I got my long awaited Unleashed '22 for my Nikon Z fc, and expected everything to work flawlessly just like with my older Foolography devices. Not so, not at all.
Firstly, the magnetic plug approach makes for a very vulnerable connection and an imminent danger of losing the unit during field work. Protecting it inside an 'L' bracket is definitively required and indicates a severe design flaw. How i wish for an M unit with a dedicated USB-C plug!!! I then installed the app v.3.03 and did manage to update firmware for the M to 3.0 (A,B,C).
Secondly, after the M had connected, the app denied the Z fc could geotag at all. The relevant field was greyed out. Going to the 'Accessories' the app searched, but could not find and connect to, my Qstarz BL-1000ST. Providing GPS through the phone did not help either. NB: with the Nikon Snapbridge app Z fc happily records GPS location.
Thirdly, the battery of the Z fc drained completely over night even though the camera was switched off. Likewise, my android phone (Galaxy A08 2018) drained its battery to near zero in the morning.
i have verified that the battery drain both of camera and phone occurs every time I try running the Unleashed. The condition is permanent, not intermittent, so is a severe bug.
Unleashed '22 M doesn't work with Z fc
Sorry for the disappointment!
You're right, at the moment, we don't support Geotagging with the Unleashed M on Nikon cameras. Most Nikons require the N1 or N2, and they connect to the 10pin port of the camera, which the Zfc, as well as the Zf, Z30, D3400 and D3500 don't have. We use two pins of those 10 for geotagging, so that's why geotagging currently doesn't work on the cameras without that port.
That said, we will still look into getting geotagging to work via Bluetooth. We've gotten that to work on Canon, Sony, Fuji and Panasonic already, so we'll manage on Nikon too, it just hasn't been a priority since it's only necessary on a few, lower-end Nikon bodies. With the Addition of the Zf, there seems to be a trend for the removal of the 10 pin port, which means it's getting more important for the future.
About the plug being a sub-optimal connection: yes, it adds a couple of millimetres, meaning the Unleashed protrudes a bit more from the camera than the Unleashed N2 and especially the N1 do. But that was inevitable. Since this Unleashed needs to fit on so many camera models, and some have more deeply recessed ports than others, even a dedicated USB-C model would have had to protrude significantly more than the N1 and N2 currently do. The magnetic solution was just 1-2mm more than that.
However, as for losing the device: if the physical impact on the Unleashed during normal usage is so high, that you're afraid to lose it, then those forces could easily translate to the plug of the Unleashed, or worse: the socket of your camera being damaged, if there was no magnetic connection! In other words: you should be glad that the Magnetic connection disconnects! That said, the Unleashed is still held in place by the cable that is attached to the HDMI port, so even if it does disconnect, you'd still need to yank it out of the HDMI cable to be able to lose it.
Now as for the Battery drain - that's very odd. Are you sure you turned the camera off? All cameras that we have tested will remove power from the HDMI port when you turn off the camera. I guess we'll need to get a Zfc to test that too, if it does not be have the same way!
Could you confirm that when you turn off the camera, that the Unleashed's LED still stays on?
Your Android phone getting drained should certainly not be the fault of the Unleashed app! The one "feature" that draws a little more power than other apps might, is Geotagging. With that not working on your Camera, I don't see how the Unleashed app could have had such an impact. Nonetheless, could you go to the App menu, tap on the (i), then Tap on "Share Log file"? That might give us some insight as to what happened in your case. Maybe we will spot a bug causing the issue.
You're right, at the moment, we don't support Geotagging with the Unleashed M on Nikon cameras. Most Nikons require the N1 or N2, and they connect to the 10pin port of the camera, which the Zfc, as well as the Zf, Z30, D3400 and D3500 don't have. We use two pins of those 10 for geotagging, so that's why geotagging currently doesn't work on the cameras without that port.
That said, we will still look into getting geotagging to work via Bluetooth. We've gotten that to work on Canon, Sony, Fuji and Panasonic already, so we'll manage on Nikon too, it just hasn't been a priority since it's only necessary on a few, lower-end Nikon bodies. With the Addition of the Zf, there seems to be a trend for the removal of the 10 pin port, which means it's getting more important for the future.
About the plug being a sub-optimal connection: yes, it adds a couple of millimetres, meaning the Unleashed protrudes a bit more from the camera than the Unleashed N2 and especially the N1 do. But that was inevitable. Since this Unleashed needs to fit on so many camera models, and some have more deeply recessed ports than others, even a dedicated USB-C model would have had to protrude significantly more than the N1 and N2 currently do. The magnetic solution was just 1-2mm more than that.
However, as for losing the device: if the physical impact on the Unleashed during normal usage is so high, that you're afraid to lose it, then those forces could easily translate to the plug of the Unleashed, or worse: the socket of your camera being damaged, if there was no magnetic connection! In other words: you should be glad that the Magnetic connection disconnects! That said, the Unleashed is still held in place by the cable that is attached to the HDMI port, so even if it does disconnect, you'd still need to yank it out of the HDMI cable to be able to lose it.
