GPS?

[Birma]

I realise that GPS has become one of those add on features people want in cameras now, but I don't really understand what it gives you? Do people forget where the picture they took is from? Even once you have the GPS data I imagine that it is tricky to "use it" with all of the different varieties of mapping s/w around. I am not suggesting it is bad feature - just seeking enlightenment on its value . (Since starting to type thids message I have throught it might be useful for flora and fauna photographers, e.g. "Where did I photograph that rare bird/plant/insect?".)

[Dusty]

In 1999, I took 1200 pictures on my Holy Land tour. I can't tell you how many of them I'm no longer sure of exactly where I took them. By the time my grandkids see them, my Alzheimer's will not permit me to even know I took them, much less where. GPS tagging of travel photos would be great. Around the house? I need it turned off. No need to let everyone know the exact co-ordinates of my home.

In 1983, I met a couple of guys backpacking thru the Andes hoping to get some of their canyon shots in National Geographic. I'm sure they took copious notes of which roll was where, but wouldn't it be a shame if they turned you pics sown only because you weren't sure which canyon you took that shot in?

I like the feature!

Dusty

[Birma]

Hi Dusty - I see your point - I probably don't do enough (any?) travel photography to have figures that one out. I bet Henry would find it handy - although it seems like he'd never forget where one of his pictures was from . Good point about wanting to be able to disengage it.

[Allam2009]

A couple of years ago I bought the Sony GPS thing but found it a bit time consuming to use all the time (switch on - wait for signal to be acquired -download data - tag pics). If built into camera I am sure I would use it more, but I am wondering how quickly it can acquire a signal? Sometimes you have to switch on and shoot and don't want to wait for the GPS to do its thing.

[Dusty]

I'm not worried about how long it takes to acquire a signal - GPS is getting faster all the time - I just hope they have the smarts to leave the last co-ordinates in, with an 'unconfirmed' marker. That way, if I'm in the Valley of the King in Egypt, but go into a tomb, I still have it tagged, more or less. If, however, I then go to Cairo, and snap one w/o acquiring signal, I can see evidence that the co-ords don't match my memory, and correct it or erase them.

Dusty

[WaltKnapp]

I realise that GPS has become one of those add on features people want in cameras now, but I don't really understand what it gives you? Do people forget where the picture they took is from? Even once you have the GPS data I imagine that it is tricky to "use it" with all of the different varieties of mapping s/w around. I am not suggesting it is bad feature - just seeking enlightenment on its value . (Since starting to type thids message I have throught it might be useful for flora and fauna photographers, e.g. "Where did I photograph that rare bird/plant/insect?".)

Actually in my science survey work I have to sit and write out a museum card on the spot. They have not gotten beyond paper yet. I do carry GPS, their card has a place to write the latitude and longitude in. It is better than some of the old records I've had to try and translate. I kid you not, several times I've run into the whole location written in a museum record as something like "Around Atlanta". Try and find that spot and it's somewhere in a very huge circle

My wife who's hobby is essentially photographing every living thing would like to have GPS, but she's experienced with GPS and knows it's pitfalls. We have, off and on discussed her using GPS, our regular handheld GPS can track where you go and there is software that can then coordinate that with your photos and write locations into the exif. And my handheld has a far better chipset than ones I've seen coming in cameras so far. (and has a diet of batteries at 1 AA per day) So far she just writes notes on locations where necessary.

Think about the person who takes his new GPS camera into an apartment tower and gets no reading. They are going to be howling at the poor camera company when the truth is you simply generally don't get readings in such situations, even with the most modern (and expensive) GPS Chipsets!

Shifting between mapsets is pretty much a non issue. And GPS track files are pretty standard. So moving the info around on the map and GPS side is not a problem.

If I ever end up with a GPS equipped DSLR that contains a decent chipset and so on I expect I would use it at times. So would my wife. But with knowing how to use it and it's pitfalls. I do not expect to do away with stand alone GPS any time soon even if the camera had it. Of course if navigation maps on the LCD and where the nearest DQ is are in it, then maybe......But for right now if trying to do GPS on photos I think I'd stick with separate GPS and the necessary software.

Walt

[Greg Beetham]

I don't know if things are any better now than a few years ago, but a friend had a property (about 120 acres) in the rainforest, and one day decided too see if we could walk around the unmarked boundary with the GPS, (and tie a plastic ribbon on a tree here and there), the GPS had trouble in the high trees, you would have too wait while it got enough satellites and strength of signal to be sure of it's location. And that was with a device dedicated too the purpose of knowing where it was, if the ones in the camera is as good as that I guess it will be good enough, but you sure wouldn't want it any worse.
Greg

[Mondatta]

I realise that GPS has become one of those add on features people want in cameras now, but I don't really understand what it gives you? Do people forget where the picture they took is from?

If you travel, if you're driving, if you're backpacking -- yes, you can easily forget specifically where you were, especially months or years after the photos were taken.

Necessity is the mother of invention, and the desire to apply GPS to cameras that don't have it spawned a number of innovations like the Mac app 'HoudahGeo.' It's software which talks to a number of small & inexpensive GPS loggers you can carry with you and applies GPS data to the photos you upload to your Mac via the timecode.

http://www.houdah.com/houdahGeo/

[Dr. Harout]

...If you travel, if you're driving, if you're backpacking -- yes, you can easily forget specifically where you were, especially months or years after the photos were taken....

I second that. And welcome to the forum Mondata.

[David Kilpatrick]

I certainly will try this. Beats Sony Picture Motion Browser any day - works on Mac and works with raw files! Pity my Sony GPS tracker is so poor.

David

[Fotogeorge]

I hope there is a menu option to disable the GPS. GPS is not part of my dream. I think I saw that wooden bridge on the "Breaking Bad" DVD. I don't have any need to keep records on geo-locations. I don't want the camera processor to have any lag time because of recording GPS. I don't want to create larger file size because of GPS. It's also too much information that can be used or abused by others including governments. I don't want to be tracked on my computer, my cellphone, or thru my images. How do we know if the GPS info is being tracked in real time by someone or by SONY. Maybe it's another reason to return using my Maxxum 7.

[BruceKingston]

I use the original Sony model produced a couple of years ago which I bought for no other reason than it had a LED on it and I suffer from that geek disease that forces me to buy any gadget that has a. power and b. flashing lights- maybe the same as yours David, and I have found it pretty good ad bloody accurate. When I'm travellling it's turned on pretty much all the time and I use Jeffrey Friedels Lightroom plugin which you can read about and get from http://regex.info/blog/lightroom-goodies/gps to Geocode from the tracklog.

If I remember rightly, there's a little bit of set up you need to do to "suck" the log straight off the GPS unit and Geocode the photos in Lightroom. The plugin offers a whole range of other ways of Geocoding some or all of the photos in a Lightroom folder including using the centered coordinates of a google map. Sometimes when the mood takes me I'll sit for an hour and code up the photos I've taken over the past few weeks if I didn't have the traker turned on just hedging against the aforementioned Alzheimers!