestamps.

Optionally, you can blend in extra panels. The left panel contains three subviews:

• Navigator – a smaller overview map
• Saved Locations – a set of manually saved spots/areas, defined by location and radius. For each Location you can set a privacy option, if you want location metadata to be deleted whenever you export photos from this area (your home, for example)
• Collections – what would be called “Albums” in most other Photo Managment software – not geotagging specific.

The right panel is your usual Metadata panel, in which you can see EXIF, IPTC and other Metadata, including the EXIF Fields with the GPS coordinates, along with button that will center the map to those coordinates. You can even choose to only display Location Metadata.

Along the bottom you have your film-strip panel. The photos in here all have badges in the bottom right corner, indicating whether or not they are geotagged. if you click on one of the markers in the map view, all the photos in that location are centered and highlighted in the film-strip view, so you can quickly see which photos were taken there. Instead of clicking on a single marker in the map, you can also apply one of three Location filters (along the top of the map view):

• Visible on Map – highlights all photos in the filmstrip which were taken in the currently visible area on the map.
• Tagged – highlights all photos in the filmstrip that are geotagged, and dims the photos without geotag
• Untagged – does exactly the opposite.

I have not taken the time to dive any deeper into Lightroom 4 (I use Apples Aperture – which has supported geotagging for quite a while longer), who knows what other gems I might have missed – so feel free to add your own finds in the comments!

I must however mention the big news, that Canon seems to finally be embracing geotagging, and announced the GP-E2 GPS receiver along with the 5D Mark III.

Image by Canon

It has 3 modes of operation:

1. Direct communication with the camera via the hot-shoe (only 5D Mark III and 1D x)
2. Direct communication with the camera via USB (7D – with limations)
3. Logging a GPS track (any camera)

Canon’s GP-E2 will offer the following key features:

• High-sensitivity GPS chip
• Digital compass
• UTC time setting (to set camera clock)
• Logging function
• Universal fitting
• Powered by 1x AA battery

Here’s the relevant paragraph from the 5D Mark III press release about this new accessory:

“The EOS 5D Mark III also has an optional Canon GPS Receiver GP-E2, which can be connected to the camera via the accessory shoe or a USB cable. With a GPS logging function built-in, the GP-E2 will log latitude, longitude, elevation, and the Universal Time Code – and allow viewing of camera movement on a PC after shooting. With its built-in compass, the GP-E2 receiver will also record camera direction when shooting, even when shooting vertically. The Canon GPS Receiver GP-E2 is compatible with the EOS-1D X and EOS 7Di as well as the EOS 5D Mark III.ii”

i) When the EOS 7D is used with the GP-E2, the following restrictions will apply: a) geotagging function will not work for movies while recording; b) geotagging features will not work for movies when using the Map Utility; c) electronic compass information and automatic time setting is not available; d) transmission via the hot shoe is not possible.

ii) In certain countries and regions, the use of GPS may be restricted. Therefore, be sure to use GPS in accordance with the laws and regulations of your country or region. Be particularly careful when traveling outside your home country. As a signal is received from GPS satellites, take sufficient measures when using in locations where the use of electronics is regulated.

The EOS 5D Mark III requires a firmware upgrade to be compatible with the GPS Receiver GP-E2, which will be available soon.

One more image:

Image by Canon

Unfortunately, Nikon changed the physical design of the area around that 10-pin port in such a way, that our Unleashed D200+ no longer fits, at least not without modification.

The problem is that Nikon made the D800 smaller, the lens mount wider, and most contours of the camera more slanted. This results in less space near the 10-pin port to begin with, and that space decreasing even more as you try to push the Unleashed further into the socket – so much, that it is not possible to firmly plug the Unleashed into the socket. Electrically, it would still work, but physically it does not fit.

Illustration of the problem area – proportions are not exact.

We now need to wait until we get a D800, in order to evaluate whether it might be possible to make the Unleashed fit by modifying its casing (i.e. cutting or sanding off the one edge of the back of the Unleashed) to fit the slanted edge of the lens mount, and how we will need to redesign the next version of the product to account for the changes.

Dave Etchells, Publisher, Imaging Resource: We had a number of readers, also, asking about GPS, and why you can attach a GPS receiver, but people are saying why wasn’t GPS built into the camera?

Toshiaki Akagi: We always have a GP-1 GPS accessory, then we want to use a GP-1, and if we include a GPS function in the camera, the camera would be bigger. And GPS still has a little problem, so for example indoors, we cannot get GPS data, then we are considering now to adapt the GPS to the next model, in the future. While you are indoors, the performance is not stable, so that’s why we gave up to install the function in the body as of now.

