Looks like we are finally getting a GPS add-on for our cameras

jayp · 02-09-2011, 02:28 PM

Impress Watch (In Japanese)

I wonder what the price point and availability will be? It'll be cool to have images location tagged.

normhead · 02-09-2011, 02:40 PM

You can buy a 3rd party add on for about $70, unless it actually puts the information into the exif without processing in other software, it's already available.

JOBO SONY SHOE ADAPT FOR PHOTO GPS GPSZ01 - Henry's best camera store in Canada

bobmaxja · 02-09-2011, 02:53 PM

Probably this one you talk but $150
JOBO PHOTO GPS (GEO-IMAGING) - Henry's best camera store in Canada

the photo you show is any adapter forsony

normhead · 02-09-2011, 04:31 PM

I was sure they had one for about $70, oh well. The thing is using APerture I just place my images on the "places" map and it fills in the GPS data. I have images on google earth done this way. I can match the times on my GPS log to the time in the exif from my hand held GPS, which I take with me most of the time in any case.

ewalk · 02-09-2011, 08:08 PM

Originally posted by jayp

Impress Watch (In Japanese)

I wonder what the price point and availability will be? It'll be cool to have images location tagged.

This is awesome.

Day 1 purchase for me. Hopefully it'll work with my K200D...otherwise I might have to upgrade!

**boriscleto** · 02-09-2011, 08:12 PM

Originally posted by normhead

I was sure they had one for about $70, oh well. The thing is using APerture I just place my images on the "places" map and it fills in the GPS data. I have images on google earth done this way. I can match the times on my GPS log to the time in the exif from my hand held GPS, which I take with me most of the time in any case.

The Gisteq PhotoTrackr Mini goes for about $60.

GiSTEQ PhotoTrackr Mini DPL900 C7-02DPL900 B&H Photo Video

noblepa · 02-09-2011, 08:39 PM

Originally posted by bobmaxja

Probably this one you talk but $150
JOBO PHOTO GPS (GEO-IMAGING) - Henry's best camera store in Canada

the photo you show is any adapter forsony

The problem with using this or any other GPS unit on the hotshoe, is that Pentax cameras don't fire the hotshoe, if the shutter speed is set above 1/180. This has been the subject of seemingly endless discussion in many threads about Pentax and flash systems.

**Fontan** · 02-09-2011, 09:55 PM

Can somebody tell me why this is terribly important??

RonHendriks1966 · 02-10-2011, 08:23 AM

Originally posted by Fontan

Can somebody tell me why this is terribly important??

You will be depressed after seeing in your photostock that you actually never go anywhere interesting.

You can make a funny holiday bustour photostring, but to me it is of no importance.

eddie1960 · 02-10-2011, 08:28 AM

i see no value to it. In Flickr i will geo tag when i'm so inclined placing images o a map. otherwise i know where they were taken so it's not an issue
i haven't got a gps unit either though (i can read a map and unlike nowmhead am rarely someplace where it would be useful (to find my way out of where i am for instance)

stanic · 02-10-2011, 08:33 AM

could be handy when mapping some habitats and working with GIS

noblepa · 02-10-2011, 08:48 AM

Originally posted by Fontan

Can somebody tell me why this is terribly important??

Its not important to me. I have a K10D and I've never missed it.

However, if you read this and other forums for very long, you will see the subject come up. For some people, it seems to be a matter of life or death.

Smartphones, which have builtin GPS, can cause problems because of that. I read recently, that one of the hosts of "Myth Busters" posted a photo of his home on his facebook page or blog. He apparently didn't realize that his iPhone included the latitude/longitude in the EXIF data. Now, all his fans know exactly where he lives. Just one more way that smartphones make life easier... for identify thieves and stalkers.

bobell69 · 02-10-2011, 09:22 AM

For many there is a significant business case for having a gps coordinates embedded in every photograph., insurance adjusters, police investigations, engineers, public health officials, foresters etc need to identify the exact location of photographs for investigative reports, recording of evidence etc.

For the average Joe perhaps there is no need or they can add the co-ordinance later. however if I am on a long hike and taking lots of photographs of birds and other wildlife along the way it would sure be nice to be able to identify the exact location of each photograph.

There are varying products out there that can be modified to work with Pentax cameras, some are complex as they require special software and merging the exact time a photograph is taken with a gps track taken from a handheld gps etc., but lets see if the one being developed by Pentax will work simply and flawlessly. If it does, it opens up a new area of camera sales for the company. For me that is good.

falconeye · 02-10-2011, 10:03 AM

IMHO, a hotshoe-mounted GPS logger is a useless gadget.

With the possible exception where the device includes a compass and records direction information as well. But the latter could be done (and written to exif) by the camera anyway w/o any need to receice GPS.

