GPS with Camera

[tim tarras]

For those that have a camera on their GPS, do you like them or were they a waste of money?

I have been thinking of upgrading from my Garmin 60CSX GPS to one of the new Garmin Oregon 6XX series. I was wondering if the camera is worth the extra money.

Thanks for any info you can give me.

 

[bradb]

My garmin has it. I would never consider it for actual photos. The tagging of a photo in the spot you shot something is kind of neat.

 

[muleman]

I personally do not want a camera on my GPS. I have a couple Garmin Astro GPS' that I use with my bird dogs and also for backpacking and hunting. Having extra menus for the non-GPS functions makes the use less than streamlined when you want just a GPS. If it wasn't for having so much money already tied up in GPS' I would look for a basic GPS compatible with Hunting GPS Maps. I am also a photo buff and seek the better picture quality and setting control of a stand alone camera. If you ever want to digiscope then you would want to look at a stand alone camera for that reason too.

Just my .02

 

[Nordic]

It depends on what you are going to use the camera for. Like Bradb said, it's really nice to use it instead of saving a waypoint or similar sometimes, but you can't really use it as a camera for images because the quality isn't good enough.
There's no menus that's in the way like Muleman is worried about, at least not in Garmin Montana and I think Oregon is the same but a little smaller. You choose if you want to see the camera icon or not on the startpage. I have it on the third startpage or something like that.
I think it's worth the extra money because I save a lot of waypoints and sometimes I think it takes to long time to save a waypoint and give it a decent name, so I often use the camera instead.
If you want to replace a real camera, don't do it.

 

[Curtis C]

I think the camera would work great for marking spots like wallows, heavy trails, and other quality game sign. Not only will you get a waypoint, you can get a visual reminder of what you found and marked.

 

[orionsbrother]

I've got a camera on my Garmin Rino. Picture quality was just fine combined with the location tag for taking pictures of trespassers on the owner's property.

 

[mtnrunner260]

Like Curtis said it is pretty awesome for taking pics of wallows etc. I have been doing so with mine and once uploaded to either google earth or arcmap it can give a better understanding of an area.

 

[muleman]

It depends on what you are going to use the camera for. Like Bradb said, it's really nice to use it instead of saving a waypoint or similar sometimes, but you can't really use it as a camera for images because the quality isn't good enough.
There's no menus that's in the way like Muleman is worried about, at least not in Garmin Montana and I think Oregon is the same but a little smaller. You choose if you want to see the camera icon or not on the startpage. I have it on the third startpage or something like that.
I think it's worth the extra money because I save a lot of waypoints and sometimes I think it takes to long time to save a waypoint and give it a decent name, so I often use the camera instead.
If you want to replace a real camera, don't do it.

Good to know about the lack of menus. The Astros are menu based not touch screen. Great for tracking dogs and good as a standalone GPS. The menu still drive me nuts. I've been playing with BackCountry Navigator Pro on my Note2 and like the touch screen. I also use my phone camera to Geo Tag photos. I could see where it would be nice to have it rolled all into one system though.

 

[tim tarras]

Guys, thank you for the info. My main interest was in the GEO tagging of points and for some quick snap shots but I do plan on carrying my regular camera.

mtnrunner260, how are you importing the pics into arcmap?

 

[muleman]

Tim,

Your thread inspired me to take an in depth look at a GPS app I already owned. If getting a camera to have geocoded images is your biggest requirement. This app may be just the ticket. Because you use your phone's camera. My phones camera is quite good and is better than any of the GPS cameras I have seen. This however all depends on if you run an android smart phone. For about $50 you could have the app, premium topos and BLM land ownership info.

Here is a thread I started to discuss BackCountry Navigator. http://www.rokslide.com/forums/show...ry-Navigator-(How-I-made-it-do-what-I-wanted)

 

[tim tarras]

Mule

Thank you for the info. I forgot to mention the other reason I was looking at the 650 series was for the GLONASS capabilities and large internal memory, because of the camera.

Right now I am also having issues with my phone and would not trust it to last for half a day out in the field. I want to get a new one but my renewal is up when I will be out in CO hunting. I am going to check with verizon to see if I can renew early without a having to pay full price for the new phone but I doubt they will.

Tim

 

[muleman]

You would definitely want a reliable phone if you went the BCN route. Just thought I would throw BCN out there as a possible option for you. I have been using it every day since I first posted in this thread. It looks like it is a capable solution for me. I generally don't rely on my GPS unless I'm trying to get to a specific location I've never been to. I also don't do tracks. If you like tracks you are going to use a lot of battery.

Memory will be a function of your phone and if it can take a micro SD card. I run a 32GB card. Last night I downloaded most of Northern Utah AccuTerra topos and it was 1.7GB. As far as GLONASS you'll be on out of luck with a phone GPS. Playing with GLONASS sounds fun though.