bill Posted January 12, 2010 Share #41 Posted January 12, 2010 Advertisement (gone after registration) ...I know that many amateurs may love it without needin' it, but I can't see the point in pulling down a feature you simply don't need or understand. Some features add, some other just help. That's it IMHO. Maurizio, as I mentioned in my first post, "... I can see the use for technical and commercial applications...". For amateurs, however, this just appears to be one of those "me too" shinys that appeals to middle-aged man-cubs, like large screen TVs, bluetooth speakers, divers watches and really complicated coffee machines. I'm neither for it nor agin' it, I was just trying to understand it. Regards, Bill Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Advertisement Posted January 12, 2010 Posted January 12, 2010 Hi bill, Take a look here How to link a M9 with GPS data. I'm sure you'll find what you were looking for!
Guest BigSplash Posted January 12, 2010 Share #42 Posted January 12, 2010 Bill I originally posted this thread driven by the following: I entered a competition (which for the first time in my life ...I won) to take images of olive related subjects (eg trees) in the area where I live. I found myself shooting similar images of olive trees in different olive groves and at different times and at different angles. Remembering the exact locations and times proved to be challenging.....I wanted to capture the best image that I could taking into account the variety of sun angles / shadows which varied enoromously during November . An image at 10.00am is vastly different to that of 11.00am or 15.00hrs. I believe a GPS gadget would have made my life much easier. I saw on Google Maps that many amateurs have put their photos on the map in the area where I live. I thought that this would be a neat thing to do also and with a Leica maybe the quality will be OK!?. Here you certainly need the GPS reference. My wife rents and sells villas in the S.France and people ask for images of the area near to each of the villas (we usually have a bunch of photos for each villa of course). I have the classic shots of Grasse and Cannes harbour but a few taken in the countryside with accurate GPS info. should be easy to do and useful for my wife's needs. Othewise I guess your comments are valid for most images....and I would not plan to always GPS log my landscape photos. That said if Leica could build a small accessory unit that fits the hot shoe and connects to the USB port I would be interested for those occassions as per the above. The photo below is the one that won the competition and it shows the variety of lighting, shadows etc that I repeated on different days and times. The top right has a defect due to not having a lens hood on the TriElmar....which I have now had on order since two months ....Still the judges did not seem to mind. Welcome, dear visitor! As registered member you'd see an image here… Simply register for free here – We are always happy to welcome new members! Link to post Share on other sites Simply register for free here – We are always happy to welcome new members! ' data-webShareUrl='https://www.l-camera-forum.com/topic/109212-how-to-link-a-m9-with-gps-data/?do=findComment&comment=1184192'>More sharing options...
andybarton Posted January 12, 2010 Share #43 Posted January 12, 2010 Congratulations. What did you win in the competition? I can understand why your wife might find something like this useful (but does she need to use a Leica to do her shots?), but I can't see why you would need to know exactly where this olive grove was for the purpose of your competition. Why not just ask Leica to add the GPS unit into the camera in a future M10? Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest BigSplash Posted January 12, 2010 Share #44 Posted January 12, 2010 Thanks, I am apparently going to receive a digital camera.......but so far I do not know what type or model. I have suggested a S2 would do nicely, but I suspect it will be a somewhat cheaper none Leica product. My wife has already claimed this I might add. The photo is also already now being used in publicity material for the region. The Leica is a superb camera for people in the property business as it offers a wide angle capability that makes small rooms look giant, and of course the optics of a Leica yields great images. That apart my wife finds the Leica complicated as it is not auto focus....and does not have a built in flash. I took many images of different olive groves over a wide area and GPS would have been helpful I think. Otherwise I just had to remember where each place was...and many of these places were off the beaten track. I was actually just enjoying and rediscovering photography and going to places I normally never go to. I actually thought about suggesting the idea of building GPS into a M10, but in my view that would be a big mistake for the following reasons: It would suggest the need for a plastic rather than metal top plate cover....and that would make for a less rugged camera. It would probably add bulk for a feature that is not used that often. It would drain the camera battery I suspect. I also continue to believe that the compact classic lines of a M with its basic features (no fancy features and minimalist drop down menus) is what I want for the basic camera. That said I firmly believe that a Leica should be complimented by a host of accessories that increase its usefulness in different situations. A GPS add on unit would be on my list. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
