Cute New GPS Camera Toy From Sony

[CoolToolGuy]

This is on DPREVIEW today:

http://www.dpreview.com/news/0608/06080202sonygpscs1.asp

It is the introduction of a GPS device that you can hang from a belt loop or somewhere else, and it records the date and time and where on Earth you are. When you get home you download the images, and it puts the location into the EXIF data for the images. You can then use the info for all sorts of things, including a map with the locations you were at when you took your pictures. The article is not 100% clear, but it looks like this only works with Sony cameras.

This is a cute toy, and something I would like to have, but if it is only available for Sony cameras, it is another example of proprietary technology that winds up with Sony shooting themselves in the foot. Then again, if it is (or becomes) available for other cameras, perhaps Sony is learning - time will tell.

Have Fun,

[keenasmustard]

I could be wrong... but I'm pretty sure other companies make something like this. That's the first time I've seen that Sony model, but I've heard of the concept in magazine reviews of a different manufacturer. I'll see if I can track it down in my archived tower of mags... :)

[dinoadventures]

WWMX will do the same thing if you have a Garmin GPS (or can convert to GPX format) I believe with any image by syncing with the timestamp.

I admit, before I read up on it, the sony had me excited for about two seconds.

[Jon]

Someone else's version posted a bit ago here (http://photography-on-the.net/forum/showpost.php?p=1787546&postcount=2)

[CoolToolGuy]

I see the tracking part of the TrackStick, but I don't see where it can write the location into the EXIF data of an image. That is just a software app away, but the Sony has it in the shrink wrap, if you will. Hopefully this feature will become more popular and available to all of us digital photography folks, whether it comes from Sony or someone else.Have Fun,

[Jon]

Sounds sort of like the Sony positions photo pushpins where they'd fall on the track rather than actually writing the lat/long to the EXIF data. But they're a little (a lot?) fuzzy about the details.

[CoolToolGuy]

But they're a little (a lot?) fuzzy about the details

Sort of like their high-ISO images. . . :rolleyes: :lol: :lol: :lol:

Have Fun,

[Jon]

Well, I really wasn't going to embark on any Sony-bashing. Not that they don't deserve it for a number of reasons, but, in the interests of brotherhood, openness and fair play, I was going to give them the opportunity to get it right, and well-made. For a change.

[CoolToolGuy]

Just to be straight - I'm sure the Sony is and will be a good camera - it improves the competition (as in Canon). But with a straight line like that, I couldn't resist - this is, after all, a one-brand forum. ;)

Have Fun,

[Stevie@JC]

why wud u need one of those lol, if ya cant remember were you were when u took the photograph or were it was...............um white jacket men should be calling

[Jon]

I may shoot several hundred photos along a trail; having the specific location for a given shot makes it easier to get back to the same place to track changes over time, for instance. If you're photographing, say, a bird, there's not necessarily going to be a lot of useful content to help you relocate that spot. Similarly, I know at least one person who went on a tour of India, photographing temples, and by the time he got home he hadn't a clue which was which.

[Tdragone]

(Thinks of Arches NP in Utah)
There are thousands of arches; and posting lat/lang would make it useful for both you and others to go back to the same spot; maybe in a different season....

[KevC]

Knowing Sony, it'll be only for Sony cameras :( Cool idea!

[CyberDyneSystems]

Interesting,., this feature is something you will see on "wish lists" for new EOS releases dating back to the D60/10D era on thois very forum...

Sony is the first to pick up on it,. I say good for them. The first gen is a clunky off camera add on that's proprietary,. so what else is new. In a few years? Onboard built into Cameras,. or a card slot provided for the option (an SD sized GPS? is it possible?)

Another first for Sony.

[DavidW]

SD sized GPSes already exist, though they do have something of a lump at the end to accommodate the antenna. They also require SDIO support, which tends to require licensing an SDIO stack (or a whole bunch of software work).

My vote would be for adding Bluetooth to the cameras. It's a simple, low-power chipset. Bluetooth capable GPSes are already common and are inexpensive - I own one which I use with a Pocket PC for in-car navigation.

