Geotagger

Thunder Rabbit

Howdy.

I am in the market for a geotagger. My Nikon will accept a plug in device, but I'm pretty sure I want a free standing device, and will apply the data to my EXIF with software.

I would appreciate any feedback.

Thanks in advance.

rhjf

I recently got a Qstarz BT-Q1300. It's a pretty small device which I can clip on to my bag, or even onto my camera strap. The supplied software is Windows-only but there's lots of third-party software available for the Mac: I found HoudahGPS to be the most user-friendly way to download a .gpx track-log over USB, and then I can apply that to my photos either on import (using ImageIngester), or now within Aperture using the new Maperture Pro plugin. If you want to fiddle with the internal settings on the device (for which you would need the supplied Windows software), there's the rather un-Mac-ish (written in Java, needs dodgy file permissions) BT747.

I think it’s a fact of life with all GPS systems but the clearer your view of the sky, the more accurate your location-track. I’ve downloaded some tracks which are mostly very accurate although some points have shown me walking out into rivers or rapidly flying over buildings: the accuracy dropped down at those points because I'd gone under tree cover or into fairly built-up streets. My peeve with the BT-Q1300 is that it takes a while to lock on to a GPS signal, even when you start it up in a very open space. But I've found the Qstarz devices to be generally well reviewed all over the Web.

Art Scott

i could be wrong ..... but Iwould think that if the tag is embeded at the time of shutter clik then there would be NO margin for time error.......all software taging is done by time and I have had bad experiences with taggng the wrong file because of a very minute error in time stamps of camera vs gps device (minute error= 2 seconds or less).....If I start geotagging again I will just use the plug in device and tag everyting at the moment it cliks...........

Thunder Rabbit

Howdy.

Thanks for your input, guys.

I have a question for Art.

What type of plug in geotagger do you have? In my research, the plug in geotagger I found came with a six foot cord. Reviewers claimed it was in the way, and could have been a lot shorter. Another reviewer said his quit working after a week, and he was so disappointed, he just threw it away without contacting the manufacturer.

I'm kind of a believer in less is more, and like my systems clean. So that is why I was shying away from the plug in models. I could be on the wrong track here, as geotagging in real time is the obvious way to go, if the equipment isn't too ungainly.

Thoughts?

Thanks again.