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D800 modification of Unleashed D200+

We’ve been getting many requests about the D800 this year, as unfortunately the current Unleashed D200+ physically does not fit the D800. The new year 2013 will also bring a new version of the Unleashed with exciting new features. But it is not quite finished yet. As always, we try to make everything perfect which turns out to be a little bit more complicated than anticipated.

Unleashed D200+ Modified for D800

Electronically, the Unleashed D200+ still works perfectly on the D800, so we decided to offer a modification for all our customers with Unleashed D200+, to end the wait for using an Unleashed on their new Nikon D800.

  • For a small fee of 15 Euro, we will make this modification for you, and ship it back to you. Of course you need to send us your Unleashed first.
  • If you order a new Unleashed D200+, we will modify it for you for free. Just select the respective product in our shop.
  • If you can’t wait, and/or don’t mind a little DIY: We made a video of how you can modify it yourself safely. This modification method (melting) will not void your warranty.
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D800 and Unleashed D200+

As promised, I checked the possibility of modifying the Unleashed D200+ to make it fit the D800:

Unleashed D200+ on Nikon D800

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.

D800 mod for Unleashed D200+
(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.

Posted on 9 Comments

Nikon D800/D800E – still no built-in GPS

A few days ago, Nikon announced the D800 and the D800E, and again they did not build in a GPS Receiver. While I’m sure this will happen in the future, Nikon do still have some work ahead of them to get this to work well enough for a pro camera! And contrary to what they say – it’s not (just) about the limited space inside the camera body. Read some of my thoughts here. Nikon did keep their 10-pin port for attaching external GPS devices.

Nikon D800 with its 10-pin port for GPS

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.

Nikon D800 Top view with Unleashed D200+ outline
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.