“Back in the film days” people actually used to write down exposure information - what F-stop, how long an exposure etc.. This was to help them take better pictures in the future by seeing what worked and what didn't. Digital photographers don't generally bother since all this data and more is stamped into the exif fields by most digital cameras. Now Sony have gone a step further by announcing a new gadget that also stamps into the pictures where they were taken.
Of course the technology isn't new. GPS is now commonplace in cars and some pro level cameras (such as the D2X) can accept an input from a compatible GPS unit to stamp pictures with the precise location they were taken. Sony's unique twist on this is a device that doesn't even need to connect to your camera.
The GPS-CS1 has a useful carabineer (or “clip” to you non outdoor types) so that you can hang it from your camera bag, belt or knapsack when you go a wandering. It has a 31MB memory which is enough to remember everywhere it has been for about a month. Batteries last a less impressive 10 - 14 hours. Every 15 seconds, the device figures out where it is and remembers the location. If you take a picture between these 15 second intervals or when your view of the satellites is obscured then it just takes a guess based on your previous and next location.
When you upload your snaps to your PC, plug the GPS-CS1 in and Sony's Picture Motion Browser writes the GPS coordinates to every picture. You can then use mapping software to show where each picture was taken or build up an “image map” showing scenes from various places. Note that I said “PC” - the GPS-CS1 is not compatible with Macs, presumably because Picture Motion Browser won't run on them either.
I'll leave you to figure out if it's worth $150 to you to remember where you took every picture on one of the compatible cameras (DSC-H2, DSC-H5, DSC-S500, DSC-S600, DSC-W100, DSC-W30, DSC-W50, DSC-W70, DSLR-A100). I'll leave others to figure out if there's any possible way to abuse a tiny 55g device that you could drop in somebody's pocket and use to track all their movements for a month…
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