GPS and fieldwork?

[Tom Honeyman]

Just wanted to add a side point to using a handheld GPS. But I might  
add, these GPS loggers are particularly handy if the weight of your  
kit is important. I've been playing with an i-gotU logger which has  
software for PC and an open source client for Mac or Linux.

Its a good idea if you record a track route while taking photos to  
start by taking a photo of of the screen of the GPS with the date and  
time (and location) displayed. Photographing the screen will allow you  
to finely calibrate the difference between the time stamp in your  
photo, and the date/time on the GPS (which is more accurate). There  
are programs that let you then later batch convert the time stamps in  
photos by a set amount if they are incorrect.

The date might be incorrect because your watch was slow, or because  
you haven't changed time zones on your camera, or (and this is no  
recommendation for being lazy about setting dates on devices) you  
forgot to set the time. Also, if your little camera battery that keeps  
the time ticking over in your camera when its switched off dies, then  
by taking a photo of the GPS each time you switch the camera on, you  
will often be able to recover the date and time for your photos (given  
that that the time will reset to "zero" and tick over while you leave  
it switched on). You don't want to depend on it though, because many  
digital cameras will often switch off after a set amount of time.

Perhaps starting a video with a shot of your gps might not be a bad  
idea?

-tom

On 23/05/2010, at 3:14 PM, David Nash wrote:

> Further to Aidan's post on GPS loggers,
>
> At 1:02 PM +1000 23/5/10, Aidan Wilson wrote:
>> I gave it a quick go, trying to get the data off, because it's  
>> apparently just gpx files, which are readable from a bunch of  
>> different programs, including google earth. However I had immense  
>> difficulty.
> Yes, Aidan didn't manage to get the data out of the device by  
> unadvertised means -- BUT the free software as at http://www.gisteq.com/Mac/ 
>  does interrogate the device OK.
>
> As well as recording a track (/route) (at a user-controlled  
> granularity), a GPS logger is good for geotagging photos from a  
> camera that doesn't have a GPS.  It is also useful for geolocating  
> video (or any other records), providing the clock time of the video  
> etc is recorded somehow.
>
> At 9:13 PM +1000 21/5/10, Nick Thieberger wrote:
>> It is of course yet another device that needs batteries,
> Yes -- though GPS loggers (unlike regular GPSs) typically recharge  
> through USB so don't need a separate charger.  And it is small and  
> light enough that it can be worn (eg on one's hat(!)) and ignored  
> for the day.
>
> However a GPS logger is no use for showing location while out and  
> about.
>
> David