bill Posted January 12, 2010 Share #45 Posted January 12, 2010 I don't see why Leica would bother to make (or more likely badge) one, when things like this already exist, for relative pennies: Jobo Photo GPS: Amazon.co.uk: Electronics & Photo Regards, Bill Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
jaapv Posted January 12, 2010 Share #46 Posted January 12, 2010 I wonder, does this thing rely on the flash sync to synchronize the images with the GPS data? If so, it can only be used up to max sync speed. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
bill Posted January 12, 2010 Share #47 Posted January 12, 2010 Advertisement (gone after registration) Given the level of (in-)accuracy, Jaap, I don't think I'd be too worried... Regards, Bill Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
wattsy Posted January 12, 2010 Share #48 Posted January 12, 2010 I wonder, does this thing rely on the flash sync to synchronize the images with the GPS data? If so, it can only be used up to max sync speed. Good point. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
jaapv Posted January 12, 2010 Share #49 Posted January 12, 2010 I looked into it. It does rely on flash sync. Virtually useless in daylight. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bo_Lorentzen Posted January 12, 2010 Share #50 Posted January 12, 2010 Jaap, I have one of the Jobo PhotoGPS thingies. It works well in daylight, it use the hotshooe for the flash sync, the shoe triggers regardless of chosen shutterspeed. (at least on my camera it does). When it works it work well. I was really excited when I got it at PMA last year, the sony sticks were retired for a while even. however, the top gps unit sit on a little cube which have the flash connector. the gps unit have shitty metal connectors which is notoriously corroding and having contact problems, meaning this thing consistently do not fire when expected to. also there is no lock, and it is pretty loose in the hot shoe resulting in it being pushed back and disconnecting, sometimes its even been pushed off the camera. The genius of this particular device is that it do not actually calculate the cordinates on location, instead it turns on when triggered and captures a few seconds of gps signal, when you download to your laptop, the software will then do the calculation, this mean that the unit can work for about 1000+ shots with the internal battery. The software matches the "rhythm" of your shots with the rhythm of the gps waypoints, so it will figure the right time and location even if your camera is set to the wrong time. this is very clever but the system completely falls apart when more than a few misfires happens, unfortunately this thing misfires better than anything. If Jobo wanted it, they could make this a much better product, gold plate the contacts and put a lock on the hot-shooe connector. also make it lean a little more forward. and I would be OK with a even bigger battery. Soo, having gone through two of these, I am back to putting a sony thingie in the side pocket of my camera bag. . Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest BigSplash Posted January 12, 2010 Share #51 Posted January 12, 2010 I don't see why Leica would bother to make (or more likely badge) one, when things like this already exist, for relative pennies: Jobo Photo GPS: Amazon.co.uk: Electronics & Photo Regards, Bill Bill the reason I would like Leica to specify and badge one is that it is likely to work reliably with a Leica M: Bo mentions that he would like gold contacts on the Jobo unit as he has gone through two Jobo units. I guess that is something that Leica would do automatically. I guess Leica would design somthing that cosmetically fitted better the Leica M (film and digital by the way) and maybe had the larger battery that Bo suggests. I would like it to optionally inerface with the USB port and directly add GPS info to the Metadata file. I would like to see a system level elegant Leica solution ....not work arounds. FYI It seems to me that the idea of synchronising M8 or M9 time clock with your GPS iPhone and then worrying whether or not the flash contact will trigger the Jobo unit above the flash sync speed is not what Leica photography should be about. (Jaapv says it will not work...Bo says that it does) Then having to force the GPS data onto the Metadata file in post production is not as ideal as having it there automatically. I am inclined to go the Jobo route but it sure would be nice to see Leica build a special accessory. It would be interesting to see what Leica price a £100 Jobo "modified and tailored to Leica" unit for! It would also be interesting to see if Leica feel the need to respond when cameras from Nikon, or Canon have the feature built in as will surely happen. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
