GPS for Nikon Bodies (10 Pin and accessory terminal types)

Sootchucker

Sootchucker

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Hi all. Was wondering if anyone was using GPS with any of their Nikon Bodies. I recently purchased from the classified section here a Yongnuo GPS unit with the 10 pin connection. TBH it was really cheap at £20 and does get a GPS fix surprisingly quickly but seems to mess with the metadata and always reports the wrong date (being a year or so ago), despite the fix being quite quick and accurate.

In any case, It's given me the bug to look properly into this as I like having a GPS fix on my photos when I download them. I know this can be done using a smart phone and an app, but I've tried that route and TBH, it hammered the battery on my Iphone and the unit got quite hot in my pocket as a result.

Nikon obviously has the GP-1A unit, but doesn't seem to come with many glowing reviews, and seems to be criticized for being quite expensive, being a power hog and having an absurdly long cable. On the plus side, it does come with cable adapters to accept either the 10 pin connections or the professional units or the accessory terminals of the consumer models. I would ideally like one of each type (or a unit that can do both like the GP-1A), for my 2 10 pin socket bodies and the 1 accessory terminal socket (D750).

Whilst browsing, I found this company and their solution seems really small and neat (especially the 10 pin versions) - Dawn tech. Website here - http://di-gps.com/shop/di-GPS-Eco-ProFessional-M-PF1-M

Anyone any experience of these units ?
 
I wouldn't spend too much time on this.............There is likely to be little difference between what you have, and the GP-1 or 1a as it is now.
I suggest you set it up such that your camera clock is not updated by the GPS signal. The tech is not that complex, and yes, it will mess with the metadata.
I use mine most when on holiday. But depending on where you are, I found it best to keep mine on all the time. That way you got accurate data being fed into the metadata. If it does not have a fix, and you take a picture, it tells the metadata its last location!

Most of the copies are good, or at least as good as the Nikon. I doubt very much that Nikon make it themselves.
 
Thanks Robert, appreciate you taking the time. I have to admit I quite like the unit but it was the data being screwed up in the metadata that was bugging me.

I have the GPS unit on my cameras (D810 and D4) already set to not to update the clock, but it's weird as the actual internal camera clock time is correct, but the GPS added metadata is something like 11 months out of date. Is there a fix for this or just a bug we have to live with - the price of a really cheap GPS ?
 
Quick update. Tried the Yongnuo last night again on my D810 and it seems I had never previously given it enough time to locate a fix. I assumed the flashing green light meant it had a 3d fix but it hadn't in fact. That was the reason it was showing the UTC date as last year (probably the last time the previous owner used it). When I left the camera on for about 3 or 4 minutes, the fast green blinking suddenly turned into a slow green blinking and it then had my 3D fix and corrected the UTC date to the correct time and date.

So after all, it seems the unit is working correctly and it was just me being impatient :D
 
Sootchucker said:
Quick update. Tried the Yongnuo last night again on my D810 and it seems I had never previously given it enough time to locate a fix. I assumed the flashing green light meant it had a 3d fix but it hadn't in fact. That was the reason it was showing the UTC date as last year (probably the last time the previous owner used it). When I left the camera on for about 3 or 4 minutes, the fast green blinking suddenly turned into a slow green blinking and it then had my 3D fix and corrected the UTC date to the correct time and date.

So after all, it seems the unit is working correctly and it was just me being impatient :D
Click to expand...

Ahhhhhhhhhhhhhh. That old one. What that means is, that the location embedded is where it was 11 months ago! At least you know where he took his last shot!

Despite the specs on these things ( and the Nikon GP-1) they can take quite a while to get a fix. What I do/did was to check the time it thought it was, before taking a picture. That way I knew it knew where we were!
Also, I'd leave it set up so that as long as the camera was on, the exposure meter was active, and hence kept the GPS on. This did of course drain a battery in about 4 hours ! But at least I always had proper GPS fix, and was ready to shoot.
 
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