Pentax O-GPS1 GPS Unit

Features In-Depth (I)

On this page we'll take an in-depth look at the features of the O-GPS1.

Basic Geotagging

Once the unit has powered up and there is a steady Blue status light, the O-GPS1 is ready to geotag your photos.

Getting a satellite lock can take from a few seconds to a few minutes depending on how far the GPS unit has travelled while turned off or how long since it was last on. This is normal with ALL GPS units.

On the 'info' display on the camera at the bottom is a small icon of a satellite which will inform you of the current status of the GPS unit.

A small red icon with hyphens below it means there is no information available yet.

A small yellow icon with '2D' displayed means that the GPS has received information from at least 3 satellites and can provide latitude and longitude.

A small green icon with '3D' displayed below means that the GPS is tracking at least 4 satellites and providing elevation information in addition to the latitude and longitude.

Once the yellow or green icons are displayed, the photos will have latitude and longitude information saved in the EXIF data section, if green, then elevation data will also be stored.

Although the manual mentions that 'Calibration' should be done before using the unit, in my experience if all you want is basic latitude, longitude (and maybe elevation) then the unit is ready to go whether or not you calibrate it. The calibration is really just for the electronic compass function.

GPS Function Menu

This menu shows all the main setup and usage options for the O-GPS1. Note that the 'Astrotracer' function will not be lit or selectable unless the camera is in 'Bulb' mode.

Calibration

If you are going to use the compass, simple navigation or Astrotracer modes then you will have to perform a basic calibration of the unit first.

Calibration involves rotating the camera greater than 180 degrees around 3 axis. Sounds complicated and you must be careful not to drop the camera while performing this move.

When selecting calibration, the following display appears with a diagram of how to perform it.

If you decide that you don't want to proceed you can press the 'menu' button to stop the calibration, a display will appear asking you whether you want to really stop calibration or not. Stopping calibration doesn't affect the basic GPS operation but it can affect the accuracy of the electronic compass function.

According to the manual calibration should be done whenever:

  • You change the battery
  • When the GPS unit is removed and reinstalled on the camera
  • When using the Astrotracer function, a calibration should also be done whenever you change location. For the Astrotracer, a 'precise' calibration should also be performed.

When you have successfully completed this operation the following display appears.

Electronic Compass

Accuracy in the compass depends on completing the above calibration function. If this is NOT done then the accuracy of the compass will be suspect. I find that the compass can be out up to 50 or 60 degrees if the calibration is not performed. Calibration involves adjusting the compass for local magnetic fields and to align the compass. Note that the compass points to TRUE north, not MAGNETIC north.

The compass display is self-explanatory and is below. Obviously, when you rotate the camera or yourself (holding the camera) the compass rose and digital display will rotate to show your current direction.

If only 3 satellites are being tracked, then the green '3D' icon will change to a yellow '2D' icon and no elevation data will be displayed. If 2 or less satellites are being tracked then the icon will be red and hypens will replace the '3D' or '2D' displays. The latitude and longitude displays will also be blanked out.

Positioning Info

The Postioning Info menu allows you to decide how often the GPS will update it's position from the satellites.

This can be chosen from 1 minute, 3 minutes, 5 minutes or 10 minutes.

Auto Time Synchronization

The Auto Time Synch. function allows you to decide whether the camera time & date will be updated from the O-GPS1 unit or not. This is a simple checkbox that you can tick yes or clear for no.

Simple Navigation

Simple Navigation acts as a simple GPS navigator to get you from where you are now to somewhere else.

Going to the 'Select Destination' option and selecting it will bring up a list of the destinations currently available. The destination is selected from the list, 'Navigation Start' is selected and the O-GPS1 calculates the direction and distance to the destination.

Saving a Destination

Although not a specific menu option, the O-GPS1 allows you to save a destination to the camera by taking a geo tagged photo and saving it's information to the camera.

Once you have taken a photo, choose the image options by pressing the down arrow key on the camera.

The image appears in the review and a different image destination can be saved if required.

The naming screen then appears and you can assign or edit a name to the destination.

Once the name has been created or edited, pressing OK will bring up the destination list where you can choose the position of the destination.

Choosing OK brings up the Save confirmation display. Pressing OK then saves the destination to the camera.

The new destination is now available for use with the Simple Navigation function.


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