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GPS for the X2D

M

mudlup

New Member
I have started a write-in campaign. If enough of us ask, maybe HB will deliver. Contact customer support and ask...

"It would be most helpful for the X2D to have GPS information included in EFIX, especially for those of us who photograph landscapes and wildlife. Please let me know if Hasselblad could add this feature in a future firmware update or perhaps a module as for the X1D.
 
Here is the response I received from HB when I asked them about GPS...

Dear Customer,

Greetings from Hasselblad. We hope this message finds you well.

I just double check it with our R&D department to get you an update. However, I am really sorry to tell you that we have not yet received any notification. I really understand that this function is so important and without it, there will be much inconvenience, so I will constantly communicate with the team for the progress on your feedback.

However, it does take time, and there will be many compatibility tests involved. I cannot make any promises now. I appreciate your understanding, and I really hope this will be achieved. Please stay tuned to our latest information by following Hasselblad's Official Websites.
 
What you could do as temporary solution is to have a look at geotagging apps for smartphone (years ago I used one a lot which is no longer available). Anyway what they do is the to register your coordinates while moving, and then the app in the computer compares these data with the time registered for every picture. They add then to the EXIF data of every picture the coordinates registered at the capture time. The only thing, you must be sure that camera and phone are perfectly synchronized on the same time… It’s not as god as a real GPS for cameras, but it does help…
 
Gio said:
What you could do as temporary solution is to have a look at geotagging apps for smartphone (years ago I used one a lot which is no longer available). Anyway what they do is the to register your coordinates while moving, and then the app in the computer compares these data with the time registered for every picture. They add then to the EXIF data of every picture the coordinates registered at the capture time. The only thing, you must be sure that camera and phone are perfectly synchronized on the same time… It’s not as god as a real GPS for cameras, but it does help…
Click to expand...
Yes, did that, it’s cumbersome and inconvenient.
 
Apparently, HB forgot a chipset in the X2D and that’s the reason why the GPS adapter is not working.
 
If you’re converting to jpeg, then it’s really easy to add a location….you can even do it several or once.
 
Not my favorite solution, but this software (Mac) says you can take a reference photo with an iPhone, and then copy and ‘stamp’ the GPS coordinates to various images. It uses EXIF, XMP files and then you could load into Phocus, adobe, capture one etc. Looks pretty slick given where we are: https://www.houdah.com/houdahGeo/
 
Leica changed from on board GPS in the SL, M240 and in the Visoflex 020 Viewfinder to Geotagging in the M10, Visoflex 2 VF and M11 cameras. Having used both systems, I think depending on Geotagging is a retrograde step, clunky and inconvenient like I also find it on my X2D-100C. It consumes excess battery drain on both the camera and linked device (iPhone, Android Phone, etc) and means you always have to be carrying the linked device if you want location information. Given how small and cheap GPS combined chip and aerial systems now are, I just cannot understand camera companies' reluctance to fi them. Most cheap P&S cameras incorporate GPS chips, so why can't cameras costing thousands of dollars/euro/pounds have them? The other tendency I hate on modern cameras is the manufacturers trying to force users to link them to a phone. I use my iPhone SE-3 phones (UK and France) for phone calls, very occasional navigation, receiving SMS messages and very very little else. I think having to use my phone to work as a shutter release is a horrible idea.

At one time camera manufacturers would allow cameras to have an IP address, so that their storage could be accessed via wifi, direct to a laptop but this facility, which I and many other users found extremely useful, has been deprecated, usually by a firmware update. This means if I want to manipulate a photo on Photoshop on my laptop, I either have to download it via wifi to one of my iOS devices and then export it from that device to my laptop, an inconvenient two step process. The alternative is either to remove a storage card from the camera and physically connect it via a card reader to my laptop or connect via a cable, again far less convenient than the previous wifi direct connection method. I asked Leica why on earth they had done this and they had no answer that made any sense but muttered some nonsense about security. The Hasselblad digital cameras again have no facility to have a searchable wifi IP address. Should us users lobby for this facility?
Wilson
 
