New iPhoto 09 Places(Geo-tagging)

[lostngone]

The new iPhoto supports Geo-tagging. Apple page says,

Quote:

"This feature uses data from GPS-enabled cameras or the camera on iPhone to categorize photos by location and convert GPS location tags to common, user-friendly names."

Knowing nothing about how camera Geo-tagging works my question is if I buy a camera with a GPS built in how do I know iPhoto will read the location data.

I was looking at the P6000 from Nikon but I have no clue if iPhoto will understand the lat/long data in the file.

I called Apple and asked if they had a supported camera list and the two people I spoke to did not know what camera(other then the iPhone) were supported.

Is the lat/long data from the iPhone pictures stored in the EXIF data or stored in some other way? Is the Geo-tagging of digital images by cameras a standard format?


For the Moderators: I posted this to the wrong forum can it be moved to "Mac Applications".
Thank You

 

[ftaok]

I don't know 100%, but it's my understanding that the GPS data is indeed stored in the EXIF data. I think it's a standard way of logging the data.

Also, I believe that the camera used in the MWSF Keynote was the Nikon P6000.

ft

 

[macmike47]

It should work absolutely fine - geotagging basically just adds two numbers to the exif. There's no reason why iPhoto wouldn't be able to read it.

 

[lostngone]

Also, I believe that the camera used in the MWSF Keynote was the Nikon P6000.

ft

Thank you, I did not watch the keynote but that makes me feel alot better about buying the camera.

 

[JavierDiaz4]

Becarefull with that Camera. I just bought it Friday night and will be returning it if I don't get it to work correctly. It takes at times anywhere between 2-5 minutes for it to get a signal, Outside. Can't seem to get it to get a signal inside. I only like things that work right out of the box, so it will get returned until this is perfected.

The new iPhoto supports Geo-tagging. Apple page says,

Quote:

"This feature uses data from GPS-enabled cameras or the camera on iPhone to categorize photos by location and convert GPS location tags to common, user-friendly names."

Knowing nothing about how camera Geo-tagging works my question is if I buy a camera with a GPS built in how do I know iPhoto will read the location data.

I was looking at the P6000 from Nikon but I have no clue if iPhoto will understand the lat/long data in the file.

I called Apple and asked if they had a supported camera list and the two people I spoke to did not know what camera(other then the iPhone) were supported.

Is the lat/long data from the iPhone pictures stored in the EXIF data or stored in some other way? Is the Geo-tagging of digital images by cameras a standard format?


For the Moderators: I posted this to the wrong forum can it be moved to "Mac Applications".
Thank You

 

[Diaresi]

The Geo-Tagging data actually appears in iPhoto '08 if you right click on a picture and Get Info.

I've started using geo-tagging on my N95 8GB and the EXIF data in iPhoto shows the coordinates.

Just waiting for iLife '09 to arrive now

 

[statik13]

It takes at times anywhere between 2-5 minutes for it to get a signal, Outside. Can't seem to get it to get a signal inside.

Most GPS units tends to be line of sight. I use a Sony GPS tracker to geotag my photos and get pretty much the same results as you. I Never get anything indoors. Outdoors takes several minutes to connect from a "cold" start and 30+ seconds to do so from a "warm" start.

Just the limits of the technology I'm afraid...

 

[spaceballl]

Most GPS units tends to be line of sight. I use a Sony GPS tracker to geotag my photos and get pretty much the same results as you. I Never get anything indoors. Outdoors takes several minutes to connect from a "cold" start and 30+ seconds to do so from a "warm" start.

Just the limits of the technology I'm afraid...

If it had wifi, though, it could use triangulation and get a pretty close to accurate location. That's what the eye-fi card does. That card is perfect for indoors. We need something to combine GPS and WiFI into a point and shoot so we'll all be satisfied.

 

[lostngone]

Becarefull with that Camera. I just bought it Friday night and will be returning it if I don't get it to work correctly. It takes at times anywhere between 2-5 minutes for it to get a signal, Outside. Can't seem to get it to get a signal inside. I only like things that work right out of the box, so it will get returned until this is perfected.

Keep us posted with what you do...

