Thoughts on Panasonic Lumix DMC-ZS7 camera?

[Chrome Sushi]

I'm a fan of geotagging photos. I usually do it on the software side with Robogeo. When Panasonic's new Lumix DMC-ZS7 (aka TZ10) was announced I thought it would be great for me. It's an extension of the ZS3 which is a great camera, and it has a built-in GPS for geotagging. It would certainly save me time in geotagging which would be great.

 

The more I think about it the more skeptical I get though. How effective can the GPS be? It takes my Dakota a bit of time to find its location when I turn it on. There's no way a camera will be quicker. So will I have to stand around waiting to get a signal every time I want to take a tagged photo? Or will the GPS be on all the time? That seems like it would eat the battery.

 

Does anyone have experience with geotagging cameras?

 

EDIT: Well, this article seems to answer my questions...

Edited March 22, 2010 by Chrome Sushi

[+sduck]

I don't have one, but it seems like a nice feature, with somewhat limited usefulness depending on your needs. I'd assume that there's some kind of indicator on the lcd that tells you if it's got a satellite lock or not - of course there's going to be lots of places and times that it can't get a lock, like right after being turned on, or in enclosed spaces.

[NordicMan]

I'm surprised a dedicated Geotagging camera wouldn't also have a built-in compass..? Wouldn't it be nice if the EXIF data also stored which way you were facing during a shot, not just your lat/long? Or am I crazy?

[+Cacheoholic]

Don’t know about the GPS part of it but I have a DMC-ZS3 that I’m real happy with. It’s kind of hard on the stock 895mAh battery so add the GPS and it’s going to drain it faster. I bought a higher capacity 1200mAh battery that does a good job.

Edited March 23, 2010 by Cacheoholic