Q2 GPS Does Not Work in 3.0 Yet?

[lstreet]

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I have upgraded to 3.0 and successfully dealt with the Fotos and Bluetooth connection using my Q2 and iPhoneX.  It all seems to work.  If I take a picture using Fotos to fire the exposure then the GPS data is added to the EXIF of the picture file and it shows up in Lightroom.  But when I do not use the app to take a picture but instead I use the camera shutter button to take the picture and the GPS symbol shows up in the viewfinder then the EXIF of that picture does not contain any GPS data when I import it into Lightroom.  Fotos is the last app I used but it is not in Remote mode.   I have given all the iPhone location approvals for Fotos and it works when the app is used to take the picture so I cannot figure out what else to do.

So my question to all of you is:  has anybody gotten the GPS coordinates into the file EXIF and had the GPS data show up in Lightroom while taking the picture WITHOUT using the app to fire the exposure in Remote mode?  If you have done that then please tell me how you did it.

Your help would be appreciated.

Thanks,

Larry

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[SrMi]

AFAIK, GPS does not work with Photos 3.0 on any Leica. At least, I could not make it happen with any of mine.

[PhotoCruiser]

vor 4 Stunden schrieb lstreet:

 I have given all the iPhone location approvals for Fotos and it works when the app is used to take the picture so I cannot figure out what else to do.

I have a Android phone and it works perfectly doing this steps

1° start Leica Fotos App
2° wait till camera is connected
3° decide what you wanna do
     3.1° using the shutter button then pressing shutter camera ask to switch off WiFi, press Yes to stop WiFi connection you don't need it
             Phone will remain connected by bluetooth and send coordinates
     3.2 using remote control funcion on phone/tablet --> don't switch off WiFi connection, just use the device to control the camera and coordinates will be sent too.

I made a quick test on my Android 10 Galaxy 20 phone and took 3 photos
1° Camera non connected to Leica Fotos, No Geotagging (Obviously)
2° Camera connected, WiFi switched off, bluetooth on, using shutter button and screen: Geotagging works
3° Camera connected, WiFi switched on, bluetooth on, using remote shutter and screen from Leica Fotos: Geotagging works

This basically means that WiFi is needed for remote control purposes while bluetooth sends geotagging coordinates

As i don't have a IOS device i am not sure how it will work there, however make sure that either Bluetooth AND WiFi has right permissions.
If geotagging works using the shutter button then it should work also using Leica Fotos

Chris

[M11 for me]

Can I add a question? Do you first have to sink the camera time with the phone time or does this happen automatically.

The reason for that is just the following: Assuming that the camera is 1 min fast and the mobile phone is accurate. Then the GPS tag on the photo is one min wrong. Assuming you walk through a town this can be a considerable position error. with my Canon 5D the GPS signal (when switched on) syncs the camera time immediately which is a very good thing.

Edited November 21, 2020 by M10 for me

[Leica Guy]

3 hours ago, M10 for me said:

Can I add a question? Do you first have to sink the camera time with the phone time or does this happen automatically.

The reason for that is just the following: Assuming that the camera is 1 min fast and the mobile phone is accurate. Then the GPS tag on the photo is one min wrong. Assuming you walk through a town this can be a considerable position error. with my Canon 5D the GPS signal (when switched on) syncs the camera time immediately which is a very good thing.

I recently added a Canon R5 to my kit. I use the Canon Connect app and it’s pretty solid. Easy to connect. Easy to download photos. Easy to operate the camera in remote mode. Photos are tagged with GPS data even though I’m shooting with the camera and not the app. Hopefully Leica will continue improving Fotos and it’ll become less frustrating. 

[PhotoCruiser]

vor 4 Stunden schrieb M10 for me:

Can I add a question? Do you first have to sink the camera time with the phone time or does this happen automatically.

It happens automatically

vor 57 Minuten schrieb Leica Guy:

Easy to operate the camera in remote mode. Photos are tagged with GPS data even though I’m shooting with the camera and not the app. Hopefully Leica will continue improving Fotos and it’ll become less frustrating. 

