Lack of GPS Function in Sony's New Cameras

[WCarp]

I've noticed that in my looking at Sony's new cameras I haven't seen any with the GPS function. Are there any do you know of? It seems like Sony thinks that cameras no longer need the GPS function. I did a search today on GPS, on Sony's Store Website and it didn't find any cameras at all. The closest item it found to a camera was one Camcorder! The GPS function can be very useful. Has anyone else noticed this? 

[olemartinorg]

Good point - i'm a sucker for data myself, and would love to map up all my vacation photos.. Maybe they did some market research and found out most people don't really want it? On the mirrorless range of cameras, battery life is already pretty low, so keeping the camera on to get a GPS fix wouldn't exactly help.

 

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[Pflanzle]

I love my A77 for the GPS function, wich is missing in the A77 II and the A7 series. I use it a lot when i´m travelling and I don´t want to miss this function on my next trip when I intend to use a full frame camera. This function shouldn´t be too expensive to implement, and in my opinion, using an extern GPS datalogger which needs to be recharged regularly in addition to the camera ist way less comfortable. You have to sync the data later on, and you have to pay attention to two batteries in two different devices to always be properly charged.

[SangRaal]

GPS eats battery juice it's always on and drawing current, the battery in the A7 series and nex series is already marginal(most users already keep their wi-fi turned off), with GPS on you would be lucky to have 3 hours per battery of usage. Currently I use a Garmin fenix3 fitness tracker synched to my camera, lap top, and cell phone, It's battery lasts for more than a month without recharge; however I recharge it when I up load the data by usb cable also it pairs up with numerous sensors depending on how or what sport  you are using the device for. All of the current Garmin GPS and GPS/fitness trackers use proprietary antenna tech and work much faster and more accurately than any in camera GPS could.

[Pflanzle]

The NP-FM500H battery for the A77/A77 II has a capacity of 1600 mAh, the NP-FW 50 battery for the A7 series offers about 2/3 of that capacity (1080 mAh). On my trips the A77 battery always endured more than 1 day, so the A7 series should get along for more than just 3 hours. The Garmin fenix3 fitness tracker is nice for those who already own one and use it for different purposes as well, but at a price of 449,- € and up it unfortunately is no alternative for anybody else. According to Garmin it lasts up to 20 hours in its GPS mode which is way less than a month. I would rather spend 100 € for two extra batteries on the A7 series. On the camera display you always see when it´s time to replace the battery, because you look at it anyway when you´re taking pictures. For me that´s easier than looking after an external GPS tracker which is stored in my backpack. The accuracy and speed of the A77 built-in GPS is good enough for most purposes, so I think Sony should offer this option to their camera owners.

 

[olemartinorg]

There's a pretty big difference between mirror-cameras and mirrorless when it comes to battery life (remember, you always use live view on a mirrorless, and it drains a lot of battery even when not taking pictures). I have never used an SLT (like the A77), but SLR batteries last for ages when just taking pictures without live view.

 

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[Golem]

There's a pretty big difference between mirror-cameras and

mirrorless when it comes to battery life (remember, you always

use live view on a mirrorless, and it drains a lot of battery

even when not taking pictures). I have never used an SLT (like

the A77), but SLR batteries last for ages when just taking

pictures without live view.

You seem to think an SLT is an SLR. An SLT is live-view-only,

100% all the time ... unless the camera is switched off, in which

condition it has no view at all. It has no reflex viewing system.

It's a "mirrorless" camera, but happens to have a beam splitter

because the AF detection is independant of the imaging sensor.

 

At a glance one may mistake its beam splitter for an SLR mirror,

but it's not for viewing. The camera has no focusing screen nor

any optical viewing system. IOW, it's a power hungry battery

muncher ... it just happens to munch on a battery about 50%

larger than the battery assigned to E-mount compact cameras.

 

 

`

[olemartinorg]

Ah! I didn't know that, no.. My bad! Never tried an SLT, just assumed.. Whoops!

 

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[K2Kevin]

If pared to your Smartphone using the Play Memories app, you can have it grab the GPS data.

 

I had GPS in my Nikon, wasn't accurate unless you left camera on for a long time, drained battery quick, never turned it on.  Have it on my phone, turn it off for privacy.  

