The Canon GP-E2 Now Shipping

[donsullivan]

Whoo hoo mine has shipped. But now I have another problem. The expected 7D firmware update that would allow me to use the GPS is nowhere to be found. Drat.

While certainly not ideal you could still just put it in data logger mode and use the included software to assign the GPS tags after your shoot. It's a little brute force but would allow you to get some benefit out of it until the 7D firmware upgrade is delivered.

[Gcon]

Time to settle this once and for all.

The reason why they build GPS into the camera bodies is primarily because of countries like China and North Korea. They don't like GPS built in, and don't allow the sale, so they don't.

With point and shoot cameras - they make "for China" and "for the rest of the (free) world" models. For top end DSLRs, they can't justify the expense of having two models - a GPS-enabled one, and a GPS-crippled one. So they don't - they just put it as an accessory and not sell the accessory in China.

I for one like the accessory in that it doesn't drain the main battery. I can just switch it on when I need it. Granted - it would be nice to have it like an iPhone and I could turn it on/off via software.

[kdsand]

Time to settle this once and for all.

The reason why they build GPS into the camera bodies is primarily because of countries like China and North Korea. They don't like GPS built in, and don't allow the sale, so they don't.

With point and shoot cameras - they make "for China" and "for the rest of the (free) world" models. For top end DSLRs, they can't justify the expense of having two models - a GPS-enabled one, and a GPS-crippled one. So they don't - they just put it as an accessory and not sell the accessory in China.

I for one like the accessory in that it doesn't drain the main battery. I can just switch it on when I need it. Granted - it would be nice to have it like an iPhone and I could turn it on/off via software.

Lol
At 1st I thought you were serious.
good one.
 

[71sbeetle]

I ended up cancelling my 2 pre-orders for the GP-E2 (Amazon and B&H) I'll stick to using my dedicated datalogger and keep my hotshoe free for Cyber Commander or 600EX-RT and also keep the $260 in my pocket for now

[cellcrusher]

Whoo hoo mine has shipped. But now I have another problem. The expected 7D firmware update that would allow me to use the GPS is nowhere to be found. Drat.

While certainly not ideal you could still just put it in data logger mode and use the included software to assign the GPS tags after your shoot. It's a little brute force but would allow you to get some benefit out of it until the 7D firmware upgrade is delivered.

That would be great but I am not sure how to get the information off the GPS unit. I am probably missing something. I have the proprietary Canon GPS cord that has a male end of the Micro USB that needs to into the computer to read the data off the GPS  but I am not able to find a micro USB reader that would also attach to my computer. If anyone has any ideas on how to do this I would appreciate a tip or two.

[RyanCrierie]

I've been using the GP-E2 for a couple days now, and it's been pretty great!

It's handled some tough shots, like:


Random Industrial Building by RyanCrierie, on Flickr

Taken from inside a speeding school bus -- the GP-E2 successfully logged the location right away, despite it not having a full view of the sky inside a metallic vehicle.

Another shot was this one:


Cross Street Market Seafood Bar #1 by RyanCrierie, on Flickr

Taken inside the City Street Market in Baltimore, MD. The GP-E2 successfully logged the correctish location inside the market, despite having very little sky view at all.

You can see the uncorrected GPS Lat/long coordinates if you click on the "map" area in flickr.

It's literally turn on and shoot right away and compared to my other GPS gadgets:

A.) Garmin Nuvi Car GPS from 2008 -- the Garmin requires 40~ seconds or more to lock onto a satellite after a cold start; whereas the GP-E2 locks on virtually instantly.

B.) GPS in my Acer A200 Tablet -- it doesn't work inside a vehicle or inside buildings. Meanwhile, the GP-E2 can lock on even in such degraded conditions, such as the City Street Market's interior.