shunra

I have a related problem. In Mapsource I selected all the US maps I wanted, then I did the same for some Canadian ones, European ones, and finally I selected some World maps I might need in areas where I don't have anything better for. Halfway my upload, the program asked me to insert the World map disk into drive F. The problem is: Drive F is a card reader, and my CD drive is D. I found no way to tell Mapsource where to find the data. So I deleted all the World maps from my selection, and then I was prompted for the Canadian maps, the same way. Bah. I deleted them from the selection too, as well as the European ones, just to see whether at least the US would load. That worked fine: They all loaded, and I was never prompted for the CD. Is there any way I can tell Mapsource that my map CDs are in drive D?

If you have a computer get the disk not the chip I have the disk - I meant I hadn't received the empty chip yet, on which I could install Metroguide. By now I got it, and have... Thanks!

Good summary, and I agree on almost all points. I only brought this up because The Jester asked about a camera he could use with his existing lenses. I use a DSLR for my serious photography (gallery work, posters), whereas when I'm hiking and just need to get some quick shots for web or e-mail purposes only, my cheapo Canon point&shoot is good enough. My only disagreement with your summary is about the need for post-processing for DSLR pictures. I'd argue the opposite: A DSLR allows you to use settings that make post-processing almost unnecessary, while at the same time, providing such quality that post-processing has a great deal of potential for perfection, which does not imply, however, that post-processing is necessary. On the other hand, if you post-processing a p&s picture, chances are that you'll make things worse, which does not imply that the picture would need it :-)

That's very unfortunate, that one cannot reduce the size of those fields. Yesterday I tried to hunt a first cache with the new unit, and was horrified that an ADDITIONAL text banner was written across the screen, telling me where I was going to, as if I didn't know. Can one at least disable THAT? Not being able to see the map while looking for a cache was so frustrating that I gave up on the cache. I think I'll switch to doing it your way, then: I'll disable all data fields, will stop using the map when trying to get to a cache, and use the compass page as of now. That will require some rethinking. Still, if anyone has suggestions how I can minimize the loss of map real estate to data fields, please let me know!

On my MAP76S with Metroguide running, I found the difference significant, and I always turned it off. On my new Vista HCx, I haven't been able to install Metroguide yet (I got the GPS, but not yet the chip), and on the base map there aren't many roads I can snap to, so I don't know. I was wondering if snapping on is a requirement for turn-by-turn autorouting. Is it?

Comparing an SLR with a point&shoot camera is pointless. Yes, a 12 MP p&s will probably do better than a 6MP p&s, but the results of either are way inferior to those of a 6 MP DSLR. The number of available pixels (which will continue to go up as technology progresses) is meaningless if a camera doesn't have the technology and/or the optics to use them. MP comparisons make sense only between cameras of the same quality class. To TotemLake: JPEG is indeed degenerative, but not every time you open and close the file, but every time you save it. If you shoot JPGs in your camera, that's the first save, which involves the first loss (hence the smaller size in comparison to RAW files). Every time you save the picture after every edit, or after merely rotating it from portrait to landscape, you loose more.Burning it to a disk is not necessary, though: as long as you keep an original unaltered copy on your hard disk, and you can watch it as often as you like. I still shoot most of my photos in JPG, but I keep the originals of everything worth keeping. When I want to change something, I convert the file to .psd in photoshop, and then use that format file editing the file, to avoid further loss. If I'd need a JPG file of the results (if I want to e-mail a file or publish it on the web), I'll create that JPG from the PSD file.

I got my new Vista HCx yesterday, and like it a lot. I am getting used to the button placement already. I find that the smaller screen shows a lot of detail, even though at 2.21 square inches, it is significantly smaller than the screen of the 76S that I had before (3.52 square inches). I find, however, that much of the screen that could be used by the map is used by data fields. In the 76S, I was able to reduce the size of the data fields, so they would take up less real estate. In the Vista HCx, I have not found that possibility. While it is possible to decrease the size of text on the map, from large to barely legible, I have not found a way to reduce the size of the text in the data fields, which is ridiculously large. Since I can put no more than 2 fields in a row, in order to see 3 fields, I need 2 big roads, which together cover half of the map area. In the 76S, I could put three data fields in a single row, make them very small, and keep most of the large screen for mapping. It gets even worse when using autorouting, something the 76S could not do. When I use that feature on the Vista, an additional data field row is created. Oh, I already checked for firmware upgrades, and I have the latest, of 26 September 2007. So my question is: Did I miss something, and is it possible to reduce the size of the data fields, the size of the text inside the data fields, or increase the number of fields in a row? If not, what are the settings you like to use when geocaching? I figure I want to continue to see the distance to my destination, I figure I could do away with the bearing arrow by switching from North-up to Track-up, and if I want to limit the impact on the screen, I'd have one data field left for speed or accuracy or something else - bits of information I have always liked to see on my map screen. On the other hand, the HCx has a "declutter" setting, which sounds like just what I need - but what does it do?

