Sorry no Geotagging in China?

Panasonic disabling GPS in their cameras to please China

from GPS Tracklog by Rich Owings

A couple of days ago, Panasonic unveiled some new cameras with GPS for geotagging photos. Nothing surprising there. What did get my attention was this footnote:

GPS may not work in China or in the border regions of countries neighboring China. Depending on the locations, it may not be possible to correctly receive the signals from GPS satellites. In such cases, positioning may not be possible, or a significant positioning discrepancy may occur. Information measured on this unit is only a rough indication. Do not use it for technical purposes.

Now I’ve been scratching my head ever since trying to figure out why this is. GPS works in China; after all, it is a GLOBAL positioning system. I haven’t heard anything leading me to believe that there is country-wide jamming. And as far as I know, the Chinese haven’t started levying tariffs on non-Beidou compatible products, like the Russians did to jumpstart the GLONASS market. Maps often have huge errors in China, but that wouldn’t give you imprecise coordinates. In a back and forth conversation on Twitter yesterday, Stefan Geens suggested that they may just be trying to get around the fact that mapping requires a license, and that perhaps the Chinese equate geotagging to mapping. This is the most plausible explanation I’ve heard, although at least one other brand does seem to work in China…

The GPS in my Lumix camera is disabled when in China. The camera gives an information message that it disables the GPS while in China. i was pleasantly surprised that Nikon does not disable the GPS in China but places some limitations on its use. The locations using the GPS in China seem to be off by about 500 ft to the west. In addition, the map function does not work in China and there are not location points for China in the database. (Via NikonUSA)

It turns out that geotagging is indeed illegal in China, and Nikon either isn’t in compliance or has found another way to deal with the situation (perhaps by generating an offset error). Clearly though, the Chinese haven’t banned the use of cell phones with GPS, which are quite capable of geotagging, though you may want to be careful where you go with them.
Finally, despite reaching out to Panasonic, I still don’t have a definitive answer on all this. It does seem clear that they are intentionally disabling the GPS in their cameras to satisfy the Chinese, but what’s posted on their websiteis deceptive and dumbed down:

Silverlight versus Windows Phone 8.0?

WP7 Upgrades and WP8 - Silverlight or C++ http://www.i-programmer.info/news/83-mobliephone/3703-wp7-upgrades-and-wp8-silverlight-or-c.html 

Written by Harry Fairhead

Tuesday, 31 January 2012 15:28

Microsoft has a problem with Windows Phone 7 (WP7) that doesn't seem to be widely understood and it has placed itself into a "damned if you do, damned if you don't" situation.

Various tiny bits of news are finding their way into the wider world from a developer camp in India, among other sources. The slow announcement of new features are probably a build up to the Mobile World Congress in Barcelona in February where WP7.6 aka Tango will very likely see the light of day.

So far details that are relevant to developers have been few and far between, but one is particularly important. As well as mentioning support for another 120 international languages, it is claimed that one of the speakers mentioned C++ support. However it isn't clear if the comment related to Tango, or a future update, or even the next version of the SDK.

From the point of view of the future, the exact timing doesn't matter because C++ native app support probably means the start of the move away from Silverlight as the fundamental developer environment for Windows Phone.

That Windows Phone needs a radical system change is plain for all to deduce, yet Microsoft isn't saying anything much about it. Recently Brandon Watson, Windows Phone 7 director, tweeted a rebuttal to rumours that WP8 (codenamed Apollo) wouldn't run WP7 apps:

"Rewatch Mix11 keynote. We were pretty clear on this. Any app built today will run on next major Windows Phone version."

You could pick up on the fact that the promise only extends to the next version, and not however far into the future you want to consider, but there is a much more important problem.

The Windows 8 tablet OS will make use of WinRT/ Metro style apps. Now while Metro might look a bit like WP7, it isn't the same environment at all and it doesn't support Silverlight. Hence it doesn't support WP7.

So can Microsoft really have one OS/API for the desktop, one OS/API for the tablet and yet another for the smart phone?

Well yes it can, but developers aren't going to like having to create everything three times over. We want unity. To an extent you can forgive the desktop/WinRT split because it is mostly unreasonable to expect a desktop environment to work on a tablet - but the split between tablet and phone is less tolerable. More to the point, it doesn't exist in the Android or the iOS world. You may have screen size problems but you can write an app for Android/iOS and target both phones and tablets.

So when asked if WP8 is going to run WP7 Silverlight apps, if the answer is "yes" then, unless there is a plan to support WinRT C++ native apps as well, there will be disappointment. Put simply, programmers working on WinRT apps want to be able to run them on WP8.

On the other hand, if Microsoft says that WP8 is going to support both Silverlight and WinRT, then all of the WP7 programmers will realize at once that the future isn't Silverlight but WinRT. They may be able to run their apps on WP8 but they will be legacy apps...

