Nikon GP-1 GPS Unit Field Test: Success!

I’ve always been extremely interested in all things mapping and GPS related and I’ve spent more time than I probably should have playing with geotagging my photos. The primary problem I’ve run into is with workflow: finding a good way to add GPS location to pictures and then using tools, like Google Maps via my Sealed Glass Photo galleries, to display shoot locations.

Last year I purchased a very nice backcountry GPS, a Garmin Colorado 400t, intending to use that as both a functioning GPS as well as a location tracking tool to sync up with pictures from the shoot back in the studio. As a GPS, this thing rocks; I highly recommend it as a hiking tool. As a geotagging tool, though, unfortunately not so much. The workflow involved in properly syncing tracking data from the Colorado to pictures was too laborious and unreliable. Even with making sure the clocks were in sync, shooting the time stamp on the GPS before and after the shoot, matching tracking points on the GPS to pictures proved to be too unreliable.

So I decided to splurge on Nikon’s GP-1, a tiny GPS device that mounts on the hot shoe or the strap and encodes GPS data directly into the picture when it’s taken. I set out on a hike with decent canopy coverage and an open lake to test the GP-1. Overall it worked really well, as long as I had a clear view of the sky. Here’s a quick rundown of the good and the not so good:

Good:

• Extremely convenient and portable: sits on the hot shoe or clips onto the strap and connects to the camera body by a short flexible cable.
• Records GPS data in real time for each picture, and that data can be verified while shooting by clicking up on the playback viewscreen (one click past the histogram on the D90).
• When it has a clear view of the sky it’s relatively reliable.
• Easy to read status via a status light on the GP-1 and via the body display.

Not so good:

• Any canopy coverage seems to render the GP-1 virtually unusable. Same for shooting indoors. It’s not WAAS enabled so its sensitivity isn’t as good as the Colorado.
• There’s a lag when shooting in bursts (no shots for a minute or so and then a series of shots). The first few shots in a series didn’t include GPS data but later shots in the same series did. This isn’t a huge issue since GPS data can be copied from one shot to the next in post but it does impact my workflow.
• Battery drain can be an issue. I shoot with an MB-D80 battery pack and two batteries and had no problems over a 3-hour shoot in the field, even with the GP-1 spending a good bit of time trying to re-sync, but your mileage may vary.

Overall I’d definitely give the GP-1 a thumbs up recommendation. At ~$200 (Amazon) it’s a bit expensive for casual usage but if you’re an outdoor photographer (or even an enthusiastic travel snapshot shooter) it’s definitely worth the money even with the minor drawbacks. The amount of time I’ve already saved in my post-processing workflow has well paid for the GP-1.

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