Alternatives to the GP-E2 GPS Geotagger?

[stefsan]

Geotagging my photos is an old wish of mine but until now I have not found a convincing solution for Canon/Mac users. :-\

From Canon's press release regarding the new accessories: «Compatible with the EOS-1D X, EOS 7D and new EOS 5D Mark III, the GP-E2 tags photos with longitude, latitude and altitude data as well as the direction in which the shot was taken, adding information to the EXIF file of the image.»

They state that the GP-E2 will be compatible with the 7D but on http://www.usa.canon.com/cusa/consumer/products/cameras/gps_receivers/gps_receiver_gp_e2 they also say that half of its functions will NOT be available to 7d users: «†When the EOS 7D is used with the GP-E2 the following restrictions will apply: a) geotagging function will not work for movies while recording; b) geotagging features will not work for movies when using the Map Utility; c) electronic compass information and automatic time setting is not available; d) transmission via the hot shoe is not possible.» I'm not too bothered about the movie functions but the lack of compass information is rather disappointing – especially for a device with such a price tag (US: $390 / EUR: €279 / UK: £299.99 according to http://dancarrphotography.com/blog/)!

Are there any well functioning alternatives to the GP-E2 you guys know of? And perhaps a little less expensive than Canons' ?

 

[JustinTArthur]

Are there any well functioning alternatives to the GP-E2 you guys know of? And perhaps a little less expensive than Canons' ?

If you have a smartphone, there are several good apps for generating a GPS log file similar to those generated using the GP-E2's Log mode. On Android, the free Google Maps app comes with a supplementary activity called My Tracks that does this pretty well. On iOS, several of the popular running or cycling fitness apps have this ability.

On Mac OS X, I use Jeffrey's Geoencoding Plugin for Adobe Photoshop Lightroom 3. to add the geolocation data from the GPS log file as metadata to the image files (though the workflow can be tedious). Adobe Photoshop Lightroom 4 will have this capability built-in. The open source tool, gpicsync, is great, though has somewhat limited OS X support. If you're on Flickr, you can use a webapp like GPSTagr to add Flickr geotagging post-upload. Canon Map Utility is available by calling the parts department or comes free with ZoomBrowser EX. It can geo-encode photographs, though last I checked it only supported doing this from the NMEA 0183 file format (logged raw serial data from GPS device), but you can convert a GPX file from your smartphone using a utility.

On the off-chance you already own this camera's Wireless File Transmitter (expensive), you can add a cheap USB Bluetooth radio and pair it with your smartphone running a GPS over Bluetooth SPP application (cheap on Android) or a standalone GPS unit that supports Bluetooth SPP. The newer file transmitter models have the radio built-in.

 

[stefsan]

Hey Justin, thanks a lot for your answer! Much appreciated.

 

[Michael_pfh]

The EyeFi Pro X2 got a geotagging function as well, have not tested it though...
http://www.eye.fi/products/prox2

 

[swiss]

I had the same wishes (Geotagging) with my 7D. Therefore I bought the WFT and a very tiny USB-Bluetooth Dongle from HAMA. As GPS device I'm using the QSTARZ BT-Q1000XT Travel recorder. It has an amazing long lasting battery life and the battery is replaceable. The only thing I miss is the direction information.
But i still hope that with the next Firmware Upgrade of the 7D the remaining functionality of the GP-E2 will also be available.

 

[JustinTArthur]

The EyeFi Pro X2 got a geotagging function as well, have not tested it though...
http://www.eye.fi/products/prox2

Nice! Figures they would have added something like this. Looks like it it's only using WiFi Positioning System for geolocation (instead of GPS or cell tower proximity), so it will be more accurate in metropolitan areas.

 

[GND]

"Accessorized" GPS geotagging is silly on behalf of Canon, disables flash capability as the GPE2 occupies the hot shoe and the post processing alternative takes time. It must become standard in-camera feature just as in-camera date imprint did eliminating the old databacks. How much space would the extra circuitry occupy in the camera body anyway. It's not gadgetry, it's a very useful feature just as in-camera file sorting is.

 

[swiss]

"Accessorized" GPS geotagging is silly on behalf of Canon, disables flash capability as the GPE2 occupies the hot shoe and the post processing alternative takes time. It must become standard in-camera feature just as in-camera date imprint did eliminating the old databacks. How much space would the extra circuitry occupy in the camera body anyway. It's not gadgetry, it's a very useful feature just as in-camera file sorting is.

Maybe we'll get it with the 5D Mark IV

 

[GND]

 

[miah]

The problem with an in-camera GPS solution is that it negatively impacts battery life, big time. First, the constant GPS send/receive function (pinging the satellites) requires a lot of juice. Second, if you turn off the camera to save your juice, you have to wait after turning it back on while the satellites are located and locked on to. Personally, taking pictures is more important to me than geotagging them, so I want to reserve what battery power I have, first and foremost, for the camera.

A better solution is using a battery-efficient stand-alone GPS device that records a track log. Some phones can do this, but I prefer something like the Garmin 60CSx, because it serves so many other functions (like telling me when and where the sun and moon will rise and set). I then use Early Innovations excellent OSX Photolinker application http://www.earlyinnovations.com/photolinker/ to tag the photos prior to importing them into Lightroom.

The workflow is a little more complicated than I'd like it to be, but until battery technology progresses to the point that this is a non-issue, I prefer to save my limited juice for the act of photography. NOTE: My work is done in the field where weight/bulk issues are paramount, and where I have few opportunities to recharge my battery packs.

 

[MikeHunt]

Geotagging my photos is an old wish of mine but until now I have not found a convincing solution for Canon/Mac users. :-\

Are there any well functioning alternatives to the GP-E2 you guys know of? And perhaps a little less expensive than Canons' ?

C'mon give Yongnuo a chance! They've only just announced the GP-E2. It took the Chinese 'cloners' several months to come up with the Yongnuo ST-E2 (Canon ST-E2) and more than a year for the Yongnuo YN-565EX (580EX II) clones

 

[wickidwombat]

I have this for the iphone and it works well
http://www.dslrbot.com/