Amazing feature in iPhoto for mapping photo coordinates

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I just discovered a very neat feature in iPhoto of which I was completely ignorant. (Gee, I wish Apple would actually provide some instruction documentation with their products!! :rolleyes:) If you use a camera that is equipped with GPS, you can see the geographical coordinates of your photos on a Google map in iPhoto. For example, here's the route of a hike we took into Panorama Meadows in Banff National Park, as shown by the approximate coordinates of various photos I took:

Then you can even click on each "pin" to see the photo or photos taken at those coordinates, e.g.:

...Or vice versa, you can click on a photo to see the map position.

The more you zoom in on the map, the greater the detail, to a limit - this photo is as close as I can zoom in. Given that I usually take a couple hundred photos each trip, you can see that there is a limit to the resolution - not sure if the limit is coming from the GPS resolution of the camera or from the display capability of the map function:

Anyway, this looks like an amazingly useful feature for recording plant sightings!

Comments

Gene Mirro's picture

Gene Mirro (not verified)

Sat, 02/16/2013 - 1:32pm

Everybody is releasing incredibly complex applications without manuals, because they found out that nobody reads the manuals.  It's a big problem for people like me who insist on reading instructions.  If you google your application, you will usually find a lot of instructions.

I love that feature, BTW.

Richard T. Rodich's picture

Richard T. Rodich

Sat, 02/16/2013 - 9:09pm

I've always said that my next camera will have a GPS function in it. When you think about it, the mapping feature would be a natural extension of it, and if Apple hadn't made an app for it on a Mac, someone would have (and I'm sure someone(s) have made them for a PC, too).  It would be a really cool application to use when you give power point presentations on your excursions, Lori. ;D

By the way, I am also keeping an eye out for a camera that can record verbal notes with each photograph (not in movie/video mode).  If anyone knows of any, please let me know.  I can do it with my little point and shoot camera, supposedly, but only in "travel picture" mode.  But it doesn't really help much because I can't take macro photos in that mode.

The "manual" that came with my new HP computer was a little pamphlet. :rolleyes:

Tony Willis's picture

Tony Willis (not verified)

Mon, 02/18/2013 - 3:39am

Lori

very impressive and a super facility,I only run to a simple camera and not even a GPS just paper maps,poor pensioner!

Rick I take two pictures the first with the note and the second in the macro mode,not ideal but it works.