Geotagging Unleashed for Nikon dSLRs
(Credit:
Lori Grunin/CNET)
Aside from having a cool name, German company Foolography has an interesting geotagging solution that takes advantage of the GPS connector on Nikon cameras. Its Unleashed is a tiny Bluetooth receiver that works with any Bluetooth-compatible GPS receiver to directly insert the location coordinates into the EXIF header of the digital camera files.
Nikon has its own solution, the GP-1, but it's a bit bulkier and ties you into its GPS device. Though the Unleashed will be more expensive--250 euros, or about $315 using today's exchange rate--it offers the flexibility of using any quality of GPS device you want or can afford. The company also plans to support remote shutter release via the Bluetooth receiver and an optional remote release connector.
One of the drawbacks of direct GPS support in digital cameras is the performance overhead of connecting to the satellite; it can really bog you down if it can't find a signal. Unleashed will automatically use the last locked coordinates if it can't attain a lock.
When it ships in the spring, this version of the product will work with the D200, D300, D700, D2X, D2Xs, D2Hs, D3, D3X, and Fujifilm S5 Pro (it uses a Nikon body). The company is also working on an Unleashed D90 and Unleashed Pro; the latter will include an electronic compass that can record the direction you're pointing as well as location coordinates. Canon support is currently just a gleam in the company's eye.
Senior Editor Lori Grunin has been covering digital imaging for two decades, but her memory's kind of sketchy on the details. You can hear about it every week on Indecent Exposure, the podcast she co-hosts with Matt Fitzgerald. 
The app only costs $5 (that's just a fraction of the price of the Foolography device) and accuracy is excellent.
http://www.galarina.eu/GeoLogTag/News/News.html
Note: The app is an all-in-one solution for your Flickr photos. Geotagging of Flickr photos can be done directly from within the app!
- by foolography March 7, 2009 12:55 PM PST
- Hi Lori,
- Like this Reply to this comment
-
(4 Comments)thanks for writing about our product. We're very happy it got so much attention at PMA, and that it even received the DIMA 2009 Innovative Digital Product Award!
You mixed up some details in your article, and since the email link on your profile page didn't work, I thought I'd correct them here:
1) The exact price is yet to be determined, but we're expecting a retail price of around 200 Euro, which is about 250 USD, so it's even cheaper than Nikons GP-1, albeit its additional features.
2) We will hopefully start shipping in summer 2009, not spring (isn't it spring already?).
Oliver - theFool himself ;-)