Has any D300 owners had any experience with this GPS device?

[DarkDTSHD]

Considering a GPS device for my D300. This one sounded great. Small and works with Google maps. But while it worked great initially for the first reviewer it died 2 months later. Not good. See here...

http://www.amazon.com/Geometr-Geotag...0749637&sr=8-4

Has any one bought/used Nikon's own "GP-1"? How has it been treating you? And does it work with Google maps? Any other recommendations for a reliable GPS unit for D300 owners?

[NHL]

FYI - http://forums.steves-digicams.com/fo...hlight=solmeta

-> I use a Solmeta N2: This device is super-quick in acquiring position, gives you elevation as well as heading and will work indoor from it's own buit-in rechargeable battery
(i.e. Excellent for not drawing current from the camera's battery)

[DarkDTSHD]

NHL wrote:

FYI - http://forums.steves-digicams.com/fo...hlight=solmeta

-> I use a Solmeta N2: This device is super-quick in acquiring position, gives you elevation as well as heading and will work indoor from it's own buit-in rechargeable battery
(i.e. Excellent for not drawing current from the camera's battery)

Thanks for the recommendation NHL. How long have you had this one? Just not crazy about the fact that this is a "made in China" product. Yes I am biased. Even if their QC is a lot better in the last few year. With a lot of the major companies setting up in China. But I still might give the Solmeta N2 or the newer Geotagger Pro a try. Did you buy yours from Nikonians' Proshop? Or directly from their company? If from China how long did it take to arrive? Did you pay import tax?

Any one with the Nikon GP-1?

[NHL]

I bought it last year directly from the Co. in China right after I got the D300
It came by Fedex faster than their company e_mail... I did have some problems with their AC adapter, but their after sale service was excellent (much better than expected from Dell or HP) - The actual device itself is flawless and do not need this AC adapter however as it can be recharged from any USB port...

I wouldn't be too concerned about "made in China" as practically every company are now 'fabless' especially with electronics. Did you know that my iPod touch (and practically all Apple products) are designed in CA, but built in China?

[DarkDTSHD]

NHL wrote:

I bought it last year directly from the Co. in China right after I got the D300
It came by Fedex faster than their company e_mail... I did have some problems with their AC adapter, but their after sale service was excellent (much better than expected from Dell or HP) - The actual device itself is flawless and do not need this AC adapter however as it can be recharged from any USB port...

I wouldn't be too concerned about "made in China" as practically every company are now 'fabless' especially with electronics. Did you know that my iPod touch (and practically all Apple products) are designed in CA, but built in China?

About Apple products being "made in China"...I noticed. I am using an MacBook Pro and have a iPod Video (6th gen) 80GB. My iPod's sound distorts a little (will need to get it looked at while still under warranty). And the touchpad on my MBP sometimes sticks (e.g. the cursor would stop in it's tracks...then continue). And once in a blue moon (rarely) I would see what look like "vertical shadows" (maybe shooting up from the bottom of the screen. From the left side of the screen to the right. Some one said it's the LED backlighting. Corrected by restarting. Guess I haven't been lucky with Apple products. Will get my laptop looked at too as it is still under warranty as well.

As for things "made in China"...would just feel better if they weren't. Maybe in time when China begins to establish itself even more and builds a reputation of good quality/reliablity (as the Japanese eventually did) I might change my mind. Didn't really sit well with me seeing that the D300 are "made in Thailand" either. But so far I have had no problems and the fit-finish is admittedly very good.

No pricing on the Geotagger Pro yet. Might not wait for it as I would love to have a GPS now. That and it's bound to be more than $250.00. So maybe I'll get the one you did. Shrug.

[NHL]

DarkDTSHD wrote:

No pricing on the Geotagger Pro yet. Might not wait for it as I would love to have a GPS now. That and it's bound to be more than $250.00. So maybe I'll get the one you did. Shrug.

Why would you get the Geotagger Pro for?

-> This device may make more sense for a Canon (or Sony), but I wouldn't want to use software afterward to match up my images - It will only add one more steps to the workflow and when the device didn't get a lock during a shoots you're out of luck!
(That's the same issue with Nikon's own "GP-1")

With the Solmeta or any device like it the GPS info is collected by the camera in real-time and fed to the images as they are recorded (even in RAW) to the flash cards... You also have a GPS icon on the top LCD (which flashes when it's acquiring) and of course all this info can also be examined on the rear LCD as well (position, elevation and heading) which are not possible with devices like the GP-1 for example...

[DarkDTSHD]

NHL wrote:

DarkDTSHD wrote:

Why would you get the Geotagger Pro for?

-> This device may make more sense for a Canon (or Sony), but I wouldn't want to use software afterward to match up my images - It will only add one more steps to the workflow and when the device didn't get a lock during a shoots you're out of luck!
(That's the same issue with Nikon's own "GP-1")

With the Solmeta or any device like it the GPS info is collected by the camera in real-time and fed to the images as they are recorded (even in RAW) to the flash cards... You also have a GPS icon on the top LCD (which flashes when it's acquiring) and of course all this info can also be examined on the rear LCD as well (position, elevation and heading) which are not possible with devices like the GP-1 for example...

Why would you need software to match the data to the image for the Geotagger Pro (and not the N2) and the Nikon's GP-1? I thought the Geotaagger is pretty much the same as the N2 except it adds a LCD display and get a temperature reading...etc.

As I said I'll most likely get the N2...

[NHL]

DarkDTSHD wrote:

Why would you need software to match the data to the image for the Geotagger Pro (and not the N2) and the Nikon's GP-1? I thought the Geotaagger is pretty much the same as the N2 except it adds a LCD display and get a temperature reading...etc.

Because it says so:
http://www.nikonusa.com/Find-Your-Ni...-GPS-Unit.html

"Correlation between pictures and maps is supported by GPS function in conjunction with ViewNX version 1.2 software (no-charge download) and my Picturetown. "



ditto with the Geotagger PRO:
http://www.solmeta.com/en/products_detail.asp?id=15


[align=left]"For all the digital camera with hot shoe (Nikon, Canon, Sony, etc.)
[/align]
[align=left]●record each time when taking a photo and match afterwards with software"[/align]

[NHL]

BTW you can go cheaper than the N2 (i.e. GPS directly to the images): http://forums.dpreview.com/forums/re...hread=26497190

... with a serial cable and any GPS supporting the NEMA protocol through the camera'sdataport

[DarkDTSHD]

Well guys. Just received an e-mail from Nikon Canada regarding the GP-1. I was right. It DOES geotag images as they are shot. No need for software to link the data to the images. Here is the reply I got from Nikon Canada:

Discussion Thread
Response (David D.) 01/07/2009 08:37 PM
HI

Thanks for the question. It seems you were given some poor information. When connected to the camera the GP-1 feeds the GPS data to the camera where it is stored in the metadata for each image as they are shot. Thanks

-David

Also, see this link from Samy's Camera...

http://www.samys.com/product_detail.php?item=14106

This is from their website..."With the Nikon GP-1 GPS Unit, Geotags can be added to your images so you can record latitude, longitude, altitude and time information."

The older and more simplistic GPS receivers did and still do this. But I doubted that Nikon would design theirs not to auto geotag images as they are shot. Being that Nikon only released their GP-1 late last year. Which is actually is a bit late compared to the many other companies that have been around for a few years.

Why some manufacturers (e.g. ATP...memory card manufacturer) are still making units where you still do have to link the GPS data to each photo makes no sense at all today.

Guess, I'll be ordering a Nikon GP-1 afterall.

And for NHL....