Solmeta GPS N1 for D7000

I decided I was not going to buy the PC-Mobile version after wall.  I decided instead to purchase a Solmeta GPS N1 unit for my D7000.  (It costed me $111 USD with free shipping, so I guess the unit is about $100 USD or so.)  The main reason for the Solmeta is the built-in battery.  While the other brands claim very low power draw, the built-in rechargeable battery of the Solmeta unit will power the GPS unit for up to 10 hours before it has to draw power from the camera.

When you order the unit from this eBay seller I bought it from, you need to specify the camera you are purchasing the GPS unit for.  They will then provide the right cable for that specific camera.  Hopefully, they will not send me a cable for another camera by mistake.

As you can see from the picture, there is a cable that fits the D7000--the CA7000.  This L-shape cable will not work well with the D90 but I figure I will be shooting with the D7000 most of the time.  If I do need to use the GPS unit for the D90, I would have to dangle the GPS unit off the strap eye socket on the camera.

This eBay seller offers a "free" gift--car charger or "wall plug" so the GPS unit can be recharged outside the camera.  I think it should not be a free gift.  It should be bundled with the package!  How else are you supposed to recharge the battery?  I chose the "wall plug" as I already have a car charger-to-AC adapter (I think).

Now, it's a 3-4 week wait.  It takes that long for shipment from China to arrive here in Canada.  Incredible.

GPS for the D7000

I have done some research into the GPS unit for the D7000.  Apparently, the D7000 shares the same GPS connection plug as the D90 so I suppose I could buy a GPS unit for the D7000 and it will work on the D90 as well.  Sweet.

First though, I do not want to purchase the Nikon GP-1.  It is very expensive considering its limited functionality.  There are a number of third-party units:

Yongnuo N-918/N3 ($65)
Columbus nGPS ($90)
Phottix GPS Geo One ($160)
JYC N-769/N3 ($125)
Solmeta GPS N1 ($111)
Solmeta GPS Pro ($250)
PC-Mobile ($80)
Opteka GPN-1 ($85)

Now, I cannot buy the Yongnuo GPS unit yet.  The GPS port of the D7000, while the same as the D90, is reversed from the D90.  There is a notch on the D90 that points toward the front of the camera, while the notch on the D7000 points toward the back of the camera.  The Yongnuo GPS units were designed with an L-shape plug for the D90 so they fit well.  With the D7000, the cable may not be long enough because of the orientation of the plug, and because of the orientation, the cable points downwards and can cause the GPS port to break if not handled with care.

The Columbus nGPS could work.  It comes with a connection plug that is straight, but then, the cable would stick out too much and it would be easy to break the GPS port as well.

The JYC unit looks very similar to the Yongnuo.  Why the price difference, I wonder?  The only difference I can see is the connection plug.  The JYC has a straight plug vs. the L-shape plug of the Yongnuo.

The PC-Mobile GPS unit might work.  It has a connection plug that is modular.  It can be oriented up or down, depending on whether you use a D90 or a D7000.

The Phottix GPS unit looks very similar to the Nikon GP-1.  I have no idea whether the Phottix GPS unit will work though.  Again, it is a connection plug issue.  There are no images of the plug that I can find.

The Solmeta GPS N1 unit has a rechargeable battery.  Cool.  It has can come with a cable for either the D90 or the D7000.  You have to order one of the other.  I guess you could ask for two cables for an additional charges.

The Solmeta GPS  Pro unit is probably the best of the bunch in terms of functionality.  It even has an LCD display at the back that displays the current coordinates, date, time, and memory.  It has a rechargeable battery that can last for twenty hours--a real plus--so it does not draw power from the camera until the rechargeable battery is depleted!  As with the N1 version, it comes with one of a variety of cables.  You choose one.  The price is too high though.

The Opteka GPN-1 unit is claimed to work with the D7000 so it should work with the D90 as well.  However, I cannot find any image of the connection plug.

I am leaning toward getting the PC-Mobile GPS unit.  It is a simple device that can work with both the D90 and the D7000.

Graduated filters

I'm still on a shopping spree ever since I acquired the D90.  I have just ordered these six 72mm graduated filters from eBay.  There is no gray filter though.  They are red, orange, green, blue, purple and yellow.

While searching for graduated filters, I ran across adapters for those square Colkin filters.  I think Colkin filters are really great.  You can reuse the same Colkin filters for any lens as long as you have the proper adapter for the lens, and they are really cheap (less than $10).  I was so tempted to buy the Colkin adapter and filters but I remember using them in Cuba a few years ago.  At 18mm, the adapter is too deep it creates vignetting in the corners.  I have three lens with a 72mm filter ring so I thought these circular filters will be fine.  These happen to be the lenses I usually carry around, and hence, these 72mm filters.

