+phlatlander Posted December 27, 2011 Share Posted December 27, 2011 (edited) There is a good sale at gpscity (Calgary CA) and this week an Oregon 450 is $300cdn and an Oregon 550 is $330cdn. Reading Garmin info would infer they are quite similar except for the camera on the 550. Apparently the 550 does not have "Garmin Connect", and does not do automatic routing etc. Are there other differences that would make the upgrade more attractive? Opinions? Edited December 27, 2011 by phlatlander Quote Link to comment
+Chief301 Posted December 27, 2011 Share Posted December 27, 2011 There is a good sale at gpscity (Calgary CA) and this week an Oregon 450 is $300cdn and an Oregon 550 is $330cdn. Reading Garmin info would infer they are quite similar except for the camera on the 550. Apparently the 550 does not have "Garmin Connect", and does not do automatic routing etc. Are there other differences that would make the upgrade more attractive? Opinions? I'm considering both of these units...a side by side comparison on Garmin's website shows the only differences are the camera, and the 550 comes with rechargeable NiMH batteries and a charger whereas the 450 does not. Apart from that the specs are identical, including the turn-by-turn auto routing. Unless I'm reading it wrong. Quote Link to comment
MtnHermit Posted December 27, 2011 Share Posted December 27, 2011 There is a good sale at gpscity (Calgary CA) and this week an Oregon 450 is $300cdn and an Oregon 550 is $330cdn. Reading Garmin info would infer they are quite similar except for the camera on the 550. Apparently the 550 does not have "Garmin Connect", and does not do automatic routing etc. Are there other differences that would make the upgrade more attractive? Opinions? I have a 450 and a Nuvi 295W which has a camera, I like having the camera, crude as it is. I'm 99% sure the camera is the only difference. If it's only $30 difference, by all means get the 550. Quote Link to comment
savant9 Posted December 27, 2011 Share Posted December 27, 2011 As mentioned by others, the only difference is the camera, all other features are the same (the whole x50 line uses the same firmware). The 550 also comes bundled with a couple batteries and a charger. Well worth the $30 difference. Quote Link to comment
+phlatlander Posted December 27, 2011 Author Share Posted December 27, 2011 I'm going for coffee on Friday with a serious geocacher and he is going to demo his 450, which I suspect will make me want to replace my old Legend... I wasn't too keen on the 500 with camera but it likely performs as well as my old geocaching minolta 100 - and less batteries to carry around as well. Thanks for the feedback so far. Quote Link to comment
+myotis Posted December 27, 2011 Share Posted December 27, 2011 Its not the worlds greatest camera, but it takes pretty good pictures. But it can be extremly difficult to see what you are taking a picture of under certian lighting conditions. When you are looking at the GPS, you can tilt the screen to see it good, but when you are taking a picture, you cannot tilt the screen. However, the camera is waterproof, will put the lat and long on the picture, and will record the direction the camera is facing when you take a picture. I say it is well worth the extra cost. Quote Link to comment
+kunarion Posted December 27, 2011 Share Posted December 27, 2011 I'm going for coffee on Friday with a serious geocacher and he is going to demo his 450, which I suspect will make me want to replace my old Legend... I wasn't too keen on the 500 with camera but it likely performs as well as my old geocaching minolta 100 - and less batteries to carry around as well. Thanks for the feedback so far. I've used both, and they both do street routing, if you install routable street maps. The 550's camera is great for close-up shots of Travel Bug and Geocoin tracking codes (as close as two inches), and not too bad for scenery shots. It's a little easier to read in daylight than the 450, and easier to calibrate. Quote Link to comment
+ACESnEIGHTS Posted December 30, 2011 Share Posted December 30, 2011 I got the 550t $399.00 us at Cabelas. It is the cats a** in my opinion. Takes good pics and is a great Gps. Rugged waterproof and accurate. Quote Link to comment
+coggins Posted December 30, 2011 Share Posted December 30, 2011 I got the 550t $399.00 us at Cabelas. It is the cats a** in my opinion. Takes good pics and is a great Gps. Rugged waterproof and accurate. I bet it takes better pictures than a cat and is more helpful in navigation that any feline. Quote Link to comment
+ACESnEIGHTS Posted January 11, 2012 Share Posted January 11, 2012 I got the 550t $399.00 us at Cabelas. It is the cats a** in my opinion. Takes good pics and is a great Gps. Rugged waterproof and accurate. I bet it takes better pictures than a cat and is more helpful in navigation that any feline. lol Quote Link to comment
+phlatlander Posted January 11, 2012 Author Share Posted January 11, 2012 I ended up getting a 550 and a Zagg screen protector. Regarding geocaches, I have succeeded in downloading and installing several maps, enlarging the text, changing the text colors, and I have loaded red light files and the the unit "dings" at the correct time. There is much to learn but I must say I am impressed. I know where there is a Geodetic Survey point and so my terrier and I went out for a morning walk to: Name: PIER A Zone: 14 E 609386.63 N 5523536 or Latitude/Longitude : 49.854248 -97.478249 The Oregon 550 read: 49.854250 / 97.478250 which is very good, < 8' lat and < 4' long Quote Link to comment
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