Now as for the Battery drain - that's very odd. Are you sure you turned the camera off? All cameras that we have tested will remove power from the HDMI port when you turn off the camera. I guess we'll need to get a Zfc to test that too, if it does not be have the same way!
Could you confirm that when you turn off the camera, that the Unleashed's LED still stays on?
Your Android phone getting drained should certainly not be the fault of the Unleashed app! The one "feature" that draws a little more power than other apps might, is Geotagging. With that not working on your Camera, I don't see how the Unleashed app could have had such an impact. Nonetheless, could you go to the App menu, tap on the (i), then Tap on "Share Log file"? That might give us some insight as to what happened in your case. Maybe we will spot a bug causing the issue.
Founder & CEO of Foolography, Hardware & Firmware developer.
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birnaofthenorth
- Posts: 30
- Joined: October 9th, 2023, 9:04 am
Now i feel even more disappointed. This for a company the products of which I have praised publicly, purchased several units and used extensively on my Nikons and Fuji cameras, for many years.
My reason for supporting the Kickstarter project was to have geotaqging 'natively' on the Z fc and similar cameras, a feature which *is* listed on the compatibility chart. Apparently this information wasn't true, leading to false hopes. Very bad handling of customers I dare say. I am tempted to return the '22 M for a full refund, unless the promised features are supported.
Last time I tested the battery drain, I noticed the drive light of the camera will go on and off even though the camera had been switched off. Obviously something is still active and that explains probably why my phone battery became exhausted as well. I have run this test several times and each time, both camera and phone are dead in the morning.
My reason for supporting the Kickstarter project was to have geotaqging 'natively' on the Z fc and similar cameras, a feature which *is* listed on the compatibility chart. Apparently this information wasn't true, leading to false hopes. Very bad handling of customers I dare say. I am tempted to return the '22 M for a full refund, unless the promised features are supported.
Last time I tested the battery drain, I noticed the drive light of the camera will go on and off even though the camera had been switched off. Obviously something is still active and that explains probably why my phone battery became exhausted as well. I have run this test several times and each time, both camera and phone are dead in the morning.
I'm very sorry that the information about this was not clear.
I have written an explanation about the limitations of the Unleashed M on Nikons so many times in the last two years, I was certain that it was available in the right places, but it seems like it was always just in the comments of the campaign, via email or similar. It's definitely my fault that we did not add it to such places as the compatibility section of the Kickstarter campaign, one of the Kickstarter FAQs or the compatibility page on our website. After some searching I did find here:
https://www.foolography.com/faqs/choosi ... les-plugs/
which is the FAQ linked in the Pledge manager process. But if even I have to search for it, then it's obviously not clear enough for anyone looking to purchase an Unleashed!
However please know that this was in no sense meant to be misleading! And most definitely not to you specifically! I will try to rectify this as soon as possible, and will even try to do you one better:
I've made two tickets for my team: one for our firmware team to prioritise implementing Geotagging for these cameras, and a second for adding the information into clearer places. For the time being, I have already added the above FAQ to the compatibility page.
Now about the battery drain issue:
All the cameras we've been working with will shut down power at the same time as shutting down USB communication, and even if there is a slight delay, no camera we tested with continues to do anything when the camera is switched off!
We already have a ticket we're working on that's very closely related to this, I will add this info there, and hopefully we'll be able to solve this quickly. Thanks for reporting it! We'll see if we can reproduce this with one of the many Nikons we already have, otherwise we'll get the Z fc to test with.
Could you check whether the LED on the Unleashed is still on, when you turn off the camera?
Thanks already!
I have written an explanation about the limitations of the Unleashed M on Nikons so many times in the last two years, I was certain that it was available in the right places, but it seems like it was always just in the comments of the campaign, via email or similar. It's definitely my fault that we did not add it to such places as the compatibility section of the Kickstarter campaign, one of the Kickstarter FAQs or the compatibility page on our website. After some searching I did find here:
https://www.foolography.com/faqs/choosi ... les-plugs/
which is the FAQ linked in the Pledge manager process. But if even I have to search for it, then it's obviously not clear enough for anyone looking to purchase an Unleashed!
However please know that this was in no sense meant to be misleading! And most definitely not to you specifically! I will try to rectify this as soon as possible, and will even try to do you one better:
I've made two tickets for my team: one for our firmware team to prioritise implementing Geotagging for these cameras, and a second for adding the information into clearer places. For the time being, I have already added the above FAQ to the compatibility page.
Now about the battery drain issue:
Interesting! Then maybe the Power to the HDMI port continues longer than the USB port switching off internally, which means that the Unleashed will try to communicate with the camera again, but will fail. However if this somehow keeps the camera awake, and therefore continues to provide power to the HDMI port, that would result in an endless loop of trying to communicate with the camera, and would explain the camera's battery drain.Last time I tested the battery drain, I noticed the drive light of the camera will go on and off even though the camera had been switched off. Obviously something is still active and that explains probably why my phone battery became exhausted as well. I have run this test several times and each time, both camera and phone are dead in the morning.
All the cameras we've been working with will shut down power at the same time as shutting down USB communication, and even if there is a slight delay, no camera we tested with continues to do anything when the camera is switched off!