There is more, so read the rest at imaging-resource.com (found via nikonrumors.com).]]> http://www.foolography.com/2012/01/23/nikon-interview-questions-about-gps/feed/ 0 http://www.foolography.com/2012/01/19/nikon-d4-gps-with-unleashed-d200/ http://www.foolography.com/2012/01/19/nikon-d4-gps-with-unleashed-d200/#comments Thu, 19 Jan 2012 18:24:49 +0000 Oliver Perialis http://www.foolography.com/?p=1183 We were at PMA@CES, exhibiting our products. On a slow morning I wandered over to the CES, heading straight to the Nikon booth. After admiring the D4 for a while, I seized the opportunity, to gather proof for everyone, that our Unleashed D200+ is compatible with the D4. I took my favorite GPS, which managed to keep a fix even inside the Convention Center hall and plugged an Unleashed into the D4. It fits beautifully.

After 3 seconds, the Unleashed had connected to the GPS, and the GPS icon on the LCD lit up:

Took a photo, and what do you know: it’s geotagged with our location in Las Vegas!

View Larger Map

So there you go: Proof that our Unleashed D200+ is fully compatible with the new Nikon D4!

PS. I went to see Canon’s GP-E1, which they announced 3 months ago! They did not have one with them! Can you believe it? I certainly couldn’t! On top of that, no-one at the booth had any knowledge about it, other than having heard it exists.

We are excited to be part of this year’s PMA@CES trade show in Las Vegas from January 10-13th. As part of the German Pavilion, we will exhibit our latest products. If you are planning on going, have a look at the floor plan from the official CES website which is much better than the one from PMA. You can find us in the Venetian, Hall D, Booth 72218. We hope to see some of you there! there

As a PMA@CES special we will prolong our current Xmas offer until the end of January. For every order of one of our Unleasheds (D200+, Dx000, D90) you get a Visiontac VGPS-500 receiver FOR FREE or you can donate to a charitable organisation! Get more information here or check it out in our online shop.

*Special note: This post was published mid-air, on our flight to Vegas. How cool is that? Thanks Ford, for sponsoring 30 free minutes of gogo internet for everyone!

I won’t go over the spec’s again, you can read those on dpreview.com, engadget or any other gear-site. One thing you might not read much about on other sites, are its GPS capabilities:

The Nikon D4 does not have built-in GPS. This might be unbelievable to some people, but I completely understand Nikon’s decision. Yes, there are plenty of other cameras that have built-in GPS, and that cost a fraction of the D4. But before I’ll try to give you some pointers as to why Nikon might have decided against GPS functionality. But first, the good news:

Our Unleashed D200+ is compatible with the Nikon D4

That means that you’ll have the possibility of adding what some people call “the next best thing to built-in GPS”, but we consider it to be even better than built-in GPS: our tiny Bluetooth Module on the camera, connected wirelessly to an external GPS of your choice. You can choose the GPS you prefer, whether it’s the cheapest you can find, or a sub-meter Trimble or Leica GPS that may well be worth more that the camera itself. And the greatest advantage: you can easily upgrade that GPS without having to upgrade the whole system.

So that is one of the key reasons why I wouldn’t want my high-end camera to have GPS built-in. But back to Nikon and their reasons not to build it in: Many people argue that it’s a feature that only a small portion of photographers would want that feature, but everyone would have to pay for it, so the additional cost is not feasible for features 90% of the customers won’t use. I don’t believe it! If that were true, there would never be any new features in new cameras, and there would certainly be no Ethernet port on the D4 – would there? Are you going to use that?

I believe they had technical reasons, which I’ve explained many times before: The D4 is a professional camera. It is aimed at professionals, who extreme demands on their equipment. They will not accept a half-baked solution, that works “most of the time” or is “relatively accurate”. No, they demand perfect solutions, and if they get anything else, you’ll be sure to hear a lot of complaints. Fact is: GPS receivers that are any good, require an extremely sensitive Antenna. The problem is that a camera as complex as the D4 has a lot of electronics that will definitely generate a lot of noise. Electronics manufacturers have problems getting those noise levels low enough to pass tests for FCC, CE or other regulatory certification. Obviously, this noise will interfere with that extremely sensitive Antenna. Until they figure out a solution to that problem, they’ll either need to sacrifice sensitivity of the antenna, or make compromises in other parts of the camera. Or, they get their best engineers to work on this problem… But then again, who is going to work on the core features of the next cameras?

They’ll figure it out eventually, but it’s not as easy as it seems to everyone who’s gotten used to really fast, fairly precise GPS on their iPhone. Technically, that’s almost entirely thanks to wifi and cellular network connectivity. The GPS is just refining that position. If you don’t believe me, try getting a position in a place where you don’t have any reception, and there’s no wifi nearby. There’s as good as no chance that will work.

Anyway, now that the D4 is announced, and we’ll confirm that our Unleashed will work, when we’ll test it at CES in Las Vegas in a few days, make use of our special offer, and get a free GPS when you purchase an Unleashed D200+.

One FREE GPS receiver by Visiontac!

Alternatively, if you do not want the free Visiontac VGPS-500 (e.g. you prefer to buy one of our Holux receivers or already own a compatible GPS receiver), we will donate 20€ of your purchase to the charitable NEHEMIA Foundation in Albania.

Further information here.