I geotag ALL my images.

I have a stellar GPS logger sitting in a pocket of my photo bag (I upgraded from SIRF-III to a Wintec WBT-202 which never disappointed me and always knows precise position. Even within most buildings. It autoswitches off to save energy (it has a motion sensor to switch on) and can stay in my photobag for days until I synchronize my SD card with my computer. At the same time, I would plug and charge the logger (appears as an USB drive containing the track file) and exchange the cameras battery.

In order to actually geotag my images I use GeoSetter (on PC) or PhotoLinker (on Mac). Both update the image files exactly as the camera would do. It's as simple as "open image folder and track file and go". Then I import to LR. I'll have a blog article soon for anybody migrating his geotagging workflow from a PC to a Mac.

No way I would use a hot-show mounted logger: To clumsy (ugly to the point of ridiculous, easily breaks, doesn't fit my photo bag, blocks my flash) and unreliable (probably sub-par GPS receiver, probably misses fix when a photo is taken as it cannot always stay on) and can't be used to geotag photos (from a second camera I carry with me) and is incomplete (doesn't write the location names aka reverse geocoding). The iPhone geotags its images and try it: positions aren't reliable.

So, a hotshow GPS logger is a gadget for people who don't need the feature.

ewalk · 02-10-2011, 05:49 PM

Originally posted by Fontan

Can somebody tell me why this is terribly important??

Because some people like to remember *where* they took their pictures? Not just when or how?

To each their own.

02-09-2011, 02:28 PM	#1
jayp Junior Member Join Date: Dec 2009 Location: Florida State University Posts: 30	Looks like we are finally getting a GPS add-on for our cameras Impress Watch (In Japanese) I wonder what the price point and availability will be? It'll be cool to have images location tagged.

02-10-2011, 09:22 AM	#13
bobell69 Veteran Member Join Date: Sep 2007 Location: Courtenay BC Photos: Gallery \| Albums Posts: 498	For many there is a significant business case for having a gps coordinates embedded in every photograph., insurance adjusters, police investigations, engineers, public health officials, foresters etc need to identify the exact location of photographs for investigative reports, recording of evidence etc. For the average Joe perhaps there is no need or they can add the co-ordinance later. however if I am on a long hike and taking lots of photographs of birds and other wildlife along the way it would sure be nice to be able to identify the exact location of each photograph. There are varying products out there that can be modified to work with Pentax cameras, some are complex as they require special software and merging the exact time a photograph is taken with a gps track taken from a handheld gps etc., but lets see if the one being developed by Pentax will work simply and flawlessly. If it does, it opens up a new area of camera sales for the company. For me that is good. Last edited by bobell69; 02-10-2011 at 09:26 AM. Reason: correcting some spelling.

02-10-2011, 10:03 AM	#14
falconeye Veteran Member Join Date: Jan 2008 Location: Munich, Alps, Germany Photos: Gallery Posts: 6,871	IMHO, a hotshoe-mounted GPS logger is a useless gadget. With the possible exception where the device includes a compass and records direction information as well. But the latter could be done (and written to exif) by the camera anyway w/o any need to receice GPS. I geotag ALL my images. I have a stellar GPS logger sitting in a pocket of my photo bag (I upgraded from SIRF-III to a Wintec WBT-202 which never disappointed me and always knows precise position. Even within most buildings. It autoswitches off to save energy (it has a motion sensor to switch on) and can stay in my photobag for days until I synchronize my SD card with my computer. At the same time, I would plug and charge the logger (appears as an USB drive containing the track file) and exchange the cameras battery. In order to actually geotag my images I use GeoSetter (on PC) or PhotoLinker (on Mac). Both update the image files exactly as the camera would do. It's as simple as "open image folder and track file and go". Then I import to LR. I'll have a blog article soon for anybody migrating his geotagging workflow from a PC to a Mac. No way I would use a hot-show mounted logger: To clumsy (ugly to the point of ridiculous, easily breaks, doesn't fit my photo bag, blocks my flash) and unreliable (probably sub-par GPS receiver, probably misses fix when a photo is taken as it cannot always stay on) and can't be used to geotag photos (from a second camera I carry with me) and is incomplete (doesn't write the location names aka reverse geocoding). The iPhone geotags its images and try it: positions aren't reliable. So, a hotshow GPS logger is a gadget for people who don't need the feature. Last edited by falconeye; 02-10-2011 at 10:10 AM.