 

Its nice to have for location filter when searching, but for vacation photos I manually add the location of the entire trip and done.

[kenmo]

Yes, I miss the GPS on my A7mII after my A77.  It is simply begging for someone with the relevant skills to write a Play Memeories app to pull the GPS data from the smartphone.

[OldNoob]

Personally i really dont care to have this feature. If i absolutly feel that i need gps cordinates included in my images i can always ad them by uploading the picture to my phone or tablet.

[Aerial harmony]

The only use I have for GPS in a camera is when shooting fir Pix4D imagery from an aerial rig. A relatively inexpensive Canon handles that function nicely. Civilian GPS isn't all that accurate in phones, cameras, or commercially available mobile GPS devices.

[Entropy512]

It's not included because it's a waste of money that could be better spent on improving image quality or adding an actual photography-related feature that, unlike GPS, can't be provided using inexpensive separate standalone hardware (which, thanks to smartphones, nearly everyone owns already...)

 

As discussed before, it drains the battery.  Also, the antenna positioning usually provides inferior performance to a standalone GPS tracker.  Also, nowadays, most people have smartphones and the fused location providers available in most of these (cell towers + wifi APs + inertial fusion) usually provide much better results than an in-camera GPS (although usually not as good as a standalone GPS tracker with its antenna oriented towards the sky.)  Also, for a number of years, GPS trackers were advancing faster than in-camera GPS (they've stalled for a while, but still, standalone trackers tend to blow away the cheapo GPS receivers included in most cameras with built-in GPS)

 

Think of it this way:  If the antenna is on top of the camera, it'll be situated optimally for tracking only when you're shooting landscape.  Not when in portrait orientation, not when carrying the camera in a bag or on a neckstrap.  But a dedicated GPS tracker like the i-Blue 747 family can easily be Velcroed to the top of a backpack and provide a vastly superior log of your position.

[BrianK]

Gary Friedman, a photographer who is a prolific author of how-to manuals Sony cameras discusses this phenomenon in his blog. http://friedmanarchives.blogspot.com/2015_06_01_archive.html

 

Basically, his view is that GPS hasn't worked very well given the form factor limitations of a camera body so Sony (and others) is saving us the disappointment.  However, the GPS in my Sony a77 (now replaced by the Sony a77mII) worked very well in my experience.  As a workaround, I now carry a small Garmin GPS with me that outputs a tracklog in GPX format.  Its a cinch to upload the tracklog in Lightroom.

[Fonebone]

I've used the GPS on my A77 but I was never happy with it because after switching the camera on it took far too long until it had acquired the position so many pictures I've taken wouldn't have the position recorded if I hadn't had my i-gotu GPS tracker (http://www.i-gotu.com) with me; it is small, rather cheap, and has a long battery life. I don't miss the GPS on my A77ii....

[twannieguitar]

If pared to your Smartphone using the Play Memories app, you can have it grab the GPS data.

I don't see this option in the app.

[Frank]

I love the GPS and Sony has been able to implement reasonably well

 

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As a travel photographer, I am really going to struggle without the GPS geotagging ability 

[seb]

Ok, there is no GPS function. But I want those informations. May I use my smartphone (android) instead?

What is your experience? (eg. with "my tracks" or "ultra GPS Logger")

[David Bolender]

Several years before I bought my A77, I purchased a stand-alone Sony GPS Unit. (GPS-CS3).  I think I paid a little more than $100CAD for it.  It uses a single AA battery, and will sync MS and SD cards. Don't see it listed anymore, maybe you can find a used one on kijiji or craigs list?

 

 

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[seb]

yeah, I saw this one too somewhere on amazon (but not available). maybe I'll try the i-gotU that Fonebone suggested. Are there any other GPS trackers worth a look?

I think the smartphone app variant is too battery intesive to record a whole day out... Does anybody have experiences? (I loaded down one and will try it anyway).

[Entropy512]

yeah, I saw this one too somewhere on amazon (but not available). maybe I'll try the i-gotU that Fonebone suggested. Are there any other GPS trackers worth a look?

