Any REAL advantages with 550t ?

[pratzert]

I've already got an Oregon 400t but sort of like the camera idea on the 550t.

 

But is it really worth it to pay the price to get the 550t ?

 

What other advantages are there with the 550t over and above the 400t ?

[+facade66]

The 550t has a 3 axis compass which is quite good, and a camera which isn't although the pictures do get geotagged when you take them.

 

I believe that it supports more saved tracks and waypoints too.

 

The screen is billed as "enhanced sunlight readable" but if it is better than a 400 in this respect, the 400 must be totally unusable in bright sunshine.

 

(I have a 550t, the camera actually takes good pictures in ideal conditions: close-up of cache, ground features etc. Mine produces pictures that are obviously underexposed if there is a whiff of backlighting i.e. any more than about 5% sky in the frame. Would be much better if there were some exposure control in the firmware.)

Edited March 6, 2010 by facade66

[pratzert]

Thanks for the comments.

 

Makes me think I may want to wait for the "next generation" with few more enhancements to make it worth the big bucks to upgrade.

[pratzert]

Thanks for the comments.

 

Makes me think I may want to wait for the "next generation" with few more enhancements to make it worth the big bucks to upgrade.

[+G & C]

The 3-axis compass is a HUGE deal if you ask me. I came from an eTrex Vista HCx and a Colorado 400t, and I liked both of them, but being a big compass guy, the 3-axis thing just makes life soooooo much easier. With the use of the dashboard feature, it's incredible.

 

And I like the camera on my 550. It's not professional grade, but it takes great pictures if you're looking to use it for what it's meant to be used for: recreational photo taking. Pics of caches, areas around caches, or just stuff in general. It works fine. But if you're looking for great zooming capabilities and flawless pics, you're barking up the wrong tree. That's not within its scope of intended use.

 

All in all, it was definitely worth the extra cash to step up to the 550. I was originally planning on the Oregon 300 or 400, can't remember which. Doesn't matter now!

[+jackrock]

A big advantage of the 550 for me is a three in one deal. I no longer carry GPSr, camera, and PDA. Now it's just the GPSr. I find this very convenient. I already had topo maps so saw no need to get the T version.

[+Texas Charles]

I bought a 550 to save the $100 difference between it and a 550T. I ended up buying a Topo card for the 550 for $99. The card uses up the memory slot in the 550. I could of had a 550T with the Top maps =preloaded and a open memory card slot for the same money. The 550 has no -repeat no maps at all loaded. I figured it would have maps simliar to my old Garmin 60CSx. Wrong - no maps at all.

 

No I never saw it turned on before buying it.

 

I did not compare to the 400T or 450T so can't speak of that.

 

But let me tell you this save your money anyway you can and use it to go paperless. You will never consider going back. On paperless the Garmin 550 would be hard to beat. It is dirt simple to load caches into memory.

 

The screen is poor for viewing but great as a touch screen. The screen is useable barely for viewing. When plugged into 12volt power in my truck on the way to a cache the screen is very good but it is backlit all the time then. On battery power it is as I said poor unless the back lite is on.

 

The accuraty is great - better than the Garmin 60CSx in fact when tested side by side. The testing was by placing a rock in a field next to my house. Recording its location and averaging it with both units. Walking off about 200 yards and going back to the rock. I did the walk back and check the distance shown from the rock three days in a row. The Garmin 60CSx showed an average of 9' away from the rock. The 550 showed an average of 3' from the rock. The walk back to check it was with the unit the waypoint was recorded with.

 

Forget the camera for anything but quick shots to post on the internet. They will not print worth a hoot and even Photoshop will not make them into decent shots. It is not a real camera in any sense of the word. Buy a old Nikon or Canon shirt pocket camera used off eBay and you will get 10 times the camera.

 

I was not impressed with a friend's Iphone and while impressed with the Delorme the touch screen won me over.

 

I plan to upgrade when Garmin upgrades the screen. Yes, I believe they will do something in the next version of this unit. The poor screen is going to cost them a lot of sales. They didn't get to be the Big Dog in GPS by letting the competation beat them up on something like this. They will eiher develop it, buy it or steal it.

 

To close with get a unit with maps included and save the card for caches. You are going to spent the money anyway when you buy the maps.

 

Texas Charles

 

By the way the Garmin 550 is tough. I was riding my bike pretty fast for an old fat man on the way to a cache and dropped it. It bounced on the concrete bike path three or four times. As I walked back to get it I was wondering if dumb was covered under the warrenty. When I picked it up it was still pointing to the cache and telling me I was 356' feet away. It had a couple of minor marks on the housing but nothing really noticable.

Edited March 8, 2010 by Texas Charles

[+G & C]

By the way the Garmin 550 is tough. I was riding my bike pretty fast for an old fat man on the way to a cache and dropped it. It bounced on the concrete bike path three or four times. As I walked back to get it I was wondering if dumb was covered under the warrenty. When I picked it up it was still pointing to the cache and telling me I was 356' feet away. It had a couple of minor marks on the housing but nothing really noticable.

 

Very much agreed on the units toughness. I apparently have the grip of a newborn when I'm concentrating on navigation, and mine has hit the floor several times with little to no damage. Never turned off, never scratched the screen, no real noticeable effects yet.

 

I'm glad, because I don't see myself fixing that problem with my holding on to things anytime in the near future...