KENTGA wrote:
Peter, thank for your reply. As I mentioned, I only need GPS when I go on those long, winding trips to "see" where I've been. My RP is coming tomorrow and I've got R5 ordered and have iphone 11 (I think) so I should be OK. Glad after Digic 8 things got better.
Thanks again,
Kent
For what it's worth, I have an RP and I use the app running on an iPhone XR. This setup has worked really well for me, unlike what some other people have experienced. You pair once and then you don't have to do that ever again. The only step to remember is that you need to open the app and click the "Start Location Logging" button. So it's a one-step process versus zero-steps (like on my old 6D). If you turn the camera off (not sleep but turn off, or replace the battery) then you'll need to repeat this one step I think.
iOS is much better now about letting apps run in the background without closing them, and the Bluetooth connection is really solid. The connection will last all day, even when using the phone for normal things. I can even leave home and when I come back I can see that the app automatically reconnected to the camera when I came within range.
I haven't noticed any negative effect on battery life. I went on a 6-hour hike recently and took ~300 photos which the app geotagged very well. The camera had ~1/2 charge remaining and my phone battery was about where it normally is by the afternoon.
There is also a function to automatically download photos from the camera as they're taken. I haven't played around with that feature much, but it connects to the camera over Wifi so it probably would hit the battery harder. It only transfers JPGs (RAWs will be converted and then transfer), but I can see where it might be useful in some situations.
Good luck.