I’ve got it and quick! I’m very nicely surprised with the delivery speed. It was ordered on Friday and I got it on Monday morning. Well done FedEx! The online tracking is pretty cool too:
First impressions on the N2 di-GPS mini?
- Very small and lightweight - why doesn’t Nikon put something like that inside the camera? Or at least inside the MB-200? It would be uber-cool and rather unique in the market. Come on Nikon! D300 with GPS built-in?
- Somewhat “cheap&plastic” feel.
- OFF/Auto/ON switch action is very resistant - good or bad, depends how you look at it.
- No cover for the 2.5mm remote jack - at least a theoretical weather seal would be nice.
So now I need a weekend with a bit of good weather for a photo trip to test it. That’s going to be a looong week of waiting.
Hi,
it’s me again. And just another question: Do you have meanwhile any experiences with the N2 di-GPS mini in forrests or next to trees? No problem at all? Or no chance?
And…again…thanks a lot.
Harald
Hi again,
No, I didn’t use it under the trees but I tried it at home and it didn’t have any problem fixing the position even a few meters from the window. Pretty amazing. I recommend it without any hesitation.
Cheers,
Piotr
Hi piotr,
Thanks for the review, very interesting,
I’m convinced but when I tried to purchase an N2 di-GPS mini from Dawn Technology, the shopping cart failed with a message from Paypal saying the link recipient is not an authorised shoppiong cart user - did you purchase from the dawntech website? I’m wondering if they are still in business.
Cheers,
Richard.
Hi Richard,
Yes, I have got it from their website, and the transaction went through without a problem. I’m sorry to hear about your problem and I certainly hope they didn’t go out of business. It wouldn’t be good in case my receiver breaks down and I need to get it fixed or replaced… :-(
Cheers,
Piotr
Hi Piotr,
Thanks for getting back to me. Don’t worry, they are still in business, they replied to my email only a day later. That couldn’t understand why I was getting the message as they are still enrolled with Paypal. I discovered later that it was because I use Opera as my browser. When i tried it with Internet Explorer it worked fine and my di-GPS N2 is now ordered.
Cheers,
Richard.
Solmeta technology just released a product DP-GPS, has the same function as DI-GPS, But it improves its power supply. Also their software is good. Their website is http://www.solmeta.com.
http://www.flickr.com/photos/bezdomny/sets/72157603997529380/
http://www.flickr.com/groups/geotagging/discuss/72157603993326205/?search=solmeta
Those are discussing about GPS product for digital cameras
GPS information for each image is not something for everyone. If I take the camera to Disneyland, I pretty much know where I’m at. But on a trip with friends through Europe a few years back (my last trip shooting film), those fjords, mountains, and other majestic scenery started to run together in our minds. Shots from London were easy to identify on sight, but rural England or Normandy in France were not. The first thing my wife said when I showed her the N1 and told her what it did was, “too bad we didn’t have that for the Europe trip.” Sure, digital cameras can be set to record dates and times, and that can be a help in identifying difficult sites. But nothing identifies a site like the lat-long, and that’s the extra level of information provided by the N1.
The N1 seems well-built and is quick and easy to use. It’s light and compact, almost to the point of not even being there, and it eliminates the need for Nikon and PC connector cables in order to utilize a standard GPS for data gathering.
I’ve shot Nikon equipment since 1975, and I’ve always been a tiny bit leery of using “third party” equipment: with some third-party flash units and lenses known to give users fits, I was concerned. How would the Solmeta fare? Would it work? Thankfully, worrying about the Solmeta turned out to be a waste of time and energy. The N1 mated up to the D3 with no problems, and worked flawlessly in terrain ranging from seashore to mountain top to desert. Single frames per second or high speed shooting rates were all no problem. I shot it on my D300, D2x, and D200 as well, and it never missed a beat. In short, if you’re in the market for GPS capability for your DSLR, Solmeta is worth a long look based on my experience with their N1.
The N1 is available from Solmeta for $288 USD, shipping included. Their website is http://www.solmeta.com.
Pros:
* Small size, simple camera interface
* Quick acquisition/ready-to-shoot times
* Creative power options
* Good build quality and materials
Cons:
* Cost - you can probably get a GPS capability for less going the traditional GPS route, albeit with a less user-friendly setup
http://www.digitalcamerareview.com/default.asp?newsID=3375