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Screenshot of Garmin Birdseye Image


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Hi All

 

I purchased Garmin Birdseye Image, and download the photo for Sydney CBD area.

 

Here is the screenshot on in my Basecamp

 

150m scale

25283-3.jpg

 

20m scale

25284-3.jpg

 

Same area in Google Earth

25285-3.jpg

 

Cheers

Edited by droople
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Yeap some of the shots are good. Do you think is whorth the price ? what's your reaseon to buy ? does it help with your Geocache ? I would like to know better... Thanks M.TEX

 

To M.TEX

 

No, I don't think it would help in Australia, I can use google earth to check the images and print out to bring with me.

 

Um... I'm not impressed. Do they have anything better than the 20m scale?

 

To lee_rimar

 

I only download images in Sydney, you can give me some place, I can download and post here.

 

Cheers

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To lee_rimar: I only download images in Sydney, you can give me some place, I can download and post here.
How about N45.520913, W122.672644? It's just a parking lot in downtown Portland Orgeon -- but easy to grade quality by looking at detail level on lane markings, building features, etc.

 

Thanks for posting images -- it's very helpful for others deciding if Birdseye will be worhtwhile.

 

I wonder if Garmin's Birdseye coverage is any sharper over metro areas in the USA vs Australia or other locations. It may be that they have higher quality imagery, but the file sizes would just be too huge to be practical.

 

The trade off between hi-res and download size is an issue with the DeLorme subscription users also. Even where D. has "high res" urban imagery is available, it takes a very long time to download and is still lower quality than what you can view on demand with many smart phones.

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To lee_rimar: I only download images in Sydney, you can give me some place, I can download and post here.
How about N45.520913, W122.672644? It's just a parking lot in downtown Portland Orgeon -- but easy to grade quality by looking at detail level on lane markings, building features, etc.

 

Thanks for posting images -- it's very helpful for others deciding if Birdseye will be worhtwhile.

 

I wonder if Garmin's Birdseye coverage is any sharper over metro areas in the USA vs Australia or other locations. It may be that they have higher quality imagery, but the file sizes would just be too huge to be practical.

 

The trade off between hi-res and download size is an issue with the DeLorme subscription users also. Even where D. has "high res" urban imagery is available, it takes a very long time to download and is still lower quality than what you can view on demand with many smart phones.

 

Here is the photo. Birdseye only uses 0.5 meter per pixel resolution satellite images.

 

150m

25390-3.jpg

 

20m

25391-3.jpg

 

Google Earth

25392-3.jpg

 

I found that you can't enter co-ordination in Basecamp :blink:

Edited by droople
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I downloaded BirdsEye imagery of Wichita, Kansas, in four quadrants of "very high" quality as well as many rural areas that I frequent. I sent the files to my Garmin Colorado 400t. I then drove around and saw my location moving through the aerial photography. My laptop was not available for me to use Google Maps. I don't have a smart phone with mapping abilities. I often find myself in very rural areas where cell phone signals are very weak.

 

BirdsEye v. GoogleMaps? BirdsEye wins that one.

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For folks using the Birdseye imagery, I have a question. When it transfers from Basecamp to the GPSr unit, how much file space do the sat images use up? I know it's dependent on how much you transfer over, but is there any indication of how much sat imagery (area) you can put on say a 1.7GB internal memory?? Like could you fit all of North Dakota? (Only reason I ask is because Garmin's new GPSMAP 62 doesn't support data cards for expansion) [ :) WHAT?!?! I know...] Any information you could provide for me on this would be super helpful, thanks.

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For folks using the Birdseye imagery, I have a question. When it transfers from Basecamp to the GPSr unit, how much file space do the sat images use up? I know it's dependent on how much you transfer over, but is there any indication of how much sat imagery (area) you can put on say a 1.7GB internal memory?? Like could you fit all of North Dakota? (Only reason I ask is because Garmin's new GPSMAP 62 doesn't support data cards for expansion) [ :blink: WHAT?!?! I know...] Any information you could provide for me on this would be super helpful, thanks.

 

The first image I posted is around 5.6mb.

Edited by droople
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"...Only reason I ask is because Garmin's new GPSMAP 62 doesn't support data cards for expansion) [ :blink: WHAT?!?! I know...]"

