Friend of CrunchGear Jack Deneut wrote up a review of the new Nikon P6000, the camera with G.P.S. and a freaking Ethernet port built in. Jack runs Nelso, a visual business search system for Prague, and has tried multiple G.P.S. systems in order to “mark” where he took each business picture with pinpoint accuracy. He found that the camera offered a considerable positioning advantage over other devices he’s tried but that the G.P.S. chip is a little weak in areas where the could be G.P.S. but you wouldn’t expect it including on city streets.
The overall error was within 100 feet and the camera failed to find a position indoors, but at least it’s not a total kludge solution. His biggest problem? Satellite acquisition:
When I took the camera out of the box and turned on the GPS, I actually thought the GPS in the camera might be broken. Even standing in the middle of a parking lot with a clear view of the sky, it took over 10 minutes for the camera to detect even the first satellite. While it’s not unusual for a new GPS unit to take a while to get an initial fix on its position (the GPS has no idea even approximately of where it is; for all it knows, it might still be at the factory in Vietnam), an initial startup time of more than 10 minutes is excessive, and might lead other purchasers to believe as I did that the GPS is actually broken.
His rousing verdict? The P6000 is “good enough”
A 10-minute time-to-first-fix (TTFF) for a GPS unit coming from the factory is not at all unusual. The unit must typically download most of the navigation message from one of the satellites and the complete message lasts 12.5 minutes. See, e.g., for further details.
– Richard B. Langley
Prof. of Gedodesy and Precision Navigation
So… the reason for writing in this thread is that quite obvious. I have just purchased a Nikon CoolPix P6000, brand new, factory sealed, and I am testing the GPS feature in the same city as in this article, Prague. So, I just opened it, I have started the GPS, and for my surprise, it wouldn’t work. I got a bit worried, I thought it is initially broken, and concerned, I started reading the manual, and google-ing around on Internet forums. In the user manual is says that for the first time, it will take several minutes for the first positioning, then it is updated every 5 seconds as you have it switched on and continue to take pictures. However, if it is switched off, it will update the location every 90 or 120 mins (I cannot remember the exact time), for 6 times. Also, it says that it might not work or work inacurate indoors, in basements, in tunnels, near high buildings, in narrow streets. That’s the manual.
And I know it is not a problem with my location (Prague, Czech Rep.), because there is GPS coverage virtually on every point on Earth (or at least this is what I have read).
As I see now on the previous post, Richard Langley gives a bit more technical explanation on this issue. I can’t wait to take my camera out tomorrow for the first GPS shot, and I really hope it will work out just fine, as I am planning to go to some park, where there is no inside of a room, no basement, no narrow street, no high building. Long live Nikon!
Try to update to the latest firmaware… 1.2
Mine is working OK. Not like the car GPS solution that gets a fix in 30 sec but i have the gps set to always ON with a 15 sec delay. I use my camera every day so i guess i charge it up once every 2 days.
My biggest disappointment with the camera is the very long time it takes to calculate its location. If one is travelling, it can be 10 or more minutes to calculate the location. Very disappointing for a camera of this cost.