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02-09-2011, 02:40 PM	#2
normhead Pentaxian Join Date: Jun 2007 Location: Near Algonquin Park Photos: Gallery \| Albums Posts: 40,451	You can buy a 3rd party add on for about $70, unless it actually puts the information into the exif without processing in other software, it's already available. JOBO SONY SHOE ADAPT FOR PHOTO GPS GPSZ01 - Henry's best camera store in Canada

02-09-2011, 02:53 PM	#3
bobmaxja Veteran Member Join Date: Mar 2010 Location: Laval, Quebec Canada Posts: 2,171	Probably this one you talk but $150 JOBO PHOTO GPS (GEO-IMAGING) - Henry's best camera store in Canada the photo you show is any adapter forsony

02-09-2011, 04:31 PM	#4
normhead Pentaxian Join Date: Jun 2007 Location: Near Algonquin Park Photos: Gallery \| Albums Posts: 40,451	I was sure they had one for about $70, oh well. The thing is using APerture I just place my images on the "places" map and it fills in the GPS data. I have images on google earth done this way. I can match the times on my GPS log to the time in the exif from my hand held GPS, which I take with me most of the time in any case.

02-09-2011, 08:08 PM	#5
ewalk Veteran Member Join Date: Sep 2008 Location: Texas Posts: 316	Originally posted by jayp Impress Watch (In Japanese) I wonder what the price point and availability will be? It'll be cool to have images location tagged. This is awesome. Day 1 purchase for me. Hopefully it'll work with my K200D...otherwise I might have to upgrade!

02-09-2011, 08:12 PM	#6
boriscleto Loyal Site Supporter Join Date: Dec 2009 Location: North Syracuse, NY Photos: Gallery Posts: 16,475	Originally posted by normhead I was sure they had one for about $70, oh well. The thing is using APerture I just place my images on the "places" map and it fills in the GPS data. I have images on google earth done this way. I can match the times on my GPS log to the time in the exif from my hand held GPS, which I take with me most of the time in any case. The Gisteq PhotoTrackr Mini goes for about $60. GiSTEQ PhotoTrackr Mini DPL900 C7-02DPL900 B&H Photo Video

02-09-2011, 08:39 PM	#7
noblepa Veteran Member Join Date: Sep 2007 Location: Bay Village, Ohio USA Posts: 1,142	Originally posted by bobmaxja Probably this one you talk but $150 JOBO PHOTO GPS (GEO-IMAGING) - Henry's best camera store in Canada the photo you show is any adapter forsony The problem with using this or any other GPS unit on the hotshoe, is that Pentax cameras don't fire the hotshoe, if the shutter speed is set above 1/180. This has been the subject of seemingly endless discussion in many threads about Pentax and flash systems.

02-09-2011, 09:55 PM	#8
Fontan Site Supporter Join Date: Jan 2011 Location: 5th floor Posts: 1,610	Can somebody tell me why this is terribly important??

02-10-2011, 08:23 AM	#9
RonHendriks1966 Banned Join Date: Jan 2009 Photos: Gallery Posts: 9,675	Originally posted by Fontan Can somebody tell me why this is terribly important?? You will be depressed after seeing in your photostock that you actually never go anywhere interesting. You can make a funny holiday bustour photostring, but to me it is of no importance.

02-10-2011, 08:28 AM	#10
eddie1960 Veteran Member Join Date: Aug 2010 Location: Toronto Photos: Gallery \| Albums Posts: 13,666	i see no value to it. In Flickr i will geo tag when i'm so inclined placing images o a map. otherwise i know where they were taken so it's not an issue i haven't got a gps unit either though (i can read a map and unlike nowmhead am rarely someplace where it would be useful (to find my way out of where i am for instance)

02-10-2011, 08:33 AM	#11
stanic Veteran Member Join Date: Aug 2010 Location: Zakopane Photos: Gallery \| Albums Posts: 389	could be handy when mapping some habitats and working with GIS

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02-10-2011, 08:48 AM	#12
noblepa Veteran Member Join Date: Sep 2007 Location: Bay Village, Ohio USA Posts: 1,142	Originally posted by Fontan Can somebody tell me why this is terribly important?? Its not important to me. I have a K10D and I've never missed it. However, if you read this and other forums for very long, you will see the subject come up. For some people, it seems to be a matter of life or death. Smartphones, which have builtin GPS, can cause problems because of that. I read recently, that one of the hosts of "Myth Busters" posted a photo of his home on his facebook page or blog. He apparently didn't realize that his iPhone included the latitude/longitude in the EXIF data. Now, all his fans know exactly where he lives. Just one more way that smartphones make life easier... for identify thieves and stalkers.

02-10-2011, 05:49 PM	#15
ewalk Veteran Member Join Date: Sep 2008 Location: Texas Posts: 316	Originally posted by Fontan Can somebody tell me why this is terribly important?? Because some people like to remember where they took their pictures? Not just when or how? To each their own.