19Aug/105
Sony GPS-CS3KA GPS Digital Imaging Accessory
- Identifies the location of both photos and videos
- Precisely records location, date, and time of photo
- Built-in dual card slots for MS/SD memory cards
- Long life battery for a one-day trip, up to 15 hours
- Powerful Picture Motion Browser software (v.3.0)
Product Description
GPS Image tracker (GPS-CS3KA) is virtually compatible with any digital still camera and camcorder. Record the time, date and location to each shot you take. You can use with any of camera since now Picture Motion Browser software is included in GPS-CS3KA. Once the images and data are on your PC, the supplied image tracker software synchronizes the photos with latitude, longitude and time reading from the GPS-CS3KA unit. Activate the Picture Motion Browser software a... More >>
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August 19th, 2010 - 06:46
Been using this little guy for a few weeks now and I like it but its not best in all areas like the canyons of any metro city or in the valleys of Yosemite (for example).
After seeing how the GPS info is written out, I probably wouldn’t have brought this knowing that there is over software out there that can be paired up with your time stamps on the photos with any general GPS units (like a Garmin).
The packaged software is rather generic and overly simple.
Rating: 3 / 5
August 19th, 2010 - 06:58
Received the device today, popped in a new battery and the screen just flashes white then goes black. Returning it and will try a new one. Hope the next one works.
Packaging was good, appeared new. Vendor used by Amazon was “DependableResource”.
Rating: 1 / 5
August 19th, 2010 - 08:16
This is a great little product if you have a MAC (works great with iPhoto ’09 & Aperture 3) and you want to tag your photos that are stored on a SD or MemoryStick… Worked flawlessly. Have not downloaded into Google Earth the tracks of a outing yet so can not speak to that feature; however, I did view on my Windows side and worked well there. As long as you know your time zone (included in the book) it will auto adjust to the correct time… just match that time with your camera and you are good to go!
Rating: 5 / 5
August 19th, 2010 - 10:15
I started using the GPS for two of my trips.It takes some time to get the satellite reception.However,once it gets locked,it starts tagging.the battery life is impressive.
Over all: Easy to Use.Software which tags the photo works seamlessly.Great Product.
Rating: 5 / 5
August 19th, 2010 - 12:50
The Sony GPS logger can help you to geo-tag your photos with ease. Its most impressive capability is its lengthy battery life. However, the major shortcoming of this unit is it can log data points only in 15 second intervals. Here’s a detailed accessment of the pros and cons.
Pros
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- Software Makes Geo Tagging Your Pictures Easy
Sony really did a bang-up job on the software. The user interface on the software is intuitive and user friendly. It comes with GPS Image Tracker and PMB.
o GPS Image Tracker
After you plug in the unit, the GPS Image Tracker immediately launches and asks if you would like to import the log files. Click on Yes.
> In no time, it shows you a an embedded Google map that traces the path you took. You can zoom in/out of the map or drag to move it. You can see your route overlaid over a satelite image as well. (I took a long drive to the Animal Ark in Reno yesterday, and it traced my route, plus all the pit stops I made along the way. Nice!)
> The right pane on the app contains an area that you can drag and drop the files you want to geo-tag. After you have done that, “push pin” icons are placed on the map with each icon corresponding to an image (it takes about a minute to complete this operation on 3-400 images). Clicking on each icon selects an image on the right pane. Clicking on an thumbnail image on the right pane brings up a larger thumbnail with all the GPS tag information (Latitude Longitude, GPS date-time) as well as file location and file name.
o PMB
PMB is a picture viewer, editor, and more. The picture viewer, like the GPS Image Tracker, allows you to view the location where the picture was taken on Google Maps. You can seamlessly upload your pictures/videos to eDeco, YouTube, Daily Motion, Photo Bucket, Picasa, and Shutterfly.
- 3 Month’s Worth of Logging
The internal memory is able to hold 3 month’s worth of data (or over half a million data points: 90 x 24 x 60 x 60 /15 == 518,400).
- 15 Hours Battery Life
No, I’m not just quoting the specs. I use rechargeable batteries and the battery life on this unit is 15+ hours – easy. A word about the battery indicator – it almost always shows 3 full bars of power left even after 12 hours, so it’s not a very reliable gauge of battery life.
- Small Size
The unit measures 2 1/4 x 3 inches — about the size of one of those pagers of yesteryear. Its small size allows it to easily fit in your shirt pocket. Alternatively, you can also attach it to your belt or backpack using the velcroed belt loop on the back of the case.
Cons
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- GPS Coordinates Recorded At 15 Second Intervals
Although the GPS tracking is very accurate, the accuracy of the geo tracking is limited by the time interval at which every GPS coordinate is recorded. The GPS coordinates are recorded every 15 seconds. There is no way to set the time interval between each data point.
- Some Raw File Formats Not Supported
Some raw file formats such as Canon’s CR2 format is not supported.
- Absent PMB & Image Tracker Integration.
There’s no way view an image in Image Tracker as an enlarged image in PMB, for example.
- Image Tracker Quirk
You have to manually make time zone offsets/adjustments on the Image Tracker software in order for the geo tagging to work correctly. For example, I have to select GMT -07:00 (an offset of -07:00 from Greewich Mean Time) in order fo the images to be tagged correctly.
- Cumbersome SD Card Tagging
If you want to tag your files right on the unit itself, the unit will tag your file in batches of 60 pictures — not a recommended method if you have hundreds of pictures to tag.
—
The software deficiencies aren’t that big of a deal because you can avoid them altogether by using third party software. But a major (and rather grave) shortcoming of this unit is it can log data points only in 15 second intervals (there are other units that log data points in 5 second intervals). Personally, it’s not a problem for me because it is accurate enough for my purposes. But you may want to take that into account before making a purchase decision.
Rating: 4 / 5