GPS any one?

Home · Register · Search · Software · Hosting · Software · Join Upload & Sell

FM Forums \| General Gear-talk \| Join Upload & Sell
1 2 end

GPS any one?

nugeny
Online
• • • •
Upload & Sell: On

p.1 #1 · GPS any one?

I hve seen GPS on sale to attach to the cameras.
I can't imagine i would need it. I travel a lot, including internationally. i can look at the pictures of years ago and i can trace it back to the spot i stand to take it, specially the for keepers.
Do i miss any thing without the GPSs?

Feb 05, 2013 at 03:47 PM

binary visions
Offline
• • •
Upload & Sell: On

p.1 #2 · GPS any one?

I like my GPS and wish I had it for my last two trips, which involved a lot of hiking.

If your shots are mostly in the city, or of famous landmarks, or you tend to stay in one place when you travel, perhaps it's not worth it since the precise location is either known or not important.

Last year, though, I hiked 50 miles in the Andes, and before that I visited 7 islands in the Galapagos, walking a lot of trails, all of which I would love to have geotagged in my photos. This year I'm headed to Africa and will be geotagging everything.

I have an Aokatec bluetooth GPS module that communicates with an external GPS receiver.

Feb 05, 2013 at 03:53 PM

Taoguy
Online
• • •
Upload & Sell: On

p.1 #3 · GPS any one?

I'ved used the Nikon GP-1 for several years. On trips to the Arctic of Africa it is nice to track your trip after the fact.
As I traveld around Hudson Bay it brought a different perspective when viewing the pictures. Also took it along on a few sailing trips and again it was nice to see our path later.

Its another tool that will help you, as binary visions says, if you are traveling with the thought of returning or if you want to share the experience later. I use it on all my trips now, part of the camera. If you are selling photos it can add a little more info if you choose to include it.

Feb 05, 2013 at 05:28 PM

sjms
Online
• • • • • •
Upload & Sell: On

p.1 #4 · GPS any one?

I use it in my work and for trips of particular interest. for my D4 I have a 10 pin connector based BT xcvr and a GPS in my pocket
for the D7000 I have one that goes in the shoe and is plugged into the GPS port on the camera.

Edited on Feb 06, 2013 at 12:39 PM · View previous versions

Feb 05, 2013 at 08:02 PM

nugeny
Online
• • • •
Upload & Sell: On

p.1 #5 · GPS any one?

May be it is just me, but I can't imagine to be eager to find the precise point in space +/- 2 inches from where i took certain picture. I use GPS in strange places so that i don't get lost, but for pictures? if I can't remember where I take certain picture and how the surrounding was at the time, When that time comes, I may stop taking pictures...

Feb 06, 2013 at 01:43 AM

chez
Online
• • • • •
Upload & Sell: On

p.1 #6 · GPS any one?

nugeny wrote:
May be it is just me, but I can't imagine to be eager to find the precise point in space +/- 2 inches from where i took certain picture. I use GPS in strange places so that i don't get lost, but for pictures? if I can't remember where I take certain picture and how the surrounding was at the time, When that time comes, I may stop taking pictures...

It's not a matter of remembering right after the trip...what about 5 years from now, 10 years?

If you don't need the feature...why ask about it?

Feb 06, 2013 at 02:01 AM

sjms
Online
• • • • • •
Upload & Sell: On

p.1 #7 · GPS any one?

you aren't going to get that level of precision. civilian units only get the L1 signal (avg 10+ft accuracy depending on time spent at location). the L2 considerable more accurate signal is encrypted for other uses. in the not too distant future there will be even more data on more L's .
US- GPS
Russia- GLONASS
EU- Galileo
China- BeiDou (Compass)

all are just ever so slightly different but together are referred to as GNSS
Global Navigation Satellite System

Feb 06, 2013 at 02:02 AM

wilt
Offline
• • •
Upload & Sell: Off

p.1 #8 · GPS any one?

