GPS for Nikon DSLR


Then your choice narrows to Solmeta and Easytagger, both of them can show direction with a built in electronic compass.
 

yes. most likely. But I am not buying. too many already. But I do have the sony hx5v and hx100v, which has the compass built in. It is very nice...
 

alright! my easytagger arrived last sat! :D :D sorry everyone for the delay i've been really busy, will post up some pictures soon and a review when i have time to take it out for a spin! :D
 

finally i managed to upload some pictures of the easytagger!! i know some of you guys want me to do a review but i really havent had the time yet. however i've tried it once so far, it works pretty well i'd say. i was at dhoby ghaut where there were some trees overhead and yet it still go the signal very fast and as i walked can really see the numbers jumped. impressive!! something to note is that u have to calibrate the compass though (i was wondering why my bearing kept showing 270) i still dont know how to do it, probably need to search online. guess they should have included a small leaflet to indicate how to first set it up. anw here are the unboxing pics! :

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sent via ems, yup that's a brown cardboard box totally wrapped in brown tape haha

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after ripping off the brown cardboard, this is the box! i'd say the packaging looks decent, too bad it got damaged abit from the shipping (corners pushed in etc) but that's not important. what's important is what's inside...

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this is what greets you when u open the box!! I had the remote trigger shipped too, i think it's a pretty cheap thing to add anw, less then 10 bucks so why not! this gps has a bypass for remote triggers (2.5mm socket) which i think will come in pretty useful. currently trying to rig up a wireless trigger to it so that i can have geotagged self portraits : D

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this is the unit itself. it's made of what i think is plastic, but the construction feels quite sturdy. the memory card door and wire port cover could be of better design though, they feel slightly flimsy (they're rubber covers attached to the thing) i've placed it beside a coin for comparison!


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and lastly this is everything in the box! from the top right clockwise:
- the easy tagger unit
- 2GB sandisk memory card and micro sd card reader (yup it comes with the unit. i'm pretty impressed with this!)
- the wired remote trigger
- the data cables (i got both the d90 and the d7000's one cause i have both cameras, apparently the port direction is reversed for the d90 so the L cables arent interchangeable)
- usb cable to charge the thing (im not sure if i can connect the gps to the computer for gps data. havent tried it yet, anw it can run off the camera battery too so i havent charged yet! heh xD)
- extender to raise the gps up so the flash can be used. thoughtul haha

i wish they had included something to attach the easy tagger to the camera's strap or something similar though, so it'd be easier to mount a flash or remote trigger. granted the extender does just that with the velcro, but i guess it could have been a more elegant solution

all in all i think this is probably the best value for money package so im quite happy with it : D
 

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That is quite simple.

Press the cali button, turn two circles, and press the button again.

Got it? Press the calibration button until the red LED flashes 3 times. Then release the button. and hold the camera in horizon level while slowly making two 360 degree turns on the spot. Press the calibration button again and see the blue led. The calibration is done.
 

Hi Chly3001... May i know how did you manage to buy this unit? I decided to buy this unit few months back and i could not buy and ship it to Singapore. Paypal (the only payment option available for online purchase) declined my payment saying that the item cannot be shipped to Singapore. Thanks in advance :)
 

I've used the GP1, it sucks your battery but not a lot & has 70% hit rate especially when you move around a lot in cities or in & out of shelters. It does sometimes get the signal even under shelter & 50cm+/- from open. Small & convenient fellow though. Strangely, when I tried to order from US (cheaper) they will not send to Singapore & it is always on back order over here.
 

hey i got it from their website and paypal.. maybe u can try again? or just contact them direct, the guy was quite friendly when i contacted him about some enquiries :)
 

Managed to place the order for easy tag. The issue was with my PayPal acc.
 

So how's it working for you? How's the build and most importantly, is the time to acquire a signal from the satellite fast enough?

I am still looking and wonder which would be better, solmeta or easytag - Have to make up mind as I will need it soon...
 

build quality's pretty good.. but it's all plastic so there's the fear that if u knock the mount it may break off.. doubt it though :) acquiring time is quite fast, i dont use it much to notice though heh :) easytag still seems the more value for money one i'd say..
 

