robmlr
Well-known member
This is a review of the GMAX-EOS2 GPS logger on my Canon R7, because I couldn't really find one before purchasing.
Overall: Works great, I basically love it except I wish it was internal to the camera.
- I have one of the silicone rubber skins for my R7, had to cut off the hotshoe tab to make this easier to use. Still can get in the way a bit when mounting the unit, looks visibly ok but connection not really working so I have learned to really pull the rubber out of the way when mounting.
- Other than the above, it works flawlessly and is so much better than the #&$*# phone app. Has a standby mode, once it gets the fix it goes off quickly, wakes up instantly, camera shows solid 'GPS' in the viewfinder whenever I look, it is just stable. I've enabled 'indoor mode' so if it can't update the GPS fix it will just use the last one, but I don't need that much resolution in my position.
- Biggest actual design issue (especially as the r7 connection is through the hotshoe) is that USB charging uses the main cable port which is a 10-pin screw-on connector. While this is the connection for some cameras (device works with Nikon too), this cable is a critical single point of failure, a hassle to keep around, and very possibly irreplaceable without a major effort.
- I hate having the thing mounted on the camera. It's not that big, but clearly it will break off if pushed around so not something to go into the bag with - hence unmount/remount unless the camera is hanging off your body. In use it is not that much of a bother, hat often slips over the top and doesn't touch my forehead.
- My research reveals lots of apps that will take a set of GPS points and a set of photos and geotag the photos based on the nearest timestamp waypoint. I intend to move to this despite the postprocessing hassle as the unit can stay in my pocket and then I could tag other camera photos as well. The device can be set to update the fix every 2 mins/5 mins/hour etc, and is supposed to show as a USB drive with these files when connected to a computer (so no app or driver needed to connect). I suspect one could do the same with a GPS track from a Garmin watch or similar, but in theory the Solmeta has more battery life (and I sold my Garmin and not going back).
- Apparently some cameras store the direction the camera/device is pointed, I had read that this does not work with the R7 and indeed it displays "dir off" when powering on while mounted on the camera.
- The GMAX-EOS2 model supports bluetooth (I think the GMAX-EOS did not), my cynicism limited me to about 10 seconds investigating if it could somehow emulate the phone app and work from my pocket, but this just doesn't seem possible.
- I bought it for a 5-day hiking trip that I didn't expect to have electricity on, but found some on 3 of the nights so charged when I could and can't tell you how many days of real-world use without charging it can do. A full day use with the 'auto' (standby) mode enabled takes about half of the battery bars, and it seems slow to charge when you are waiting for it as opposed to plugged in overnight.
Overall: Works great, I basically love it except I wish it was internal to the camera.
- I have one of the silicone rubber skins for my R7, had to cut off the hotshoe tab to make this easier to use. Still can get in the way a bit when mounting the unit, looks visibly ok but connection not really working so I have learned to really pull the rubber out of the way when mounting.
- Other than the above, it works flawlessly and is so much better than the #&$*# phone app. Has a standby mode, once it gets the fix it goes off quickly, wakes up instantly, camera shows solid 'GPS' in the viewfinder whenever I look, it is just stable. I've enabled 'indoor mode' so if it can't update the GPS fix it will just use the last one, but I don't need that much resolution in my position.
- Biggest actual design issue (especially as the r7 connection is through the hotshoe) is that USB charging uses the main cable port which is a 10-pin screw-on connector. While this is the connection for some cameras (device works with Nikon too), this cable is a critical single point of failure, a hassle to keep around, and very possibly irreplaceable without a major effort.
- I hate having the thing mounted on the camera. It's not that big, but clearly it will break off if pushed around so not something to go into the bag with - hence unmount/remount unless the camera is hanging off your body. In use it is not that much of a bother, hat often slips over the top and doesn't touch my forehead.
- My research reveals lots of apps that will take a set of GPS points and a set of photos and geotag the photos based on the nearest timestamp waypoint. I intend to move to this despite the postprocessing hassle as the unit can stay in my pocket and then I could tag other camera photos as well. The device can be set to update the fix every 2 mins/5 mins/hour etc, and is supposed to show as a USB drive with these files when connected to a computer (so no app or driver needed to connect). I suspect one could do the same with a GPS track from a Garmin watch or similar, but in theory the Solmeta has more battery life (and I sold my Garmin and not going back).
- Apparently some cameras store the direction the camera/device is pointed, I had read that this does not work with the R7 and indeed it displays "dir off" when powering on while mounted on the camera.
- The GMAX-EOS2 model supports bluetooth (I think the GMAX-EOS did not), my cynicism limited me to about 10 seconds investigating if it could somehow emulate the phone app and work from my pocket, but this just doesn't seem possible.
- I bought it for a 5-day hiking trip that I didn't expect to have electricity on, but found some on 3 of the nights so charged when I could and can't tell you how many days of real-world use without charging it can do. A full day use with the 'auto' (standby) mode enabled takes about half of the battery bars, and it seems slow to charge when you are waiting for it as opposed to plugged in overnight.