I started thinking that it would be useful to have GPS information tagged to each shot, and so I purchased a GPS logger that could last an entire day of shooting on a set of batteries. After that, I started to consider these points...
a) inside, the GPS unit cannot get the satellite, so any shots taken indoors don't necessarily have the correct location information
b) if I stand on a boat between Staten Island and Manhattan, and I take a photograph of Liberty Island and the World Trade Center site, my location is in the middle of the water, but I might really want to record the target of the shot, neither of which are known to the GPS receiver. Is my target the WTC or Battery Park, both of which might be in the line of sight of the lens. or do I care where on the water I was at the time of the shot?!

Feb 06, 2013 at 02:23 AM

sjms
Online
• • • • • •
Upload & Sell: On

p.1 #9 · GPS any one?

when referenced on a map it is quite easy to extrapolate from the position of the shooter to its target. of course the longer the distance you take your shot from the greater the error. this is to be expected. I use the gps at locations for tracking and shots are generally relative short distance from camera to objective so error is minimal. some gps units will freeze the last known position when you entered an area of signal loss and use said position as an approximation that is again enough to give a good reference of where you shot the image. i'm generally not going for that sort of accuracy. most maps will also allow you to reposition your image on the map if you need/want to and will then re-coordinate as needed.

in the end its knowing how to use the data supplied.

2013 © sjms

Edited on Feb 06, 2013 at 12:43 PM · View previous versions

Feb 06, 2013 at 02:56 AM

Bifurcator
Offline
• • • • •
Upload & Sell: On

p.1 #10 · GPS any one?

nugeny wrote:
I hve seen GPS on sale to attach to the cameras.
I can't imagine i would need it. I travel a lot, including internationally. i can look at the pictures of years ago and i can trace it back to the spot i stand to take it, specially the for keepers.
Do i miss any thing without the GPSs?

Nope... You don't. Someone else might tho.

Err, I mean if another person, NGO, or agency were to have access to them with GPS attached then /they/ would know what only you might otherwise. If that's something you want then it's useful. If your data is still existing when your great great grandchildren gain access to it then it might be at that...

For me personally, GPS, nope! No thanks! And if I ever get a camera that comes standard in I'm clipping out the circuitry. It's just not something I want attached to my photographs. I would do the same thing if cameras started forcing music onto the image files too.

Feb 06, 2013 at 09:24 AM

sjms
Online
• • • • • •
Upload & Sell: On

p.1 #11 · GPS any one?

i'd really love to watch you "clip out the circuitry" on an SMB

. just remember there are people that can figure out within a margin of error where you took a shot and approx location of where you shot it from with relative ease w/o that data or even the basic exif info. I just takes a little longer.

the off switch for that feature works so much easier and reduces power consumption too.

Feb 06, 2013 at 11:26 AM

lukeb
Offline
• • •
Upload & Sell: On

p.1 #12 · GPS any one?

If you are out for a month and shoot 3 or four thousand shots, its tough to remember each and every one and the location thereof. And, who wants to carry a note pad and take the time to write the location can capture # when you can have the GPS do it for you? I have two Promote GPS units (purchased in 2008) for my 700's, and use them all the time.

Feb 06, 2013 at 12:02 PM

sjms
Online
• • • • • •
Upload & Sell: On

p.1 #13 · GPS any one?

another map using the data in another program. this on in Berlin from Christmas

2013 © sjms

Edited on Feb 06, 2013 at 01:51 PM · View previous versions

Feb 06, 2013 at 12:53 PM

binary visions
Offline
• • •
Upload & Sell: On

p.1 #14 · GPS any one?

I sincerely hope that camera manufacturers start building GPS into their DSLRs, as Canon has done with the 6D. I'd like to not have an awkward attachment hanging off my camera.

This is something that will always have an on/off option, though, since it drains a little battery, so I don't think we're going to have to resort to cutting out circuitry...

nugeny wrote:
May be it is just me, but I can't imagine to be eager to find the precise point in space +/- 2 inches from where i took certain picture. I use GPS in strange places so that i don't get lost, but for pictures? if I can't remember where I take certain picture and how the surrounding was at the time, When that time comes, I may stop taking pictures...

