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By bob1217
I've finished my testing of the Easytagger, GP-1, and Garmin Geko GPS units as promised a few days ago. I took 10 images from a fixed location with each of the 3 units, and plotted the locations on Google Earth. I also measured my camera position against visual reference points in Google Earth, and was able to measure the deviations against the "actual" position. I input all of the GPS data from the 30 image files into an Excel spreadsheet to gain a little more clarity in the analysis.
Interesting results, actually a little surprising. Based on my testing, I favor the Easytagger over the GP-1 for a few different reasons, mainly the Easytagger's better functionality and value. There are a couple of watchouts to consider with the Easytagger as well, but these are things I can live with based on my shooting priorities and preferences. The Garmin Geko that I had so proudly rigged up a few years back really sucked, as it turns out. I thought it would have blown the doors off the others on a technical basis, and get knocked for its bulk and weight, but it didn't even pass technical muster. Interesting results with lots of details.
I'm curious to hear what other people may have to say based on their experience with any of these GPS units or others. Take this for what it's worth. I'm not a professional electronics tester and I'm certainly not a professional photographer. I was just really curious so I figured I'd at least experiment and share my results, and see if others found value in it.
Today I took my Easytagger out in the field to test it out on a long hike through the woods. The Easytagger did take a few minutes to acquire a good signal, but once it locked on, re-acquisition was nearly instantaneous over the next few hours, and the unit never failed to acquire. My photos were all successfully tagged after the unit had initially locked on. My exif data shows that I was locked onto 8 satellites for most of the day.
After I got home, I took the time to install the included Lockr GPS software, which enabled me to easily read the tracking data and plot my path on a map (using either the Lockr map or Google Earth). I've got to say the Easytagger tracker function is amazing, maybe even scary! I didn't realize that it had been tracking my movements every moment it's been turned onto the "All" position since I received the unit a week ago. Wow, it shows me driving to my daughter's house for Thanksgiving dinner, then walking around her neighborhood to work off a big turkey dinner (brought my camera with me on that walk). Today's hike through the woods was also recorded. It shows every trail my wife and I took, and even the deviations away from the trail where we saw some interesting things to photograph off the beaten path. It even shows the path I took right before I put the GPS in the car and turned it off. It shows how I walked to the trunk of the car, spotted an interesting peak on a building, walked up to the building to photograph it, then walked a few feet away to get it from a different angle, and then return to the car. Using the satellite view, it shows the exact parking space I had used (you can see the lines in the parking lot). The accuracy of the tracker feature is impressive. Sure, every now and then it shows a deviation of a few feet (3-6 feet?) off the actual path I took, but this is probably where the unit was extrapolating between data points.
The more I use the Easytagger, the more impressed I am with it. Anyone want to buy a brand new, hardly used Nikon GP-1?
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