I never use it as i don't need it for the photos i shoot, but the few times i made some test i have to admit the Leica Fotos is very userfriendly.
The remote software i have for my Panasonic Lumix LX-100 works flawless, fast and reliable what was not the case of Leica Fotos.
But the Version 3 is a big step ahead and at least geotagging works reliable now while first device connection is still painfull slow and overly complicated.

After the test i conducted today i realize now why the Bluetooth and WiFi connections are used:
Bluetooth to wake up the cameras WiFi and transmit GPS data while WiFi is needed for remote conrol purposes and sending the photos to a device.
Transmitting the 48mp DNG photos to another device is probably the culprit as sending the photos is simply too slow in Bluetooth,
thats the price we pay for a 48mp sensor and DNG files.

It seems that Leica Fotos and IOS devices are not very compatible as there are a lot of IPhone/IPad users having issues with it, not very cool....

Chris

[lstreet]

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7 hours ago, PhotoCruiser said:

I have a Android phone and it works perfectly doing this steps

1° start Leica Fotos App
2° wait till camera is connected
3° decide what you wanna do
     3.1° using the shutter button then pressing shutter camera ask to switch off WiFi, press Yes to stop WiFi connection you don't need it
             Phone will remain connected by bluetooth and send coordinates
     3.2 using remote control funcion on phone/tablet --> don't switch off WiFi connection, just use the device to control the camera and coordinates will be sent too.

I made a quick test on my Android 10 Galaxy 20 phone and took 3 photos
1° Camera non connected to Leica Fotos, No Geotagging (Obviously)
2° Camera connected, WiFi switched off, bluetooth on, using shutter button and screen: Geotagging works
3° Camera connected, WiFi switched on, bluetooth on, using remote shutter and screen from Leica Fotos: Geotagging works

This basically means that WiFi is needed for remote control purposes while bluetooth sends geotagging coordinates

As i don't have a IOS device i am not sure how it will work there, however make sure that either Bluetooth AND WiFi has right permissions.
If geotagging works using the shutter button then it should work also using Leica Fotos

Chris

Thanks for your help.

What camera are you successfully using to get GPS data?  Q2?

I have tried what you mention in the second 2 (2° Camera connected, WiFi switched of) above using an iPone and a Q2 and it does not result in GPS data inserted into the EXIF.  However I think it did work once when I took a picture immediately after disconnecting WIFI. But I have had trouble duplicating that.  So it is possible there is a problem with iPhone bluetooth wondering off when the camera is disconnected from WIFI.  This is probably why this function is marked BETA.

I have rarely wanted Android but...

Thanks, Larry

[iRandom]

One thing to keep in mind is that one successful photo doesn't mean much. With the past Fotos version I was able to get GPS data then it would just stop after a while - often times between two photos taken seconds apart. The phone had been in my pocket and untouched for well over 10 minutes. The time varies. Sometimes longish and sometimes within a minute or so. I had one case where I was tinkering with it at my desk, the phone was awake and in the Fotos app and GPS dropped between 2 back-to-back photos (not using the Remote function). I've seen similar reports regardless of OS. I haven't done anything with 3.0 except connect it and see that I got an initial photo with GPS so I don't know if it has improved.

I suspect that Fotos isn't developed in-house. It is probably contracted with some app team who knows where that are working off whatever protocol documentation Leica provided. I doubt there's much of any extensive testing between the camera and the app aside from the quick "yup it connected" tests.

[PhotoCruiser]

vor 15 Stunden schrieb lstreet:

What camera are you successfully using to get GPS data?  Q2?

Yes
Q2 from 2019
latest firmware 3.0
Leica Fotos 2.2.1

 

vor 15 Stunden schrieb iRandom:

With the past Fotos version I was able to get GPS data then it would just stop after a while - often times between two photos taken seconds apart. The phone had been in my pocket and untouched for well over 10 minutes. The time varies. Sometimes longish and sometimes within a minute or so. I had one case where I was tinkering with it at my desk, the phone was awake and in the Fotos app and GPS dropped between 2 back-to-back photos (not using the Remote function). I've seen similar reports regardless of OS. I haven't done anything with 3.0 except connect it and see that I got an initial photo with GPS so I don't know if it has improved.