RWilsonL said:
Leica changed from on board GPS in the SL, M240 and in the Visoflex 020 Viewfinder to Geotagging in the M10, Visoflex 2 VF and M11 cameras. Having used both systems, I think depending on Geotagging is a retrograde step, clunky and inconvenient like I also find it on my X2D-100C. It consumes excess battery drain on both the camera and linked device (iPhone, Android Phone, etc) and means you always have to be carrying the linked device if you want location information. Given how small and cheap GPS combined chip and aerial systems now are, I just cannot understand camera companies' reluctance to fi them. Most cheap P&S cameras incorporate GPS chips, so why can't cameras costing thousands of dollars/euro/pounds have them? The other tendency I hate on modern cameras is the manufacturers trying to force users to link them to a phone. I use my iPhone SE-3 phones (UK and France) for phone calls, very occasional navigation, receiving SMS messages and very very little else. I think having to use my phone to work as a shutter release is a horrible idea.

At one time camera manufacturers would allow cameras to have an IP address, so that their storage could be accessed via wifi, direct to a laptop but this facility, which I and many other users found extremely useful, has been deprecated, usually by a firmware update. This means if I want to manipulate a photo on Photoshop on my laptop, I either have to download it via wifi to one of my iOS devices and then export it from that device to my laptop, an inconvenient two step process. The alternative is either to remove a storage card from the camera and physically connect it via a card reader to my laptop or connect via a cable, again far less convenient than the previous wifi direct connection method. I asked Leica why on earth they had done this and they had no answer that made any sense but muttered some nonsense about security. The Hasselblad digital cameras again have no facility to have a searchable wifi IP address. Should us users lobby for this facility?
Wilson
Click to expand...
Not necessarily Medium Format, but my Z9 has all those features: built-in GPS, Wifi connectivity, even an Ethernet port...
With Hasselblad, you can link a CFV 100 or X2D either via USB-C or Wifi to the Phocus software and either shoot tethered or download on demand. No GPS though afaik...
 
Not really an issue. We need to download our images anyway, and cable transfer is fast. Once on your computer there are many ways to add location data. You can add this to all your image files at the same time.
 
I have just tried with my X2D and an M2 MacBook Air. Whereas the Mac sees the X2D's wifi and tries to connect to it, it does not connect. My guess is that is because the X2D's wifi is a peer to peer only connection and is not broadcasting a local IP address, which would enable the mac to connect. Phocus on Capture screen also shows "No Camera Connected". Disappointing as for me this would be very useful and would avoid having to carry a USB-C to USB-C cable around with me. The USB-C to USB-C cable does of course connect to my mac, with the X2D's storage both the SSD and CF2 card showing in both Finder and Phocus.
 
I have just tried manually to add Geotagging via Geotag Photos Pro 2 on my laptop but sadly it does not permit a location to be added manually but only from a phone with linked tagged photos. As I was not carrying my phone at the time the last batch of photos were taken with my X2D, no geotagging is available. This is why I really dislike the geotagging with separate device rather than with built in GPS.
 
RWilsonL said:
I have just tried with my X2D and an M2 MacBook Air. Whereas the Mac sees the X2D's wifi and tries to connect to it, it does not connect. My guess is that is because the X2D's wifi is a peer to peer only connection and is not broadcasting a local IP address, which would enable the mac to connect. Phocus on Capture screen also shows "No Camera Connected". Disappointing as for me this would be very useful and would avoid having to carry a USB-C to USB-C cable around with me. The USB-C to USB-C cable does of course connect to my mac, with the X2D's storage both the SSD and CF2 card showing in both Finder and Phocus.
Click to expand...
The design is such that you can WiFi ONLY to a mobile device and you must use a cable to attach to a Mac. On the Mac the SSD and CFE appear as folders in the Finder app. - I be,dive it’s in the manual tpp
 
Patrick said:
The design is such that you can WiFi ONLY to a mobile device and you must use a cable to attach to a Mac. On the Mac the SSD and CFE appear as folders in the Finder app. - I be,dive it’s in the manual tpp
Click to expand...
Exactly as I said in my post. I am wholly aware of the fact that is how it does work but I am questioning if there should be a better way, like having an IP address to enable the storage to be accessed via wifi from non-mobile devices.
 
Just a small note. The Leica M11 and Visoflex 2 do not have GPS. Leica moved with the M11 to using Leica Photos, an app on your phone. The blue tooth connectivity stays on and the phone provides GPS coordinates. Not my favorite as I am out of cell range with some of my work, but it is the way it works today.
 
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