Compact Cameras with GPS
Discussion
Once of a time I’d always carry a compact camera around with me for photos, relying on that for photos rather than my phone.
Few years ago I got an iPhone 14 Pro and was deeply impressed with the camera on that so found myself using that instead, the Canon SX730 is now just gathering dust.
Recently I’ve been getting more and more annoyed with the phone for photos, wanting to just get a quick picture in the moment is a pain in the arse, swiping to open the camera doesn’t always work, or the phone will decide it needs FaceID before it does anything, or I’ll accidentally put it in pano mode or video mode… by which time the moment is gone. Plus low light photos that need the flash are god awful on a phone.
So I’m looking at alternative compact cameras, however one thing I really do like about using the phone is the fact it’ll geo-tag the location of every photo taken. I’ve tried looking online to see if there are any compact cameras with that feature, but quickly realised that there aren’t actually that many compacts on the market anymore and there’s also a lot of inconsistency with the info.
The camera will be used for hiking and holiday shots as well as every day stuff, if it does decent video that’ll be a bonus, but mainly I’d like it to be able to geo-tag photos too. The SX730 I’ve currently got can supposedly do it, but only if I connect it to the app on my phone and have it running in the background, which kills the battery in no time in both the phone and camera. Then when I sync the photos to the phone 99% of the time there’s no geotag!
TL:DR - Are there any decent compact cameras on the market that have built in GPS/geo-tagging?
Few years ago I got an iPhone 14 Pro and was deeply impressed with the camera on that so found myself using that instead, the Canon SX730 is now just gathering dust.
Recently I’ve been getting more and more annoyed with the phone for photos, wanting to just get a quick picture in the moment is a pain in the arse, swiping to open the camera doesn’t always work, or the phone will decide it needs FaceID before it does anything, or I’ll accidentally put it in pano mode or video mode… by which time the moment is gone. Plus low light photos that need the flash are god awful on a phone.
So I’m looking at alternative compact cameras, however one thing I really do like about using the phone is the fact it’ll geo-tag the location of every photo taken. I’ve tried looking online to see if there are any compact cameras with that feature, but quickly realised that there aren’t actually that many compacts on the market anymore and there’s also a lot of inconsistency with the info.
The camera will be used for hiking and holiday shots as well as every day stuff, if it does decent video that’ll be a bonus, but mainly I’d like it to be able to geo-tag photos too. The SX730 I’ve currently got can supposedly do it, but only if I connect it to the app on my phone and have it running in the background, which kills the battery in no time in both the phone and camera. Then when I sync the photos to the phone 99% of the time there’s no geotag!
TL:DR - Are there any decent compact cameras on the market that have built in GPS/geo-tagging?
These days it all seems to be linked with phone apps as you have discovered.
If you'll consider secondhand the Sony HX90V has GPS and it's still a cracking camera.
MPB has one
https://www.mpb.com/en-uk/product/sony-cyber-shot-...
If you'll consider secondhand the Sony HX90V has GPS and it's still a cracking camera.
MPB has one
https://www.mpb.com/en-uk/product/sony-cyber-shot-...
You seem to have had a strange time opening your iPhone’s camera. With my iPhone screen locked, I just tap the screen, tap the camera icon, and it opens the camera, ready to take a photo in under two seconds from the start. It never opens in panoramic. Do you have some strange settings selected?
Totally contrary to the original request, but I'd suggest it's worth trying out a newer iPhone.
The camera control button has been the perfect solution to the problem you've described, and whilst it seems to get a mixed reception, in my use it's always been perfect - As I go for the phone, I can usually find the camera button as I'm pulling it out, and a quick press means it's already completely awake and ready to shoot by the time I'm looking at it.
The positioning is reasonably natural, and whilst the inbuilt zoom sliding can be a little bit touchy, it hasn't really gotten in the way of a shot at any point. (And I've made no attempt to adjust it)
As for flash photography, I don't really tend to bother with it - The longer exposure low light mode is truly excellent (And I've never had a great result with regular camera flash regardless of camera body)
That and the cameras themselves have come on leaps and bounds - For me, the best camera is the one that you're carrying with you, and it's always going to be my phone!
The camera control button has been the perfect solution to the problem you've described, and whilst it seems to get a mixed reception, in my use it's always been perfect - As I go for the phone, I can usually find the camera button as I'm pulling it out, and a quick press means it's already completely awake and ready to shoot by the time I'm looking at it.
The positioning is reasonably natural, and whilst the inbuilt zoom sliding can be a little bit touchy, it hasn't really gotten in the way of a shot at any point. (And I've made no attempt to adjust it)
As for flash photography, I don't really tend to bother with it - The longer exposure low light mode is truly excellent (And I've never had a great result with regular camera flash regardless of camera body)
That and the cameras themselves have come on leaps and bounds - For me, the best camera is the one that you're carrying with you, and it's always going to be my phone!
Edited by Haltamer on Wednesday 18th February 10:34
WarrenB said:
Recently I ve been getting more and more annoyed with the phone for photos, wanting to just get a quick picture in the moment is a pain in the arse, swiping to open the camera doesn t always work, or the phone will decide it needs FaceID before it does anything, or I ll accidentally put it in pano mode or video mode by which time the moment is gone. Plus low light photos that need the flash are god awful on a phone.
Phones are an ergonomic disaster for photography. I seem to recall a GPS gadget that fitted on a hotshoe, but you'll have to google it.
Cheers for the replies, I'll look into the Sony HX90V, it looks to be ideal.
I did consider upgrading to the latest Pro iPhone but want to stop relying on my phone for photos ideally. Plus I'd still experience the same frustrations I have with my current one. There's been a few times where it's been drizzling and the screen gets wet which makes it more frustrating to get the camera open. I always use the volume buttons as the shutter rather than the screen, but there have been quite a few occasions where I've accidentally locked the phone again - as Simpo said above, it's an ergonomic disaster. Though the 17 with the dedicated camera control button could solve that.
I'd say 6 times out of the 10 the phone is fine, but there are so many photos that could be better if they were taken with a proper camera. A couple of days ago I was hiking on the Isle of Skye, out of the blue a low flying military plane flew over. By the time I'd got the phone out and opened the camera the moment had gone. At least with a dedicated camera I'd be able to use optical zoom to zoom in a bit.
Then again there's been occasions where I've taken time to manually set up a long exposure night shot with the dSLR, only for a handheld phone shot to come out just as good, that is until you look at it on a big screen or try and get a print, but in most cases they never leave the phone!
I did consider upgrading to the latest Pro iPhone but want to stop relying on my phone for photos ideally. Plus I'd still experience the same frustrations I have with my current one. There's been a few times where it's been drizzling and the screen gets wet which makes it more frustrating to get the camera open. I always use the volume buttons as the shutter rather than the screen, but there have been quite a few occasions where I've accidentally locked the phone again - as Simpo said above, it's an ergonomic disaster. Though the 17 with the dedicated camera control button could solve that.
I'd say 6 times out of the 10 the phone is fine, but there are so many photos that could be better if they were taken with a proper camera. A couple of days ago I was hiking on the Isle of Skye, out of the blue a low flying military plane flew over. By the time I'd got the phone out and opened the camera the moment had gone. At least with a dedicated camera I'd be able to use optical zoom to zoom in a bit.
Then again there's been occasions where I've taken time to manually set up a long exposure night shot with the dSLR, only for a handheld phone shot to come out just as good, that is until you look at it on a big screen or try and get a print, but in most cases they never leave the phone!
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