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I understand it's probably because the GPS functionality is integrated into the same RF chipset that's handling wifi/bluetooth, but it would be possible to make

I understand it's probably because the GPS functionality is integrated into the same RF chipset that's handling wifi/bluetooth, but it would be possible to make a "no transmit capability" camera that still has GPS metadata functionality, with GPS receiver chip and an antenna tuned for 1400-1600 MHz, since ordinary consumer grade GPS is a receive-only technology. But that would still possibly present a problem for serious government use where it can't have an antenna of any form in it.

i_am_proteus 4mo ago
>Can't have an antenna of any form in it. All wires are antennas...
- dylan604 4mo ago
  But the short wires in a Nikon camera are not long enough to be a useful antenna. In fact, I doubt there's really anything one would consider a wire in a camera body. Everything is probably just traces on a PCB.
  - inemesitaffia 4mo ago
    There's enough space for one.
  - polishdude20 4mo ago
    Traces can be antennas
  - piltdownman 4mo ago
    Am I missing something? Most IoT devices use trace antennae https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Microstrip_antenna https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Microstrip_antenna
    - bradfa 4mo ago
      Trace antennas are very specifically designed shapes given the PCB material and other nearby components and structures. It’s never “just a trace”. You’re right that traces can emit and receive RF, hence why things like FCC limits and testing exist even for unintentional emitters, but even failing devices which greatly exceed the limits have traces which are many orders of magnitude worse at being antennas than a typical trace antenna.
  - eqvinox 4mo ago
    > But the short wires in a Nikon camera are not long enough to be a useful antenna. […] Everything is probably just traces on a PCB. Anyone who's had to get newly developed hardware through EMI certification in recent times can tell you that it's quite easy to accidentally make PCB trace work as an antenna. Not necessarily a great antenna but enough to emit some random signal and fail certification. 3 GHz is 100mm in wavelength, and a quarter wavelength makes one of the simplest antennas… that's only 25mm. The whole story is much more complicated but the thing is that the scales are in range.
  - dghlsakjg 4mo ago
    At >= 2.4ghz, you measure antenna length in mm. Bluetooth antennas that are just traces on a PCB board are very common. Think about how small a bluetooth earbud can be and still get pretty incredible range.
- jb1991 4mo ago
  I think you wrote this comment with the compiler’s pedantic warnings turned on.
- RobotToaster 4mo ago
  If we're being pedantic, all conductors are antennas.
aleksejs 4mo ago
The camera (even the regular model) does not have its own GPS receiver at all. It relies on a smartphone to transmit GPS coordinates over Bluetooth. This is pretty common in modern cameras, presumably because most photographers expect to be able to turn their cameras on and off very rapidly, and it would be difficult to maintain a GPS fix with that usage pattern.
- ryukoposting 4mo ago
  I don't think it's impossible. We aren't talking RTK here, you should be able to get a usable fix quickly. You also have some other advantages. For starters, the GPS coordinate doesn't need to be taken at the exact instant the photo is taken. If it takes a second to get the coordinate, that can be done in the background while the photographer continues to do their thing. Another advantage is that people never hold their cameras upside down, so the antenna can be pretty directional.
  - trashb 4mo ago
    > people never hold their cameras upside down I'm not to sure about that. I rarely keep my camera (close to) fully horizontal.
    - teh64 4mo ago
      Also for macrophotography when you want to have the camera very close to the ground on a tripod, upside down is often used.
    - RobotToaster 4mo ago
      Turning your camera upside down is an old trick to see over crowds, since the viewfinder is now at the bottom.
      - stavros 4mo ago
        This trick is also used extensively in submarines.
giva 4mo ago
What is the point? As long as your camera has a decent clock, you just need to record a gpx during your shooting session with an external device and you can add geolocation after you download your pictures. IIRC Darktable can do that.
jasonjayr 4mo ago
Even if it only had RX-only RF capabilities, that means that is a vector for an inbound wireless attack. At the very least, the kind of places that restrict wireless devices probably do not want any pictures or other artifacts to exist tagged with precise location metadata.

i_am_proteus 4mo ago

>Can't have an antenna of any form in it. All wires are antennas...

dylan604 4mo ago
But the short wires in a Nikon camera are not long enough to be a useful antenna. In fact, I doubt there's really anything one would consider a wire in a camera body. Everything is probably just traces on a PCB.
- inemesitaffia 4mo ago
  There's enough space for one.
- polishdude20 4mo ago
  Traces can be antennas
- piltdownman 4mo ago
  Am I missing something? Most IoT devices use trace antennae https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Microstrip_antenna https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Microstrip_antenna
  - bradfa 4mo ago
    Trace antennas are very specifically designed shapes given the PCB material and other nearby components and structures. It’s never “just a trace”. You’re right that traces can emit and receive RF, hence why things like FCC limits and testing exist even for unintentional emitters, but even failing devices which greatly exceed the limits have traces which are many orders of magnitude worse at being antennas than a typical trace antenna.
- eqvinox 4mo ago
  > But the short wires in a Nikon camera are not long enough to be a useful antenna. […] Everything is probably just traces on a PCB. Anyone who's had to get newly developed hardware through EMI certification in recent times can tell you that it's quite easy to accidentally make PCB trace work as an antenna. Not necessarily a great antenna but enough to emit some random signal and fail certification. 3 GHz is 100mm in wavelength, and a quarter wavelength makes one of the simplest antennas… that's only 25mm. The whole story is much more complicated but the thing is that the scales are in range.
- dghlsakjg 4mo ago
  At >= 2.4ghz, you measure antenna length in mm. Bluetooth antennas that are just traces on a PCB board are very common. Think about how small a bluetooth earbud can be and still get pretty incredible range.
jb1991 4mo ago
I think you wrote this comment with the compiler’s pedantic warnings turned on.
RobotToaster 4mo ago
If we're being pedantic, all conductors are antennas.

aleksejs 4mo ago

The camera (even the regular model) does not have its own GPS receiver at all. It relies on a smartphone to transmit GPS coordinates over Bluetooth. This is pretty common in modern cameras, presumably because most photographers expect to be able to turn their cameras on and off very rapidly, and it would be difficult to maintain a GPS fix with that usage pattern.

ryukoposting 4mo ago
I don't think it's impossible. We aren't talking RTK here, you should be able to get a usable fix quickly. You also have some other advantages. For starters, the GPS coordinate doesn't need to be taken at the exact instant the photo is taken. If it takes a second to get the coordinate, that can be done in the background while the photographer continues to do their thing. Another advantage is that people never hold their cameras upside down, so the antenna can be pretty directional.
- trashb 4mo ago
  > people never hold their cameras upside down I'm not to sure about that. I rarely keep my camera (close to) fully horizontal.
  - teh64 4mo ago
    Also for macrophotography when you want to have the camera very close to the ground on a tripod, upside down is often used.
  - RobotToaster 4mo ago
    Turning your camera upside down is an old trick to see over crowds, since the viewfinder is now at the bottom.
    - stavros 4mo ago
      This trick is also used extensively in submarines.

giva 4mo ago

What is the point? As long as your camera has a decent clock, you just need to record a gpx during your shooting session with an external device and you can add geolocation after you download your pictures. IIRC Darktable can do that.

jasonjayr 4mo ago

Even if it only had RX-only RF capabilities, that means that is a vector for an inbound wireless attack. At the very least, the kind of places that restrict wireless devices probably do not want any pictures or other artifacts to exist tagged with precise location metadata.