Garmin Birdseye Subsricption: Worth it or not

[+geocachingcop]

Hi all...Just curious if the Birdseye subscription is worth the cost. I will be using my GPS (Garmin Oregon 450) for primarily two things; Hunting and geocaching. I already have the free topo maps installed on base camp so was just wondering if the satellite images would be anymore beneficial for hunting. Is there a way to have the satellite image overlayed with topo? I could see that maybe being useful. Thanks for the input and happy caching......

[insig]

You can set the draw order of the satellite imagery so that roads and topo elevation lines show up on top of the satellite imagery.

[+Mineral2]

My opinion: it just clutters up the map screen. I even turn off the shaded relief because it makes the maps easier to read.

[+geocachingcop]

You can set the draw order of the satellite imagery so that roads and topo elevation lines show up on top of the satellite imagery.

 

Ok..good to know....thanks!

[+geocachingcop]

My opinion: it just clutters up the map screen. I even turn off the shaded relief because it makes the maps easier to read.

 

Mineral. Which clutters up the screen? Using birdseye alone or in conjuction with topo? If you had to pick one, would you go with just topo or with birdseye on the screen? Thanks!

[+ecanderson]

My complaint with Birdseye imagery is that it tends very much to the dark and low contrast side, much like Google's satellite shots. When I'm really trying to see something, Bing's aerial work is a lot clearer in my area most of the time, but no easy way to get that on a Garmin!

[+Walts Hunting]

I had it but let it expire. Didn't find it all that helpful.

[+Mineral2]

I would suggest using a map and no birdseye. There are tons of great detailed and FREE topo maps for Garmin GPS's.

[Barrikady]

I had it but let it expire. Didn't find it all that helpful.

I agree. It was a disappointment. I also did not renew.

[yogazoo]

Things like resolution, contrast, and photo date are highly variable depending on your location. "Usefulness" of the imagery is also highly subjective and variable. Sure, in some areas BirdsEye's not that great but let's not throw the baby out with the bathwater. Best thing anyone can do to see what BirdEye looks like in their area of interest is to download a sample tile which Garmin let's everyone do through BaseCamp. Take a look at your area on your Garmin and decide for yourself whether Garmin BirdsEye is worth a subscription or a renewal. Some will say yes, some will say no and both for good reason.

Edited March 29, 2014 by yogazoo

[Forkeye]

I am dissapointed in mine. V2

I live on the west coast of Canada just above Washington State USA

I got it for hiking and the photos were all taken in what seems like early spring when there is still alot of snow in the mountains so you cant see much except snow. Features like lakes, streams, and other ground features are all covered up and the almost white screen is hard to see in daylight and also not as sharp as Google Earth, and the Google Earth images are snow free.

Had all the photos been taken in the summer it would have been so much more useful. You can adjust the brightness of the images without using the back light, but I saw very little difference between settings.

Edited March 29, 2014 by Forkeye

[alandb]

I have let my subscription expire, but still have the V1 images on my Oregon 550.for my local area. I like them and find them useful when I am geocaching even tho they are out of date and the resolution isn't that good. I am considering renewing the Birdseye subscription so I can redownload the V2 images which are much better resolution and more up to date.

[+geocachingcop]

What about creating a custom map? Can you use an image from google earth or google maps of the area you will be in, then download this image, create the map and then save it as a kmz file and put it into basecamp to then transfer to the device? I found directions for creating custom maps and putting them into basecamp by either scanning maps on a scanner or by downloading them from internet. Although the website was not using a downloaded satellite image for the instructions, could it not theoretically be done with a sat image following the same directions?

Edited March 29, 2014 by geocachingcop

[+ecanderson]

How do you get a high resolution image file from Google Earth that covers any decent sized area? I would think that this would easily turn into the same problem as Birdseye only worse - dozens and dozens of smaller tiles that have to be appended to cover any reasonable area.

[+geocachingcop]

There is a youtube video explaining how to capture a high res image from google maps satellite. If I am only hunting in say a certain area, where I would need to see only features in that small area, could what I typed earlier be done?

[yogazoo]

There is a youtube video explaining how to capture a high res image from google maps satellite. If I am only hunting in say a certain area, where I would need to see only features in that small area, could what I typed earlier be done?

 

Yes. And there is a very nice tool called "G-Raster" that makes it super easy to accomplish. Making your own "CustomMap" KMZ file is a great solution for smaller scale areas. All units have a limit to how much free custom imagery you can load. For larger or multiple areas I find that BirdsEye is simply easier and in my case better resolution.

[MtnHermit]

Hi all...Just curious if the Birdseye subscription is worth the cost. I will be using my GPS (Garmin Oregon 450) for primarily two things; Hunting and geocaching.

I found it to be too dark on my OR 450, YMMV.

 

Easy enough to do a free test, as follows:

• Have the latest version of BC installed
  
• Connect your OR450
  
• Log into the BE server using BC
  
• Select an area to download
  
• BC will install that area into your OR
  
• Use the OR map display to turn on/off the image, just like a map
  

[insig]

I found it to be too dark on my OR 450, YMMV.

 

In Setup -> Map -> Select Map -> BirdsEye and you can choose Normal, Brighter, or Brightest. I use "Brighter".

[+ecanderson]

I find that selecting a 'brighter' image washes out the contrast, and since I'm both dark and low on contrast in my area anyway ...

Would be nice if I could do a gamma pre-process on Birdseye and clean them up a bit (again, they look like many of the less clear Google satellite shots to me) but no way to do that to them.

[MtnHermit]

I found it to be too dark on my OR 450, YMMV.

In Setup -> Map -> Select Map -> BirdsEye and you can choose Normal, Brighter, or Brightest. I use "Brighter".

Got a chance to check the brightness feature on a brilliant day at 12,000 feet, sure enough it made an improvement.

 

Thanks

[+JohnCNA]

Hi all...Just curious if the Birdseye subscription is worth the cost. I will be using my GPS (Garmin Oregon 450) for primarily two things; Hunting and geocaching. I already have the free topo maps installed on base camp so was just wondering if the satellite images would be anymore beneficial for hunting. Is there a way to have the satellite image overlayed with topo? I could see that maybe being useful. Thanks for the input and happy caching......

 

I have the GPSMAP 64s which came with a free subscription to BirdsEye V2. I like it a lot, and i'm sure I will subscribe when the free year runs out.

The V2 images are nice, but not quite as high resolution as Google sat view on my phone. But then I go outside, and the phone gets pretty washed out in anything other than heavy shade but the Birdseye looks even better in sunlight thanks to Garmin's screen. Then I get out to the woods and the phone may not get signal for Google. Or if it does, it's a weak 3G signal so screen updates are so slow it's very painful.

 

Yes, the topo features are overlaid on the Birdseye view. It's nice to actually SEE where the tree cover vs prairies are, plus I can actually see where some of the trails are (tree cover permitting). That little blue line on the topo map becomes a photo where I can actually judge how wide it is, and sometimes even see where there might be a rocky area or fallen tree to cross. The (P) icon on the map becomes an actual forest preserve parking lot. I have downloaded areas in Chicago's far west suburbs and for recent cache-cations in Cedar Rapids IA and Door County WI. I was very happy with the images in all those areas. Again, not as sharp as Google on a good phone, but I don't have to go find a big tree to go under to see the screen. I can't speak to how nice they look on other models because of the different screen types. I'm quite certain I will subscribe after my free year runs out.

[MtnHermit]

Yes, the topo features are overlaid on the Birdseye view.

You can turn off either the topos or Birdseye images. For me, I don't like them combined.