It's not just knowing where the picture was taken, but being able to map out routes traveled and, to a certain extent, being able to re-create that journey through more than just the photos but a sense of where they were shot. I find things like Google Earth to be fascinating because you can look at the satellite imagery and also see photos taken in the area, or street view...

Feb 06, 2013 at 01:35 PM

sjms
Online
• • • • • •
Upload & Sell: On

p.1 #15 · GPS any one?

as BV just said it can give you view of your trip from another perspective and to maybe open you up to what you may have missed. I would still rather have them as a separate add-on due to the rather fast pace of changes/upgrades in these devices also in allowing me to use on multiple cameras too.

Feb 06, 2013 at 01:53 PM

wsheldon
Offline
•
Upload & Sell: On

p.1 #16 · GPS any one?

Geotagging photos does add a great perspective when you're traveling. I may have a general idea of where I was in a National Park or other city, but seeing it on Google Earth really brings everything back. Lightroom and other PP software packages are also starting to support reverse geo-coding to provide address/location metadata based on GPS lookups, which helps with keyword tagging.

I also agree with sjms that it makes more sense to use an external device given the fast pace of technological change. I've been using a GiSTEQ PhotoTrackr Mini DPL900 for the last year, which is a semi-rugged pocket GPS the size of a USB thumb drive (~$50). Just turn it on, leave it in your camera bag or pocket, and forget about it until you pack your gear back up. The geo-tagging is done by matching up time stamps of the photos with the GPS track in software, so you just need to sync your camera clock to the GPS before leaving home. The software for this device isn't great and can't tag RAW images without a "pro" upgrade, but the free GeoSetter software (http://www.geosetter.de/en) does a great job and reads these GPS logs in addition to standard Garmin/Magellin logs. I just download the log from the device with the vendor's software, then tag all my RAW files with GeoSetter before loading them in Lightroom (GPS added as XMP sidecar files, which Lightroom automatically reads).

Feb 06, 2013 at 02:11 PM

binary visions
Offline
• • •
Upload & Sell: On

p.1 #17 · GPS any one?

My problem is that I take trips that are often a couple weeks without access to any kind of electricity. I don't mind loading up on batteries but I'd rather standardize on a single battery for my camera than buying a bunch of batteries for my GPS tracker as well, as well as keeping track of charge levels for another device, dead/charged batteries... It all seems trivial until you're on the trail for 10 days with a backpack and then it starts to become irksome.

Also, including a GPS in the camera wouldn't preclude using an external one instead. I know that, in theory, you pay for the GPS in the camera that you may not be using but it's pretty cheap hardware now.

Feb 06, 2013 at 02:19 PM

sjms
Online
• • • • • •
Upload & Sell: On

p.1 #18 · GPS any one?

which in use will shorten your cameras battery life if not attended to during times of no signal. this is when your receiver uses the most power trying to grab what it can.

Feb 06, 2013 at 03:02 PM

nugeny
Online
• • • •
Upload & Sell: On

p.1 #19 · GPS any one?

I love toys. Just got a tiny helicopter, remote controlled. it is fun flying in my living room.
That leads me to this thought, not to put the GPS-users down,but just like me , you just like toys, different toys than mine. i wonder how many ladies out there use gpS? women, unlike men, prefer lotions, parfums....

Feb 06, 2013 at 03:32 PM

sjms
Online
• • • • • •
Upload & Sell: On

p.1 #20 · GPS any one?

no, unlike you there is a purpose for its use in my work. I archive for the Nat Park Svc. I was just out your way in October at a few NPS sites shooting.

last week Ellis and Liberty Islands for damage/clean up assessments and that's on going and will be for awhile.

where a GPS unit can be "toy" in the hands of some, for others, it can be a highly viable and usable tool.

not to put down toy helicopter "pilots" but I have a feeling it(the toy helicopter) will have fairly low long term use potential.

Edited on Feb 07, 2013 at 12:40 PM · View previous versions

Feb 06, 2013 at 03:37 PM

1 2 end
FM Forums \| General Gear-talk \| Join Upload & Sell 1 2 end