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GPS connected to Digital Camera


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I don't connect them, but I often would look through my tracks at the timestamp to figure out where I was when I took a photo. I've just recently started using TopoFusion, which automatically will read the photos EXIF data and locate the spot along the track where the photo was taken.

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quote:
It's older now but Kodak made (makes?) a solution that works with a Garmin GPS and actually puts Lat/Long right on the image when you snap the picture.

 

I purposely looked for a Kodak DC290 as my first digital camera (I do a lot of film scanning with my film cameras) because of the ability to connect to the GPS. The DC290 amongst several others have a scripting system called Digita built in. You can use and write scripts that are then written to the same card that the pictures are saved on. A "system" folder is set up on the card and then the script(s) are loaded from the camera's menu.

 

I bought the camera on e-bay a couple of months ago and have been trying to get it connected to my GPS.

 

Here's where I am at:

1)Found the digita script (actually 3 scripts that work together - one to create the background that the coordinates are written to on the picture, one to establish the location of the text, and one to communicate with the GPSr) I can access the scripts from the camera and run the first two. I am having a problem with it communicating with the GPS. It says it can not find it.

 

2)My camera came with a USB interface. A serial cable was available from Kodak but no longer. I purchased one that was supposed to work but one of the pins is wrong. I need to pursue this further. I have tried with no success to use a serial / usb converter. The two devices (camera and GPSr) are ultimately connected with a null modem which I have. The kit referenced above came with a null modem cable that was fitted for the camera as well as the Garmin connector. I would really like to get my hands on one of those to eliminate all the other cables I am dealing with.

 

I have not spent a huge amount of time with this project but hope to try to source out another cable and play with it further. If anyone else has some insight, I'd sure welcome it!

 

George

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quote:
actually, I found the scripts... I'll let you know what I find


 

wiredcur,

 

Glad to have someone else working on this! I seem to recall that both of our cameras use the same cable. If you come across a solution to the cable or get your camera to recognize your GPSr, I'd sure be happy to hear about it. Based on your profile, you have a much stronger background to figure out where to trouble shoot any issues.

 

George

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I found another thread about this from about 7 months ago.

 

GPSr to Digital Camera

 

I've searched just about everywhere I can think of but there's two things I'm missing.

 

1. The Pin-Out on the DC265/DC290 camera. Anyone got any ideas?

 

2. Kodak refers to a script called "Garm.CSM" I've emailed Kodak and asked if I could have a copy of it icon_wink.gif Let's see how generous they feel.

 

I found the scripts from PhotoGPS and made a mod to not crash because I've got a DC265 and not a DC290. But I'm still getting a compile error.

 

More work ahead.

 

FINALLY!!! Something useful I can do with that Geography degree. :-D

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One more thing... since I'm delving into the Digita Scripting language, I'm going to see if I can get the bearing to show up on the image too. Doesn't help you much if you know where the picture was take but not which direction the camera was pointing icon_wink.gif

 

FINALLY!!! Something useful I can do with that Geography degree. :-D

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I mucked with this when Kodak first released it and it took quite an effort and many tech support calls to both Garmin and Kodak to get it working. If I remember correctly it was some sort of a firmware problem.

 

My notes say: "Make sure the baud rate of the GPS is 9600 and the firmware version is 2.08 or later on a GPSIII or 1.02 or later on a GPSIII+." I have written "2.00 was initial release" in the margin with an arrow pointing to the GPSIII+ 1.02 firmware version.

 

It's been a long time since I fooled with it but I still have the Garm.CSM script archived if you want it.

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wiredcur and Nelly & Jay,

 

Thanks for the post on the pin outs to the kdc list wiredcur. That gave me the courage to pull pin #7 on my cable (mine came with #7 but no #6 or #8).

 

Nelly and Jay sent me their garmin.csm within moments of my request! Thanks. Interesting that it does not contain the watermark scripts like the GPSPhoto versions.

