M10 and GPS function

[otto.f]

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For none GPS camera's, you can take a photo with your iPhone every now and then and later automatically add that GPS data to the photos taken in between with your NON GPS camera, as long as the clocks are synced

 

I think this is the way to go. I hate fiddling around with that EVF anyway, this is not where I have an M for. Should have been built in. It's because I love my APO-Elmarit 180 R so much that I need the EVF. But the whole idea of GPS in a separate unit on the hotshoe is cumbersome.

[mdemeyer]

So, how is it that everyone in China uses cell phones to navigate? Is that using something other than GPS? Perhaps some Chinese equivalent?

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[Soden]

If you get caught with a functioning GPS on the China mainland you lose the device and get a prison term.

If you doubt me go ahead and try it.

Nonsense, every iPhone, android device has GPS. Most camera's have it too. I have never heard such rubbish, unless your stupid enough to take pictures of a military base, then you would have similar issues in any country.

 

I have lived in mainland china for seven years, I use GPS daily. Never have I had any issues. I teach GIS, which uses GPS extensively, I have checked with my students about the GPS laws in china, and there is no restriction for normal use, even by foreigners.

 

Just to let you know, I'm an American over 6 foot and over 220 lbs, with white hair. I really stick out here. Most everything I do is noticed. As I say I use GPS everyday, out in the open. If it were hidden in my camera nobody would care. It's not like there are gps detectors looking... but again gps is everywhere used by everybody.

Edited September 5, 2017 by Soden

[JPP1]

Nonsense, every iPhone, android device has GPS. Most camera's have it too. I have never heard such rubbish, unless your stupid enough to take pictures of a military base, then you would have similar issues in any country.

 

I have lived in mainland china for seven years, I use GPS daily. Never have I had any issues. I teach GIS, which uses GPS extensively, I have checked with my students about the GPS laws in china, and there is no restriction for normal use, even by foreigners.

 

Just to let you know, I'm an American over 6 foot and over 220 lbs, with white hair. I really stick out here. Most everything I do is noticed. As I say I use GPS everyday, out in the open. If it were hidden in my camera nobody would care. It's not like there are gps detectors looking... but again gps is everywhere used by everybody.

No nonsense here, unfortunately. Finding one's way is one thing, taking geotagged pictures is seen as mapping geographical data which is prohibited. 

 

See here and read the comments: https://ogleearth.com/2012/05/why-do-panasonic-leica-fujifilm-samsung-and-nikon-censor-their-gps-cameras/?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed:+ogleearth+%28Ogle+Earth%29

[Soden]

No nonsense here, unfortunately. Finding one's way is one thing, taking geotagged pictures is seen as mapping geographical data which is prohibited.

 

See here and read the comments: https://ogleearth.com/2012/05/why-do-panasonic-leica-fujifilm-samsung-and-nikon-censor-their-gps-cameras/?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed:+ogleearth+%28Ogle+Earth%29

GIS is Geotagging, using gps to find your location is also geotagging. It's not illegal and done by everyone. Garmin is a common product here so foreign vendors sell geotagging devices... like leica. Leica also sells cameras who geotag. Just not on the M.

 

The question is not that gps is legal or not. It's why only the M it's not provided. It's provided on the T/TL/S/SL. Just not on the M.

Edited September 5, 2017 by Soden

[jip]

I'm in China right now, yunnan province, and the visoflex gps never worked.

 

 

GPS is not allowed in China  

[Soden]

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GPS is not allowed in China

GPS is used by almost all people in china. M users excepted. Edited September 5, 2017 by Soden

[ghoonk]

I've just finished reading this thread with great interest, having being on the lookout for a geotagging solution for my travel photography. I have the M240/246, along with the multifunction grip and have been nothing but disappointed with them (had I realised the GPS was THAT bad - takes forever to get a lock, and if I'm under cover for too long, it takes ages to reacquire, and my geotags end up missing/incorrect).

 

I was hoping that the Visioflex 020 would address these problems and perform as well as the SL, but apparently it doesn't. For that, I have this forum to thank for steering me away from that hideous EVF.

 

Having just returned from a week in Paris, I thought i'd share a solution that worked rather well, much better than GPS4cam, and while I chose a more expensive option, there are far cheaper alternatives out there.

