Why Don’t More Cameras Offer GPS?
By RIK FAIRLIEI’ve seen a lot of new point-and-shoot cameras over the past couple of weeks as camera makers announce their new summer lineups. A few have demonstrated solid new improvements that should deliver better photos. But one feature that I had been hoping to see — a built-in GPS receiver for geo-tagging photos — wasn’t offered on a single new camera.
Sony’s Cyber-shot HX5V is one of the few cameras available with built-in GPS.Built-in GPS is particularly useful this time of year when people are traveling a bit more than usual and snapping photos of trips, family events and summer sports. GPS lets you capture the exact location (latitude and longitude coordinates) where each image was snapped; photo-editing software like iPhoto, Picasa, Lightroom, and Photoshop Elements can automatically interpret the geo-tags and plot the photos on a map. It’s a very cool way to view your photo collection, and it also can help you retrace your steps to find that out-of-the-way hotel in Rome you raved about five years ago.
A few cameras with built-in GPS have been available for a year or two, including the Sony Cyber-shot HX5V, the Nikon Coolpix P6000 and the Panasonic Lumix DMC-ZS7. But camera makers say they haven’t adopted widespread use of GPS radios in cameras because it’s expensive — it can add almost $100 to the cost of a camera — and because users haven’t really demanded the feature. Camera manufacturers see GPS as a niche market.
You can add GPS capabilities to existing cameras by purchasing add-on adapters for D.S.L.R. cameras or stand-alone devices that work with any camera. They work, but they are extra gear to lug around.
The easiest way to add GPS capabilities to an existing camera — without having to carry anything extra — is by using an Eye-Fi Geo X2, Explore X2, or Pro X2. These SD cards not only have a Wi-Fi radio that enables them to automatically upload photos to your computer or a photo-sharing site like Flickr, but they also have a geo-tagging feature that adds location coordinates to the image’s EXIF data.
The Eye-Fi cards don’t use GPS satellites to determine coordinates, however. They rely on triangulation of data from Skyhook Wireless Wi-Fi networks. That means the Skyhook network probably won’t work in most remote locations, where there are no Wi-Fi networks.
Until camera makers put GPS receivers in mainstream cameras, the Eye-Fi cards are the simplest way to pinpoint locations where photos are taken. If geo-tagging photos is important to you, they’re worth looking into.
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