Customer Reviews

GNC-38: Geomet'r GPS Receiver w/ Y-Cable for Nikon D200, D300, D700, D2X, D2Xs, D2Hs, D3 and Fujifilm S5 Pro DSLR Cameras

5 star:		(2)
4 star:		(0)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(2)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

First off, I travel all over with a Nikon D2X. Cambodia, Vietnam, Hong Kong, Japan and all over Europe. I shoot a ton of pictures. For a long time I suffered with MC-35 and a Garmin handheld GPS. For some reason they (Nikon) think 6 feet of cable is what every photographer wants to deal with. But every time I did use it, it worked perfectly. Then the Geomet'r GNC-35 came out and I bought one. On a Photo trip to Costa Rica, I shot 1000 to 1200 pictures a day. All with GPS tags, FANTASTIC...it was fast,lite and reliable, with one minor problem it killed the battery a bit faster. Solution carry a spare battery... No problem. Great product. Note: very quickly I noticed that the stupid hot shoe velcro thing wasn't going to work, So I tywraped the unit to shoulder strap and after that, it worked great.

After two or three months, while traveling in Asia, I noticed that more then half of the pictures didn't have GPS tags. So the next time I went out I noticed the GPS icon on my Nikon display would turn on and off. Then if you wiggle the 10pin connector, it stayed lite. So I figured that I have got a bad unit, and bought a second one. That one lasted three months of more careful use. The first one I left hooked up to the camera all the time, the 2nd one I disconnected when not in use. It still failed.

I tried to contact the Manufacture. It's made in Taiwan, no web site, address, nothing. Tried a google search using any search term I could think of, Nothing! It's an outstanding, lightweight unit except for the 10 pin connector. I'm thinking about cutting off the 10 pin connector from the MC-35 and attaching it, but I lose the on/off switch. Hope this helps. Keep shooting.

When I first got this little GPS I thought it was wonderful. I own several GPS's, the difference in this is that it connects to one's D300 Nikon camera. Then the location and elevation is automatically saved in EXIF data. If you upload the picture to flickr it automatically goes to the map (if you so choose).

UPDATE: After using it for about 2 months it just up and died! I got so angry that I threw it in the trash can. I didn't even bother contacting the manufacturer regarding the warranty. What a pity that their reliability doesn't appear up to par.

I CANNOT RECOMMEND THAT ANYONE BUY THIS GPS.

The GNC-35 is the best GPS unit I have found. I tried the Nikon adapter coupled with a Garmin Geko 300 and Garmin serial cable mounted on an old flash bracket with velcro. That is a KLUDGE and does not look very professional on a D2Xs or D300, but it does record the camera direction if the camera is relatively level and provides a slave 10-pin accessory connection. This works as well although lacking the compass function but is MUCH lighter. This unit is as sensitive as any and attains a lock as fast as any others. This is a great geotagger!

I purchased the GNC-35 for my Nikon D2x. For my first trip to the Canadian Rockies, it worked perfectly. However, after a month the unit became erratic and the GPS symbol begin to not show up in the camera LCD window and/or EXIF data. It would work sometimes by jiggling the 10-pin connection, however, now this does not help and the unit is completely non-operational. I have contacted Macsense for a repair or replacement because the unit is less than one year old. They have ignored my emails. This unit is a piece of junk and I would strongly recommend to not buy this product. It is worthless because it is not reliable and seems to follow the pattern of other user reviewers experiences.

UPDATE: In all fairness MacSense finally contacted me. They ask that I return the unit and they replaced it with a GNC-38 which included the Y-cable. Although I had to email them and ask where my replacement was...it finally arrived. All seems to be working OK for now. So, I give them credit for finally replacing the unit with newer and better unit.