Geotagging via Panasonic app

[starbase218]

Hello. Some time ago I opened a topic about the Lumix GM1 (I think), as I was intrigued by the concept. That was for underwater video. I don’t think I’m that interested in that particular use case anymore. I have a GoPro as well, and I think, for now, that will be my “level”. However… I might still want to get either the GM1, or maybe another camera, as I’m still intrigued by the MFT system.

What I wanted to ask is this. I downloaded a few manuals from Panasonic, for cameras like the GM1 and GX8 (so older models without Bluetooth) and saw that they describe a process of geotagging images by starting recording location data in the app, taking pictures, then stopping location recording, sending that log over to the camera via wifi, and then have the camera apply it to the images. My question is, does this work well? And if so, is it even possible to just let the app record all the time (except for when you’re transferring the logs)? I actually downloaded the app to my phone to try it, and battery life so far doesn’t seem to suffer that much. The thing is, I know I will forget to enable geotag logging as a separate step. But I probably won’t forget transferring location data to my camera. At which point, when that’s done, I could simply set it to start logging again.

I am a sucker for having location data in my files.

Thanks.

 

[John Bean (UK)]

I can't answer your question but I also often add GPS data by logging on a phone and adding to the images later, but I do this after the images have been transferred from the camera.

Over the years I've tried many different ways of achieving this, from discrete GPS devices to cameras with GPS functionality but none were as simple as just using the phone to log the data and software to synchronise to the images later. The choice of software depends on personal preferences, but as I'm an Adobe user and Lightroom has this capability built in that's what I use.

My method has the advantage of being camera-agnostic, it doesn't care about where the image came from as long as it has EXIF data to show the capture date and time. Simple.

 

[starbase218]

I can't answer your question but I also often add GPS data by logging on a phone and adding to the images later, but I do this after the images have been transferred from the camera.

Over the years I've tried many different ways of achieving this, from discrete GPS devices to cameras with GPS functionality but none were as simple as just using the phone to log the data and software to synchronise to the images later. The choice of software depends on personal preferences, but as I'm an Adobe user and Lightroom has this capability built in that's what I use.

My method has the advantage of being camera-agnostic, it doesn't care about where the image came from as long as it has EXIF data to show the capture date and time. Simple.

Actually with my Nikon D750 I’m using the Foolography Unleashed dongle. It connects to the app on my phone, which I always have running in the background, and tags images when they are taken. The upside is I don’t have to worry about the camera’s time settings, or any additional processing. But it’s not available for all cameras. And it means having something sticking out of the camera. It’s why I bought an L bracket for my D750.

I use Capture One for processing, which I think is notorious for not catering to the average user. It doesn’t support importing a GPX file.

I’m not a huge C1 fan for another reason; the perpetual license in theory means you can continue to use the app, but with Mac OS upgrades it might not work. I started using it because of the colors though, and because Lightroom went subscription-only. Not sure I want to switch. I could use other software before importing to C1 but it just gets more complex and time-consuming.

I wonder if it would be possible to connect an SD card reader to my phone and tag files directly from an app that way. Though I guess that means supporting proprietary RAW formats as well.

 

[pannumon]

The older method where there is no active connection between camera and phone works, but for some reason it seems to take forever for the camera to put the coordinates to the files.

The newer system which requires active connection is in many ways nicer, but when both camera and phone go to sleep, the connection is lost, and also the phone needs to be waken up to get the tagging to work. Every time camera is turned off or goes to sleep, It takes about 30s to establish the connection. This is more than quite annoying.

 

[GrayCard]

I frequently use the Lumix Sync app with my G9 to apply geotagging info with great success. No muss; no fuss. YMMV...

 

[starbase218]

The older method where there is no active connection between camera and phone works, but for some reason it seems to take forever for the camera to put the coordinates to the files.

The newer system which requires active connection is in many ways nicer, but when both camera and phone go to sleep, the connection is lost, and also the phone needs to be waken up to get the tagging to work. Every time camera is turned off or goes to sleep, It takes about 30s to establish the connection. This is more than quite annoying.

I'm actually thinking that the offline method might be a bit nicer in some cases. One reason I'm looking at the GM1 is because there is an underwater housing for it (my current setup is a Sony RX100 V with Fantasea housing, but I'm considering the GM1 or some other options). But anyway, if I leave my phone on the boat, it will log where it is, while I'm underwater. GPS signals don't penetrate water, so it doesn't work even if the camera itself has GPS.

I need to look into a better dive log app as well though. And if I can put the photos in there, well the dive site is mentioned there as well, so it's not that important in that case.

edit: before I said I kind of settled on a GoPro for diving... I honestly don't know what I want.

 

[dap35]

The older method where there is no active connection between camera and phone works, but for some reason it seems to take forever for the camera to put the coordinates to the files.

The newer system which requires active connection is in many ways nicer, but when both camera and phone go to sleep, the connection is lost, and also the phone needs to be waken up to get the tagging to work. Every time camera is turned off or goes to sleep, It takes about 30s to establish the connection. This is more than quite annoying.

I always try to geo-tag my images, especially when traveling.

The older system required you to establish a wifi connection between the phone and camera which I didn't care for. The challenge you point out with the new system is that despite using BT, it requires the camera to stay awake. I ended up changing the sleep settings on my G9M2 to minimize the sleep failures, but it does discharge the battery more quickly. I will say that the Lumix Lab app connects more quickly than the older Sync app.

I posted the question to Sean on Lumix Live to see if it is feasible to add a low power mode that keeps the BT connection alive. Hopefully that makes it into a firmware update.

 

[pannumon]

I frequently use the Lumix Sync app with my G9 to apply geotagging info with great success. No muss; no fuss. YMMV...

I think this is an Android problem.

 

[GrayCard]

I frequently use the Lumix Sync app with my G9 to apply geotagging info with great success. No muss; no fuss. YMMV...

I think this is an Android problem.

I am using an Android phone without difficulties. That said, I need to be away from the "home zone" with a much stronger Wi-Fi signal for it to work well between phone and G9.

 

[starbase218]

Just coming back to this as I’m currently in La Gomera, one of the Spanish canary islands, with my D750 but without the Unleashed dongle. Instead I downloaded the myTracks app on my phone and laptop. I have it run all the time. Battery life isn’t too bad; it easily outlasts a hike into the mountains. In fact I’m not sure there really is much of an impact, since the times I had to top up my phone coincided with me actively using it a lot.

Anyway, it works, and it’s camera agnostic. I have enabled cloud integration, so a few seconds after the mobile app stops recording, the log shows up in the desktop app. After that I just start recording a new log, and then I geotag the images.

I think the laptop app could be more intuitive, but it does work. I can even geotag images, put the card back in the camera, and have the coordinates show up.

 

[vcxz]

I had a similar frustration because the Lumix Sync app takes forever to reconnect.

I ended up finding a way to geotag with a Garmin watch. If you hike a lot, you might have one anyway for All trails, etc. If you navigate a course or just do the "track me" activity, you can use Garmin Explore to export a GPX file and geotag in Photo Mechanic or similar.