 

I played with it a bit yesterday. The scripts (2 versions of the PhotoGPS and the Garmin script from Nelly and Jay) seemed to connect to the GPS - at least I did not get the GPS not connected error like I was getting with my prior tests using the USB cable. It also lets me know that it is acquiring the data from the GPS and even writes it to the LCD as well as the image.

 

Problem is that I am getting random characters not resembing coordinates. My guess is that it has something to do with the GPS only because it is the same type of issue with all three scripts. The attempts were done with my yellow eTrex set to hdddd°mm.mmm'; WGS 84 for units. I tried both NMEA OUT and TEXT OUT at a 4800 baud rate.

 

I think my next step is to try my Vista.

 

George

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Okay, getting closer.

 

I believe I was using the garmin.csm (will confirm tonight), the yellow eTrex with I/O set to text at 9600 baud.

 

The watermark written to the image is: @030715113851N4147133W0882497g

 

Splitting this into what I think are the components: @030715 113851 N4147133 W08824917 g

 

which is: taken on 7/15/03 time? N41° 47.133 W088° 24.917 g? The date and coordinates are correct.

 

If I am correct on the time, I don't understand the format. I have no idea what the "g" is.

 

I would be pleased if I could make the time something meaningful, add some space betwen the pieces and eliminate the "g" (or at least understand what it means!)

 

George

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It's a shame that the Kodak DC265 camera are only compliant up to Digita Scripting version 1.1. The next version, 1.5 (which the DC290 runs) has a much larger string variable. This would allow the capture and manipulation of the full Text Output from the GPS.

 

George, this is why you only get up the 'g' from the output.

 

I'm should be getting a quote back from the Pfranc guy in Florida on a custom cable. A miniDIN-8 to an eTrex adapter.

 

FINALLY!!! Something useful I can do with that Geography degree. :-D

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quote:
I'm should be getting a quote back from the Pfranc guy in Florida on a custom cable. A miniDIN-8 to an eTrex adapter.


 

That would be great as I have 8 feet of cable, a null modem and gender changer all wrapped together.

 

In the event anyone is interested, here is a picture with the Garmin.csm script:

2093_300.jpg

 

The PhotoGPS scripts are still not working as expected but seem to offer some flexibility that the Garmin script does not.

 

George

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Cool! Now we can geo-stalk you. icon_wink.gif You've become your own cache! You better have good trinkets in your pocket when we find you, too.

 

It has been so long since I fooled with this I forget what the string on the photo is supposed to look like. Can you change the GPS output to DDDMMSS instead of DDDMM.MMM and what does that do to the string on the photo?

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quote:
Cool! Now we can geo-stalk you. You've become your own cache! You better have good trinkets in your pocket when we find you, too.

 

It has been so long since I fooled with this I forget what the string on the photo is supposed to look like. Can you change the GPS output to DDDMMSS instead of DDDMM.MMM and what does that do to the string on the photo?


 

Oh, you must not have noticed me on your deck! icon_biggrin.gif

 

Changing the units had no effect but I was able to use the watermark settings to change how the output is written to the image. In this case, I adjusted the position, made it transparent and used red text:

2093_400.jpg

Not necessarily the best choice but it does demonstrate how it can be controlled.

 

George

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I don't do any of this, and likely two product introduction rounds from now, I'll bet you see builtin gps chips in digitals... but for those that are more programatically inclined (as opposed to hardware hackers) ... the two ways that come to mind are these:

 

1. When you snap a shot, save a waypoint and either rename the waypoint as the shot number or just record the starting shot number and correlate that with the 001 waypoint incrementing both from there ... not ideal, error prone and subject to forgetfulness of humans.

 

2. Leave your gps on for the entire photo trip and save your tracks ... then a little script could be written to read the breadcrumbs and the photo EXIF data and do a match by timestamp ... would require timedate info to be correct in the camera and you saving your tracks.

