Nothing’s more frustrating to a photographer than hundreds of orphaned digital photos files inundating a computer hard drive. Gone are the days of neat photo albums that bring together favourite photos. But there is hope in Sony’s GPS CS1.
Incorporating GPS with digital photography technology sounds like an odd match. Most people think of GPS devices as an essential surviving tool to help them get out of the woods, navigate around town or strange cities, but most people wouldn’t think of using a GPS to organize a photo collection.
How Sony’s Photo GPS CS1 Works
- Turn it on and wait for it to connect to overhead satellites, then hook it onto your backpack and forget it. It’s as easy as that. As long as it faces the sky, it will take GPS readings of the area.
- Take photos normally with any digital camera (you do not need to use a Sony digital camera for the Sony GPS CS1 to work). The GPS devise and your camera are never connected so you don’t have to worry about becoming tangled in a bunch of wires.
- When you get back home, load the included GPS software (if you haven’t already done so), download the data from the Sony GPS CS1 unit and upload your photos when prompted.
- Your computer instantly matches the photos with the GPS waypoints.
- Once all your photos have loaded, the software automatically opens a map of Quebec, Vietnam or wherever you took your photos and traces your exact route according to the recorded waypoints.
- Move your mouse over a waypoint on the map. If you took a road trip from Niagara Falls to New York for example, each photo taken will pop up for viewing once you’ve moved your mouse over the waypoint, tracing your journey through pictures.
- The software organizes your photos so you don’t have to. And the photo map makes sharing them with family and friends all the more interesting.
Sony GPS CS1 Drawbacks
- You can’t backtrack so if you have tons of old unlabeled photos hibernating on your computer, you’re stuck with them.
- The Sony GPS CS1 devours batteries; bring an extra pair if you plan on taking photos for a long time.
- In cities like New York with pockets of densely packed tall buildings or areas where the GPS does not have a direct view of the sky, it may take a while for the GPS device to register your location. If you take any photos before the Sony GPS CS1 situates itself, you may not have the waypoints to match the photos.
- Make sure you read the instructions carefully and upload the data and the photos in the correct order or the software may not work properly.
- It's one extra thing to carry and potentially lose or forget. But if organizing your photos is a priority you can quickly overcome this obstacle.
Having a Sony GPS CS1 device tracking your photos takes some of the hassle out of digital photography. If you’re a point and shoot photographer that snaps a picture or two every Christmas, the Sony GPS CS1 isn’t for you.
But for photography enthusiasts who take large amounts of photos in various locations and lack organization time, this may be a tool that can save time and frustration.
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