 

I purchased a Garmin Fenix 5X to do GPS logging. I have it set to use GPS + GLONASS, and records on a per second basis. When I landed, the first thing I did was to match my camera date/time to the date/time in Paris, and in parallel (but not related), I had my Garmin sync time. A quick check to ensure that the camera and watch timing was in sync and I set off. I had both the Leica Q and M10 with me for the trip. 

 

At the start of each day, as I leave the hotel, I activate Track Me (an activity type in Garmin). I have heart rate monitoring turned off, and as soon as I hear the beep and feel the vibration to indicate that I got a GPS fix (never more than 15s, despite setting out in the narrow streets of Paris - Hotel Moliere, if anyone cares to know), I set off. If I'm indoors for anything more than 5 minutes (e.g. when I was in the museums),  I press the Start/Stop button to pause (followed by Resume Later), and resume again as soon as I'm outdoors. This routine pretty much became muscle memory within the first few hours. 

 

At the end of each day (the watch, with GPS + GLONASS on and logging at 1 second intervals with HRM switched off, easily lasted a solid 18 hours - if i needed to top up the battery, I did so using the USB cable and a USB power bank when I sat down for lunch/tea/dinner), I'd Stop and then save the day's track, which would then sync the data to my Samsung S8+, and then from my phone to Garmin Connect. 

 

When I got back to Dubai, I simply logged into my Garmin Connected account, accessed each day (saved as an activity) and downloaded the GPX file, which I loaded into Lightroom along with my images from the Q and M10, hit auto-tag, and the sync was near perfect.

 

I also ran GPS4cam on my S8+ and discovered that the GPX was all over the place. Nothing even close to the accuracy of the Garmin.

 

Now, while some would argue that a Fenix 5X is more expensive than a Visioflex 020 (it is), my counter argument is that is it far more dependable, does not make the M10 look really ugly (I shoot with the WATE, and use LV, never an EVF), and is something I can (and have) use on a daily basis without my M/Q. The Fenix 5 would do as well, but the best value for money solution would be the Garmin Forerunner 230, which currently goes for under USD200 in Amazon US (around AED710 here in Dubai), and does the same level of GPS logging, just without the heart rate monitoring, and doesn't (IMHO) look as nice as the Fenix.

 

I'd be happy to share my GPX log for anyone who's keen to see how accurate it is. It's not perfect, but it's heck of a lot more accurate than GPS4cam and the Leica GPS accessories. Another big upside was the fact that ALL my photos shot on any/all cameras could be synced to the same tracklog/GPX.

 

Hope this helps anyone looking for a geotagging solution for the M

[mdemeyer]

I use an older Garmin unit and have also had good experiences with this kind of approach. Yes, you have to remember to sync the clocks, but you have the extra benefit of a good GPS log if you wish it (to plot hikes, etc.)

 

Michael

[pop]

I use an older Garmin unit and have also had good experiences with this kind of approach. Yes, you have to remember to sync the clocks, but you have the extra benefit of a good GPS log if you wish it (to plot hikes, etc.)

 

Michael

So do I. I think the etrex-20 is quite up to the task. Once configured, it starts tracking when you turn it on and it stops when you turn it off. 

 

You can sychronize the cameras in post with an appropriate software. It's easier when you take a shot of an accurate clock with each camera at the beginning and at the end of each day. Unfortunately, the etrex seems to lack an accurate clock display. It displays minutes only, I believe.

[fatihayoglu]

Just to let you know guys, gps4cam works on iOS11 without any problem.

[LBJ2]

GPS working much better than expected particularly after reading this thread.

With some trepidation based upon what I read in this thread regarding GPS,I bought the Visoflex 020 to be used with my new Leica M10 ( Firmware 1.10.4.0). Happily GPS tracking started within a few minutes of my first attempt and now every time I turn on the M10 with the Visoflex 020 attached, viola GPS does it thing as confirmed with my images EXIF imported to LR6. 

Edited April 2, 2018 by LBJ2

[danieldouloslee]

Reviving an old thread here, but is there a way to "turn off" the EVF, but keep the GPS turned on? I am planning my trip to Japan in a few weeks, and would love to have my photos geotagged. However, I would hate to lose more battery than necessary with the EVF on the entire time only to use the GPS feature.