Sony aren't first, really - many Nikon DSLRs have an optional cable to link to a serial GPS.



David

[Mat Fitzsimmons]

Indeed
http://www.nikon.com.au/productitem.php?pid=671-3d53fc8c01

[condyk]

My vote would be for adding Bluetooth to the cameras. It's a simple, low-power chipset. Bluetooth capable GPSes are already common and are inexpensive - I own one which I use with a Pocket PC for in-car navigation.

I was thinking the same and for the same reasons ;-) and I agree with Jon that it can be a real mission, on a long trip especially, to remember where the hell you took a whole load of shots ... I been there :lol: :lol: too many times :confused:

[Coco-Puffs]

seems like its not RAW compatible....

[tommykjensen]

I was thinking the same and for the same reasons ;-) and I agree with Jon that it can be a real mission, on a long trip especially, to remember where the hell you took a whole load of shots ... I been there :lol: :lol: too many times :confused:

Yep. If this sony thing proves to work on files from other brands or a there is a similar device with a good battery lifetime I might even consider getting one for the africa trip next year. 3 weeks travelling around there and I can easily imagine forgetting where the shots were taken. And no I would not want to bother having a notebook writing down where I shoot.

[Jon]

Yep. If this sony thing proves to work on files from other brands or a there is a similar device with a good battery lifetime I might even consider getting one for the africa trip next year. 3 weeks travelling around there and I can easily imagine forgetting where the shots were taken. And no I would not want to bother having a notebook writing down where I shoot.Use your voice annotation capability, Tommy. Why d'ya think Canon put it in the 1D series?

[tommykjensen]

Use your voice annotation capability, Tommy. Why d'ya think Canon put it in the 1D series?

Hehe I didn't think of that. But feels kind of stupid talking to the camera :lol: And with 5 to 7 other photographers around it is bound to be captured and posted here :lol:

[Jon]

So tell 'em you're chimping.
:{)#

[DocFrankenstein]

I think there's one major drawback.

I'd want to map where the photos were taken, and then I might want to come back there.

I think to come back I either need an accurate map or another GPA which actually has a screen on it.

So what's the point? You're buying a GPS just because of the synching with your files.

[tommykjensen]

I think to come back I either need an accurate map or another GPA which actually has a screen on it.


Not sure about the Sony bt the other (trakstick) that were linked had the option to export the data to various formats. One of them being a *.kml file that works with Google Earth. Or a csv file. So what You need is a map device where You can enter the coordinates.

[wu_wei0]

why wud u need one of those lol, if ya cant remember were you were when u took the photograph or were it was...............um white jacket men should be calling

Call the white jacket men then.
Besides shooting for fun I use my gear for research. Whether for pleasure or work, sometimes I am on a shoot for several days and once I have my shots dumped and catalogued they aren't particularly in numerical order. I may recall the trip but not the exact location. I've often thought it would be a blessing to have GPS data embedded since I do need to sometimes go back and reshoot. I even considered the Nikon because of this.

The sony toy and others like are cool gadgets but I don't want that extra step of merging the data from one to my exif data. Nor do I want one more thing to keep track of. I wish canon would have added it to the 30D. Might have made that price difference from the 20D really worth while.

~wu

[CyberDyneSystems]

Hehe I didn't think of that. But feels kind of stupid talking to the camera :lol:

I talk to my camera all the time,. a soft whisoper every now and then and she takes much better photos :lol:

[wu_wei0]

I talk to my camera all the time,. a soft whisoper every now and then and she takes much better photos :lol:

Those soft whispers can work wonders. ;)

~wu

[CoolToolGuy]

I think Canon's wrinkle to this concept is to tie a GPS device into the Data Verification Kit that is used for law enforcement. The DVK verifies that the image is unchanged, and is admissible as evidence. If you add the location that the photo was taken, it would be another aspect that could benefit law enforcement, as well as for other uses.

Have Fun,

[CorruptedPhotographer]

why wud u need one of those lol, if ya cant remember were you were when u took the photograph or were it was...............um white jacket men should be calling


Apparently you do not venture into the desert or country side in your Irish case ;)