I experienced the same problem ad did several tests 6 months ago with last firmware and last fotos app.
Until now it seems that this problem is solved but i need to verify this more in-depth.
It may have also to do with eachs phone sleep and/or power saving settings as this may stop buetooth connection.

Chris

 

[PhotoCruiser]

I have to apologize and admit that unfortunately i was wrong... 😞

To make a better test i took car and camera for a spin to take some photos of the raging sea in a autumn storm.

Geotagging worked when connecting first time Leica Photos, then i left Q2 was on, but sleeping, phone was on but sleeping
2nd Photo 9 minutes later no geotagging
all next photos no geotagging despite the display showed satellite symbol and blutooth symbol

Then i switched of the Q2, switched it on and still no geotagging for te photos i took for the next hour driving around.

Then i went to buy some groceries and started again Leica Photos and had to redo the connection procedure and geotaging was back

So:
What definitively works is conecting camera thru Leica Fotos
The Satelite symbol and the Blutooth symbols are not reliable
if the camera go in sleep mode the geotagging don't work anymore

I will investigate further as now it seems to me that nothing changed to prior version.

Chris
 

[nuc001]

16 hours ago, PhotoCruiser said:

The Satelite symbol and the Blutooth symbols are not reliable

 

These symbols are always there....just grey when disconnected and white when it's connected and working, such a subtle change it's confusing. 

It would be much better if the icons have a dash through it or disappears completely when the camera is disconnected from the phone app.

[PhotoCruiser]

I did several other tests using only the shutter button yesterday afternoon and all became even more strange.
I don't need and i don't want to use the fotos app to remot control the camera, i take photos it old-fashioned using the camera.

I get more and more confused with the Geotagging and general bluetooth and WiFi connection issues.

Connecting camera with Fotos make Blutooth and Satellite symbol be lit/white
Pressing shutter button and disconnect WiFi, camera lost message pop up in Fotos, Bluetooth symbol turns grey on camera screen, Satellite stay lit/white, Photos have geotagging
Phone goes sleep and camera is on, after approx 1 minute Satellite symbol turns grey, no geotagging
Phone is on and camera goes asleep, after pressing shutter button, satellite symbol is grey  --> no geotagging
Phone is asleep and Camera is asleep, after pressing shutter button, satellite symbol is grey  --> no geotagging, connot reconnect, Please activate Camera bluetooth error message
Phone is awake and camera is awake, after approx 2 minutes satellite symbol goes grey, no geotagging (phone and camera timeout/energy saving setting is 10 min on phone and never on camera)

1° setting your phones screen settings and cameras energy saving settings to be long, geotagging works a 30 sec-1min longer
2° geotagging does not work for more than 2 minutes without reconnecting camera
3° to make sure that geotagging works you must reconnect Fotos with camera
4° you can see if geotagging was memorized using the Play function

So basically using tha camera without remote function, geotagging is not very useful as someone must continously reconnect before taking photos.

Chris

 

[PhotoCruiser]

vor 3 Stunden schrieb nuc001:

These symbols are always there....just grey when disconnected and white when it's connected and working, such a subtle change it's confusing. 

It would be much better if the icons have a dash through it or disappears completely when the camera is disconnected from the phone app.

Yes, i may overseen that the symbol was/where already grey instead of white/lit.

I agree totally that this system is very confusing and leads to frustration discovering that location was not saved.
It should not b a big work to change the symbols or make the dull symbols more dull to make clear that no position is receiven and memorized.

Chris
 

[PhotoCruiser]

I could not resist to check if Geotagging works if remote control is used,
and Bingo, i could have it alive for more than half an hour without reconnections.

However, thats useless for me as i never use remote control, so i probably need to switch over to a external geotagging solution if i should feel the need to need it.
Certainly it would be a nice feature to connect and forget the Q2 with the phone and location is saved automatically without hassle.
But on the end i usually still remember where i took my photos and the organization system i use help me to find them and to see by the folder name where i was.