andybarton Posted January 12, 2010 Share #52 Posted January 12, 2010 "Leica photography" is not about recording GPS coordinates at all... Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mauribix Posted January 12, 2010 Share #53 Posted January 12, 2010 "Leica photography" is not about recording GPS coordinates at all... So? Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
jaapv Posted January 12, 2010 Share #54 Posted January 12, 2010 I see no real need for this thingy. Although my memory can best be described as the joke of the family, I can pinpoint the the location of each and every one of my photographs. That is over 100.000 over all these years. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
stunsworth Posted January 12, 2010 Share #55 Posted January 12, 2010 Although my memory can best be described as the joke of the family, I can pinpoint the the location of each and every one of my photographs. That is over 100.000 over all these years. Let me guess, they're all in a cupboard in your study <grin>. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
jaapv Posted January 12, 2010 Share #56 Posted January 12, 2010 Not really, there are to many. I have a number of boxes of slides in the attic, much to my chagrin. Edit: Ah I see your joke. LOL. Well, you get my meaning Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest BigSplash Posted January 13, 2010 Share #57 Posted January 13, 2010 "Leica photography" is not about recording GPS coordinates at all... What a wonderful quote....However I am not sure what point you are trying to make. I would say that Leica photography is about taking perfect images with fabulous optics..with a physically small camera that is not easy to use and is limited in its features. I am trying to understand why it is always regarded as bad for Leica enthusiasts to suggest that there is actually room for improvement of the basic Leica concept. Here I suggest a tailored GPS unit as an accessory. Previously I have suggested: A wireless remote shutter release via an electrical contact on the camera, New generation (technology) Visoflex...with bellows and lens heads Auto Focus or Semi automatic (ie without the lens motor) "M" camera body that supports a series of M Mount new specification lenses that have the connecting lugs to indicate aperture size. On every occassion such suggestions have been attacked as "not what leica photography is about." I have NOT suggested putting lots of buttons on the camera, nor have I suggested changing the shape or style of the M9 body. ..other than to reduce the size to that of a M7. I remain of the opinion that the Leica M is a perfect camera in so many ways and a delight to use. I just wish that Leica returns to the mentality they had in the 60's and consider their masterpiece as part of a system offering. I actually think that the concept of choosing to fit a Viso when needed, or fitting a GPS unit when needed, or using the basic camera "as is" when needed is a very good Leica concept that suits me perfectly. I feel sorry for those photographers that carry a bulky DSLR with its huge telephoto so that they are ready for anything. I compare this to my small bag with a M8, 21mm, trielmar (28,50, 35mm) a 75mm, 90mm .....I invariably leave the bag in the car and take just the trielmar, knowing that I can grab the other lenses if needed. Surely this is what Leica photography is about. If accessories could be made available to widen the scope of the photographic usefulness while keeping the "M" mount camera as the basis of the system that surely is a good thing is it not? Diehards that do not need a GPS module or wireless remote or Visoflex need not buy these items. I am not suggesting to change the basic camera in ways that would not permit the use of old lenses etc. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
redbaron Posted January 13, 2010 Share #58 Posted January 13, 2010 OK. Who woke him up? Hmmmm? Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest BigSplash Posted January 13, 2010 Share #59 Posted January 13, 2010 OK. Who woke him up? Hmmmm? Andy woke me up, and reminded me what I think Leica photography should be about. I think it is now your bed time in Melbourne.....sleep well. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
redbaron Posted January 13, 2010 Share #60 Posted January 13, 2010 Merci. Bon nuit. I've been practicing for a trip next month. I'm off to the south of France! I'll be taking my old tracking device though. My faithful pencil and notebook. I do like Nicole's idea of photographing signs! I usually do so with info plaques and the like at tourist sites, but I never thought of street signs. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
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