Topic: Reliable Geotagging Products (Read 7971 times)

stever · « **on:** July 20, 2008, 12:07:22 am »

sounds like a good idea ( i travel to places where i'd like to know where i really was)

but when i read reviews of appealing producst like the Sony GPS-CS1 and Gisteq Photo Tracker it all sounds too similar with my experience of a few years ago with a GPS mileage logger on a bike trip in Europe which couldn't recover from riding under a tree and was effectively useless.

any experience with reliable products?

Mike Bailey · « **Reply #1 on:** July 20, 2008, 05:42:41 am »

Not sure if you're asking about hardware, software, or both, but I've found that a combination of a Garmin GPSmap 60CSx and Downloader Pro from Breezesys.com work great for most camera models. Granted, the GPSmap 60CSx is an older model, but I've found it does a great and dependable job even under heavy forest canopy (+/- 20 feet) in Wisconsin U.S. and usually gets +/- 10 feet as advertised in the open. Even walking along cliffs where half the sky is lost it still manages fairly well.

Downloader Pro will create sidecar XMP files for raw files and will directly write to JPEGs it they're available.

Mike

vandevanterSH · « **Reply #2 on:** July 20, 2008, 10:15:07 am »

Here is another product..has had positive reviews..I have no experience with it.

http://www.solmeta.com/en/

Steve

gss · « **Reply #3 on:** July 21, 2008, 11:22:59 am »

I have one of these, and it works quite well:

http://www.customidea.com/shop/product_inf...165v3ap5e0fkmg3

The Solmeta, according to the GeoPic guys, keeps your camera in active mode the whole time, sucking the batteries dry very quickly. I don't have battery issues with the GeoPic, but I don't know if I wouldn't have had any issues with the Solmeta.

vandevanterSH · « **Reply #4 on:** July 21, 2008, 12:34:25 pm »

Quote

I have one of these, and it works quite well:

http://www.customidea.com/shop/product_inf...165v3ap5e0fkmg3

The Solmeta, according to the GeoPic guys, keeps your camera in active mode the whole time, sucking the batteries dry very quickly. I don't have battery issues with the GeoPic, but I don't know if I wouldn't have had any issues with the Solmeta.
[a href=\"index.php?act=findpost&pid=209725\"][{POST_SNAPBACK}][/a]

From reading a review of the Solmeta DP-GPS N1, the unit has an internal, rechargeable, battery. The internal power is good for about ten hours, then switches to camera power. Michael needs to do a small unit GPS test.

Steve

gss · « **Reply #5 on:** July 21, 2008, 01:14:47 pm »

Quote

From reading a review of the Solmeta DP-GPS N1, the unit has an internal, rechargeable, battery. The internal power is good for about ten hours, then switches to camera power. Michael needs to do a small unit GPS test.

Steve
[a href=\"index.php?act=findpost&pid=209738\"][{POST_SNAPBACK}][/a]

The problem is not that the GPS battery runs out, but that it keeps your camera in metering mode. The GeoPic runs off the camera battery, but it does not keep your camera in metering mode. So even though the Solmeta is battery powered and the GeoPic is not, the total impact on your ability to keep shooting is supposedly much worse with the Solmeta.

vandevanterSH · « **Reply #6 on:** July 21, 2008, 02:44:13 pm »

Quote

The problem is not that the GPS battery runs out, but that it keeps your camera in metering mode. The GeoPic runs off the camera battery, but it does not keep your camera in metering mode. So even though the Solmeta is battery powered and the GeoPic is not, the total impact on your ability to keep shooting is supposedly much worse with the Solmeta.
[a href=\"index.php?act=findpost&pid=209752\"][{POST_SNAPBACK}][/a]

From the DP-GPS N2 manual:

"Nikon added a new GPS function to the D3 and D300. The new function resolved a battery drain
issue.by allowing the user to select the metering system to stay On or auto Off when GPS signals are received to reduce power consumption. "

I don't quite understand how that works..seems to me that the if the GPS unit is on, it is sending GPS signals, the metering system in on and draining the camera battery..

