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G12 does not have GPS geotagging - why?

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James Olney

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Currently i have a canon dsrl, looking to move to something smaller but would really like to get into geotagging are there any cameras on the horizon that are going to offer a no hassle inbuilt solution which is as painless as enabling it and taking pictures? Why has canon omitted this on the new G12?

There are lots of different solutions out there, but they all rely on add-ons or the use of software to calculate where you were at a specific time.

or am i one of only a few who would like to see this kind of thing built into a camera?

comments?
 
James Olney said:
Currently i have a canon dsrl, looking to move to something smaller but would really like to get into geotagging are there any cameras on the horizon that are going to offer a no hassle inbuilt solution which is as painless as enabling it and taking pictures? Why has canon omitted this on the new G12?

There are lots of different solutions out there, but they all rely on add-ons or the use of software to calculate where you were at a specific time.

or am i one of only a few who would like to see this kind of thing built into a camera?

comments?
Click to expand...
GPS is a battery hog. You're better off using one of those stand-along units. It's an over-rated feature. I haven't used it once on my Panasonic compact that has it.

Mark
 
yep.

if you really want it, get a dedicated gps logger. It'll have better reception, and doesn't drain your camera batteries.

Very few people actually need or even demand gps loggers so the market isn't there for companies to add it into the camera.
 
Gotta save some new feature for G13.

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Still waiting for the Canon FF/APS compact...
 
James Olney said:
indeed. And as for battery, what about having an off button?
Click to expand...
As long as you don't mind waiting several seconds for the signal. Point is that it uses a good amount of battery power while running. A portable tagger is more efficient, so it can be left running - you won't have to wait for a signal.

Mark
 
all these replies are correct. it takes a while for the built in gps to lock on so your p&s camera is not so spontaneous and battery consumption is a big problem. i got an add on unit for my dslr that i'm happy with. imho - get dslr add on & forget p&s version
 
An external unit is definitely better. Built in GPS was one of the factors that made the Nikon p6000 a resounding failure.
 
Never cared for GPS in my camera really. What, you're in Paris and photographing Louvre and is it really important that GPS tells you you're standing in front of Louvre? LOL

Or you're in Egypt, riding a camel and suddenly a pyramid is left of you!! Wow, let me take my camera to take a photo... oh, but I need GPS too to tell me I'm in front of a pyramid in Egypt - LOL.

Now, I might think of a situation where GPS could be handy, but to really care if a camera has it... doh.
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It's not stupid; it's advanced.
 
James Olney said:
Currently i have a canon dsrl, looking to move to something smaller but would really like to get into geotagging are there any cameras on the horizon that are going to offer a no hassle inbuilt solution which is as painless as enabling it and taking pictures? Why has canon omitted this on the new G12?

There are lots of different solutions out there, but they all rely on add-ons or the use of software to calculate where you were at a specific time.

or am i one of only a few who would like to see this kind of thing built into a camera?
Click to expand...
I use geotagging for when I'm travelling, but I have no interest in having a GPS built into my camera. My camera is turned off whenever it's not in use so I would bet that lots of times, the shot will have been taken before the GPS even achieved a signal lock.

My preference is to simply use an external GPS. In my case, it's a Garmin 60CSx which I also use for navigation. Plus I save the track logs from my trips and sometimes overlay them on maps. For me, it's more convenient to have a separate .gpx track and waypoint file that I can use with a variety of apps, including Geotagging my photos.

If you wanted to geotag the majority of all the photos you took, then I could see the interest in having a built-in GPS. But I suspect most people aren't interested in that, hence the reason why few cameras have this feature.

larsbc
 
There is potentially a privacy issue here. w/ GPS on the camera, people will most likely leave it on even it it has option to turn off. Then once you start posting up pictures on the web, even if you are careful to remove exif, you eventually will forget to remove one of them. And people will know where you live and stuff. Definitely a privacy risk. Having a dedicated unit mean, you have to manually put it on the picture you want(select). I'll rather lose some convenience for the sake of privacy.