We already have a ticket we're working on that's very closely related to this, I will add this info there, and hopefully we'll be able to solve this quickly. Thanks for reporting it! We'll see if we can reproduce this with one of the many Nikons we already have, otherwise we'll get the Z fc to test with.
Could you check whether the LED on the Unleashed is still on, when you turn off the camera?
Thanks already!
Founder & CEO of Foolography, Hardware & Firmware developer.
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birnaofthenorth
- Posts: 30
- Joined: October 9th, 2023, 9:04 am
Apparently the problem is with the M itself and the drain to the phone battery is depending on the Unleashed app is running concurrently. If I switch the power off my Z fc, the indicator light of the M disappears, but the drive indicator of the camera starts to blink every second or so.. Sometimes the camera only shows the behaviour after cycling on/off more than once.
If the M unit is lifted off the magnet, the blinking on the camera stops. Same happens if the M is on its magnet and I pull out the HDMi plug. in either case the behaviour is the same whether or not the Unleashed app is running.
Finally, this erratic behaviour happens only if there is an SD card present in the camera.
Hope the information details help your team track down, and fix, this annoying bug.
If the M unit is lifted off the magnet, the blinking on the camera stops. Same happens if the M is on its magnet and I pull out the HDMi plug. in either case the behaviour is the same whether or not the Unleashed app is running.
Finally, this erratic behaviour happens only if there is an SD card present in the camera.
Hope the information details help your team track down, and fix, this annoying bug.
Last edited by birnaofthenorth on October 9th, 2023, 10:06 pm, edited 1 time in total.
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birnaofthenorth
- Posts: 30
- Joined: October 9th, 2023, 9:04 am
Forgot to mention that there is no indicator lights on the M after the camera has been switched off. Still the battery drain of the camera is unavoidable.
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birnaofthenorth
- Posts: 30
- Joined: October 9th, 2023, 9:04 am
Update:
HDMI cable plugged in, M off its magnetic plug, card in camera, camera switched off: no battery drain over night..
HDMI cable plugged in, M sitting on its magnetic plug, card in camera, camera switched off: dead battery in the morning.
In both cases no Unleashed app running concurrently.
HDMI cable plugged in, M off its magnetic plug, card in camera, camera switched off: no battery drain over night..
HDMI cable plugged in, M sitting on its magnetic plug, card in camera, camera switched off: dead battery in the morning.
In both cases no Unleashed app running concurrently.
Thanks for this additional info.
I tested yesterday, and was able to reproduce the issue on the Z7 II we have in the office - we normally use it with the Unleashed N2, but connecting an Unleashed M revealed the same behaviour. I even hear a faint clicking sound - probably the Sensor Image stabilisation turning on and off.
Very interesting behaviour, but it should be fixable now that we can reproduce it.
I tested yesterday, and was able to reproduce the issue on the Z7 II we have in the office - we normally use it with the Unleashed N2, but connecting an Unleashed M revealed the same behaviour. I even hear a faint clicking sound - probably the Sensor Image stabilisation turning on and off.
Very interesting behaviour, but it should be fixable now that we can reproduce it.
Founder & CEO of Foolography, Hardware & Firmware developer.
I've just received an Unleashed 22 N2 for my Z7ii and a M for my Z50.
The N2 works fine and is paired to my phone (Samsung S20) as well as paired to a GL770 external GPS receiver through the app.
However, with the M on my Z50 (again, paired to the phone and paired to a GL770 external GPS receiver through the app) I cannot get geotagging to work. The unleashed display for the Z50 M shows "f1 GPS" and when I click on it I get a message "GPS mode is not available. This camera doesn't![Image]()
have this feature."
According to this page https://www.foolography.com/products/un ... atibility/ Geotagging with an M is available on the Z50.
Given the Z50 is a secondary camera for me I primarily wanted the Unleashed 22 to geotag my pictures.
Where am I going wrong?
The N2 works fine and is paired to my phone (Samsung S20) as well as paired to a GL770 external GPS receiver through the app.
However, with the M on my Z50 (again, paired to the phone and paired to a GL770 external GPS receiver through the app) I cannot get geotagging to work. The unleashed display for the Z50 M shows "f1 GPS" and when I click on it I get a message "GPS mode is not available. This camera doesn't
According to this page https://www.foolography.com/products/un ... atibility/ Geotagging with an M is available on the Z50.
Given the Z50 is a secondary camera for me I primarily wanted the Unleashed 22 to geotag my pictures.
Where am I going wrong?
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birnaofthenorth
- Posts: 30
- Joined: October 9th, 2023, 9:04 am
You did nothing wrong, but relied on information that later has proven incorrect and misleading . The 22M cannot geotag with Z50, or in my case, Z fc or Zf.
If your main purpose is geotagging with the Z50, use the free Snapbridge app instead.and use it only for getting location data.
I'm also disappointed.. A real waste of money at this stage, unless the issue is solved.
If your main purpose is geotagging with the Z50, use the free Snapbridge app instead.and use it only for getting location data.
I'm also disappointed.. A real waste of money at this stage, unless the issue is solved.