 

Unfortunately, I guess Garmin is gambling that most 62-series purchasers will be willing to pay up for the 62s or 62st to have the expandable SD card memory. Wasn't it the same with the 60-series where the SD card memory was with the 60cx and 60csx, not the basic 60? If it worked for them then, perhaps it will now, though the GPS/caching landscape has definitely changed since then. If I'm wrong, I hope someone with a better memory corrects me.

 

I'm riding the fence. If the Oregon 450 is still cheaper after the 62s is on the market, the decision will be even more difficult.

 

On topic, the Birdseye imagery is an intriguing benefit and alternative to Google maps. I wonder if they'll continue not just to expand it, but to improve it with updates to make it worth subscription fees.

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Still, even at ±6MB, that's got to add up huge fast. :blink: Who cares if you have a 32GB card. But to try to cram workable stuff into 1.7GB will be tricky.

 

Is Topo also available with Birdseye?? If so, is it comparable in size?

 

Sorry, it's 5.6mb,my fault

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Still, even at ±6MB, that's got to add up huge fast. :blink: Who cares if you have a 32GB card. But to try to cram workable stuff into 1.7GB will be tricky.

 

Is Topo also available with Birdseye?? If so, is it comparable in size?

 

Sorry, it's 5.6mb,my fault

 

What do you mean? I think the birdseye will cover on the topo map, you need to turn it off to see topo in that particular area

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Still, even at ±6MB, that's got to add up huge fast. :blink: Who cares if you have a 32GB card. But to try to cram workable stuff into 1.7GB will be tricky.

 

Is Topo also available with Birdseye?? If so, is it comparable in size?

 

Sorry, it's 5.6mb,my fault

 

What do you mean? I think the birdseye will cover on the topo map, you need to turn it off to see topo in that particular area

 

BirdsEye is painted first, then the other map on top of it. Therefore you can see roads, contours etc. If you only want to see the BirdsEye, you have to turn off all other maps.

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Still, even at ±6MB, that's got to add up huge fast. :blink: Who cares if you have a 32GB card. But to try to cram workable stuff into 1.7GB will be tricky.

 

Is Topo also available with Birdseye?? If so, is it comparable in size?

 

Sorry, it's 5.6mb,my fault

 

What do you mean? I think the birdseye will cover on the topo map, you need to turn it off to see topo in that particular area

 

BirdsEye is painted first, then the other map on top of it. Therefore you can see roads, contours etc. If you only want to see the BirdsEye, you have to turn off all other maps.

 

thank you for the correction.

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Hi Guys, this is the first amount of info I have seen on BirdsEye, it's very interesting.

 

I am really curious as to why Garmin has not made the imagery into a simple overlay map product for MapSource vs. BaseCamp!? I have Ibycus, Topo and BlueCharts loaded in MapSource and use BaseCamp for nothing, really. Is there any real reason why? BaseCamp seems pretty weak to me compared to MapSource.

 

Next question is fees. I can see that BirdsEye is roughly $30USD to buy, then you pay some sort of monthly subscription, is that correct? Is the cost of the subscritpion a function of the amount you download? Will the BirdsEye maps expire on your GPSr if you do not renew your account?

 

So many questions...!

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Hi Guys, this is the first amount of info I have seen on BirdsEye, it's very interesting.

 

I am really curious as to why Garmin has not made the imagery into a simple overlay map product for MapSource vs. BaseCamp!? I have Ibycus, Topo and BlueCharts loaded in MapSource and use BaseCamp for nothing, really. Is there any real reason why? BaseCamp seems pretty weak to me compared to MapSource.

 

Next question is fees. I can see that BirdsEye is roughly $30USD to buy, then you pay some sort of monthly subscription, is that correct? Is the cost of the subscritpion a function of the amount you download? Will the BirdsEye maps expire on your GPSr if you do not renew your account?

 

So many questions...!

 

$30USD is annual subscritpion, no extra monthly fees

Link to comment

Hi Guys, this is the first amount of info I have seen on BirdsEye, it's very interesting.

