Leica M240 - GPS on Multifuntion Hand Grip

[faranstudio]

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Hi,

 

Somehow the GPS is not activated or active on my M240! The GPS is ON in the menu/settings and Multifuntion Hand Grip is connected to the camera. The camera has the latest update.

 

Please see the attachments.

 

Any advice/help/suggestions would be appreciated.

 

As a side note, tethered capture via Lightroom 5 was fast and successful.

 

Thanks

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[marknorton]

Unfortunately, the GPS signal is very weak and GPS receivers do not generally work inside a building. If you have not done so already, you need to take the camera out where there's a clear view of the sky. It will then take some time to lock which will also depend on when it last locked, weather conditions and so on.

[StephenPatterson]

It will then take some time to lock which will also depend on when it last locked, weather conditions and so on.

 

Weather conditions should not be an issue for GPS signals, as this was one of the major reasons for moving away from the older Loran-C system for ships and planes. Also the ability to detect the signal inside wooden structure buildings and through windows has more to do with the receiver and it's sensitivity than the power of the signal. In this case the receiver seems to be a bit slow and deaf...

[algrove]

My first lock took 3-5 minutes. Others have stated longer times. Mine might have come on sooner, but I was walking across a large sand dune and did not look at it until in position.

[pico]

My first lock took 3-5 minutes. Others have stated longer times. Mine might have come on sooner, but I was walking across a large sand dune and did not look at it until in position.

 

Gee whiz, my cheap Garmin does better - unless in a bad location.

 

Is the antenna/GPS being shielded by the housing? Or is it just as poor a GPS as some TomTom implementations were before firmware upgrade.

[faranstudio]

I tried the GPS next to the windows (I'm on a the top floor with open space and no building around) but no luck! I'll try it in different locations and will post more updates on the signal reception and location accuracy.

 

When I travel Europe, in most of the cases am visiting old architecture, buildings, churches and tight streets which this unit apparently can't track and stamp the photos accurately

 

This is pretty disappointing to spend $$$ and not really able to use the GPS the way it should work. I got a GPS unit for my 5D MK III while ago which is less expensive, super accurate and works indoor and outdoor with no issues.

 

If it wasn't because of tethering in studio, I wouldn't consider this unit.

[Guest redge]

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I tried the GPS next to the windows (I'm on a the top floor with open space and no building around) but no luck! I'll try it in different locations and will post more updates on the signal reception and location accuracy.

 

When I travel Europe, in most of the cases am visiting old architecture, buildings, churches and tight streets which this unit apparently can't track and stamp the photos accurately

 

This is pretty disappointing to spend $$$ and not really able to use the GPS the way it should work. I got a GPS unit for my 5D MK III while ago which is less expensive, super accurate and works indoor and outdoor with no issues.

 

If it wasn't because of tethering in studio, I wouldn't consider this unit.

 

I own a Garmin GPSMap 78s which is a well-regarded unit and has served me very well both on land and on the North Atlantic (yes, it is sold for marine as well as land use). On open ground, it takes a few minutes to lock a signal. Indoors, it's sometimes works depending on where it is in relation to windows and surrounding architecture, but fundamentally it wants to be outside. This afternoon, I held it out the window on the top floor of a New York apartment block with no taller buildings in the area and a clear view of the sky. In two tries, it could not lock on a signal.

 

It would be really helpful if someone who has real life experience with GPS units and their limitations could write a post on the handgrip's GPS capabilities. This anecdotal stuff, some of which has come from people who apparently don't know the difference between GPS and cell tower reception, is useless.

Edited December 24, 2013 by redge

[algrove]

I tried the GPS next to the windows (I'm on a the top floor with open space and no building around) but no luck! I'll try it in different locations and will post more updates on the signal reception and location accuracy.

 

When I travel Europe, in most of the cases am visiting old architecture, buildings, churches and tight streets which this unit apparently can't track and stamp the photos accurately

 

This is pretty disappointing to spend $$$ and not really able to use the GPS the way it should work. I got a GPS unit for my 5D MK III while ago which is less expensive, super accurate and works indoor and outdoor with no issues.

 

If it wasn't because of tethering in studio, I wouldn't consider this unit.

 

You will have to use it outside, not inside Give it a try.

 

For buildings I would suggest you take a shot outside and then shoot inside and then take another outside when leaving that same building and it might put them all at the same location.

[Guest redge]

I got a GPS unit for my 5D MK III while ago which is less expensive, super accurate and works indoor and outdoor with no issues.

 

Maybe you could tell us which GPS unit. And also whether it works in the "tight" European streets you speak of, not to mention the skyscraper canyons in cities like New York.

 

Or are you in fact talking about a cell receiver?

 

Thanks

Edited December 24, 2013 by redge

[faranstudio]

Maybe you could tell us which GPS unit. And also whether it works in the "tight" European streets you speak of, not to mention the skyscraper canyons in cities like New York.

 

Or are you in fact talking about a cell receiver?

 

Thanks

 

For 5D MKIII I use GPS Receiver "GP-E2". On my last trip to Austria, Germany and Prague it worked very well.