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So George,

 

Let's recap a little. You're using a DC290 running the garm.csm script with an eTrex model GPSr, right?

 

You could create another "t" variable and format that string of characters adding labels and such. You could also change the current "s" variable that receives the text from the GSPr to a "t" variable and get all of the simple text output from the GPSr.

 

Just some thoughts.

 

BTW, I haven't gotten a price on the cable yet icon_frown.gif

 

FINALLY!!! Something useful I can do with that Geography degree. :-D

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quote:
Let's recap a little. You're using a DC290 running the garm.csm script with an eTrex model GPSr, right?

 

Yep, that's correct. I was pleased with this picture from my field test yesterday.

 

quote:
You could create another "t" variable and format that string of characters adding labels and such. You could also change the current "s" variable that receives the text from the GSPr to a "t" variable and get all of the simple text output from the GPSr.


 

Okay, if you say so! icon_wink.gif

I'm going to look at the SDK (1.5) when I get home and see if I can figure out what you're saying! So am not limited to 31 characters as the SDK says? Or maybe you're saying that I pull it in two pieces, write them to the card, assign labels to the components them write it to the image file?

 

Be gentle with me. I have no formal programming experience! I am willing to learn though.

 

George

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The garm.csm script was originally written for the DC265 which is only compliant with Digita Scripts upto v1.1. The big difference between v1.1 and v1.5 is the new "t" data type. The older "s" data type meant a String field of size 31 characters while the newer "t" data type meant a Text field of upto 255 characters.

 

Familiarize yourself with the SUBSTRING function in Digita and you should be good to go. If I get a chance I'll take a look at the script that Nelle & Jay sent us.

 

FINALLY!!! Something useful I can do with that Geography degree. :-D

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ok... I got it working for my older Kodak DC camera and here's the results.

 

forest.jpg

 

Also, if anyone is interested, the following cameras have the capability of running the Digita scripts. Version 1.5 offer a lot better text manipulation.

 

Manf. Camera Name Digita Version

-----------------------------------------------

Kodak DC 220 Zoom 1.0

DC 260 Zoom 1.0

DC 265 Zoom 1.1

DC 290 Zoom 1.5

-----------------------------------------------

Minolta Dimage Ex Zoom 1500 1.1

Dimage Ex Wide 1500 1.1

Dimage Ex Zoom 1500 v2 1.1

Dimage Ex Wide 1500 v2 1.1

-----------------------------------------------

HP PhotoSmart C500 1.5

PhotoSmart 618 1.5

PhotoSmart 912 1.5

-----------------------------------------------

Pentax EI-200 1.5

EI-2000 1.5

 

FINALLY!!! Something useful I can do with that Geography degree. :-D

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But of course!!! Chocolate/Vanilla twist with a peanut butter dip!!!

 

I am actually going to start researching if I can have my camera take a picture and create a waypoint on the GPS with the same name as the image file. Reverse the whole situation.

 

I'll keep ya posted icon_wink.gif

 

FINALLY!!! Something useful I can do with that Geography degree. :-D

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quote:

Paul Ag - What would you like to know?

 


 

I reading about this. The DC 290 is the camera of choice in this venture.

 

Do the others cameras have the same issue as the Kodak DC265 camera in that they are only compliant up to Digita Scripting version 1.1? You have encourage me to buy one. However, this is an experiment. I see the HP 618 is in my price range but I want it to work. Will it?

 

Good Luck Cache Baggers

- Paul Ag

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If you have Oziexplorer you can use OziPhotoTool which can be downloaded free from:

 

http://oziphototool.alistairdickie.com/

 

It will compare the active track with the date/time stamp of the digital cameras jpegs and create an Ozi map with waypoints of where the photos were taken. Works pretty good. You can only use the active track and not saved tracks and you should take a picture of the gps time to be able to set up the comparison.

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I know for certain that the DC290 works since that's the camera 'Dad and the Dynamic Duo' uses. I think he's messing with the script to get the watermark he's looking for.