Chris

 

[iRandom]

12 hours ago, PhotoCruiser said:

Yes, i may overseen that the symbol was/where already grey instead of white/lit.

I agree totally that this system is very confusing and leads to frustration discovering that location was not saved.
It should not b a big work to change the symbols or make the dull symbols more dull to make clear that no position is receiven and memorized.

Chris
 

A symbol with a diagonal line through it would do it.

I've used a geotagging app (Geotag Photos 2) and used LR to sync the track log to the photos. It worked great when I remembered to turn it on, which unfortunately, was not often. Even on a vacation when I was consciously trying to remember. I tend to use both my phone and the Q2 for the occasions when location matters most (vacations or walking about a city), so the best method I've found is to simply cut and paste the location info from a phone photo that was taken near the same location. Not perfect, but better than the Fotos solution or forgetting to start the geotagging app.

[RoySmith]

When using Leica FOTOS 2.2.3 on an iPhone be sure to:

1) Go to Settings:Leica FOTOS: Location: set to always.

2) on the Leica FOTOS opening screen, tap the … (ellipsis) on the LEICA Q2 button  and select Geotagging always.

With these set, and using the camera’s shutter release, the geotagging survives the phone going to sleep and the camera going to sleep but only for  10-15 minutes. Better than before but still a work in progress.

[iRandom]

17 hours ago, RoySmith said:

When using Leica FOTOS 2.2.3 on an iPhone be sure to:

1) Go to Settings:Leica FOTOS: Location: set to always.

2) on the Leica FOTOS opening screen, tap the … (ellipsis) on the LEICA Q2 button  and select Geotagging always.

With these set, and using the camera’s shutter release, the geotagging survives the phone going to sleep and the camera going to sleep but only for  10-15 minutes. Better than before but still a work in progress.

Sounds like it is the same as before. I always had those set and hav the 10-15 minute timeout (sometimes less). You also want to be sure to have Precise Location selected in the settings. This setting was introduced in the last year or so.

[bullmoon]

3 hours ago, iRandom said:

Sounds like it is the same as before. I always had those set and hav the 10-15 minute timeout (sometimes less). You also want to be sure to have Precise Location selected in the settings. This setting was introduced in the last year or so.

My camera has been sitting unused for several days now.  I just launched Fotos on my iPhone 12 Pro, turned on the Q2, verified that  Bluetooth was on, took a photo using the camera (not with the Fotos remote), and when I view the photo, GPS coordinates are there.  This is much improved from before.

Bluetooth on the Q2 is enabled. Fotos is set on the iPhone to have access to my location while using the app - I have not tried the "Always" option, but I will.  Other iPhone related Fotos settings: Bluetooth: On, Local Network: On, Camera: On, Cellular Date: On.  I think most of those are the defaults - the only one I changed was Location.

It does seem necessary that I launch the Fotos app first and keep it open, and maybe verify bluetooth on the Q2, but otherwise I don't have to use Fotos for anything or swipe down to connect the Q2 to get GPS.

Who knows how reliable this is though - it's a beta feature - I may have just gotten lucky this time!  

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[PhotoCruiser]

Well, i had some time to play around with the settings and i think that i figured out where "my" problem was.
At least Android 10 has settings for standby mode
Settings --> Device Care --> Battery --> App Power Management
After i added Leica Fotos to "Apps that won't be put to sleep" and switched off that apps are put to sleep, geotagging seems to keep working even if camera or phone sleep.
After about one hour and waking up the camera, geotagging still worked withpout any further connection, then i run out of battery.
What is not obviously not working is if the camera is switched off, then connection must be established again using Leica Fotos.
 

Maybe there is a similar setting somewhere deep in the settings menu on IOS devices and switching that off or add leica Fotos may lead to always on geotagging

Chris

 

[iRandom]

I experienced a fun new behavior today. I opened the app and confirmed that I got a photo with geolocation. I left the app running in the foreground when I put the phone to sleep. A few hours later I started on a photoshoot without touching the phone. I ended up with photos with geolocation 15 minutes into the shoot.