Maybe some of the delay can be fixed with a firmware update. However, its a bummer they didn't put a bigger antenna in it so it would work a little better.

 

[NinjaMonkey]

This sounds like normal behavior for a GPS device. On my handheld Garmin it takes a minute or two get a good signal and even my iPhone can take a little while to get a GPS lock. Rarely are you going to get a signal indoors.

I think your expectations are a little high. GPS requires line of sight so you have to a a decent view of the sky to get a good lock. Add to the fact that this is a somewhat small camera so you can only fit so big of an antenna.

For now it seems like this is the best you are going to get unless you either have a DSLR or you want to carry another device.

 

[lostngone]

This sounds like normal behavior for a GPS device. On my handheld Garmin it takes a minute or two get a good signal and even my iPhone can take a little while to get a GPS lock. Rarely are you going to get a signal indoors.

I think your expectations are a little high. GPS requires line of sight so you have to a a decent view of the sky to get a good lock. Add to the fact that this is a somewhat small camera so you can only fit so big of an antenna.

For now it seems like this is the best you are going to get unless you either have a DSLR or you want to carry another device.

You would be surprised what a good high gain antenna will get you with a GPS.

I know for a fact that with my old Garmin GPSMAP 195 and GPSMAP 96s it cuts initial signal acquisition time by more then half and the number Satellites it can see goes past the number it can actively use. It will even work in the basement of the house(wood construction). Granted signal quality poor and I wouldn't want to use it for navigation but it would be more than sufficient for geo-tagging images.

 

[NinjaMonkey]

You would be surprised what a good high gain antenna will get you with a GPS.

I know for a fact that with my old Garmin GPSMAP 195 and GPSMAP 96s it cuts initial signal acquisition time by more then half and the number Satellites it can see goes past the number it can actively use. It will even work in the basement of the house(wood construction). Granted signal quality poor and I wouldn't want to use it for navigation but it would be more than sufficient for geo-tagging images.

Garmin's handhelds (and I'm assuming other brands as well) used to build an index of where the satellites were in the sky. It took a while to build this index but once done you could get a signal pretty quick if you were in a 200 mile radius of that location. I wonder if this camera does something similar.

I have a GPSMAP 60cs with an external antenna and there was no chance of getting a signal indoors unless I was near a large window.

 

[CraigStanton]

GPS devices are not line-of-sight, they use radio waves to listen to satellite transmissions. Sure they'll be better if you're in a big wide open field and nothing above you, but you can also be under a tree canopy or inside a box and it'll still work. Of course the signals are *a lot* weaker that radio (as in radio stations that your stereo tunes into), so the signal will drop off rapidly when you go inside, but it is still there. You don't need to worry about putting a GPS device into a backpack and loosing the signal.

If it had wifi, though, it could use triangulation and get a pretty close to accurate location. That's what the eye-fi card does. That card is perfect for indoors. We need something to combine GPS and WiFI into a point and shoot so we'll all be satisfied.

 

[lostngone]

I have the P6000 now and I agree the speed GPS is nothing to write home about...

However they added some nice features and even thought about situations when a signal wouldn't be easily received.

The camera has a last valid position timer(user adjustable) so if you lose the signal it will use the last known position. This is fine as long you don't mind a little inaccuracy. This could be a problem in a subway or a car.

The camera has an option to keep tracking the satellites even if the camera is off so you don't have to wait the 3 minutes to acquire a position from a cold power-on state. Of course this is a drain on the battery.

Overall however it is a good start, Im sure with my luck they will have the P6100 out next month that improves the GPS 1000 fold...


On the Camera itself is ok.. My only other complaint is it doesn't really have a auto flash. You have to push a manual flash release button to open(pop-up) the flash. I have missed shots because I didn't have the foresight to push the flash release ahead of time.

 

[Krikke]

Combining outdoor and indoor locations with my iPhone

I'm using my iPhone as a geologger with an app called GeoLogTag which tracks my location outdoors (using GPS) and indoors (using WPS or triangulation if available).
So, this allows me to geotag all images taken with my digital camera, because GeoLogTag exports GPX files that I can use with HoudahGeo (or another geotagging application).

BTW, GeoLogTag geotags Flickr photos directly from within the app (which is really cool ).