Reading the rest of this thread, I realize that I am responding specifically to The Jester, even though he is not the OP. What I said is only relevant for people who want to use an SLR. It is entirely irrelevant to considerations relating to consumer point-and-shoot cameras, which is what this thread was originally about... I apologize for getting off on a tangent...

I don't recommend quoting the camera manufacture about their camera's image quality, because they have a reason to claim that they have the best image quality. Instead, I trust fair and impartial sources, such as DPreview and Popular Photography. Also, Olympus does make an adaptor to mount OM lenses on 4/3 cameras. But, as with similar adaptors for Canon and Minolta, it does have important limitations. Yes, I agree on both counts. When I made my own decisions for the E500, I counted on dpreview and other hopefully impartial review. The E3 is so new that I have not yet found an impartial comparative review. But I think you are misunderstanding my point. When I bought a new GPS last week, I looked only at the Garmin models, because I already have compatible mapping software. When I bought my first map-compatible GPS, I had decided on a Garmin because at that time one particular Garmin model was the one most like what I wanted. Since then, I have built up a collection of compatible software, and therefore, last week, I did not want to consider another brand, because it would involve starting a new map collection. For the same reason, most people with lens collections stick with their camera brand: you change a camera body every few years or so, but a lens is forever. However, with the switch from film to digital, camera makers faced a challenge about how not to loose their market share. Nikon and Canon preferred to stick with the 35mm sensor dimensions and higher risks of vignetting in order to keep their old lenses suitable to digital cameras, and that way they retained most of their old customers. I think that was a good decision: Now that Image Stabilization has come along, people will buy new lenses anyway to fit their new DSLRs. Olympus made a different decision: it made a clean break and switched to all-digital technology right away, the created the four thirds system, and backward-compatibility was only possible with "important limitations", as you say. Oly lost market share due to its decision to go all-digital at once. This does not say anything about the quality of their cameras, especially after their introduction of some new technologies with respect to dust removal and in-camera image stabilization (instead of separately in any lens), but these are just some considerations, there are equally good considerations for choosing Canon or Nikon. Or Sony-Konica-Minolta, for that matter. Or Leica. My point was, however, that unlike former Nikon or Canon users, people like myself or The Jester are starting from scratch, like first-time DSLR users. We *can* consider all brands on their own merits, without being constricted by a consideration of a very limited backward-compatibility.

Olympus went with a new mount, Correct Nope - non-digital lenses won't work. This decision was obviously not popular among traditional Oly users, but in the long run, it was probably the right decision, as it has allowed Olympus to engineer something entirely new. You got a logical flaw there. The Jester *has no choice* but to look for a new system, but precisely because he cannot have any compatibility concerns, he does not need to limit himself to the two backward-compatible market leaders. I was in the same situation two years ago, and a comparison of the DSLRs below $1000 of ALL brands available at that time was hands-down in favor of the Oly E500 (over the Nikon D50 and the Canon Rebel XTi, and some others). I don't know how today's entry-level DSLRs compare, but I'd suggest just to go with the best. On the level of professional cameras, Olympus is still leading in quality (though not in market share), but I doubt you're looking for a professional camera. Enjoy!

None. I had an Olympus OM1, and am now using an Olympus E500. The lenses for Olympus DSLRs are all designed specifically for digital cameras (which makes them overall better than their Nikon and Canon counterparts), but the downside is that you cannot take your pre-digital Oly lenses and use them on an Oly DSLR. Many people who use Nikon and Canon DSLRs do so because they already have matching lens collections. If I were to buy a new DSLR today, it would be the Olympus E3 as a professional DSLR, or the E510 if I needed something cheaper.

Yes. If you purchase the DVD version of the maps, you can load them to a blank SD card and load them into your GPS unit. But how? I am looking at Mapsource on my desktop. I know how to upload maps directly to my old serial GPS, but how do I load them to a card? The only things I appear to be able to do is "load to a device" (and my card reader is not recognized as such), or save the map selection as an .mps file on the card. But is that a format the GPSr will read?

