Filed under: Software, iPhone, App Store, App Review
PlaceTagger answers the 'where was this picture taken?' question
I have a Canon 5D DSLR. It's a great camera, but one of the things I wished it had was an on-board GPS receiver to keep track of where my photos were taken. That would be especially nice since iPhoto and some other apps support reading location metadata embedded in the image.I've looked at some of the outboard units, like the Amod GPS Logger, but didn't really want to shell out the cash or carry an extra device. Of course, you can take geotagged photos with the built in camera on the iPhone, but they aren't going to match a dedicated high quality DSLR.
Now there is a nice, fairly low cost solution that uses the iPhone you are probably already carrying. PlaceTagger [App Store link] keeps track of where you are from minute to minute, recording your latitude, longitude and altitude. When you unload your camera, an app running on your Mac finds your iPhone using Wi-Fi, and matches the time on the logger software to the time your images were taken. It then embeds the info into the image metadata.
It may sound confusing, but it is pretty simple. When the Mac app launches, it asks you to locate your images, and make sure your iPhone has been found. Your images show up as thumbnails, and when you are ready the software associates the GPS location to each file. The files then display a map of where the image was taken, as well as the specific numerical lat, long and altitude info. When I looked at the information in iPhoto, I saw the above data as well as the city, county, state and country I was in. Cool.
The app is on sale at an introductory price of $7.99US and that is a bargain compared to the outboard electronics packages you could buy. The developer is also doing a Windows version of the app for those that don't have a Mac. The Mac version requires Leopard, and of course an iPhone with GPS capability. Older iPhones will work, but the location won't be as accurate.
The software also includes an Aperture plug-in, and can export the data as XML via email. Of course, this app won't work in the background in the current iPhone software, so if you get a call or have to do something else you'll have to restart the software and get a fresh GPS fix.
All in all, these are a pair of clever applications. They worked as expected, and I liked the ability to see the photos I took with a displayed map and numerical location information all on my Mac.
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Reader Comments (Page 1 of 2)
the10dman said 2:55PM on 5-12-2009
I do this for free with Trailguru (which exports to kml) and Jeffry Friedl's GPS Plugin: http://regex.info/blog/lightroom-goodies/gps
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Kevin said 3:08PM on 5-12-2009
You can download the mysterious Mac app (or Aperture plugin) from http://return7.com. I'm not sure why it wasn't mentioned in the article.
I was going to use the Trails iPhone app to do this, but I like the wi-fi syncing of PlaceTagger so I might give this app a try instead.
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Justin said 6:32PM on 5-12-2009
Are we no longer concerned about battery life? I like the general concept but I see a few possible kinks in the armor here:
1. The GPSr on the iPhone uses a decent chunk of power, plain and simple. I use it for geocaching and that plus the screen being on is a decent power suck.
2. Due to a lack of multi-tasking ability (for which I blame Apple, not the maker of this app) this is the only app you can be running while you're out snapping photos.
In short, this seems good for quick photo sessions where you'll be back home soon, but then you could practically geotag from memory, couldn't you?
Fun concept, but we certainly have some room to grow.
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amro said 7:14PM on 5-12-2009
Hey Justin,
I'm one of the developers of PlaceTagger. We know battery life is a sticky point on iPhone so PlaceTagger lets you balance battery life and accuracy by sleeping the GPS hardware (among other things) and waking it up on a timer. It also shuts the screen off (via the proximity sensor) when you put your phone in your pocket to conserve power.
We hope these measures will help make PlaceTagger more useful to photographers. :)
Thanks!
Amro
Justin said 9:28PM on 5-12-2009
Thanks for addressing those questions. That certainly helps the situation.
Josh Wardell said 3:26PM on 5-12-2009
Yes. This is one app I've been waiting for. Are there any others on the horizon? I was considering buying a GPS logger when I realized I already had all that hardware in my pocket.
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Herm said 7:19AM on 5-14-2009
GeoLogTag is certainly worth looking at. In my opinion it's easier to use (no app on your Mac required) resulting in an simpler workflow and it's a little bit cheaper too ($4.99).
http://www.galarina.eu/GeoLogTag/Home.html
Crouching Tiger, Hidden Longhorn said 4:15PM on 5-12-2009
I'm waiting on iPhone 3.0 so we can tether our cameras to our iPhones via the dock and preview, tag, email, rate, keyword and transfer photos directly from the camera instead of having to wait till we get to the computer!
