Geotagging Equipment: Jobo photoGPS

[emorydunn]

I just upgraded to iPhoto '09 and (probably like many people) have decided to try and start geotagging my photos. I have looked into a couple of iPhone apps but they don't work all that well so I did some research and found the Jobo photoGPS (http://www.jobo.com/web/photoGPS.447.0.html).

Has anyone used this or anything similar? I've got a Canon 10D which as far as I can tell doesn't interface with any GPS directly (ones that will write the coordinates to the EXIF data when the picture is taken).

The main thing I like about the Jobo photoGPS is that it logs coordinates only when you take a picture instead of all the time making it a bit easier to manage.

Anyway, any thoughts on this or other GPS units meant for geotagging? Oh, under $200 would be best.

 

[urbancity]

I'm also in the process of looking for a gps for my camera.

Have you checked out the Sony GPS-CS3KA? It is not directly connected to the camera. It's sort of a set-it-and-forget-it thing. You just need to synchronize the time on your camera to the GPS time. It's about $100 and you can find it on amazon.com

BTW, with this GPS, you have the option to insert the camera SD card to the GPS and the coordinates of the pix will be automatically entered in the metadata of the respective pix.

 

[emorydunn]

I actually just bought the Jobo photoGPS and so far I love it! It doesn't record a trail of points and I think that makes it easier because you don't have to worry about times. The GPS is amazingly fast and accurate. The only problem is that you can't use RAW photos with iPhoto because iPhoto doesn't recognise the XMP file that is created which is iPhoto's fault.

 

[Galarina]

I have looked into a couple of iPhone apps but they don't work all that well ...

Did you look into my iPhone geotagging app GeoLogTag? It's specifically written for geotagging photos taken with any digital camera and users are very happy with it (check out the App Store reviews).

 

[mahood]

Did you look into my iPhone geotagging app GeoLogTag? It's specifically written for geotagging photos taken with any digital camera and users are very happy with it (check out the App Store reviews).

While your app looks very clever, and can do GPS logging which is nice - there is a lower-tech solution...

You take a snap with the iPhone after you've taken my photos with your 'real' camera. The times sync up if your camera clock is right, and you can mark all the photos with the same location afterwards, once they're all in iPhoto.

Not to put people off the app, but it's worth a go!

Mark

 

[Galarina]

@mahood

Your comment is absolutely correct, but it's a LOT of manual work.
The purpose of GeoLogTag is to reduce the geotagging overhead to a minimum.

 

[ftaok]

I'm also in the process of looking for a gps for my camera.

Have you checked out the Sony GPS-CS3KA? It is not directly connected to the camera. It's sort of a set-it-and-forget-it thing. You just need to synchronize the time on your camera to the GPS time. It's about $100 and you can find it on amazon.com

BTW, with this GPS, you have the option to insert the camera SD card to the GPS and the coordinates of the pix will be automatically entered in the metadata of the respective pix.

Looks pretty cool, however for me I have two problems with it. Not huge problems, though.

1. MS and SD only. I use CF cards, so I'd have to load the GPS info into the computer and sync the photos manually. Not a huge issue, but there are other GPS loggers out there that are cheaper.

2. If I were to switch to an SD or MS camera, would I really trust this device to "modify" my photos before I uploaded them to my Mac? I don't know, but what would happen if the GPS syncing action crapped out and corrupted the SD card? I'm not comfortable with that ... as it is, I cringe whenever I upload my photos to the Mac ... I guess the fewer steps the better.

Maybe the rumored Canon 60D/7D with dual slots will allow shooting to both cards at the same time for an instant backup.

I have looked into a couple of iPhone apps but they don't work all that well so I did some research and found the Jobo photoGPS (http://www.jobo.com/web/photoGPS.447.0.html).

This looks cool too. But it ties up your hot shoe and built in flash. I guess if you're indoors, the GPS wouldn't be that useful, but sometimes you might want to shoot with fill-flash outdoors. I do it all the time. This device prevents the flash from working.

ft

 

[urbancity]

That's the beauty of the Sony GPS. If you can't or don't trust the GPS modifying your photos, you can just download the GPS track info to the computer and allow one of the many free apps to sync camera photos with GPS data.

Looks pretty cool, however for me I have two problems with it. Not huge problems, though.

1. MS and SD only. I use CF cards, so I'd have to load the GPS info into the computer and sync the photos manually. Not a huge issue, but there are other GPS loggers out there that are cheaper.

2. If I were to switch to an SD or MS camera, would I really trust this device to "modify" my photos before I uploaded them to my Mac? I don't know, but what would happen if the GPS syncing action crapped out and corrupted the SD card? I'm not comfortable with that ... as it is, I cringe whenever I upload my photos to the Mac ... I guess the fewer steps the better.

Maybe the rumored Canon 60D/7D with dual slots will allow shooting to both cards at the same time for an instant backup.

ft

 

[emorydunn]

Looks pretty cool, however for me I have two problems with it. Not huge problems, though.

1. MS and SD only. I use CF cards, so I'd have to load the GPS info into the computer and sync the photos manually. Not a huge issue, but there are other GPS loggers out there that are cheaper.

2. If I were to switch to an SD or MS camera, would I really trust this device to "modify" my photos before I uploaded them to my Mac? I don't know, but what would happen if the GPS syncing action crapped out and corrupted the SD card? I'm not comfortable with that ... as it is, I cringe whenever I upload my photos to the Mac ... I guess the fewer steps the better.

Maybe the rumored Canon 60D/7D with dual slots will allow shooting to both cards at the same time for an instant backup.


This looks cool too. But it ties up your hot shoe and built in flash. I guess if you're indoors, the GPS wouldn't be that useful, but sometimes you might want to shoot with fill-flash outdoors. I do it all the time. This device prevents the flash from working.

ft

That is the only downside. Although it has a button that will let you manually trigger a GPS point without taking a picture so you can pop it off use flash hit the button and be good.

Every device has a downside. Until GPS is built into cameras there won't be a perfect solution (and even then it might not be perfect).

 

[michaelclark]

Hi emorydunn...
Regarding Geotagging Equipment: Jobo photoGPS i am using this, it proved high feasibility of tagging with the images.Managing pictures with coordinates logging is good which makes it easier in processing.

 

[emorydunn]

Hi emorydunn...
Regarding Geotagging Equipment: Jobo photoGPS i am using this, it proved high feasibility of tagging with the images.Managing pictures with coordinates logging is good which makes it easier in processing.

That's what I figured out too. It works well and is easy to use. And iPhoto will use the coordinates without a second glance (unless they are RAW).