# 7D MK II GPS questions



## ronaldbyram (Jul 27, 2016)

Hey Gang,
Anyone using the GPS feature on the 7D MK II? I try to use it all I can instead of carrying a separate GPS to tag pictures in lightroom. One question it seems the camera struggles to acquire signal lock with satellites? Also after I import into lightroom the gps coords are all over the place, when in fact I stood in a single area. in the picture I was standing where the 443 is. Not sure why the camera posted all these different locations


Anyone got any tips/tricks for proper setup?


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## weixing (Jul 27, 2016)

Hi,
I didn't use the 7D2 GPS to tag my photo as the initial satellite acquisition took very long and sometimes, it'll affect the 7D2 performance (shutter lag and etc), so I use a Garmin GPS unit (just hook it on my backpack) and use GeoSetter to match and write the GPS coordinate into the RAW files.

Anyway, not sure about how accurate is the 7D2 GPS, but if you are stationary, it looks really bad... Maybe you should compare the timestamp on the various groups of photo... is all the photo appear in a group took at around the same time?? How long did you stay stationary??

I'll test my 7D2 later with my GPS unit if got time.

Have a nice day.


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## Valvebounce (Jul 27, 2016)

Hi Ronaldbyram. 
I now have the 7DII, I have not placed my shots on a map so far, I haven't got aroundtuit yet. I did do some using a phone and my 7D and they were wildly inaccurate, I could place on Google Earth within about a foot where I was stood, the gps had me all over the place, except where I actually stood. I put it down, rightly or wrongly, to deliberate inaccuracies to limit the usefulness of these devices for nefarious activities in the current sociopolitical environment. 
I'm sure I read / heard this given as a reason somewhere, but I stand ready to be corrected on this. 

Cheers, Graham.


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## weixing (Jul 27, 2016)

Hi,
I perform a quick test by setup the 7D2 on the tripod, turn on my 7D2 with GPS enabled, turn on my Garmin Oregon 650 GPS and use the 7D2 intervalometer (first time use it) to took 15 shots after both locked on the GPS satellite... this time 7D2 get the GPS coordinate in record (my record) time, but Garmin is still faster. 

I duplicate 2 copies of the photo: one copy unchanged with 7D2 GPS coordinates and the second copy over-write with the Garmin GPS coordinates. The attached show the result:
7D2: 10 correct and 5 off.
Garmin GPS: 15 all correct. 

Base on the result, your 7D2 GPS should be working properly, but of course, the Garmin GPS is faster, more consistent and accurate (the Garmin GPS unit report accuracy of 4m during the test). 

So, if you just want to know the approximate location where you took the photo, the 7D2 GPS should be good enough, but if you want to have more consistent and accurate location, a GPS unit will be better.

Have a nice day.


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