Canon GPS Receiver GP-E2 ( Massive Fail ) ?

[KZNChris]

AT the recent Canon Road Show the 5D Mark III was unveiled -- very exciting -- hope everyone is in upgrade mode

The new accessories are also very interesting and Canon has at last decided to include a decent GPS unit for the camera
My concern as someone not on the upgrade cycle was ; Will this unit fit and work on older DSLR's ?
According to Abrie from Canon who gave the main talk the answer was YES
( Best wishes to Roger who was unable to attend because of personal matters )
BUT
On further readng this appears to NOT be the case ( really wish these people would get their information right )
According to the Canon website this unit will only work on the 1D-X , 5D Mark III and the 7D ( not a complete solution , a number of functions do NOT work )
For ALL other cameras the unit merely works as a DATA-LOGGER ( A very useless and expensive piece of doorstop )
I assume that as a pure data logger the Geo-Tagging is pushed into the EXIF via the included software.
OK wonderful -- for the same money I would rather get a Garmin Montana and use the FREE software supplied ( MapSource or Basecamp )

One wonders what amazing destructive engineering the Canon engineers have done in order for this unit to NOT work on older DSLR's ( I have a 5D Mark I )
( The Canon 7D works via an attachment cable to the USB port )
The old story of forcing one to upgrade to the latest and greatest new "toy" !

So can someone in the know ( preferably a technical person ) explain WHY this unit will NOT work on older DSLR's
I can guess that the hot shoe pinouts on the new models connect up to some other internal processing ?
OK
But then why not via the USB port as in the 7D ?

IF I am not mistaken there are third party GPS units that fit onto the hot shoe of older models and which WORK !

So PLEASE can someone from Canon explain -- in high definition detail ...........

( As a work around I may be able fit an Eye-Fi SD card and then use that Wi-Fi network to connect to my TRIMBLE ( for which NIKON have long had a solution )

[Forgiss - Sean Nel]

I am guessing its not hardware issues but software... but just guessing...

[Trevor Ives]

OK, first off, I'm not the tech expert on this. But I think what Canon's going is moving the DSLR framework to another (higher) level. In order to do this, somethings won't 'gel' as nicely with the older existing DSLR tech. Nothing destructive about it. It's a bummer I know, but it's progress I guess.

But at least you have a few backup solutions in place. These solutions aren't even bespoke DSLR ones it seems, and can be used for other purposes. Sounds like a win-win to me.

If you're looking for more insight into this unit, check out Martin Bailey's podcast review. He seems pretty stoked with it. He has a 5D3. He seems pretty stoked with that too

[KZNChris]

I am guessing its not hardware issues but software... but just guessing...

IF it was just software then the 7D would not have to connect via the USB port .......
The GPS unit has been built in such a way that it will only work with the new cameras ( although GPS technology has been around for quite a number of years already )
It is hardly rocket science to construct a unit that would be compatible with ALL cameras.
( Or at a push TWO units -- do Canon REALLY want us Canon users NOT to buy accessories ? )

[KZNChris]

If you're looking for more insight into this unit, check out Martin Bailey's podcast review.
He seems pretty stoked with it.
He has a 5D3. He seems pretty stoked with that too

He is another one of these journalist "shills" the unit is not yet released to the public -- so how did he get one ?
Maybe he gets "special" units from Canon -- for "review" -- I would also be "stoked" if I got my gear that way !
He also fails to mention any use of it on any other Canon DSLR's !

Fact remains -- how many "normal" people in SA can stump up for a new very expensive camera every couple of months ?

[Trevor Ives]

Fact remains -- how many "normal" people in SA can stump up for a new very expensive camera every couple of months ?

LOL! How many normal people *NEED* to?

[KZNChris]

LOL! How many normal people *NEED* to?

Canon provide the "NEED" they also supply the way to satisfy it
Once you have seen all the new cool features in the 5D Mark III , beleive me you NEED it

[Deon RacePics]

It is quite interesting that they say 5Dmk3/1Dx/7D.
There are numerous tech issues which can only be found on these models. My guess is the software which obtains the GEO-tagging and inserting it into the EXIF when the pic is stored to card is different on the other cameras.

I am not really ready to do GEO-tagging but I can see a place for it. I am much more after some other interesting pieces of kit like the WTF-* units