GPS satellites have been freely accessible to the world through the "public good" policy of the United States Air Force and their NAVSTAR Global Position System (GPS.) It is a system of satellites that broadcast a specific radio signal to be read by a receiver like this one. If three or more of the NAVSTAR satellites are in transmission range of the GPS unit, through simple mathematical calculations based on the distances between each orbiting satellite and the receiver, a 3-dimensional position on the X/Y/Z axes is determined. This in turn translates into latitude, longitude and altitude co-ordinates on a GPS receiver.

Geotagging has become an important part of digital photographic organization, classification and notation. The process involves obtaining coordinates from GPS transmissions, and embedding them in a way that allows a photographer to store the location to which the photograph was taken within the digital image file itself. In order to generate these coordinates, a GPS receiver like the Sony GPS-CS3KA GPS Image Tracker is required.

This multi-stage geotagger does not interface with a still or video camera, but rather operates alongside the camera, saving location data to a file that can be referenced later when the GPS-CS3KA tracker is linked to a Windows computer with an USB port. Sony's included Picture Motion Browser software links the time stamp of the image with the time stamp of the GPS's recording and then copies that data over to the image's metadata or a sidecar file with video files.

The GPS-CS3KA GPS Image Tracker also features two memory card slots for geotagging on the fly. Simply remove the card from your camera after a shoot and insert it into the Image Tracker. The GPS receiver then scans the image files saved to an SD or Memory Stick Duo card and matches time and location without the use of a PC.

Image Tracker for Digital Video or Still Camera

Virtually compatible with all digital still cameras and 2008-09 Handycam camcorders.

Use Picture Motion Browser Software to View Photos on Online Map

TRACE mode shows travel route along with shot locations.
SHARE mode lets you e-mail maps to more PC users.

Weights and Measurements

Dimension (length): 57 x 80 x 23mm (w x h x d, approx.)
Weight: 70g (approx.)

General

Power Requirements: AA Alkaline / AA NiMH x 1
Power consumption: Approx. 0.15W (Operating on a battery, while tracking, backlight off)
Colour: White

GPS

Receiving frequency: 1575.42 MHz (L1 band, C/A code)
Receiving method: Parallel 20 channel
Receiving sensitivity: -159dBm or less (while tracking)
Cold start: 40s (minimum)
Hot start: 2s (minimum)
Positioning accuracy: 2DRMS: approx. 2m *1
Operating time: Approx. 15 hours (When using an LR6 (size AA) Sony alkaline battery, continous tracking) *2 Approx. 16 hours (When using an LR6 (size AA) Sony Ni-MH battery, continous tracking)
Logging interval: Approx. 15 seconds
Memory capacity: Approx. 1GB (log record area : approx.128MB, system work area : approx. 872MB)
Interface: USB
Button Power, Up, Down, Enter, Menu, Hold (slide)

USB

Host interface: USB2.0 High-Speed
Interface Connector: USB Mini B
Transfer rate: max.480Mbps
Power: Bus Power
Operating Voltage: 5V DC (supplied from USB cable)
Power consumption (Active): Approx. 120mA
Power consumption (Suspend): Approx. 2000microA

Operating Conditions

Operating temperature: 0 - +40°C
Storage temperature: -20° - +60°C

Supplied Accessories

Picture Motion Browser software (v.4.2)
GPS Image Tracker software
Carrying Case
USB Cable

PC Requirements

Application: GPS Unit Application Software
CPU Pentium III 500 MHz or faster(Pentium III 800 MHz or faster is recommended)
Other device The USB connectors must be provided as standard. CD-ROM drive
Supported OS Microsoft Windows XP SP3*3/Windows Vista SP1*3
Disk Disk spece required for installation-approximately 500MB