 

Insights are appreciated!

[evikne]

28 minutes ago, danieldouloslee said:

Reviving an old thread here, but is there a way to "turn off" the EVF, but keep the GPS turned on? I am planning my trip to Japan in a few weeks, and would love to have my photos geotagged. However, I would hate to lose more battery than necessary with the EVF on the entire time only to use the GPS feature.

 

Insights are appreciated!

The Visoflex will actually record GPS data to the pictures even when the EVF is turned off. Just ensure GPS is turned "on" in the camera menu. When displaying pictures on the back screen, look for the GPS symbol at the top center. If it's there, GPS data has been recorded to the picture.

[Guest]

First of all the GPS function with the M10/Visoflex combo', ( same with the M10-D ), is quite frankly as useful as a chocolate teapot. So bad that it shouldn't be in the cameras at all. If this is something you are trying to use with the M10's then by the time you've hung around for a signal lock the moment you wish to record has pretty much moved on, unless it's a still life I guess. I see no value in this function at all, and anyway pretty much every time I look at the photo's I've taken I can actually remember where they were recorded, an odd facility to have is that one.

 

[evikne]

If I don't need the Visoflex, I much prefer to GPS tag my photos with my iPhone. I use an app called GeoTagr which can share the gpx files to my Dropbox. Then I can import the tracks in Lightroom and assign to the photos.

[M11 for me]

vor 2 Stunden schrieb evikne:

If I don't need the Visoflex, I much prefer to GPS tag my photos with my iPhone. I use an app called GeoTagr which can share the gpx files to my Dropbox. Then I can import the tracks in Lightroom and assign to the photos.

Would be great if you could elaborate a bit on how this works. I started with „GPS4Cam Pro“ a while ago and was quite satisfied while I had just a few photographs. With a trip during several days it was not very useful as at the end I got a lot of matrix codes that I had to photograph from the mobile phone screen and I stopped using it. Later I downloaded (bought) „myTracks“ and „GPS Tracks“ but never found out how they worked. Your version sounds to be very easy and you work within Lightroom? I would love to have a good solution.

[evikne]

35 minutes ago, M10 for me said:

Would be great if you could elaborate a bit on how this works. I started with „GPS4Cam Pro“ a while ago and was quite satisfied while I had just a few photographs. With a trip during several days it was not very useful as at the end I got a lot of matrix codes that I had to photograph from the mobile phone screen and I stopped using it. Later I downloaded (bought) „myTracks“ and „GPS Tracks“ but never found out how they worked. Your version sounds to be very easy and you work within Lightroom? I would love to have a good solution.

Yes, I have also tried some other apps, but I prefer this one because it's very easy to use and integrates seamlessly with my LR workflow. I just press Start and Stop on my iPhone to record. The phone battery is not noticeably drained, so I can easily record for many hours. Afterwards I hit the Share button and select "GPX to Dropbox". When doing this for the first time, the app has to be connected to your Dropbox account. Then you choose a folder where you want the GPX files to be stored. If you have several GPS tracks, you can export all of them in an overall GPX file, or one by one. 

In the Map module in Lightroom I click "Load Tracklog", and navigate to the newest GPX files in my Dropbox folder. The tracklog will appear on the map. Then I select the photos I want to tag and click "Auto Tag Selected Photos". That's it. 

Here is the link to App Store: https://apps.apple.com/be/app/geotagr-versatile-photo-geotagging/id294194869#?platform=iphone

[M11 for me]

Hm, sounds vey easy. Thank you anyway. An additional question: If you travel for several days (maybe several weeks) do you have your app permanently running? Or do you have to stop it and then remenber of restaring it?

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Hallo,

Look here: Leica M

[evikne]

1 hour ago, M10 for me said:

Hm, sounds vey easy. Thank you anyway. An additional question: If you travel for several days (maybe several weeks) do you have your app permanently running? Or do you have to stop it and then remenber of restaring it?

I've never left the app running overnight, even though it's certainly possible. 

I usually start the recording just before I am going to photograph and stop when I don't expect to take more pictures on that location to avoid unnecessary GPS tracking. Eventually there is a Pause/Resume button if I am not going to photograph for a while, or if I want to keep several recorded locations in one GPX file. 

Edited September 22, 2019 by evikne