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oliver hart said 4:33PM on 5-12-2009
Are you hoping for this? Or is it documented?
Crouching Tiger, Hidden Longhorn said 7:41PM on 5-12-2009
I'm just putting the pieces together. iPhone OS 3.0 will allow for dock connectivity and third party peripherals. What better device to develop an interface for than the digital cameras we all have?
Even if the camera companies don't do it themselves, there are enough eager developers out there to write great programs to do all those things I speculated.
Then there won't be nearly as many complaints about the iPhone's camera quality because you'll be able to use your favorite digital camera and have all of the functionality the iPhone offers!
terpack said 12:12PM on 6-01-2009
And so it begins...
http://www.ononesoftware.com/detail.php?prodLine_id=38
It still requires a computer to be tethered to the camera, but it won't be long after 3.0 is released that we will be able to tether directly to our camera of choice with our iPhone!
Tristan said 10:45PM on 5-12-2009
@ Justin: If your iPhone is in Aeroplane mode, will this still work? - I ask because if I am overseas using this software, I don't want to have to use internet (roaming charges) just to use this program, If it doesn't require internet, you've got yourself a sale!
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amro said 9:59AM on 5-13-2009
@Tristan - PlaceTagger cannot work with AirPlane Mode enabled since it disabled GPS. Having said that, you CAN turn off data roaming and 3G on your iPhone since PlaceTagger will work without an internet connection. The only drawback is maps will not be displayed, but this is inconsequential. :)
@ak - That depends on how long after you shut off PlaceTagger you take the additional picture(s). There's a 15 minute grace period (our reasoning is if you've traveled > 15 minutes then you're probably at a significantly different location.
Tristan said 9:44PM on 5-13-2009
Thanks for that! Forgot about aeroplane mode disabling ALL wireless (long day)...
Purchasing the app as we speak!
ak said 11:29PM on 5-12-2009
question for the placetagger dude- let's say I take some pictures with the app running. And then I take some more with it off. Will it use the last known location, or will it just not tag the ones where the iphone isn't running?
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amro said 10:00AM on 5-13-2009
@ak - That depends on how long after you shut off PlaceTagger you take the additional picture(s). There's a 15 minute grace period (our reasoning is if you've traveled > 15 minutes then you're probably at a significantly different location.
Sorry for the double post -- the threading made it such that you might not notice my response.
umijin said 11:51PM on 5-12-2009
I was just thinking that such an app would be a great tool, wondered if I could get someone to code it. It could also work using the WiFi triangulation available for the EyeFi Explorer or in Google Earth for iPhone on non-GPS iPod Touches.
Almost makes me want an iPhone now...
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Ed Husar said 10:00AM on 5-13-2009
If you are a flickr user then your best options is an app called PhotoLocatr. This app rocks. You run the app while you are out on your photo shoot. You can start and stop it as you like so it doesn't need to keep running while you are not shooting. The cool think I really like about this app is that it geotags your photos AFTER you upload them to flickr. No additional software is needed. Just upload to flickr and then click a button (Tag Photos) and the app goes to your flickr account and tags based on the timestamp. Works like a charm for me!
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Todd said 11:24AM on 5-13-2009
I totally agree. AppleTV has so much of what a good game platform needs: mac-like processing power, built in hard-drive, wifi, hd output and a tie-in to an online store. And it doesn't have to compete with video playing hardware, since it already does that well. I do think the iphone/ipod touch as the primary controller doesn't fly very well, but as an ad-hoc guest controller there is potential.
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Todd said 11:28AM on 5-13-2009
Arg - damn you 1password (moderators please remove comment 16, I posted it by mistake)
This looks interesting, as I've never been plussed by the dorky gps hardware add-ons for DSLRs, though I suspect the one I own now is the last that won't have GPS built in.
One question I have is whether the screen can be locked against accidental input so I can drop it in my pocket while it retains a fix on coordinates? I noticed that the screen is turned off, but does this make it pocket-safe? Thanks in advance, amro for being so responsive here. This sounds like a great desktop/mobile combo.
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