GP-E2 and Rebel T7/1500D Connectivity

[mmugmon]

I have a new GP-E2 and it is supplied with two cables, one end fitting on a proprietary-appearing plug on the unit itself and the other end being a mini USB plug which can go to the camera or the computer.  Fortunately I have a converter to the mini USB plug to make it a USB A and can connect it physically to my computer.  

I have the GPS Log File Utility and the GPS is not recognized by my computer.  I've tried it with my MacBook Air and with a PC running W12.  The program keeps telling me that I have no GPS unit connected, with both computers.  This happens with the short and the long cable which came with the unit.  There is a new battery in the GPS and I've tried different USB ports, which work for other functions.

I also note that with the cable, the GPS does not connect with my Canon Rebel EOS t7.  It doesn't work with the hot shoe, but I knew that the Rebel T7 didn't support the hot shoe connection.  But, it does not work even with the supplied cable.  According to the Rebel EOS 1500D manual, the GP-E2 is supposed to work with that camera.

I was hoping that perhaps the GP-E2 needed a firmware update, but I can't connect it to the computer for an update, for the reasons noted above.  

The lights on the GPS work correctly and I assume that the GPS is tracking.  

Any suggestions greatly appreciated!

Marc Mugmon

[mmugmon]

Thanks.  With the supplied cable, powering up the GPS before turning on the camera did not fix the problem.  I have an email in to Canon support.  If the mini USB to mini USB cable that is to arrive tomorrow doesn't fix it, I'll call Canon as well.  If replacing the cable does work, they should be made aware of tthe fact that their supplied cable doesn't work.

Marc

[jrhoffman75]

Do you have access to a different camera via a friend or even a local store demo? Ideally, a camera that can transmit the GPS data via the hot shoe. That could eliminate or identify your camera from the problem. 

Connecting a mini USB cable to the GPS unit connects to the data storage portion of the unit and downloads the log data. That is why the mini USB to USB-A cable supplied with the camera transmits the log data to the computer. 

The supplied cable has a smaller connector on the GPS side and connects to the GPS signal portion of the unit. 

You did state that you were able to connect GPS to computer. Were you able to download any log data or just update firmware? 

[mmugmon · Accepted solution]

Canon replied and it turns out disabling WiFi solved the problem.  I hated to ask the question on the forum, but nowhere in my searching had I found that requirement, especially in the manual.

Now the menu is highlighted and working.  As I knew, the hot shoe does not connect the GPS to my T7, but the supplied cable works perfectly.

Thanks everybody for your suggestions!

Marc

[jrhoffman75]

See the note section in blue on page 283.

[mmugmon]

I did find on page W-13 of the Basic Instruction Manual the statement that "When WiFI is enabled, connection via interface cable and HDMI is disabled."  And there is a comment on the Wifi menu, which I didn't realize I needed to check, because that would have given me the answer as well.

So I guess I didn't look hard enough!  I generally do RTFM.

Marc

[jrhoffman75]

I have owned canon DSLRs since 2005, both Rebel series and 1D series versions.

It has been my experience that the manuals Canon provides are very detailed and full of info, but their indexing skills are severely lacking.

This also goes for the software manuals.

[kvbarkley]

I liken it to K&R. It is a slim volume, (Most books about C are 3 or 4 times larger) but it is very dense and every word matters. The same thing with Canon manuals. Notes are not things to be idly passed by, there is a lot of pertinent info there.