[Guest redge]

For 5D MKIII I use GPS Receiver "GP-E2". On my last trip to Austria, Germany and Prague it worked very well.

 

Thanks. The GP-E2, at $240, is in fact not exactly cheap.

 

I'm sure that it worked in Austria, Germany and Prague, but telling us that it worked "very well", whatever that means, and suggesting that it works better, in some unspecified and untested way, than Leica's handgrip does, tells us nothing.

Edited December 25, 2013 by redge

[faranstudio]

Thanks. The GP-E2, at $240, is in fact not exactly cheap.

 

I'm sure that it worked in Austria, Germany and Prague, but telling us that it worked "very well", whatever that means, and suggesting that it works better, in some unspecified and untested way, than Leica's handgrip does, tells us nothing.

 

That's right, it is less expensive but not cheap + adding another ~$450.00 for the 5D grip almost makes the price close to what the Leica Multifunction grip is.

 

One way to examine the accuracy and working well state would be to open the files in Lightroom and copy the GPS location from meta data and paste it in to Google maps and examine/track the location, which in my case was pretty accurate.

 

I'm using both units indoor in my studio which Leica's handgrip GPS is not receiving signals even next to the windows meanwhile the Canon's GPS can even tell me what direction my camera is pointing at!

 

But again I'm not trying to compare these units together, I'm just trying to see why Leica didn't or couldn't really integrate a better GPS receiver in the unit. I'm hoping this is something that can be fixed with firmware.

 

After few hours driving/walking around for more testing, the GPS activity/reception was hit and miss indoor and outdoor.

[algrove]

Once you get the Leica unit to get a signal it will work in other places. It also gives direction of camera, altitude. It is very accurate on my positioning.

 

Make sure to keep your hand off the top of it initially. When I said 3-5 minutes, to be more clear, I turned it on and in 3-5 minutes I was in position for shooting and noticed it had signal, not that it took 3-5 minutes to get a signal. I have no idea how long it took to obtain a signal, but it was no longer than 3-5 minutes in this case.

[faranstudio]

Once you get the Leica unit to get a signal it will work in other places. It also gives direction of camera, altitude. It is very accurate on my positioning.

 

Make sure to keep your hand off the top of it initially. When I said 3-5 minutes, to be more clear, I turned it on and in 3-5 minutes I was in position for shooting and noticed it had signal, not that it took 3-5 minutes to get a signal. I have no idea how long it took to obtain a signal, but it was no longer than 3-5 minutes in this case.

 

Thanks algrove for the tips.

 

Happy Holidays!

[thighslapper]

Ditto.

 

Mine locked first time in a couple of minutes when placed on a south facing window ledge. This is actually faster than most other gps devices I have.

 

Once it has found the strongest satellite signals it will preferentially lock on these each time it is switched on and should be much quicker.

 

All gps deviices struggle indoors and areas with very tall buildings ...... I have found the grip no better and no worse that most others ......

[meesaeng]

Hi,

 

I have a problem of GPS on Multifuanction hand grip for my Leica MP240. The icon in the GPS Menu is grey (but is " ON " position ). I can not select any on GPS since its still grey column. I have try to re-mount the hand grip many times but its' not work. Any suggestion for me. Thanks

[Exodies]

Go to the shop, try your GPS on another camera, try another GPS on your camera. Send the faulty item (GPS or camera) to be repaired. The fault I had was in the camera, a cable unplugged (same symptoms as yours).

Edited October 26, 2014 by Exodies
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[Exodies]

You will have to use it outside, not inside Give it a try.

 

For buildings I would suggest you take a shot outside and then shoot inside and then take another outside when leaving that same building and it might put them all at the same location.

 

But shoot fast, the GPS' last known location is wiped from memory five minutes after loss of satellites thanks to some maniac firmware beta testers.

[Exodies]

I visited the Greenwich Observatory recently. Photo of the meridian and the exif data from that picture:

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Google's interpretation of those coordinates:

Edited October 26, 2014 by Exodies
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[Jon Pop]

Interesting thread and discussions - before I get torn a strip for my ignorance, I'm curious as to the rationale for using the GPS to tag photos in the first place, when they are in known areas. I've always wondered why one sought a GPS coordinate when, for example, pictures were being taken next to the Empire State Building, or the Eiffel Tower. Or anywhere in a big city. Is it that important to know the GPS coordinates of shots taken along the river beside the Musee d'Orsay, when you probably already know that's where they are taken? I've used pocket GPS extensively for navigation and route tracking/following in the mountains and on expeditions; I could perhaps see the utility of a GPS in a camera for documenting along with a route. But otherwise I've always just used the occasional notes and added these in LR along with other stuff that the GPS won't capture but is more important to me. Am I missing the 'big point' behind having GPS in any camera (or, more importantly, an actually accurate GPS in a camera)? A friend of mine has a pocket camera with it; always waiting for the signal strength to come up etc. meant waiting and waiting to take the picture (and this was in the mountains with clear skies....) in order to 'have GPS'....might as well been using flash powder.