AK-G1S: Aokatec Geotagging GPS receiver for Nikon D4 D800 D800E D200 D300 D300s D700 D2X D2Xs D2Hs D3 D3X D3s & Fujifilm S5Pro

This actually is the second unit I've purchased. A GPS without a compass is pretty much useless. Attachment is a lock screw which attaches it fairly securely to the camera. I lost my previous unit from the way I carry my camera and not properly cinching the lock screw to the ten-pin. I think the GPS coordinates are accurate as is the compass; seems to acquire the satellites very quickly. There does not seem to be a way to correct for magnetic declination, I think the compass is pointing magnetic north not true. GPS data is passed to the meta file for each picture and I was able to determine my location. I have been experimenting with Google Earth and maps. Of the two Google maps is the more problematical, Google Earth so far has offered more reliable results but is a real pain to use. Other units I examined seemed more kludgy in that they attached to the hot shoe and tendered a cable to the 10-pin which tended to snag the camera strap and other things. I am using it a Nikon d810.

I got the G1 in a bubble-wrap mailer and it only had a box and the unit in there. That is no documentation.So I plugged it into the Nikon D800E and turned it on--let it sit outside for about a minute to acquire the initial Satellite reading and then starting taking pictures. The camera instantly saw the GPS and accepted the component.Loading those pictures into Aperture showed the correct and highly accurate GPS locations in the EXIF information.Pros: Smaller and extremely intuitive to use, Just plug it in, turn it on, and it works.As mentioned, it was about half the size I was expecting and that is a great surprise and makes it very unintrusive when connect to the D800E. I'll be leaving it connected full-time, more than likely.Cons: Doesn't seem to shut off when the camera is powered off--I thought there was a delay power-off timer, but that was simply a flashing red light that indicates loss of satellite signal when I brought it inside to look at the image's GPS data. So you do have to switch it off but this isn't a show-stopper and is no big deal.For $79 plus shipping, well worth it to geotag your photos without eating up your internal camera battery.I've ordered the G2 model for my Nikon D600 which should be here shortly--I know it connects differently than the one for the D800/E models but hopefully it too will be just as un-intrusive.

It came in a little box similar to how an iPod shuffle is packaged with included instructions. It's not very hard to operate though, just plug it into the camera, wait until the light turns from red to green and done. It took about a minute to find a signal on a really cloudy day. The reading was pretty accurate too. When I viewed it against Google Maps the pin showed it being in the yard instead of the driveway so about 10 feet off. Totally usable. Also the size is very small and lightweight. It's roughly the size of an SD card. Didn't have any problems at all so I'm pretty happy with this.

This little GPS receiver as worked really well for my Nikon D800, much better than I would have anticipated. It is accurate, easy to use and mount on the camera and isn't in the way, as the more expensive hot shoe types might be. You do have to remember to turn it on or off as needed, which can be a challenge, but otherwise it is excellent for what it does and for what it costs.

Calibration was simple and quick. It takes less than 30 seconds to get a lock after it goes to sleep, which is more than acceptable. It is small and has no cables to hang up or break. I cannot say anything about battery drain on the camera. I haven't had it long enough. It's far better than the $250 Nikon GP-1a that I returned after two days.

Work as advertised, acquired GPS signal right out of the box, I didn't have to do any of the calibration. Make sure you secure to the camera port properly otherwise it's keep falling off. I kept me attached to my D800 for 2,3 days without noticeable drains to my battery. Highly recommended . BTW very tiny unit. One small problem , it s hard to adjust the D800's built in flash output once the unit mounted ( it's in the way, you need small finger or a key to depress the flash adjustment button)

I bought 3 of these so I can have one on each camera. They are small and compact and picked up the satellites quickly even cold start brand new when I was outside. I think they should charge a few bucks more an include the remote shutter release it would have pushed up the rating a star. One big issue is the threaded lock nut its way to small to screw the GPS securely on to the camera as there is no way to get two fingers on the knob once it is mounted on the camera (Nikon D700 & D800) Mine kept popping while I was shooting an event. The only way I could secure it was to use a small flat blade screw driver. I don't need more stuff to carry plus you can slip and ding up the camera or worse yourself. Also when holding the camera in a vertical position my palm was on the unit which if you have a big heavy pro lens on the body puts some stress on the unit so watch for that.I did notice on the D800 it did put a drain on the battery quickly. My D700 was ok.Its the smallest GPS unit I found for the money.

Only thing that I really find wrong with it is that the screw mount is not really solid and tight - it seats and screws in well but "wiggles" as if loose.Works well on my D800 - fairly quick and does not seem to drain the battery, I was concerned it might drain my battery when the camera was powered down, but it shuts down as well without having to separately power it off.More important than anything - mounts directly to front of camera without taking up the camera flash hot shoe. Come without a shutter cable, but used the shutter cable from another unit and it works well,