I, Curtis

Last night I began looking at Nikon’s GP-1 GPS Receiver that is designed to record GPS data directly to a D90, D300, D300S and other similarly classed cameras. I was looking at the device in a purely theoretical kind of way, since I would not need it until I acquire either a D90 or D300S camera, as the D60 does not support the direct data connection used by the device, the D90 barely does. My original conception of what this device is involved it sitting nearly on top of the hot shoe (external flash port), and perhaps it providing an additional port to pass power to a flash. No, that’s not quite how it works. The thing can be mounted on the hot shoe, but it does not use it, it connects by a 10 inch cable to the data port on the cameras and provides no additional port for a flash to be added. At $210 I question the value of this device. The only real benefit that this device has over a device that adds information about location to a picture after it is taken is that there is no next step, it is done immediately and seamlessly, but how good of a feature is that, really? GPS devices are known for being unreliable and this one is no exception to the rules of physics that cause that unreliable behavior. If you go in a building with the device, it won’t receive information or will give you bad information. Some other GPS devices that are designed for the same purpose (except do not talk to the camera directly) include a “hint” mode that you can use before entering a building, which causes it stick to the information it has so that it can geotag images taken in the building. One of the worst things about GPS is the ability for it to “jump” up to 50 feet because of an object bouncing the signal (accuracy is only about 10-15 ft even in an open field), this device will write that incorrect information directly to the picture, and there is no way to change it. As hard as it is to add information to EXIF, its worse to have to remove it. An external unit that does not write information directly to the camera will record a tracklog, which can be imported into many different types of software to do things such as create maps or apply an offset. That offset can be used to correct GPS positional data by hand. It is tedious, but the correct information will be used and you won’t have images that appear by their GPS data to have been taken in the middle of a lake, when you were really on a trail beside the lake. The only really positive attribute that I can think of for the GP-1 is that it is attached to the camera, so you always know that the information it has recorded is from where the camera was, give or take that 10 inch cable dangling it from the camera. One of the more obvious flaws that Nikon has even recorded in the manual is the absence of an on/off switch. The camera’s power state does not matter either, the device is still on and active, and drawing power from the camera. I feel that the worst trait of all on this device is that it sucks power away from the camera for its task, why can the device not have an independent power supply like flashes do?

In my quest for a GPS unit for my camera, I will be looking for something that is reliable, compact, discreet, fast and inexpensive (relative to the cost of the camera [should be more like 10% the cost, not 30%, I believe]). I would prefer to use devices made by my camera manufacturer, but I cannot do that when the only option is an inferior product to other products that are available on the market. I am presently looking at the GiSTEQ CD111 GPS Digital PhotoTracker. It is designed for use with cameras, since it has no independent display. It is a $75 device with no real display, it’s about the size of a battery for the D60 and it has its own independent power source that can operate it for 33 hours continuous operation. Cool thing about the device is once I have exhausted its battery, I can slide the thing into its cradle and it will charge. I don’t have to mess with batteries like I do for the Magellan. The device is as simple as that. It comes with software to tag images, but I will likely just stick with RoboGEO for that task.

I have been looking at some images that I took this evening. They are mostly macro in nature (and of nature). I used my close up filter kit on top of the 18-55mm VR lens for the shots. Everything looked normal, except for my focal lengths. I used to do macro at between 50 and 55mm on that lens. Almost all of these images were between 34 and 36mm, which indicates to me that I have picked up a habit from another lens. Before today I had not used the 18-55mm lens for macro since the arrival of the 35mm lens, and only took it with me for the purpose of having a versatile zoom lens on the camera. I find it strange that I did this. All of those zoom levels available and I stuck to the composition that seemed “normal” to me, which is that of the other lens. I suppose I have become more attached to my prime lens than I originally thought possible. It was ordered as a “special purpose” portrait lens that was for portraits or in low light situations. The lens has been a quite valuable tool in low light, astrophotography, macro and a variety of other implementations. I can’t quite use it yet for bird watching, I believe that responsibility would fall upon its bigger cousin, the 600mm AF-S f/2.8, but at a cost of $10,000 I believe I will stick to taking macro insect shots and leave the birds to someone else to photo (although, a few weeks ago I got about 5 absolutely horrible shots of hummingbirds on my canna lily).

In the past week, I have seen three of my digital photographs printed and framed at a size of 24×36, which is quite an impressive size to see. Seeing those prints hanging on walls has caused me to begin reflecting on where I have come from as a photographer and also where I would like to go as a photographer. A year ago I spent a lot of time thinking about digital cameras and their functions, attempting to decide where I fit and what technology fit with me. Last March I decided to take a borderline hobby and began considering following it through to an academic pursuit, merely as an experiment. At some point between May and July when I was working on assignments I found myself being very interested in photography. It had never really been my hobby, more of a hobby I observed through Chris and his talents (he is shy, but very talented). Out of a requirement for the course I searched for a camera that would be adequate for executing the assignments. I had no idea what I was getting myself into. I selected the very modest, but very capable Fujifilm S5200 to serve as the camera for my academic exploration of photography. I really had no idea what I was doing then. In December the D60 came into my life and I began relearning photography, with the new camera. That was a difficult time for me, in some ways I was still very attached to the Fuji, all of the controls were familiar to me. I had a momentary encounter with wanting to not be involved with photography, but that eventually passed.

Now, today, I find myself on Flickr, much as I was a year ago, only this time, instead of analyzing everything I see, I am trying to become involved. I am joining groups that are relevant to me, including groups for my lenses, and groups for subjects I like to photograph (boots, plants, etc). I am seeking to share my photography, as well as learn new techniques and avoid becoming boring to myself. I want to remain active with this hobby and not let it fall away like others. I have taken pictures 117 out of the last 190 days, which is something that a year ago I would have thought would have been impossible for me. I do take breaks in photography, but I tend to also photo many days in sequence before doing so. I want to get better with photography. I want to take less exposures per day and have more of them be something I am happy with, but you never know how something will look until you line it up in the viewfinder and take the exposure.