Steve

gss · « **Reply #7 on:** July 21, 2008, 04:20:03 pm »

Quote

From the DP-GPS N2 manual:

"Nikon added a new GPS function to the D3 and D300. The new function resolved a battery drain
issue.by allowing the user to select the metering system to stay On or auto Off when GPS signals are received to reduce power consumption. "

I don't quite understand how that works..seems to me that the if the GPS unit is on, it is sending GPS signals, the metering system in on and draining the camera battery..

Steve
[a href=\"index.php?act=findpost&pid=209773\"][{POST_SNAPBACK}][/a]

Nice, looks like Nikon solved the problem for them. In that case I would go with either.

martin archer-shee · « **Reply #8 on:** July 21, 2008, 06:13:15 pm »

hi

I too would like to know where I was. might help after a bottle of local....

This seems to be the source of the N2 device on other sites.

If correct the "Professional" version gives all the right info and saves the battery too. I have not tried it yet but plan to. Wish I had it on last december's trip to New Zealand, still trying to figure out where we were....

Forgot to ad this...http://www.di-gps.com/di-GPS/n2.htm

cheers

Martin

JDClements · « **Reply #9 on:** July 21, 2008, 09:52:36 pm »

My Garmin 60Cx works in the deep woods, canyons, ravines, urban jungles. It even works inside my house. It may be old, but it works very well. Newer models (like the "H" series) are slightly smaller with just as good reception.

The problem with any small "camera" specific unit is going to be its reception. If it can't receive continuously, it won't do much good.

With a 60Cx -- the "S" part, as in 60CSx is not necessary since it adds a battery-sucking electronic compass and altimeter, but the "x" is important since it means expandable via a microSD card -- you can just turn it on at the beginning of the day, throw it in your bag, then take it out and download the track at the end of the day.

I can't speak to any software for taking the info directly to your shots, but I just file the tracks away by date. In the future, if I need to know where something was taken, I can just open the track for that day, and pinpoint the time.

gss · « **Reply #10 on:** July 22, 2008, 10:39:29 am »

Quote

The problem with any small "camera" specific unit is going to be its reception. If it can't receive continuously, it won't do much good.
[a href=\"index.php?act=findpost&pid=209844\"][{POST_SNAPBACK}][/a]

The GeoPicII does have a freeze mode where you set the lat lon alt values before going inside a building or other place where you know you won't have reception, and use that until you can take another reading.

JDClements · « **Reply #11 on:** July 23, 2008, 05:32:16 pm »

Quote

The GeoPicII does have a freeze mode where you set the lat lon alt values before going inside a building or other place where you know you won't have reception, and use that until you can take another reading.
[a href=\"index.php?act=findpost&pid=209897\"][{POST_SNAPBACK}][/a]

I'm thinking more of deep woods, and ravines. Or in urban settings, outside on the street amongst skyscrapers. In those instances, you want the location data, but might find you have nothing.

With a 60Cx or other decent Garmin handheld, if it loses reception inside a large building (or a cave) it is no matter, it'll just pick up when you come back outside. The time gap will be recorded between the two tracks, and you'll know where you were.

trainzman · « **Reply #12 on:** July 24, 2008, 08:34:37 pm »

Recently I was on a tour of China and brought along a GPS data logger: AMOD AGL 3080 Photo Tracker to keep track of my position as I took pictures.

In the past I would be staring intently at an image looking for clues as to the location. Now as I sort and classify the many images, whenever I have a doubt as to where a specific picture was made, I only have to fire up Google Earth and check the location.

Naturally it would lose satellite signal inside buildings or other screened areas but I have the entrance and exit locations marked and so have a pretty good guess as to where the intervening pictures were made.

This has got to be one of the all time great inventions for photographers. No more guessing were a picture was made. I wonder when all serious cameras will have some kind of built-in GPS logging feature. A perfect compliment to the internal clock that tells you when a picture was made.

stever · « **Reply #13 on:** July 25, 2008, 06:12:13 pm »

trainzman, any issues with the Amod?

how do you cary it for best reception?

does it work in cars and buses?

thanks

Author Topic: Reliable Geotagging Products (Read 7971 times)