Looking for a
geotagging solution that doesn't discriminate based on what kind of camera you have? Looking for one that can fit snugly into your Fifth Pocket? The PhotoTrackr Mini looks to be that very device, boasting a diminutive thumb drive-esque appearance and the same geotagging technology as found in
the original. Put simply, the device works by syncing the time of your camera with bundled software; when you're back from a shoot (a shoot where your device also was), you just allow the application to figure out where a given shot was snapped at what time. There's also Mac and RAW file format support on this model, neither of which were compatible with the prior version. Pre-orders are being accepted now at $69, and the first shipments are expected to go out next month.
posted Oct 25th 2009 1:59PM
So simple. I love it.
I shoot Nikon but haven't been impressed by the GP-1. This is slick.
I'm just going to tape this to my camera.
I'm wondering how the RAW support works, will it actually write GPS coordinates to the RAW file?
I guess it does. So does the software GPSPhotoLinker.
I want something that has a SD slot on it so i won't need any computers.
Sony has one: http://www.sonystyle.com/webapp/wcs/stores/servlet/ProductDisplay?storeId=10151&catalogId=10551&langId=-1&productId=8198552921665751075
I think this is something along the lines of what you are looking for:
http://photofinder.atpinc.com/how.html
*However, its gotten some pretty bad reviews.
Even the Sony product has some pretty bad flaws.
You would think this would be a pretty straight forward product.
If it outputs GPX so I can use GPSPhotoLinker and we know what the battery life is like then I might be interested.
The new Trackstick Mini provides a GPS Tracker and the best geo-tagging software yet. What's the battery life on this thing anyways?
Here's the link to the new one I am talking about:
http://www.trackstick.com/products/mini/intro.html
phototrackr mini has 17 hours according to specs on their website
@ tony.... That tracker is $289. Quite a bit different than $69
FYI... from their website:
(Note that Mac Pro version does not support RAW pictures. Please do not confused Mac Pro version with the windows version of PhotoTrackr Pro.)
Also, the pro version to support raw on windows is 19.99.
Ugh, again with the bait and switch for RAW? I bought the original and was pretty ticked off to find out I needed to pay another $20 for RAW support.
Never use the thing anyways, the software is annoying and cumbersome, and the GPS's clock was an hour off when I lived in Thailand.
@ (Unverified): I believe the new Mac version DOES SUPPORT RAW...
For the Trackstick Mini the manufacture states up to a week of operating time, 17 hours is kinda short I hate recharging stuff all the time.
@tracknod
You get what you pay for, also doubles up in watching over your wife :D
nice
I think the model may have Carotenemia!
Why not just use a real gps (one with a screen) so it has more value (like tagging points you want to return to, to take pictures later).
I use a Garmin GPSmap 60 CSx and the thing is rock solid even under a tree canopy (VERY accurate)
I just clip it to my backpack.
Then run the gps log file against your photos with RoboGeo (http://www.robogeo.com) which can write into the exif data on raw's.
@tony Sweet! I actually have a trackstick in my girlfriend's car that I use to...uh...make sure she doesn't get lost. It'll be nice to be able to use this for GeoTagging as well.
how does it work? it requires the photos to be uploaded/geotagged at the place of origin? its not attached to the camera, so...
It uses time-stamps - so as long as it's clipped to your camera strap and the clocks are synched, the tagging can be done at a later date.
Mark
Does anybody know anything about the software. Is it any good??
On Tracksticks website they have there software with test files available it looks pretty good.
Software:
http://trackstick.com/download.html
Sample Files/Tracks:
http://trackstick.com/products/mini/index.html
(Google Earth)
I just received my PhotoTrackr Lite today. If the software with this one is the same, it supposed to be pretty much the best around (as reviewed by multiple photography sites anyway)
@Eli superflush I have tried the TrackStick software and they are not very user friendly - at least from a photographer stand point - compared to the Phototrackr software. I guess the TrackStick tries to be an all-in-one solution rather than focus on geotagging for photographers like the Phototrackr. Maybe it's just my personal preference, but if you are a serious photographer, I recommend the Phototrackr over other solutions.
I do my photo geotagging with fantastic, free software called Geosetter and a $65 GPS logger called the Amod AGL3080. The GPS records data in simple NMEA sentences in text files and then connects to my computer via USB. No drivers are required other than the typical universal mass storage drivers used to access any thumb drive. The files are importable into all sorts of software, including the aforementioned Geosetter, which will do the tagging for jpgs or raw files. It has an easy-to-use interface, and it is very configurable. I have no stake in promoting either of these things other than just knowing how awesome I thought it was when things seemed to come together to allow me to do geotagging easily and without being locked into one particular format or proprietary device.
If it's like the original, the hardware only works with their crappy software. If they are using the same chip in the latest version, the drivers are proprietary, so OS X itself can't see it as a drive. It also puts out a proprietary file format. Both of these issues mean that there isn't any decent software to use the Phototackr on a Mac. Pity, because their PC software isn't that bad.
To all digicam manufactures, please start putting GPS & geotagging as standard built-in in all your consumer digicams. Don't just focus on megapixel. Megapixel count is reaching a ceiling now where it doesn't matter anymore.
i do my geotagging with my iPhone and GPSPhotoLinker. I just bought an inexpensive app (like trails) and upload everything to my mac and GPSPhotoLinker does the rest. it's actually a nice set up.
@kdfwagen
I have a similar workflow as you, but my iPhone app (GeoLogTag) also does the geotagging of my photos located in a Mac (shared) folder over WiFi. Creating the shared folder is a one time setup and everything is done by the app: tracking my location and geotagging my photos.
I shoot with a Canon 5D Mark II, shoot RAW, and work with Aperture on Macs.
I was wondering whether this is the best GPS for my gear these days ? (mac support, RAW support, maybe Aperture support ?)
- thanks
@rsepulveda: I'm not sure about the Canon 5D Mark II, but I use my Canon 40D with their setup and it works pretty well. I have sent them one of my RAW pictures via email before and asked them to check if the software is compatible with my camera. That way I can find out for sure if it's compatible or not. I used their software to geotag my photo, the software outputs a sidecar file without touching my original pictures, then I use Adobe Lightroom to do the final processing. I'm always hesitated to use other solutions since other software writes directly onto my original files and non-Adobe solutions have a good chance of mess up my original files. I like their setup since it's easy to use and I don't trust other software with my original RAW pictures. It looks like this new PhotoTrackr Mini series has a better hardware and also some improvement on the software as well, I would recommend you checking it out. I have pre-ordered this one and it's being shipped today!
Is the device still locked to the terrible software? Sorry GisTeq... Your hardware is good - but if you insist on limiting me to your proprietary software - and prevent me from using something like geosetter - then you won't be getting my upgrade $$s.
I bought this device based on this review, and completely regret it. I have an iMac (running Leopard 10.5.8) and I can't get the device to work with this computer. After visiting the company's online help forum I see that there have been issues with their support of Mac computers for a long time. They appear to be complacent and non-responsive to these issues. The box that this device came in has the 'Mac compatible' logo. This is clearly misrepresentation, since they don't properly support Mac computers. If you have a Mac computer DO NOT BUY THIS DEVICE.