Comments on: ATP Photofinder Mini – Reinventing Geotagging (Product Review)

By: A Marques

A Marques — Mon, 08 Dec 2008 19:12:49 +0000

Getting the date and time from the file is probably not the problem. The question then is, where do you write the data to? As I suggested, one approach would be to write it to a xmp sidecar file.
Apple and Adobe can do it because first, they probably have close relationships with the manufacturers, and second because they can launch updates easily. It’s not so easy to do on a device. Firmware updates would be a possibility but then it could be limited by the processing capacity of the device (it would have to open the huge RAW files).

As for your trackback, are you sure you’re not thinking about it on PhotoNetCast?

By: Mike

Mike — Mon, 08 Dec 2008 19:05:19 +0000

What I meant was looking at the timestamp on the filesystem… that way you don’t have to go into the xmp of the “proprietary” file.
And if it is so proprietary, why can Adobe and Apple do it and not ATP photofinder?

On a sidenote… where did my trackback go to? I remember seeing it here (did it move to spam?)

By: A Marques

A Marques — Mon, 08 Dec 2008 18:30:29 +0000

Hi Mike,

There is no “danger” of looking at either the date and time of the files or the metadata inside them. The problem is that each camera manufacturer and usually even different cameras from the same brand write the RAW files in different ways and the metadata is stored at different locations within the file. These formats are proprietary and it’s not easy to have a little device updated with the formats. I’m not even sure if it would be legal to reverse engineer the files to find where the information is stored. This is also the reason why whenever a new camera comes out software like ACR or Lightroom take some time to release updates to support the cameras.
Since the JPG format is not proprietary, the information is stored always on the same location within the file and geotagging devices “know” where to find the information and where to write it.

Thanks for the comment.

By: Mike

Mike — Wed, 03 Dec 2008 08:06:07 +0000

Again on the raw formats. What’s the danger of looking at the date and timestamp of the files on the CF, rather than looking at the xmp data within the files? Are these often different?

By: Anthony Skelton Photography » Geotagging: Where did I shoot that?

Anthony Skelton Photography » Geotagging: Where did I shoot that? — Thu, 27 Nov 2008 02:18:26 +0000

[...] back with them. While the Photofinder does not work for me, Antonio Marques of Photonetcast who reviewed the device here found the GPS data was very accurate, including much more so than other geotaggers [...]

By: Hubert Kay

Hubert Kay — Wed, 26 Nov 2008 13:03:06 +0000

via software updates. They are nowhere near complete, of course. However, you always have the option of writing the data into an Adobe format xmp sidecar file.

By: A Marques

A Marques — Wed, 26 Nov 2008 08:56:09 +0000

Hi Hubert,

That is interesting. How do they handle the newer RAW formats? Software updates or does it write to a sidecar?

By: Hubert Kay

Hubert Kay — Wed, 26 Nov 2008 05:19:15 +0000

Thanks for the review – well done! Personally, I choose the “Gisteq Phototrackr lite” GPS unit for one simple reason: the Gisteq Phototrackr software actually writes geotags into the most popular RAW files (including the Canon .CR2 format I am using).

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PhotoNetCast #17 with a big giveaway | Words: Irrational — Fri, 21 Nov 2008 10:46:44 +0000

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By: PhotoNetCast #17 - Geotagging with the Photofinder Mini | PhotoNetCast

PhotoNetCast #17 - Geotagging with the Photofinder Mini | PhotoNetCast — Thu, 20 Nov 2008 00:04:24 +0000

[...] reviewed their product on Words:irrational in which I go into detail my hands-on approach to their geotagging unit and having them on the show [...]

By: Weekend Perusing: Painting the Town RED | Your Photo Tips

Weekend Perusing: Painting the Town RED | Your Photo Tips — Sat, 15 Nov 2008 19:23:19 +0000

[...] been in work flow. Looks like there might finally be an answer that is both easy and viable. The ATP Photofinder Mini looks very promising [...]

By: Link Roundup 11-15-2008

Link Roundup 11-15-2008 — Sat, 15 Nov 2008 18:20:14 +0000

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By: Photo Reviews From the Internet / Friday 14-November-2008

Photo Reviews From the Internet / Friday 14-November-2008 — Fri, 14 Nov 2008 20:33:02 +0000

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