D700 + GPS via Bluetooth (Review)

[DrRoebuck]

I got my D700 last week and decided I wanted GPS for it. After doing a lot (A LOT) of research, I finally decided on using the Red Hen Blue2CAN device, which is the size of your thumbnail, attaches to the 10-pin connection on the Nikon, then connects via bluetooth to a separate GPS logger.

I went with the Holux M-241, mainly because 1) the outside is brightly colored, which should make it harder to lose, and 2) it has a small LCD, as opposed to remembering what some series of colored blinking LEDs means.

I guess I made either the right call, or the typical call, because B+H has a bundle deal with those two items.

Anyway, the sad part is the Blue2CAN doesn't really fit the D700. I guess the design of the body is just different enough that the housing around the lens-release button is a fraction of a millimeter too close to the 10-pin connection. I couldn't get it to work at all.

I called Red Hen and they connected me to the guy who actually developed the Blue2CAN (!). He wasn't even aware the D700 was available and I was the first person he knew of to try the combination. He asked me to send pictures so he could see the fit issues, which I did. Hopefully they'll tweak the design to make the pins and the connection conduit just a hair longer, or round out the bottom right corner.

After we got off the phone, i tried one more time to get the Blue2CAN to work. I finally got it pushed in hard enough that it made the connection to the camera (I'm not recommending anyone do the same). Once the red LED started blinking, I turned on the GPS logger. In 10-15 seconds the Blue2CAN and the GPS made the connection and everything has been golden since. I took some test shots, imported them into Lightroom, then clicked the GPS button on the EXIF panel and it took me right to the picture location in Google Maps. Amazing.

Now that it's working, I can't imagine using anything else, except possibly a smaller GPS logger. (FYI, the Blue2CAN only works with bluetooth loggers that don't require a PIN.) Maybe one of these days Nikon will integrate GPS into the camera itself.

Pros (primarily compared to hotshoe GPS units):

• Much smaller power drain from camera battery
• MUCH smaller footprint on camera body
• No delay when shooting
• Red Hen is a great company to deal with
• Holux uses a standard AA battery.
• Holux has an LCD for more detailed info
• Holux is brightly colored (and is designed to look like a film cannister)

Cons:

• Holux is slightly bigger than some other GPS loggers
• Does not fit the D700 (without the risk of causing surface damage to the camera or the Blue2CAN)

Relevant links:

Red Hen Blue2CAN

Holux M-241

B+H bundle

Here's a bad picture of the setup:

[Kajuah]

That's a pretty sob story, but nice job that you got'er going eventually ! I guess new tech needs to catch up with newer tech, but it's understandable that certain accessories won't work with bodies that just came out .. literally last month. I'm curious, what advantage do you find in general for using GPS devices to couple with your cameras? I don't travel enough, and when I do i just remember where I shoot and mark it down in a little notepad lol.

[DrRoebuck]

That's a pretty sob story, but nice job that you got'er going eventually ! I guess new tech needs to catch up with newer tech, but it's understandable that certain accessories won't work with bodies that just came out .. literally last month. I'm curious, what advantage do you find in general for using GPS devices to couple with your cameras? I don't travel enough, and when I do i just remember where I shoot and mark it down in a little notepad lol.

I mostly do urban landscapes and will often times go to an area of town, then drive/walk/bike around and take pictures all over the place. Using a pen/paper can either be too cumbersome or to time-consuming if I'm in a shady area.

I title my photos by including the location, so knowing the location of a shot is critical.

[cbau]

I originally purchased the same GPS bundle for my Nikon D300, and currently use it on my D700. While the fit was very tight, I haven't noticed any ill effects by using it on the D700. I do have to press rather hard to fit the GPS device that fits on the camera, but that just presses the rubber stopper a bit further than normal.

I've been using this set up for about 3 months now and haven't had any issues with the camera or Red Hen device. Just though I'd throw in my two cents. The connector could be a millimeter longer or so to fit it more comfortably, but it does work.

In the mean time, it provides a great option for GPS without a bulky cord or large device clipped to the camera. I'd definitely recommend it and I hope Red Hen adjusts to the newer body styles in the future.

[Ekalaka]

Thanks to DrRoebuck for his work on this issue. Saved me some time. I plan to give the setup a try.

I do wonder what planet Kajuah lives on. He askes “what advantage do you find in general for using GPS devices to couple with your cameras? I don't travel enough, and when I do i just remember where I shoot and mark it down in a little notepad” I have seen similar comments on other sites. There is a revolution in spatial data analysis – GIS. This is just one small addition to the growing interconnected devices we use to document and understand our world.

In my research in archaeology and the environmental sciences, streamlining the documentation of geographical information on images is critical. I can think of many other critical applications (law enforcement, planning and public services, real-estate, transportation, …) where this technology provide us with fast and accurate geographical information we can link directly to GIS layers to be further analyzed or shared with others. We live in exciting times. LOL indeed!!

[DrRoebuck]

Um, for the record ... I switched to the Solmeta GPS unit that sits in the hotshoe. I didn't have any problems with setup I discussed above, I just found it cumbersome to deal with the separate unit, and didn't like that I couldn't use the GPS and my 10-pin port simultaneously (the RedHen doesn't fit in the Solmeta splitter I got ... and the Solmeta device comes with a remote shutter cable).

Anyway, everything I wrote still stands, it just wasn't ideal for me

[Axle]

Cool story(ies), thanks for sharing.

Personally I wouldn't install a GPS unit onto my camera. I prefer the old fashioned way of jotting stuff down on a notepad/book. (Carry a small Moleskine with me wherever I go). Mostly due to some of the places I shoot in, I will occasionally like to keep secret.

[Akigely]

I am not familiar with that GPS but it is really cute! I am using my ideal GPS—easytagger with my D300. first, easy to install and use, because I don’t like to set complicated things. Second, catch GPS info quickly, and accurately. Third, do not affect any function that my camera has, like hotshoe and 10-pin shutter. And it is really small so I can carry it everywhere freely. Easytagger GPS fills all of them, moreover, it embeds info into photos when I shooting, no needs software. I love it.

[GB1]

The GPS on camera bug hasn't bitten me yet, but happy to hear it's doing what it's supposed to do. This could be really beneficial to someone using their camera to do environmental or map related stuff; e.g., exact positions of field contamination, sick flora, etc.

Maybe you can take it to the beach and precisely located hot bikini babes and post real-time to a web site -- imagine how useful this would be!

[cyanchen]

LOL! Creative idea!
One of the important reason for me to use a GPS is I enjoy to share my photos in google earth. It's not easy for us to travel the world but in google earth, we have a chance to visit. There are lots of photos show the local view, even the street view. With my photos geotagged, I can upload them to google and share with others. Combining the gps datas and photos is troublesome for me, I prefer my Solmeta geotagger N2, the info is wrote into photos directly.