But the other way around it works, I hope? Can I put Mapsource maps on a card and use them in my Garmin GPS? (I just ordered a Vista HCx and a card, I have only had GPSrs with built-in memory so far)

This one looks nice. Does it connect to backpack straps?

I don't know what's on the market in this respect, but I am looking for a pouch to carry an Etrex Vista in, preferably one that attaches to a belt, but also to a backpack shoulder strap. Can anyone refer me to a website where I can get something like that, or does anyone here have a used one for sale? Thanks!

1. Yes, that problem still exists with the latest HCx firmware. And I think it's been fixed. Garmin has released firmware version 2.40 for the Vista HCx, with the note: "Changed odometer calculation to more closely match track log distance." http://www8.garmin.com/support/download_details.jsp?id=3709 That sounds like good news. I have just ordered the HCx, and hope I'll get used to the button placement. Thanks to all who helped me decide in this thread, and the related ones!

but after that 5, 10, 15 or 30 second interval passes, and the backlight turns off, what will turn it on again? Do I have to to press the power button again to turn it on, or would any button reactivate the backlight for the duration of that preset period?

Thanks for your review, GfH, and for putting a pointer to it in the thread I started... I'd never have found it otherwise. My last remaining question before buying it would relate to autorouting. I didn't have that feature at all in my old MAP76S. Can you tell me whether that works equally well in either unit? Thanks!

I have been reading some old threads comparing the Garmin 60CSx and Vista HCx units, and would like to ask for some advice from people who have experience with these units: Is it (still) true that the Vista has problems tracking at walking speed, or was that a teething problem that has been fixed? Are there differences in the way the two units do auto-routing? (It's the one big feature that my MAP76S did not have.) Is there any advantage that the 60CSx has over the HCx that outweighs the fact that the 60CSx - well - physically outweighs the HCx, that I should consider? Thanks for any input!

Perhaps TM could approve the cache now, so Nol can log a find? It could be rearchived immediately afterwards. Very interesting thread.

http://ptleader.com/main.asp?Search=1&...tionID=&S=1 A 35-year-old Silverdale man died suddenly on Mount Jupiter Trail, south of Brinnon off U.S. Highway 101, late Saturday evening, July 14, while hiking with companions. According to the Jefferson County Sheriff's Office, after reaching the mountain summit, the man began to experience problems on his descent and lost consciousness. His companions attempted CPR but were unable to revive him. They called 911 from a cell phone, and Jefferson Search and Rescue (JSAR) was dispatched to the scene around 7:30 p.m., accompanied by deputies from the sheriff's office. The man was pronounced dead by a deputy coroner from the sheriff's office, who was accompanied to the scene by a team of volunteer searchers from JSAR. The search and rescue team transported the deceased through the night and into the early morning hours until the terrain became much too treacherous to continue on foot, thus jeopardizing the rescuers' safety. A helicopter from the Snohomish County Sheriff's Office came to the aid of JSAR and airlifted the man from a clearing below the trail. The helicopter had to make several attempts before successfully retrieving the deceased due to inclement weather and fog. The helicopter crew then transferred him to a representative of the funeral home at a nearby landing zone in Brinnon. The all-volunteer team from Jefferson Search and Rescue had just completed a five-hour training mission in swift-water rescue awareness that morning in Brinnon at the Duckabush River. Twelve members of JSAR assisted in the rescue operation and invested more than 250 man hours retrieving the deceased. Several members of the sheriff's office also assisted in the operation, which began around 7:30 p.m. July 14 and was completed around 2:30 p.m. July 15.

I don't see Goats 'R us on the list. It had been disabled for the winter, so I guess it was reenabled after the list was generated. This might actually be happening to other caches too. If a highest cache challenge is created, the list should include caches temporarily disabled for the season - or just be generated late enough in the season for all those caches to be active again.

Make that Mrs. Wienerdog

Better: you can preempt it: After X finds, you post a Note announcing that the next finder will be last to find, and is requested to remove the cache. Then you archive the listing. That way you'll get to place many caches without the area getting oversaturated, you'll never have to do any maintenance runs, and those of us in Port Townsend without knee injuries will regularly have new caches to hunt

Congratulations, and thanks for sharing that great story, Dick! It's all about locations, and whether that memory was brought up by a micro or an ammo box, truly doesn't matter! Cheers, Daniel