It is a complicated situation but what is clear is that Microsoft can't say anything that will please everybody. In this sense dropping Silverlight from Windows 8 Metro was a really bad decision simply because it either signed the execution warrant for Silverlight on WP8 or created a very unattractive platform split. 

More information will most likely be available later in February.

Nikon Smart Cameras

Its all about the smart lens right??

Nikon 1 future plans revealed: 4K video, brighter lenses, picture effects

from Engadget by Daniel Cooper

Tetsuya Yamamoto, Nikon's head of development was at CES talking up the future plans of the company's 1 system cameras after strong holiday sales. The 10.1 megapixel sensor inside the 1 body is sufficiently capable of shooting 2 and 4K video and bringing that functionality into the unit is planned for a future edition. There's a need for a set of brighter lenses with faster auto-focusing, although we're not sure how much bigger you can get on that petite body. It's also kicking around the option of letting V1 (i.e. more professional) users get at manual AF control and in-camera RAW editing -- while J1 users can expect plenty of features they won't use much, like in-camera effects. It's exciting stuff, but let's hope these new features don't cause the price to climb any higher, eh?

Totally Wow!!

Garmin etrex 20 - a MidNight Mapper Picker

Hands on with the Garmin eTrex 20

The Garmin eTrex 20 is the mid-range model of three new units that bring a long-awaited update to the popular eTrex series, which now offers paperless geocaching, new customization options and BirdsEye aerial imagery capability.

Garmin Track Logs

Reply to GPS loggers: recommendations and regrets

from GeoTagging Flickr by 9MacGyver9

9MacGyver9 posted a reply:

I use a Garmin Oregon 450. A while ago I created an Instructable that shows how to setup a separate profile just for geotagging: GeoTagging with a Standalone GPS Unit & GeoSetter. www.instructables.com/id/GeoTagging-with-a-Standalone-GPS...

I use the unit with my Nikon & Canon cameras and with my wife's PS. I keep it attached to my camera bag all of the time so it's always handy. The unit is loaded with maps I downloaded (free) for the entire US from GPSFileDepot and put on one 4G micro-SD card. Once I started using with geotagging applications I was hooked and have been geotagging ever since.

The Oregon units can be pricy, but they have several other functions that come in handy - especially the POIs function. I've found many photo-ops that some of the local people didn't even know existed!

The unit uses the same high quality NiMH batteries as my speedlites, so I carry a couple extra just in case I forget to recharge before leaving. The unit specs say they are good for about 15 hours, but I've used mine 16 & 17 hours - just a matter of how you configure the display and use the functions.

Nikon - GPS Hopeful?

I am quite fascinated in how the increasing professional cameras are moving to an integration to their GPS position. Over the years, this process has had some weird turns. Nikon success in large measure is ability to change attitudes and make steady progress model to model. The model just below has GPS. For this class of point and shoot, I have some experience. There are three short coming IMHO for how Nikon implemented GPS in this camera range. SO in the near future I plan to pick up their top-of-the-model CoolPix S3XXX models and I will contemplate perfection? I anticipate this Nikon to fall into $300-350 range?

New Nikon COOLPIX S9300 Packs Power, Plus GPS

from About.com GPS

Camera makers continue to distinguish their compact digital cameras from each other, and from the competition of smartphone cameras, by packing a punch. The  COOLPIX S9300 ($349 list) just announced by Nikon certainly fits that description, with a 16-megapixel sensor, 18X optical zoom, full 1080 HD movie recording with stereo sound, six frame-per-second burst, and macro, panorama, and 3D shooting features. Wow. The camera also makes innovative use of GPS technology. "A high-performance GPS chip records location data for each shot, and can also log your movements, even when not taking pictures. An onboard database of approximately 1.7 million POI (Points of Interest) lets you confirm and record the name of the location when shooting. There is also an electronic compass function that displays the camera's orientation when shooting and records the location for later viewing on your personal computer," states Nikon. Image © Nikon

Nikon adds Coolpix S9300, S6300, S4300 and S3300 to point-and-shoot lineup

from Engadget by James Trew

It's not been all that long since Nikon last augmented its Coolpix S-series, and now the camera maker's at it again, adding another four to the point-and-shoot range. Starting at the bottom end is the S3300, which definitely keeps things simple: 16 megapixels, 6x zoom, 19 picture modes and 720p is what you'll get for the $140 asking price. An extra $30 lands you the S4300, which adds touchscreen control. Stepping up the ladder, we have the S6300 at $200, which includes a 16 megapixel CMOS sensor, 10x zoom and an Easy Panorama mode for those 180- and 360-degree vistas. Video also jumps up a notch to a full 1080p. Assuming a $350 price tag doesn't seem too lofty, you might like the S9300 -- it has the same 16 megapixel CMOS sensor as the S6300, but also throws in GPS for geotagging, and a generous 18x zoom, giving it a 25-450mm range. There's a limited range of colors for each model, and availability is pegged for February, but hit the PR after the break if you want the full rundown.