Cameras with In-built GPS?

[Andy M]

I'm asking this on behalf of a friend who's looking for a relatively compact camera with in-built GPS so that he can track the exact spot each photo is taken.

He works in fairly hostile areas (Iraq etc) and wants to keep the kit as compact as possible - hence not going down the route of dSLR + hot shoe kit.

Anybody have any recommendations?

[jimmy156]

Panasonic TZ10 i think has GPS, and is a great little camera.

[LongQ]

My guess is that a GPS system will noticably reduce battery life. I assume that it might also take a few seconds at camera switch on for it to lock on to the GPS satellites.

There have been, and probably still are, devices (mobile phones?) that can track and record, periodically, current location. With a reasonably accurate time sync between that and the camera it is possible, via software, to add the GPS info to the image's EXIF data. On that basis you just leave the GPS position recorder running all the time. Still have to charge the batteries though and download the trace files.

Not quite an all in one solution but something that may be worth considering.

[RVVUNM]

I have got a Panasonic TZ10 and not only has it got an accurate GPS, its also a great little camera. 12 x optical zoom and HD video all work very well.

[sjg]

Yes, even the basic Garmin walking GPS units will happily record a days worth of position data on a single charge - just switch on in the morning and leave it in a bag.

Phone would be possible but logging GPS data will kill most smartphone batteries within 5-6 hours.

Once you've got your photos off the camera, and a file with date/time and position data, you can use software like GPSPhotoLinker - http://www.earlyinnovations.com/gpsphotolinker/ - to write EXIF position info into the photos.

[LongQ]

Further to the above -

http://www.dpreview.com/reviews/Q210grouptravelzoo...

3 of the cameras in the test offer built in GPS.

[cottonfoo]

I wanted Nikon's GP-1 but it's pretty expensive for what it does. I've got a German mate bringing me over a Columbus V-900 GPS datalogger instead. Can leave it on all the time, uses Micro SD for storage up to 2GB (that's a lot of data), and doesn't limit me to only using it with the camera, so I can plot drives/hikes as well as geotag photos, albeit with the extra step of marrying the times.

[sjg]

A bit of digging around found this: http://www.easydevices.co.uk/pp/GPS_Receivers/GPS_... which looks great for the job. Will log for over 24 hours, connects and charges via USB.

[Tuna]

Got my Dad the TZ10 for his birthday and it's a great little camera. Takes really good shots in a wide variety of situations and has a good colour balance and decent zoom range. The GPS is not very quick to lock on, and though some people have commented on the battery life (of course it is reduced by having GPS), it seems to last pretty long on a single charge.

[tog]

Do be careful sharing or posting photos online if they have accurate GPS data embedded in them. Several clients I shoot for specifically state that submitted photos should be stripped of any GPS data – if it finished up on their websites all sorts of trouble could ensue.