--
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If picture worth a thousand words, how many megapixel is it?
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http://www.jotographer.com/blog
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Freeman-Jo said:
There is potentially a privacy issue here. w/ GPS on the camera, people will most likely leave it on even it it has option to turn off. Then once you start posting up pictures on the web, even if you are careful to remove exif, you eventually will forget to remove one of them. And people will know where you live and stuff. Definitely a privacy risk. Having a dedicated unit mean, you have to manually put it on the picture you want(select). I'll rather lose some convenience for the sake of privacy.
Click to expand...
Wow, people might figure out where you live from one of the photos you posted - lol. Definitely a case for the FBI or KGB!! Why would anyone care where you live? Now, if you're Bill Gates, or a president of some country... that might be a different thing.

But, since it's Freeman-Jo and I know he/she took a photo in XY street #17 (he/she might even live exactly there! but we're not sure - lol) I'm going to get rich out of you and ruin your life and stuff? Hardly - lol. Who cares really.

Or I'm missing something important here? Haven't eaten yet and my brain isn't working as usual.

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It's not stupid; it's advanced.
 
These things require hardware and software changes that could drastically shift the way the camera is designed today. The battery life, way to implement, and accuracy of the GPS in-camera functionality are all important things that show that it's not quite there yet. Cool marketing feature though!

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Thanks,

Teski
Photo-A-Day project - http://www.blipfoto.com/teski
Professional site - http://www.tedescophotography.com
 
@larsbc

same here - i have a garmin 60Cx turned on during the day - when i come back from vacation, i make copies of the originals and geotag using Microsoft Pro Photo Tools, or GeoSetter.

find it very useful when travelling on a planes/cars and ships, and taking photos - also great for tracking where you went during the day without having to document... you're a user of geotagging so you know what i mean.

some of you laugh at the idea of having GPS travel documentation, but once you start using it, you may find you can't live wiithout it!
 
ahayer said:
@larsbc

same here - i have a garmin 60Cx turned on during the day - when i come back from vacation, i make copies of the originals and geotag using Microsoft Pro Photo Tools, or GeoSetter.
Click to expand...
[snip]

What file do you use for syncing your images and gpx track? AFAIK there are only two choices, the Active track or the ones that are logged directly to the card storage, because those are the only ones that contain time data. Any track that has been saved to internal memory (ie: the tracks that appear available on the Track page) have been compressed and have had the time data removed.

I just wanted to confirm this with you. I've been using GeoSetter, fwiw.

larsbc
 
Bay a Panasonic DMC FZ10 !!!!
--
Jack
 
@larsbc

i use the gpx files on the micro-sd card.

my setting:

Track Log > Setup > Recording Method (Auto) > Interval (Most Often) > Data Card Setup (Log Track to Data Card)

with this setting, i'm averaging a log every 3 seconds - even with this interval there is no way i can fill my 2GB card anytime soon...
 
Freeman-Jo said:
There is potentially a privacy issue here. w/ GPS on the camera, people will most likely leave it on even it it has option to turn off. Then once you start posting up pictures on the web, even if you are careful to remove exif, you eventually will forget to remove one of them. And people will know where you live and stuff. Definitely a privacy risk. Having a dedicated unit mean, you have to manually put it on the picture you want(select). I'll rather lose some convenience for the sake of privacy.
Click to expand...
I'm not one to be paranoid about privacy issues, but this is a good point. Picking & choosing which photos get tagged is a good choice to have.

Mark
 
ahayer said:
@larsbc

i use the gpx files on the micro-sd card.

my setting:

Track Log > Setup > Recording Method (Auto) > Interval (Most Often) > Data Card Setup (Log Track to Data Card)

with this setting, i'm averaging a log every 3 seconds - even with this interval there is no way i can fill my 2GB card anytime soon...
Click to expand...
Thx for the info. Yeah, I haven't deleted .gpx files from the card in a long time. Lots of capacity on a 2GB card!

larsbc
 
Freeman-Jo said:
There is potentially a privacy issue here. w/ GPS on the camera, people will most likely leave it on even it it has option to turn off. Then once you start posting up pictures on the web, even if you are careful to remove exif, you eventually will forget to remove one of them. And people will know where you live and stuff. Definitely a privacy risk. Having a dedicated unit mean, you have to manually put it on the picture you want(select). I'll rather lose some convenience for the sake of privacy.

--
-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-
If picture worth a thousand words, how many megapixel is it?
-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-
http://www.jotographer.com/blog
-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-

Click to expand...
well, that's a fault of the photographer isn't it? its not like it can't be turned off, or they're forcing it on you.
 
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