GPS devices

[james_tigerwoods]

This isn't a question about which one to get, but for an explanation - As I now have a Nikon D3100, I can get a GPS device to plug in to it.

My question really is this - Why would you want to?

[GetCarter]

I guess there are surveyors/architects/explorers/anoraks out there that need the exact location of photos

[DIW35]

There are also a couple of websites where you can upload geotagged photos so that they are displayed in their relevant location on Google Earth, which is useful for people who like to get an idea of the available sights before visiting.

[markmullen]

I upload my stuff to flickr and like to tag it, however on a long trip out remembering exactly where you were becomes difficult. I've got an AMOD gps logger which hangs off my camera bag on a karabiner when I'm out, then houdahgeo ( http://www.houdah.com/houdahGeo/ ) tags them. It is also useful if I'm out and about and see a useful spot for a future photoshoot for work, a quick snap tagged and I can go back to it.

[PugwasHDJ80]

I used a GPS dongle on my laptop and a clever piece of software that exactly matches the times of the GPS and SLR. Then when i take a photo (and as long as the GPS is on), i can exactly tag the photo with a GPS location.

Use it mostly for expeditions to places like the sahara to remember where we were and what we were doing. Its great for a few years down the line when you are trying to remember your trip in detail!

[rxtx]

I use a Columbus V900 GPS datalogger and wrote some software to geotag photos, I just leave it on in a rucksack or dashboard. Good for logging long car journeys on holiday too, and even the flights, I have London to Auckland and back logged. I was able to confirm a speeding ticket with it once

[sjg]

Lots of photo management software including iPhoto, Aperture, Picasa, etc and even services like Flickr support geotags and have nice ways of viewing photos by location.

I took a qstarz GPS logger on my winter trip, just sat in my bag logging where I was every 10 seconds and the software ties that up with the timestamps on the photos and writes the location data into the EXIF info. For an integrated unit like the Nikon one, it writes that straight into the file on the flash card so no extra steps necessary, or headaches around time zones on multi-country trips.

It means that for a collection like this you get a map by every photo, or can see everything in a set as spots on a map. Some may think it pointless, I quite like it. Just need more cameras with it built-in, and the better new GPS chipsets (that use far less power and take less time to locate) to filter through to that use.