There are a few methods of geotagging photographs, either automatic or manual. Automatic methods provide the easiest and most precise method of geotagging an image, providing that a good signal has been acquired at the time of taking the photo.
Automatic using a built-in GPS Several manufacturers offer cameras with a built-in
GPS receiver, but most cameras with this capability are
camera phones, as camera manufacturers after initial experience in the market came to treat GPS cameras as a
niche market. The 2008
Nikon Coolpix P6000, for example, an early geotagging camera, was replaced in 2010 by the
P7000 which lacked that feature. Some models also include a
compass to indicate the direction the camera was facing when the picture was taken. •
Canon EOS 6D •
Canon PowerShot SX280HS •
Canon PowerShot S100 •
Fujifilm FinePix F550EXR •
Fujifilm FinePix F770EXR •
Nikon Coolpix P330 •
Nikon Coolpix P6000 •
Nikon Z9 •
Panasonic Lumix DMC-TZ10 •
Panasonic Lumix DMC-TZ40 •
Sony Alpha 55V (
DSLR) • Some mobile phones with
assisted GPS use the cell phone network to speed GPS
acquisition times.
Automatic using a connected GPS The
D1X and D1H that Nikon introduced in 2002 included a GPS interface. In 2006 the first special GPS receiver for Nikon was produced by
Dawntech. Since 2009 Nikon has sold its own Geotagger GP-1. Canon uses the USB socket on the wireless file transmitter unit (WFT) as the GPS interface. Some
digital cameras and
camera phones support an external
GPS receiver connected by cable, or inserted into the memory card slot or flash shoe. The Samsung SH100 can connect using
Wi-Fi to get position data from a GPS-enabled
smartphone, while the
Nikon Z50II can be set up to receive GPS data from a smartphone via Bluetooth and the Snapbridge app. Generally the relevant GPS data is automatically stored in the photo's
Exif information when the photo is taken. A connected GPS will generally remain switched on continuously, requiring power, and will then have location information available immediately when the camera is switched on. Many GPS-ready cameras are currently available, made by manufacturers such as
Nikon,
Fujifilm,
Sony and
Panasonic. Automatic geotagging combined with real-time transfer and publishing results in
real-time tagging.
Synchronizing with a separate GPS Most cameras sold today do not contain a built-in GPS receiver; however, an external location-aware device, such as a hand-held
GPS logger, can still be used with a non-GPS digital camera for geotagging. The photo is taken without geographical information and is processed later using software in conjunction with the GPS data.
Timestamps made by the camera can be compared with timestamps in the recorded GPS information, provided that the clocks in the separate devices can be synchronized. The resulting coordinates can then be added to the Exif information of the photo.
Manual geotagging Location information can also be added to photos, for example via its
Exif specification that has fields for longitude/latitude, even if no GPS device was present when the photo was taken. The information can be entered by directly giving the coordinates or by selecting a location from a map using software tools. Some tools allow entry of tags such as city,
postal code or a street address.
Geocoding and
reverse geocoding can be used to convert between locations and addresses. Manual geotagging also introduces possibilities of error, where a photograph's location is incorrectly represented by wrong coordinates. An advanced comparative analysis of such photos with the total collection set of all photos available from the surrounding coordinates, needs to be done to single out and flag such photos, but such a software's value, need and purpose could be limited in today's environment where almost every smartphone and camera have geotagging built-in and users do not need to manually enter this information.
Remote standoff capture Predator UAV, showing the GPS position of the aircraft (red) and the target (blue) Some manufacturers of military and professional mapping-grade GPS instruments have integrated a GPS receiver with a
laser rangefinder and
digital camera. These multi-functional tools are able to determine a remote subject's GPS position by calculating the subject's geographic location relative to the camera's GPS position. These instruments are commonly used in military applications when an aircraft or operator is targeting an area, the position is inaccessible (for example over a valley or wetland), there are personal health & safety concerns (motorway traffic), or the user wants to quickly capture multiple targets from a single, safe position (trees, street signage and furniture). Civilian integrated GPS cameras with rangefinders and remote standoff capability are currently available made by manufacturers such as Ricoh and Surveylab. ==Uses==