I think the smartphone app variant is too battery intesive to record a whole day out... Does anybody have experiences? (I loaded down one and will try it anyway).

I have an old i-Blue 747A+ that works well.  I think it's been discontinued in favor of a slightly updated model.  In fact, it looks like the Bluetooth version is missing.    I can only find the ProS right now - http://www.semsons.com/i74gpsdalore.html

 

MTKv2 based loggers are excellent.  Even though the chipset is a bit dated now, it blows away the GPS included in any camera body so far.  (Partly because most cameras deactivate the GPS when powered down.)  Unfortunately, it seems like it's taking a VERY long time for multiconstellation (GPS+GLONASS) standalone loggers to hit the market.

 

Pretty much anything that can export a GPX log will work.  A Garmin handheld like my Oregon 300, the i-Blue, and smartphones have all worked for me in the past.  The dedicated loggers like the i-gotU and i-Blue products have the best battery life in the smallest form factor.

 

Edit:  The Canmore GT-740FL with a SiRF IV chipset may be quite nice.

[WCarp]

People have mentioned that they use an additional device to get the GPS info associated with the pictures but that requires---well an additional device to carry around, and which uses batteries and then there is the extra work needed to get the GPS data associated with the pictures and of course the correct ones. I don't have a smart phone. So for me, the built in GPS is a lot better overall and it appears reasonably accurate. If a person doesn't happen to need it, they can turn it off if they are concerned about battery use. Hopefully, Sony will add the feature, at least to their new high end cameras.

[seb]

@Entropy512:

 

thx for your detailed explanations!

 

@WCarp:

 

I own a smartphone, and I know how the battery goes down, when I turn on GPS. And if you're at a place where bad or no GPS signal is (eg. in house), than it's even worse.

 

On the other hand, we have a really high tech camera like the A7 series. That much tech, that battery life is an issue. So I would suggest that the count of shots you can do with one battery would be divided by two, if they implement the GPS and you have turned it on.

 

But, I want all that tech stuff my A7 can, so I can life with the battery problem. And I prefer implementations like they did on the A7II or A7RII much more than a gps-signal, that I can add with a additional tool in the size and weight of a lenscap.

 

What about turning it off, when you don't want it? All that high tech needs space and GPS-transmitter aren't small at all. An implemented GPS would end in a bigger camera.

 

I want also implemented GPS, but I think they have good reasons they didnt.

[Entropy512]

People have mentioned that they use an additional device to get the GPS info associated with the pictures but that requires---well an additional device to carry around, and which uses batteries and then there is the extra work needed to get the GPS data associated with the pictures and of course the correct ones. I don't have a smart phone. So for me, the built in GPS is a lot better overall and it appears reasonably accurate. If a person doesn't happen to need it, they can turn it off if they are concerned about battery use. Hopefully, Sony will add the feature, at least to their new high end cameras.

The problem is - the feature also costs a non-insignificant amount of money to implement.  We can't "not pay for it".  I generally avoid any camera with built-in GPS as a consumer-grade gimmick that prioritizes creeping featuritis of useless cruft over more important things like image quality, AF capability, etc.

[Guest all8]

People have mentioned that they use an additional device to get the GPS info associated with the pictures but that requires---well an additional device to carry around, and which uses batteries and then there is the extra work needed to get the GPS data associated with the pictures and of course the correct ones. I don't have a smart phone. So for me, the built in GPS is a lot better overall and it appears reasonably accurate. If a person doesn't happen to need it, they can turn it off if they are concerned about battery use. Hopefully, Sony will add the feature, at least to their new high end cameras.

 

 

The benefit of taking a GPS Unit is that it works anywhere, even without mobil coverage, and normally offers mapping/routing etc. An iPhone is also very useful for the same reasons, though not as accurate and less battery life (but also a phone).  GPS in a camera ... similar performance to the iPhone, no useful interface, no mapping, drain on already poor battery life.

 

I would be very happy if Sony would extend their Camera Programing Interface (API) so that developers can write interesting applications that work on a Smart Phones and ... lets say write metadata to photos as they are taken. Then really anything could be possible with regards to geotagging and other data.

 

Me, I just take photos of Signs, or my finger pointing on a map ... low tech, but it works.