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Geotagged photograph

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Above: Map showing photographer's view (59°19′39″N 18°04′21″E / 59.3275°N 18.0725°E / 59.3275; 18.0725) of two buildings at a distance of 270 meters (59°19′42″N 18°04′38″E / 59.3284°N 18.0772°E / 59.3284; 18.0772) and 1200 meters (59°19′45″N 18°05′35″E / 59.3291°N 18.0931°E / 59.3291; 18.0931). Below: Which of the three locations should be associated with the resulting photo?


A geocoded photograph is a photograph which is associated with a geographical location. A geocoded image can be associated to geographical coordinates such as latitude and longitude or a physical address.

In theory, every part of a picture can be tied to a geographic location, but in the most typical application, only the position of the photographer is associated with the entire digital image. This has implications for search and retrieval. For example, photos of a mountain summit can be taken from different positions miles apart. To find all images of a particular summit in an image database, all photos taken within a reasonable distance must be considered. The point position of the photographer can in some cases include the bearing, the direction the camera was pointing.

Methods of geocoding images:

  • Using a location-aware device such a GPS receiver. This is the most precise method of geocoding an image. When a photo is taken the location of the camera is recorded within the image. For example, JPEG and TIFF image file formats can store the geographical coordinates in the Exif header. Although most digital cameras sold today do not contain a built in GPS receiver, an external GPS device can be used to keep track of the camera location and the data can be synchronized later using specialized software.
  • Syncing coordinates from GPS tracks into the Exif header using software that compares time stamps. There are a number of products that can match up photos in this way. [1]:
  • Manually inputting the location. If the user knows the coordinates, the location can be manually added using software. For example, users of photo sharing Websites such as Pikeo, ipernity, Zooomr, Fotki, Zoto, jpgEarth, Panoramio, locr, Flickr and woophy can directly enter a GeoTag inline without the need of an external service or going off-site. Doing so on Flickr will also apply a Geo microformat to the page concerned.
  • Providing geographical names such as city, ZIP Code or a street address. A less precise method is adding descriptive data of the location to an image.
  • Using scene recognition software like Photosynth. Specialized software capable of recognizing a landmark or photo location. [citation needed]
  • Using a combination of Google's Picasa image organisation software and Google Earth virtual globe software, images can be geocoded by selecting an image in Picasa and finding its location in Google Earth.
  • A tool that only writes GPS fields is Location Stamper from the Microsoft Research WWMX project [1]. It looks up a location (e.g. from an address) in a map, the user points the photo to the exact location on the map and the photo is geocoded with that coordinates.
  • A free (Open Source) tool that writes GPS fields to Exif fields is gpsPhoto ([2]). It is a set of Perl libraries and a command-line application.
  • A free (Open Source) tool that can read and write all Exif fields is ExifTool ([3]). It is a set of Perl libraries with an included command-line application.
  • Navman released in April 2006 a range of in car navigation devices that include a digital camera. These generate geocoded photos that can be copied off the device, shared and used as navigation targets. They have since announced the NavPix Library, a site for sharing geocoded photos.
  • A free tool which extends the Windows Explorer's context menu for JPEG files is Panorado Flyer ([4]). It offers manual editing of an image's geographical coordinates, associating the image to the current GoogleEarth position, and showing the image's location in GoogleEarth.
  • Mac OS X users can tag images using Geotagger ([5]) which gets coordinates from Google Earth and inserts them into the Exif tags of jpegs.
  • Flickr user aemkei published a Bookmarklet with seamless integration into Flickr. A map appears next to the photo when clicking the bookmarklet. It works cross-browser and cross-platform. No greasemonkey needed. Loc.alize.this bookmarklet
  • A Mac OS X application for geotagging images and other types of documents is Geophoto. It integrates with Flickr and iPhoto.

Software

Platform Independent

Windows

Free:

Linux

MacOSX

Smart Phones

PDA Pocket PCs

Web services

Hardware

Bluetooth GPS Datalogger with geotagging capabilities (software)
Bundled Geotagger Solutions
GPS-Capable or Integrated Cameras
  • Canon
    • EOS 1D Mark III (requires WFT-E2A Wireless File Transmitter and compatible GPS)
  • Fuji
    • S5 (requires NMEA-capable GPS)
  • Kodak
    • DC265 (requires NMEA-capable GPS)
    • DC290 (requires NMEA-capable GPS)
  • Nikon
    • D2X (requires NMEA-capable GPS)
    • D2H (requires NMEA-capable GPS)
    • D200 (requires NMEA-capable GPS)
  • Ricoh
Auto Navigation with Integrated Cameras
  • Navman (with NavPix)
    • iCN 720
    • iCN 750
Smart Phones with integrated GPS and geotagging capabilities
Direct to Camera EXIF
Dataloggers

See also

References

  1. ^ Mapping Hacks: Tips & Tools for Electronic Cartography. p. 34. {{cite book}}: Unknown parameter |coauthors= ignored (|author= suggested) (help)
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