Ricoh debuts PENTAX O-GPS2 GPS unit for DSLRs

Ricoh Imaging Americas Corp. announced the PENTAX O-GPS2, a GPS unit designed for use with PENTAX digital SLR cameras. A successor to the PENTAX O-GPS1, the PENTAX O-GPS2 provides more reliable and higher-precision positioning data gathered from GPS in the United States, QZSS in Japan, GLONASS and Galileo.

When mounted on a compatible PENTAX digital SLR camera body, the PENTAX O-GPS2 enables the advanced ASTROTRACER function, which couples the unit with the camera’s Shake Reduction (SR) system to facilitate the tracing and photography of celestial bodies. ASTROTRACER allows photographers to shoot longer exposures without star “trails.” The unit calculates the movement of stars, planets, and other bodies using the latitude obtained from the location data and the camera’s alignment data obtained from its magnetic and acceleration sensors, then shifts the camera’s image sensor in synchronization with the movement of the objects.

The PENTAX O-GPS2 records the latitude, longitude, altitude, universal time coordinated, and direction of shooting location onto captured images. Image files carrying the location data, can be used to track shooting locations and review location data on a PC. The location data stored on such files also makes it much easier to sort and file recorded images.

The PENTAX O-GPS2 will be available in late June 2022 for the manufacturer’s suggested retail price of $179.95.