 

I am really curious as to why Garmin has not made the imagery into a simple overlay map product for MapSource vs. BaseCamp!? I have Ibycus, Topo and BlueCharts loaded in MapSource and use BaseCamp for nothing, really. Is there any real reason why? BaseCamp seems pretty weak to me compared to MapSource.

 

Next question is fees. I can see that BirdsEye is roughly $30USD to buy, then you pay some sort of monthly subscription, is that correct? Is the cost of the subscritpion a function of the amount you download? Will the BirdsEye maps expire on your GPSr if you do not renew your account?

 

So many questions...!

 

$30USD is annual subscritpion, no extra monthly fees

 

Many thanks.

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It seems that in many locations, Garmin and DeLorme offer (at best) USGS DOQQ imagery. This is very low resolution compared to what many US states have.

 

So far for many states, they have done their own aerial surveys with much higher resolution imagery than USGS DOQQs. Pennsylvania is 2-foot resolution in most of the state and 1-foot in some areas. New York is 1-foot for most of the state, 2-foot for some outlying areas, and 6-inch in some regions such as Ithaca, NY.

 

New Jersey is 1-foot statewide.

 

In general it seems that where available, Google Earth includes this imagery. Google Maps does not always include the state imagery.

 

These datasets are available for free and small chunks of them can be loaded to Garmins using the Garmin Custom Maps function, but large regions require the DeLorme or Garmin subscription-based services which offer lower resolution.

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It seems that in many locations, Garmin and DeLorme offer (at best) USGS DOQQ imagery. This is very low resolution compared to what many US states have.

 

So far for many states, they have done their own aerial surveys with much higher resolution imagery than USGS DOQQs. Pennsylvania is 2-foot resolution in most of the state and 1-foot in some areas. New York is 1-foot for most of the state, 2-foot for some outlying areas, and 6-inch in some regions such as Ithaca, NY.

 

New Jersey is 1-foot statewide.

 

In general it seems that where available, Google Earth includes this imagery. Google Maps does not always include the state imagery.

 

These datasets are available for free and small chunks of them can be loaded to Garmins using the Garmin Custom Maps function, but large regions require the DeLorme or Garmin subscription-based services which offer lower resolution.

 

For my personal experience, GE is not very accurate in my area.

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Regarding size of the imagery downloads - I downloaded a 80 square mile chunk of Minneapolis at the Highest resolution available and the file was between 80-90 MB (don't have the unit with me so can't give exact number. So far I have download about 30 image files (most are 20-40 sq.miles, 3-4 are 80 sq. miles) in MN, WI, AZ, NV and FL all at Highest resolution and I'm using less than 1GB on my SD card...

 

The info above about the image being posted that was 5.6 MB was the size of the screenshot, not the size of the imagery file itself.

 

The quality when you zoom in below the 50m level is a bit lacking, but it has definately helped me located a couple of caches that I probably would've strugged with otherwise. This is of course more helpful when you are in a fairly open area, desert of Arizona for example vs. a heavily wooded area in MN where everything turns into a sea of dark green.

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Regarding size of the imagery downloads - I downloaded a 80 square mile chunk of Minneapolis at the Highest resolution available and the file was between 80-90 MB (don't have the unit with me so can't give exact number. So far I have download about 30 image files (most are 20-40 sq.miles, 3-4 are 80 sq. miles) in MN, WI, AZ, NV and FL all at Highest resolution and I'm using less than 1GB on my SD card...

 

The info above about the image being posted that was 5.6 MB was the size of the screenshot, not the size of the imagery file itself.

 

The quality when you zoom in below the 50m level is a bit lacking, but it has definately helped me located a couple of caches that I probably would've strugged with otherwise. This is of course more helpful when you are in a fairly open area, desert of Arizona for example vs. a heavily wooded area in MN where everything turns into a sea of dark green.

 

The area I posted is only 5-6 sqkm, so, 5-6MB is a reasonable number.

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Here's an comparison example of the South end of Bagram Airfield:

 

Google Maps example: LINK

 

Google Earth Historical image 1:

1276301870.jpg

 

Google Earth Historical image 2:

1276301953.jpg

 

Google Earth Current:

1276301984.jpg

 

BaseCamp w/current AFD-3093 [uSAF] chart:

1276302017.jpg

 

I would say these images speak for themselves.

Edited by coggins
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