kfcam wrote:
Is there any recommendation for a workable GPS for the Nikon D810? Will like to GO tag my images as I shoot.
Thanks
I use a generic process which works happily with any camera or phone. As pointed out previously for phone only imagery there are plenty of self-contained on-phone options. But when on an 'adventure' I will often have my main camera, a backup body, and use the phone as well.
As I have a Garmin Montana and recently a Garmin Fenix 6 GPS, both with free Open Street map maps for map display I use them.
Whichever I am using I start recording a track (record track on Montana, or start Walk on Fenix) as I go out.
On return I transfer images to the computer, and use the free Garmin Basecamp application to upload the tracks.
With JPG images I just select the track in basecamp then click 'geotag photos', select the photo folder, enter any time shift, then go, and depending on number of images/ speed of computer/ time length of track a few sconds or minutes later all are geotagged. For multiple cameras just repeat with each folder of photos. I don't know if Basecamp recognises RAW as I haven't tested it.
For RAW I always import into LR classic and read all images into a project structure of the form <event><camera><date>
I upload the track, and then export from Basecamp as GPX format (file|export)
In lightroom I use a brilliant Geoencoding plugin from Jeffrey Friedl (
http://regex.info/blog/lightroom-goodies/gps_) (almost free, he asks for a paypal contribution if you find it useful and from my view a £$15 contribution was much cheaper than a dedicated, one camera only, gps attachment that sucks battery.
I either geotag each project 'folder' by date (if I'm downloading daily on a trip), by camera (if I forgot to sync time), by project (if I remembered to sync!)
On the question of time: Obviously it is necessary for camera and gps to be in time sync - even a few seconds can have a large position difference eg if flying or even cycling. If you are well organised then just set a display on your gps and set the camera/s time to that before you go out. If less well organised, just take a photo of the gps clock at any time that day (even if it is later that evening when you upload the photos to your computer.) A quick look at the exif data will tell you the gps <> camera time difference and both Basecamp and Jeffrey's plugin allow you to enter that delta. Obviously if you have more than one camera/ phone in use you may have to run the geotagging for each separately if you forget to sync (as I invariably do.)
On the question of Garmin Fenix: although I use it for exercise and occasional navigation, I really bought this for geotagging. The 6 has a number of advantages if you looking. It uses gps, glonass, and galileo, so has a much better chance of getting signal in difficult conditions. Also rechargeable battery life lasts about a week. A bigger screen would be better for navigation, and I would never use fo for more traditional transport navigation. But any GPS you have will work as long as you can get tracks exported in gpx format.
Once the images are geotagged you can of course display in google earth or other suitable programs.
There are obviously other solutions, but if you already have a Garmin GPS, and take JPG, or shoot RAW and LR, then I can confirm this really works and is straightforward
Hope that helps