GPS "geotagging" solution for Canon 5D Mark II

[hulugu]

Has anyone found, and had good luck with, a third-party GPS device for use with the Canon 5D Mark II?

I know Canon builds their own, but I'm going to buy several of them and I'd like to keep my costs down.

 

[bhtwo]

Don't you know where you are?

 

[anewman143]

Good question - I dealt with this before. Canon's products don't work with the 5d Mark II...VERY frustrating.

I bought a Garmin and just wear it around my neck when I go hiking...a small text file is produced on the devices microSD card...you connect the Garmin to your Mac and pull that file. Aperture let's you read that GPS data easily...easy simple import and simply point to where your first picture was taken along that path - VOILA.

Yes - no where near as ideal as on-board GPS on the camera that automatically includes the GPS info in the EXIF data...but for us 5d Mark ii owners, it's a solution that works for me.

And to boot, the Garmin is great for map data for hiking and navigating.

 

[flynz4]

It is a pet peeve of mine that camera manufacturers have been so slow in adopting GPS geotaging. I delayed replacing my original DSLR (ancient 2003 Nikon D100) as long as I possibly could simply because of missing GPS in new models. I finally had no real choice and capitulated a couple of years ago when I absolutely needed a new DSLR for a special project.

I swear... I will never buy another camera without built in GPS geotagging, provided my current gear is still operational. There is nothing they could possibly do to entice me. This statement comes from a very ardent consumer.

Frankly, I think the remaining camera industry deserves to follow Kodak down the drain.

/Jim

 

[OreoCookie]

It's a big mystery to me why GPS hasn't a default feature in all higher-end dslrs for many years now. I've tried using an external GPS but that never amounted to anything. Usually the battery would die in the middle of the day (it lasted about 6-7 hours).

 

[chabig]

Use your iPhone...https://appsto.re/us/c6imv.i

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It's a big mystery to me why GPS hasn't a default feature in all higher-end dslrs for many years now. I've tried using an external GPS but that never amounted to anything. Usually the battery would die in the middle of the day (it lasted about 6-7 hours).

Your GPS battery life was terrible, yet you can't figure out why DSLR makers don't include GPS as a standard feature?

 

[flynz4]

Use your iPhone...https://appsto.re/us/c6imv.i

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Your GPS battery life was terrible, yet you can't figure out why DSLR makers don't include GPS as a standard feature?

IMHO, that is a crappy excuse. Cell phone companies have worked on improving battery life with good results on the latest phones. The camera industry has chosen to ignore this... and as a result, they keep slipping further behind.

/Jim

 

[chabig]

IMHO, that is a crappy excuse. Cell phone companies have worked on improving battery life with good results on the latest phones. The camera industry has chosen to ignore this... and as a result, they keep slipping further behind.

/Jim

The GPS on your phone is made better because of the phone. It's called assisted GPS. A camera that isn't a phone has to rely purely on GPS. Apparently that makes a difference.

 

[OreoCookie]

Use your iPhone...https://appsto.re/us/c6imv.i

… whose battery also does not last a full day when I switch on my GPS.

Your GPS battery life was terrible, yet you can't figure out why DSLR makers don't include GPS as a standard feature?

The battery in my dslr is much, much larger, though. And indeed, some cameras do feature integrated GPS.

 

[flynz4]

The GPS on your phone is made better because of the phone. It's called assisted GPS. A camera that isn't a phone has to rely purely on GPS. Apparently that makes a difference.

Still, the phone industry has invested in assisted GPS. There has never been anything stopping the camera industry from making technology deals with the cell phone companies, or creating their own infrastructure. Alternatively, they could have been the first to create the smartphone industry.

It is the camera industry that is letting themselves be left behind. I am not going to make excuses for them. It is their responsibility to lead, and they are not. In fact, they are not even keeping up, they just keep falling further behind the technology curve.

When an industry refuses to take responsibility for their own future, they cannot point the blame on anyone else... it is a self inflicted wound.

/Jim

 

[robgendreau]

And assisted GPS isn't necessary for a good fix. We use GPS devices on ships, in the backcountry, and on the track without it and get great results. That being said, one thing a camera needs is a quick fix; i.e. you pull it out, turn it on, and then snap, and turn it off. The trick for THAT application is to get your location quickly.

Frankly I too tried USB and BT GPS receivers and other solutions. And I have a GPS enabled Panasonic TS5, which is great. And I have a wifi enabled camera, an E-M10, which easily syncs with my iPhone and the Olympus app to get geolocation. But sometimes it's just as easy to use a decent tracking app on the phone (Gaia GPS or Motion X are my favs) and then either HoudahGeo or LR to sync up location info later. Or, if I've imported into the iPad, via an app there.

The nice thing about using a phone is that you don't have to continuously track (the phone may be doing it anyway, but you can just take waypoints every time you stop to take photos rather than making a track). This saves batteries. If you take a photo of coordinates and/or time on your phone, it's easy to sync up via software later. Or if in one spot for a while, just take a georeferenced iPhone photo and then copy/paste the coordinates in your favorite software later.