I got my EasyTag last week. Yet to test it in field though. I opted for Bluetooth version to reduce the clutter. The main reasons for my decision are: availability of internal battery, microSD logging, and price. Here is my first impression: the rubber covers of USB port and microSD slot are of inferior quality, and look so cheap. And the cover of the USB port won't move completely away from the port and gets sandwiched between port and plug.
Acquisition of satellite: (Tested indoor placing the GPS unit close to an open window- it can see part of sky). Considering the restrictive environment, the GPS receiver performed quite well. It got its first fix under four minutes. And one thing I noticed with my camera: the GPS receiver LED indicator shows it acquired satellites and computed fix and is logging the data in every 10 seconds. But the camera shows dashes (---) for the position information. It took another five minutes to show some valid values.
Note: I might not be doing justice to the unit, as my testing environment is too restrictive.
Hope it is helpful. :)
 

Hmm... Does bluetooth works in very, very, very low temperature (like -20C or lower)?

Most importantly, does it draw power from camera when its battery dies so as to keep it alive till we can get it charged again? Easier to change camera battery since there is no removable battery on this GPS!
 

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Hmm... Does bluetooth works in very, very, very low temperature (like -20C or lower)?

Most importantly, does it draw power from camera when its battery dies so as to keep it alive till we can get it charged again? Easier to change camera battery since there is no removable battery on this GPS!


In my case of my Easytagger Bluetooth,

According to the manual, it says it can work at -20C, but we have tried it and it did not work under -15C. So it can work above -15C. Well, it is better to always add 5 degrees to the lowest temperature of most GPS devices.
My camera can only charge the GPS when the data cable is connected.
 

In my case of my Easytagger Bluetooth,

According to the manual, it says it can work at -20C, but we have tried it and it did not work under -15C. So it can work above -15C. Well, it is better to always add 5 degrees to the lowest temperature of most GPS devices.
My camera can only charge the GPS when the data cable is connected.

Hmm... I guess this means chemical warmers will be required... But it does draw power from the batt right?
 

Anyone has done an actual field test with their GPS yet?

By the way, what do you do with that flap sticking out when you open the area to plug in the GPS? Is there a way to remove it, especially for those with the bluetooth receiver? Do you think it's easy to attach and detach that flap?
 

Oh, has anyone use the wire remote with the gps? How abt with the Bluetooth one? Does it work with a wire remote?
 

hey everyone im back from my trip to australia!! naturally i have been using the easytagger, but i think after awhile my unit started to have problems. when it worked, i think it worked quite well in tagging the photos. however when the sky is cloudy i couldnt get a lock, but im not sure if that's really the issue as after the 4th or 5th day, my gps stopped working all together. it just wouldnt get a signal :( i will be testing it out more later. in the meantime would just like to comment that the cable connecting the gps to the camera drops out too easily (it may have something to do with the rubbber door of the port) and also i realised the compass calibration for the device is constantly reset so my bearing is constantly 270degrees. will check that out when i have the time too

anw i dont think there's a way to remove the flap sticking out, and the wired remote if i rmbr correctly does not work with the bluetooth one
 

Well, been corresponding with the company on all these questions... So I have most, if not all, questions answered, except for the actual experiences with the device.

You are right that it does not work with the bluetooth one - but they are using the same main gps unit, so you could just attach the wire to the gps unit, and remote trigger to it as well; Don't need to get another set of the gps unit.

Does not sound good if it does not work after 4th or 5th day. Usually it's harder to get a lock on cloudy days, but my old datalogger had no issues with it, just take a long time but that's using the MTK chipset, while this is using SIRF chipset.

It's experiences like these that gets me cautious about getting the product. However, this is the only bluetooth cum wired gps unit (as in I can switch between using bluetooth or wired at any time) in the market that I can find. The others does not have that ability - some with only bluetooth, which does not have remote trigger; others is only wired.

Is the flap really sticking out like sore thumb? Does it get in the way when you hold the camera? Does it get into situations which may cause it to bend/break?
 

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chly3001, any update on your GPS issue? Is it working again as in able to get a signal lock from the satellites?

Rgds.