Polarizing filter, part 6

I purchased this Hoya circular polarizer a while ago.  I have used it a number of times to cut out the intense flares created on waters mainly and to bring up more details of the sky.  I did not quite think about when to use it, until I read a book called Understanding Aperture by Bryan Peterson.  Basically, you should use it when you are facing 90 degrees from the sun.  At noon time, the sun is directly over our head, so that's 90 degrees.  In the afternoon, the sun is to the west so if you shoot north or south, that's time for the polarizing filter.

20 Tips for Wedding Photographers

I was searching on Google for some tips on wedding photography.  I found something that was very helpful (www.digital-photography-school.com).  There is nothing complicated about this list but it is a good reminder.  I just want to summarize it here, for myself really.

1. Create a shot list--who, what groups, what poses to shoot
2. Designate a family member to help coordinate family photo shoots
3. Survey the location before the wedding
4. Prepare for the day--not just photo gears but also the venue and program
5. Manage expectations--show previous work before the wedding
6. Turn off the sound on the camera--ok, I am not sure how one would go about doing this but I agree
7. Shoot small details
8. Bring two cameras with different lens focal lengths
9. Two photographers--much easier than one
10. "Be bold but not obtrusive"
11. Use diffused or bounced light
12. Shoot in RAW
13. Display photos during reception
14. Avoid distracting backgrounds
15. Do not discard "mistake" shots
16. Use different perspectives and angles
17. Use fill flash outdoors
18. Use continuous shooting mode
19. Prepare for the unexpected
20. Have fun!

Is that enough?

The other day, a friend of mine e-mailed me a deal from FutureShop.  FutureShop was selling these new Duracell 16GB SDHC Class 10 cards for $25.  My first thought was, wow, $25 only?  When did Duracell enter the computer storage market?  It certainly is not searchable on Duracell's website, as of this writing.  Anyway, I thought there was no need to purchase more memory cards as I already have a couple of 16GB, one 8GB, one 4GB, and one 2GB.  When I thought I had enough memory, a single trip to Ecuador in December would prove me wrong--stupid me, I brought only two 16GB.

The problem with memory requirements is not so much because of the photos we take.  I could not possibly have taken that many photos to fill up 32GB of storage.  That would require more than 4000 JPEG photos taken at the highest quality on my D7000.  If I had taken photos in RAW NEF format, maybe I'd need 2000 photos to fill up 32GB.  The problem was, I was doing video as well.  High definition video can eat up memory fairly quickly.

My friend was going to pick up one SHDC for himself.  He ended up purchasing four cards, two for him, two for me.  I will now carry around with me four 16GB--64GB of storage.  Is that enough?

Carrying the D90

So, how am I going to carry this D90 in addition to the D7000? I have a Quick Strap that I am planning to hook the D7000 to. The D90 has the standard Nikon neck strap, which I hate btw.

Well, I think I will carry the D90 over my left shoulder on top of the Quick Strap. I am thinking of using a velcro strap to tie the Nikon strap to the Quick Strap. This way, the Nikon strap will not slide off my shoulder.

I am also thinking of carrying the D90 upside down like the D7000. To do that, I need to use the tripod mount. There is this metal plate I just placed an order for on eBay.  It costs $10 including shipping.  (If interested in this plate, search for "camera strap plate" on eBay.)  I also need a carabiner to connect the Nikon strap to the plate so I ordered a dozen of these carabiners for $10 including shipping, also.  Why a dozen?  I will use one of the carabiners for this purpose and the rest, well, they will come in handy when I go traveling or hiking about.  For example, when I travel, I usually keep my camera gears in a small daypack.  When I have to carry my 60L backpack, the daypack is carried in the front.  I use a carabiner to hang the daypack off the strap of the 60L backpack.  I can also use a carabiner for carrying a water bottle in the front.

Now, notice these carabiners have a locking screw.  This is important.  I do not want the carabiner to detach from the metal plate by accident.  The locking screw is a must in this application.  However, I have to question my decision to buy these specific carabiners though.  I got a dozen of them for $10 and I am hanging a thousand dollars worth of equipment off it.  These aluminum carabiners should hold at least 40 pounds of weight.  Hmm ....

This $11 contraption will probably work well.  However, you could just purchase a double Quick Strap for two cameras like this one below for about $30.

Nikon D90

A wedding is coming up in a couple of weeks. Yes, there are two of us photographers but I still could not shoot with only one lens. Switching lenses is just not an option when the action is happening in front of us. So, I decided to pick up a D90 tonight.

Why the D90 instead of a newer body like the D5100 though--the D5100 is a newer camera with really cool features, especially instant HDR. Well, the D5100's button layout is quite different from my D7000. The D90, on the other hand, feels really like the D80 and the D7000. I like it that the button layout is very similar between these three cameras, so there is little thinking required to change settings. I do not care so much about the Live View mode so that button is not important. It is important for me to be able to change camera settings in a pinch, with quick access to ISO and f/stop controls.