I decided to take some of my gear with me to do a geotagging dry run on a recent business trip to Victoria BC. This is the first of a two-part series documenting how to geotag using EasyGPS, a free GPS software package.
- Geotagging Equipment
Required Equipment
To geotag you need to have a GPS receiver and a camera. Some cameras can connect to a GPS device and will write location data to the photos as you take them. If your camera does that, congratulations. You can skip this how to. If your camera does not do that then you’ll also need a computer and some software to add location data to your photos.
For this how to I used a Garmin Nuvi 765t, a Canon Powershot S90, and my HP 2730p tablet. Don’t forget the USB connector cable for your GPS.
Required Software
I downloaded and installed EasyGPS 3.82 onto the HP. The EasyGPS help file has a fairly good page describing how to geotag; however, the page isn’t easily found on the default “Contents” help tab. The easiest way to find the page is to Click on the “index” tab and type in “geotagging”. The help page is also online.
Step 1: Synchronize Clocks
Because GPS receives time information from satellites, the 765t will be our source of truth for time. Power on the 765t and wait for it to locate your position. To see the time down to the second I used the World Clock application which can be accessed from Tools >> World Clock.
Synchronize Clocks!
To adjust the clock on the Canon S90 turn the camera on in photo mode and click the Menu button. Scroll to the right to the tools tab and scroll town to “Date/Time”. Click the “set” button in the middle of the navigation wheel and adjust the date and time to the whatever the next full minute on your GPS reads (i.e. if the GPS says 14:20:13 set the camera for 14:21) and wait until the GPS rolls over to an even minute and click the “set” button on the camera. This should get you synchronized to within a second.
Step 2: Configure the GPS
I haven’t figured out what the maximum capacity for the Active Log is on the 765t so I reset the trip log. This may turn out to be unnecessary but you can do it by going to Tools >> My Data >> Clear Trip Log on the 765t.
I then disabled the Bluetooth on the GPS to save battery power to to avoid having my phone calls go to speakerphone as I’m walking around! Tools >> Settings >> Bluetooth
I also changed the screen brightness to 0% (which doesn’t actually turn the screen off) also to conserve battery. Tools >> Settings >> Display >> Brightness. If you are outdoors and want to look at the screen you may want to keep this brightness a bit higher.
Finally I locked the screen by sliding the switch at the top of the 765t all the way to the right, then I tucked the GPS into the outside pocket of my backpack with the back facing out.
Step 3: Take pictures
You’re on your own here.
Step 4: Wait for Go to part 2 of this guide
Be sure to check back for out Part 2 of this series where I will describe the process of installing and configuring EasyGPS, loading your photos, adding location data, and confirming that it all worked!
Ready to Navigate!