So, just in time for CES, Nikon announced the D5500, successor to the D5300. The D5300 was Nikon’s only DSLR that had GPS built-in. Its successor, however, no longer does. It seems the function was either not popular enough, or did not work as well as it was supposed to. My guess/experience: Both! (The worst was the battery drain). As usual, you can read the details on dpreview.com or engadget.com
At CES, I went over to the Nikon booth, to test our Unleashed on the D5500 there. Luckily, one of the guys there was curious enough himself to let me test it – even though they were just prototypes, and he wasn’t supposed to let me.
The good news: the Unleashed Dx000 works on the D5500 (see the GPS Satellite icon)
The bad news: I was unable to properly test how well it fits the D5500, but can tell you it’ll be tight!
It would have been necessary to remove the rubber flap to insert the Unleashed Dx000 completeley, and of course was not going to do that on Nikon’s prototype. The socket is a little more recessed than on other cameras, so I cannot yet promise that the Unleashed can be plugged in all the way, and therefore get enough contact to work properly. I will update this post when I know more – if you’ve tested it, let us know in the comments!
Nikon announces the D610 as the successor of the D600, but only with minor updates. Many had hoped for built-in GPS and wifi, but again, Nikon did not add this. Instead they gave the D610 a new shutter mechanism, probably to put an end to the oil spot problem of the D600, but at the same time offering slightly increased frame rate (6 as opposed to 5.5fps) and a new quiet continuous shooting option. Read the details on nikon.com or dpreview.com.
The good news is that our Unleashed Dx000 will still be compatible with the D610, just as it was with the D600. As such, it will also be necessary to completely remove the rubber flap covering the GPS Port, to allow the Unleashed Dx000 to fit properly. We describe a almost entirely reversible way to do so here.
Order your Unleashed Dx000 in our online-shop today!
Today, Nikon announced the new D7100. A successor to the popular D7000, now 2.5 years old.
Some also rumor it to be the merged successor of the D7000 and D300s, and the updated specs do seem to lend these rumors some credibility. One example is that the D7100’s AF module has been updated to the Multi-Cam 3500DX with 51 AF points (15 cross type), which is the same as the as the D300s. However, it even comes with updated Algorithms, and just like the D4, D800 and D600, Nikon specifies it to be able to focus in low light, down to -2EV. The center point is functional at f/8, an advantage especially for the use of teleconverters combined with telephoto lenses. Of course that’s not all thats new, some important updates are the 24Megapixel Sensor without optical low pass filter, ISO range of 100-6400 (or Lo-1:50 to Hi-2: 25600), increased speed, 1080/30p video recording, dedicated movie record button, 1.3x crop mode, ca 100% frame coverage viewfinder, and much more, which you can read about in detail on nikon.com, dpreview or engadget.
The most interesting news is of course, that the D7100 is compatible with our Unleashed Dx000, as the connector and its position at the bottom right of the left side of the camera remains mostly unchanged from the D7000. Nikon has still not built in GPS into any of their DSLRs!
So, last week, Nikon announced another great consumer DSLR, the D5200. Nikon updated their only DSLR model with a swivelling Display to specifications close to the D7000, while remaining physically almost identical to the predecessor: the D5100.
The Nikon D5200 is compatible with our Unleashed Dx000, Nikon really seems to be sticking with this port for GPS support in their consumer DSLR lineup, and is showing no signs of integrating GPS into their DSLRs just yet.
Again, just like with the D600, the Rubber cover needs to be either removed or a have rectangular hole cut into for the Unleashed to fit on properly, but most our customers do this anyway, so that the rubber cover is not flapping about all the time. See our D600 post for details on a nearly entirely reversible method for removing the flap.
We’re back from photokina2012 – a great show and a great success! As promised I headed over to the Nikon Booth, and tested our Unleashed Dx000 on the D600.
At first, my heart sunk: No GPS icon on the top LCD. Luckily, when I took photos, the GPS data was embedded in the EXIF data! I figured that Nikon might have simply not included a GPS icon at all on the top LCD. Looking through the manual (page 175 7) it is evident that this is not the case. – there definitely should be a GPS icon. Maybe I simply overlooked it, or the Model on display malfunctioned in some way. Sorry for this false information. Page 175 shows the INFO display, not the top LCD. Top LCD or “Control Panel” is shown on page 7, and definitely does NOT have a GPS icon.
The Unleashed will fit nicely on the D600, the only problem being that the rubberflap is in the way. While it is possible to use the Unleashed like that, the pressure from the flap will, over time, cause the Plug on the Unleashed to break off the PCB inside, which eventually result in malfunction. There are two nice solutions for this:
Cut a rectangle out of the flap, just over the port – so the flap remains closed while the Unleashed is plugged in.
by cutting the rubber hinges that wrap around the metal pin right next to the flap, it is possible to remove the flap entirely. By threading the hinges back under the metal pin, the flap can be replaced and will retain its full functionality.
Update:
I misread the manual: Page 175 shows the INFO screen, not the TOP LCD. On page 7 one can see that the top LCD really does not have a GPS icon – in other words, the D600 is fully compatible with the Unleashed Dx000, no “odd behaviour”, no doubt about it.
Today, Nikon announced another full-frame DSLR, the D600. Read the reviews on dpreview, engadget or elsewhere.
Of course Nikon added GPS support, again it’s not integrated, but via an external Module, such as their GP-1 and of course our Unleashed. According to Nikon, the D600 fits in right below the D800 and is just as much a Pro DSLR as the latter. Rumor had it, that this was going to be the first consumer DSLR with an Fx sensor, and there was much evidence to back this. One example is that the D600 does not have the “pro” 10-pin port on the front of the camera, which would have fit our Unleashed D200+. Instead, it is equipped with the port found on all the consumer DSLRs, on the side of the camera, making our Unleashed Dx000 compatible with the D600.
In a couple of days, we’ll be at photokina, and will try the D600 with our Unleashed, just to verify it works, and get you some pics of how it looks.
Preparations for the worlds biggest photography trade fair are keeping us busy – just a little under 3 weeks left and a lot left to do!
Photokina starts on September 18th, and is open for 6 days – until the 23rd of September. Of course, we’ll be there in Cologne – our Booth is in Hall 5.1, Booth F006:
We’d love to see you there, show you our products, and answer any questions you might have.
We might just have something up our sleeve, that you wouldn’t want to miss. ;-)
As promised, I checked the possibility of modifying the Unleashed D200+ to make it fit the 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.
(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.
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.
More and more software is coming out with support for geotagged photos. Finally Adobe has caught on, and has released Lightroom 4, along with pretty decent geotagging features.
“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.
The latter is especially useful for finding the photos where your geotagging device missed a photo or two without you noticing, so that you can manually add its location – for example by synching Location metadata from another photo taken in the same spot, or using a tracklog that you might have additionally saved.
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!
It’s official – the long awaited Canon EOS 5D Mark III was released a few hours ago. Read the press release, or check out previews and hands-on details at the usual sites – I won’t re-iterate those here.
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:
Direct communication with the camera via the hot-shoe (only 5D Mark III and 1D x)
Direct communication with the camera via USB (7D – with limations)
Logging a GPS track (any camera)
Unfortunately, no other camera is supported yet, but I suppose that the hot-shoe communication will be available with all future Canon DSLRs. This is great news, as we might well be able to produce a single Unleashed for all Canon cameras, which will allow wireless direct geotagging, and who knows what other great features we will think of for you.
Canon’s GP-E2 will offer the following key features:
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.
