For you GPS enthusiasts, I received this email reply last friday 3/28/08 to my query on the price and availability of their new N2 unit. Full disclosure -- I have no affiliation with or have purchased any products from Solmeta. I'm waiting to see if this is a good unit to own.
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Thank you for your email and this is Bryan from Solmeta Technology.
The new model N2 will be on sale around a week. It supports the compass function for some of the Nikon camera such as D300 and D3. It shows the direction by degrees. The price is around $328 US dollors include shipping. I will keep you informed when it is available and then send you the detailed spec..
Does the D200 support the compass function?
How do you read the compass info - can you read in in Lightroom? Google earth show this info? Special software needed?
Does the D200 support the compass function?
How do you read the compass info - can you read in in Lightroom? Google earth show this info? Special software needed?
3) Will the compass automatically correct for declination using the data from the GPS?
I've had to re-locate plots that were documented using magnetic bearings from landmarks in the 1930s and '50s--that is a RPITA!
According to the D200 user manual (pg 100) compass heading is missing. The D200 2.0 firmware update does not mention this either. Compass headings are included in the D300 GPS data. (user manual pg 215)
Bryan--can you answer my question regarding the compass declination correction? Will it automatically correct for declination, can the dec. be entered manually, or will it not allow for dec. correction? I need my compass headings relative to True North, not Magnetic North, and I suspect anyone else using this feature professionally would also.
Since magnetic declination changes over time (and not in a linear fashion), using uncorrected magnetic bearings to locate something makes for a nightmare when someone must re-locate the same point years later.
My Garmin GPS units can display the magnetic declination for the location I'm at. I don't know if this is common to all GPS systems or is a Garmin trick.
Theoryzero, I asked this same question on another thread. I was told there is. The only information I can find on the website was a word or two somewhere in the description main line. I can't remember where off hand. The answer isn't as obvious as it should be!
Wait, I looked again, on the product page, just above the price it says this...
"GPS receiver + remote controller " I see no other details.
Yeah, on the other thread there was even a picture of the remote (included in the kit). Unfortunately, it's a 1/8 inch stereo jack rather than the Nikon 10-pin, so you won't be able to use your fancy remote with timer and intervalometer. I believe that Canon's remotes would work with this, however.
My guess is that Nikon's 10-pin is a proprietary jack, which would have to be made or licensed by Nikon.
According to the N2 (pre-release) user's guide the remote jack plugs into a socket right next to the cable attached to the main unit . The guide also mentions how to calibrate the compass for magnetic declination. Here is the text:
1. With the N2 not connected to the camera, slide the Control Switch to the On position.
2. Press the Self Calibration Button for 3 seconds until the LED turns Orange; then release the Self Calibration Button. The LED will now flash alternately from Red to Green.
3. Point the N2 to the north and keep it horizontal to the ground
4. Continue to hold the N2 pointing north and in approximately 20 seconds the LED will stop flashing. The magnetic declination has been calibrated for the N2.
Intereference field calibration
1. With just the N2, or the N2 mounted on the hot shoe of your camera, slide the Control Switch to the On position. NOTE: DO NOT connect the cord to the 10-pin connector of the camera.
2. Press the Self-Calibration Button for 5 seconds until the Orange LED turns Off. NOTE: When you first press the Self-Calibration Button the Orange LED will illuminate.
3. When the LED turns Off, release the Self-Calibration Button and the LED will start to quickly flash Orange.
2. While holding the N2 horizontal to the ground, slowly turn the N2 clockwise for one complete circle.
3. Press the Self-Calibration Button again after the complete circle. The N2 has now been calibrated.
Remote:
The RS-N1 remote controller or a modified NIKON MC-30 remote control unit can be connected to the remote control socket of N2 for remote shutter release. The remote control socket works with the N2 in the On, Auto, or Off position.
loggerhead wrote:
Theoryzero, I asked this same question on another thread. I was told there is. The only information I can find on the website was a word or two somewhere in the description main line. I can't remember where off hand. The answer isn't as obvious as it should be!
Wait, I looked again, on the product page, just above the price it says this...
"GPS receiver + remote controller " I see no other details.
Glad you made it thru ok, sad thing to read about - appears to get worse every passing day. Our hearts are with everyone.
Michael
bryansolmeta wrote:
I am here to say hello to everyone. I just experienced the earthquake in Sichuan. I was in my office in Chengdu then. I can see the building trembling and moving back and forward. It was horrible. But luckily the building didn't fall down.And I am really happy that I can still come here to say hello to everyone.
I want to let you know that I took the N2 and my Delorme Earthmate GPS PN-20 into the rocky mountains over the weekend. Field comparison of the data acquired outside and indoors with the N2 mounted on my Nikon D300, is as accurate as the data from the Delorme Earthmate, which is considered to be a state-of-the-art unit.
Congratulations to you and your team on producing a fine piece of technology, if I can be of further assistance in testing, please feel free to contact me at any time.
I tried to buy one, but there email support was horrible... i don't use paypal and was looking for other options to pay... i never heard back from them. what's up with that?
The N2 seems to be the best current GPS solution for the D300 and according to various user reports; the N2 locates correctly and has a compass function. If Solmeta is able to capture a 10% market share of the D300 worldwide sales (70,000 units per month) that means that 7,000 N2 and N1 devices could potentially be sold per month from your factory.
In my experience, potential customers from the United States use credit cards to purchase items via the internet. PayPal is not used by the majority of consumers. If you have to increase you prices to cover the fees charged by the banks when credit cards are used to purchase your products, please do so.
Credit cards can provide a level of protection to the consumer that even PayPal cannot match. I urge you to consider two things in the next six months, the rapid creation of the two into one adapter which allows users to use their own remote shutter release, and the creation of credit card sales for Solmeta products purchased via the internet.