 

At this point, I can only assume that the HP/Pentax camera I listed in a previous thread will have the same functionality. And as far as being Digita 1.5 compatible, only the Kodak DC290, the HP PhotoSmart C500, 618 and 912 and the Pentax EI-200 and EI-2000 are compatible. I am personally looking at the HP PhotoSmart 912. I think this camera is the most recent camera produced.

 

There is also the issue of a the necessary cable you need to connect the GPS to the camera of your choice. For the Kodak cameras, they use a modified miniDIN-8 (pin seven needs to be pulled) while the HP/Pentax use the B-Type USB connector (square-ish vs. flat) on the camera.

 

I had found a Serial to Mac adapter (DB9 to miniDIN-8) that I yanked out pin 7 and it worked great.

 

FINALLY!!! Something useful I can do with that Geography degree. :-D

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Originally posted by wiredcur:

ok... I got it working for my older Kodak DC camera and here's the results.

 

Is there a way to hide the info? It's nice to have that information, but data burned into the photo bothers me. There is a whole lot of hidden information in that photo. In fact your GPS data may be there, I'm just too lazy to do the HEX to ASCII conversion.

 

Here is th hidden data I recovered from that photo:

 

Original date/time: 2003:07:23 18:19:35

Exposure time: 1/250 (0.00400)

Shutter speed: 1/256.00

F-stop: 5.7

Focal length: 10.4000

Image width: 96

Image height: 64

Orientation: 1

Aperture: 5.0000

Light source: 0

Exposure bias: 0.0000

Metering mode: 2

Subject distance: 7.6900

X resolution: 72.0000

Y resolution: 72.0000

Resolution unit: 2

Bits per sample: 8,8,8

Compressed pixel size: 2.4000

Compression: 1

Planar configuration: 1

Pixel components: 2

YCbCr positioning: 1

Component configuration: "" ,01,02,03,00

Colorspace: 1

EXIF Width: 1152

EXIF Height: 768

Camera make: Eastman Kodak Company

Camera model: KODAK DC265 ZOOM DIGITAL CAMERA (V01.00)

Samples per pixel: 3

EXIF version: "0200" ,30,32,30,30

Maximum aperture: 3.0

Maker Note: "" ,01,00,00,00,00,00,04,00,45,61,73,74,6d,61,6e,20,4b,6f,64,61,6b,20,43,6f,6d,70,61,6e,79,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,4b,4f,44,41,4b,20,44,43,32,36,35,20,5a,4f,4f,4d,20,44,49,47,49,54,41,4c,20,43,41,4d,45,52,41,00,00,2c,b4,0f,01,00,03,00,00,00,00,01,01,00,03,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,04,80,00,00,03,00,00,00,06,00,00,00,04,00,00,00,00,01,4a,50,45,47,00,00,00,04,00,00,00,01,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,07,23,03,00,18,19,35,00,00,00,00,00,00,05,2d,00,00,10,a4,00,00,02,4f,00,00,03,01,00,00,00,00,00,00,03,e8,00,00,00,82,00,00,00,01,00,00,00,03,00,00,00,01,00,00,00,01,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,03,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,02,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,01

FlashPix Version: "0100" ,30,31,30,30

 

Unknown (273;0111): 1736

Unknown (278;0116): 64

Unknown (279;0117): 18432

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GeckoGeek,

 

When I modified the image with some image software such as Lview, it blew away the data.

 

I have the Kodak DC290 and the Garmim III+ purchased from Kodak as a package. I attended the Census 2000 US Mean Center of Population Ceremony in April 2001. You can check out a website of photos at www.geocities.com/EdgarSprings/ and see the first photos I took with the combination.

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quote:
Is there a way to hide the info? It's nice to have that information, but data burned into the photo bothers me.

 

The script does prompt you to choose between having it burned to the image or simply saved as part of the picture. I don't know about what causes the loss of the data in a save but there may be a way to control that. I'll need to check that out tonight.

