geo-tagging
Latest
TrueHDR adds Geo-tagging and drops to $0.99 for a limited time
As a frequent landscape photographer, I've enjoyed exploring HDR (High Dynamic Range) imaging for quite some time. With HDR, your camera takes multiple images, usually at different shutter speeds, to capture both bright and dark areas at their best. Then the images are combined with software. Although most of my work is with a Canon DSLR, I've been impressed with some of the iPhone HDR apps that can help you get some really nice pictures under difficult lighting conditions. Although Apple includes HDR software in the iPhone 4, I've found that both Pro HDR and TrueHDR can give superior results. TrueHDR has just released a big update to its app, and now offers Geo-tagging support, better alignment algorithms and some improvements in the light metering software. I've tried the app, and I do like the quality of the images it produces. My only complaint is it takes a bit too long to merge and align the images. In my tests, True HDR produced an image in 24 seconds. Pro HDR processed the same scene in 12 seconds, and the Apple built-in HDR saved quite quickly ((2 seconds) but didn't look nearly as good as images from the other two apps. TrueHDR (which requires iOS 4.0 or greater) is currently on sale for a limited time for US$0.99. If you're interested in HDR photography and want to go beyond the Apple built-in HDR, TrueHDR is worth a dollar.
Nokia viNe goes live: share your mobile adventures online
Not that anyone really needs to see what photos you take, where you take them and what videos are captured during your daily walk through the game of life, but if you feel inclined to share, Nokia's making it exceptionally easy. The viNe service, which is compatible with a slew of E and N Series handsets, taps into your built-in GPS receiver and uploads your media to the viNe website in order for others to keep track. Think real-time social networking, driven by your cellphone. Yeah, it's a touch too voyeuristic for our tastes, but you know you want to give it a go. Hit the read link to explore.[Via Symbian-Guru]
QSTARZ BT-Q1000 GPS data logger syncs with Google Earth
QSTARZ is taking its familiarity with GPS receivers and integrating a data logger to form the newfangled BT-Q1000. This two-faced device doubles as a Bluetooth GPS receiver to navigate your course and allows you to "record your routes" in order to plot points on Google Earth and disseminate the map to your envious pals. Moreover, you can use the device to more accurately tag where your travel photos were snapped along the way, and if you're in the fleet management biz, this here tool can keep your motorists from straying too far off the beaten path. Designed to last a whopping 32-hours without a recharge, the BT-Q1000 can make your next journey a whole lot more memorable for $119 when it lands later this month.
Sony's GPS-CS1 provides GPS for cameras
We'd like to think if you were carrying a 3.5-inch $150 GPS receiver on your person you'd be able to use it for more than just geo-tagging your Cyber-shot photos, but hey, that's Sony for ya. Their new GPS-CS1 tracks your coordinates while you're out and syncs your timed route to your PC with their Picture Motion Browser, which then uses the timestamps embedded in your photographs to provide maps with geographically coordinated "virtual push pins" for augmented photo library meta-posterity. It's an interesting and compelling concept even despite the typical Sony walled garden, but now that they've pioneered the method we think someone's liable to hack up a quick and dirty GPS-enabled smartphone app to do the same for the rest of Flickr-using types (and don't say Zonetag -- doesn't count).
