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How
do you "geotag" a photo?
There
are several ways of geotagging photos.
1. Connect your GPS to your Digital Camera
2. Take pictures - Take GPS Coordinates - Collate later at your
computer using software
3. Take pictures - Use mapping program to get coordinates -
Collate photos with coordinates using software.
Method 1. Connect your GPS to your Digital
Camera - Click
here for more...
You
must have a camera that is capable of being connected to a
GPS. For example, the Nikon D2H, D2X, D200 series digital
cameras have external ports that can be connected directly to a
GPS. Cables and mounts can be purchased from NIKON, but I
have found a cable that works with the NIKON D200 available from
www.pc-mobile.com. For
only 60 bucks, you can get yourself connected.
Some
cameras can wirelessly connect to Bluetooth GPS's. I know
that RICOH makes a certain camera that can do that. This
would be nice not to have wires all over the place!
Continue
to direct GPS geotagging...
Method
2. Take
pictures - Take GPS Coordinates - Collate later at your computer
using software
Most
cameras do not have a port for connecting your GPS. That
leaves you with this next best solution. You will need a
software program. I use RoboGeo.
There are MANY way to geotag your photos using this software. I
think that this software is incredibly well designed! Buy
it!
Track logs
This
is the easiest way. This works only if your Camera's clock
is set accurately. It works like this: Load your photos
into RoboGeo, Connect your GPS, Press the button.
Done. Geocoded photos! This would more than suffice
for general usage, but it is not the most accurate means of
geocoding photos.
Waypoints
This
CAN be the most accurate way of geotagging. If your GPS
allows you to "average" a waypoint and collect the
waypoint for a certain time interval, say 10 minutes, this will
dramatically improve the accuracy of the waypoint, even getting
down to less than a meter. You just load the photos,
Connect the GPS, Choose "waypoints", and choose the
photo, then the waypoint number. Done! The only
problem with this method is remembering which waypoint, for
example 003, goes with which photo. When taking notes from
your camera, do not use the "photo # of #" number, use
the actual file name, example: DSC_006.jpg.
Waypoint
File
These
are usually GPX files. Many mapping programs will export a
GPS waypoint file as a GPX file. When you go out "geotagging"
day after day, it would be great to clear your waypoints each
day. This way you can download each day's photo, with each
day's waypoints, and keep them together in a file. Using
RoboGeo, it's easy. Just collate photos with waypoints,
once you've loaded the GPX file and the photos!
Method
3. Take
pictures - Use mapping program to get coordinates - Collate
photos with coordinates using software.
Again,
RoboGeo will do this for you, with Google Earth. I've had
some trouble getting RoboGeo to "talk" to Google Earth
on my computer. This is evidently a problem with a
firewall I run on my computer...
Continue
to plotting Geotagged Photos...
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