 

George

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quote:
Census 2000 US Mean Center of Population Ceremony in April 2001. .

 

What is that craziest about? Our tax dollars are being used to mark the center spot of the population. Is that right? What a waste of money! I need to write my congressman.

Or is this a ploy to get people to Misery, I mean Missouri?

 

Good Luck Cache Baggers

- Paul Ag

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quote:
Originally posted by wiredcur:

GeckoGeek.... What did you use to recover that data?


 

ThumbsPlus. You can download an evaluation version at http://www.thumbsplus.com/

 

I think most image manipulation software tends to destroy the data. I'm not sure if ThumbsPlus preserves it or not. But at least the original photos from the camera will have the information and it won't ruin a photo for other uses.

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quote:
quoting Paul Ag:

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

@030715113851N4147133W0882497g

 

George

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

 

 

Can this be changed or is this the way the coordinates look like?


 

Possibly. The above format is essentially straight from the GPSr to the image. From poking around some of the scripts, it seems that you can write a file with the data to the CF rather than the image. Then you can pull the data from the CF in pieces, even manipulating it, and write it to the image. For example, one I saw did the the conversion from UTC to a more familiar format. I have not played with this too much, yet.

 

My focus lately has been to build a simple rig to hold both the DC290 and the GPSr so that I can quickly assemble the pieces in the field and more easily manage the carrying of the hardware. I also wanted to be able to mount it on a tripod. I took some pictures of it last night and will drop off the film this morning for processing. I will post a couple scans in the next day or two.

 

George

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quote:
Originally posted by BreezeWay:

If you have Oziexplorer you can use OziPhotoTool which can be downloaded free from:

 

http://oziphototool.alistairdickie.com/

 

It will compare the active track with the date/time stamp of the digital cameras jpegs and create an Ozi map with waypoints of where the photos were taken. Works pretty good. You can only use the active track and not saved tracks and you should take a picture of the gps time to be able to set up the comparison.


 

Thanks for the link. I am going this route instead of buying a special camera. I have been looking out for the 290 on ebay and it is out of my play money league. Here is a pic of a car you can steal by my house that I took tonight using Ozi photo.4207_200.JPG

 

Are you sure about the "You can only use the active track "? I pulled 2 tracks in.

 

Good Luck Cache Baggers

- Paul Ag

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quote:
Originally posted by Paul Ag:

You guys have to write this up. This has been on my list as well. You have to dumb it down for stupid people like me. You lost me on the combining scripts.


 

SpongeRob, one of our local cachers, has built a nice website and is hosting my article on what I have accomplished so far. I suspect that I am more stupid than many on this list so the article is not very technical. It should be enough to get someone up and going. When it is all said and done, it is possible to do this for $100 with a used camera (not the DC 290 though) and making your own cable.

 

George

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quote:
Originally posted by Paul Ag:

quote:
Census 2000 US Mean Center of Population Ceremony in April 2001. .

 

What is that craziest about? Our tax dollars are being used to mark the center spot of the population. Is that right? What a waste of money! I need to write my congressman.

Or is this a ploy to get people to Misery, I mean Missouri?

 

Good Luck Cache Baggers

- Paul Ag


 

Clearly you don't know nor do you care about the facts.

 

The Census Bureau is by law (Title 13, United States Code) responsible for taking the Census and evaluating the results. The US Constitution requires a Census by the way. Historically the Center of Population has followed a trail that reflects immigration and migration. Since 1790, the location has moved westerly, then a more southerly pattern. The new Center of Population is more than 1,000 miles from the first Center in 1790, which was located near Chestertown, Md; east of Baltimore.

 

A company called

Bernsten provided the custom made plaque at no charge. The county highway department dug the hole and made and poured the concrete. The good folks of Edgar Springs provided the snacks.

 

Unless your a resident of Phelps County, MO, you're tax dollars were not used to mark the center of population.

 

Just the facts...........

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