Posts Tagged ‘gpx’
Geotag Photos with Android Camera and digiKam
Thanks to digiKam’s geocorrelation capabilities, you can geotag photos using a GPX file created with apps like Open GPS Tracker. But there is also another way to use your Android device for geotagging. The built-in camera app of most Android devices is capable of geotagging photos. This means that you can take a geotagged snap with the Android camera and then transfer geographical coordinates from it to other photos using digiKam. So next time, when you are done shooting with your main camera, remember to take a reference snapshot with your Android device (make sure that the geotagging option is enabled).
Copying geographical coordinates
In digiKam, select the reference snapshot along with the photos you want to geotag and choose Image → Geo-location. Right-click on the reference snapshot in the selection list and choose Copy coordinates. Mark then the rest of the photos in the list, right-click on the selection, choose Paste coordinates, press the Apply button, and you are done.
Geotagging Photos with digiKam
Even if your camera doesn’t support geotagging, you can easily add geographical coordinates to your photos using digiKam.
In digiKam, select the photo you want to geotag and choose Image -> Geolocation -> Edit Coordinates. This opens the Edit Geographical Coordinates window containing a map. Drag the map with the mouse and zoom on a specific area to locate the exact place where the photo was taken. Alternatively, you can use the Search field to enter the address, for example: botanic garden, berlin, germany. Hit then the Search button, and you should see a list of found places that are marked with pins on the map. To add geographical coordinates to the photo, click on the exact spot on the map to add a pin to the place where the photo was taken. You can then drag the pin with the mouse to adjust the pin’s position. Hit then OK, and you are done.
If you use a GPS device to record your track when shooting photos, you can use digiKam’s Correlator tool to geotag the images (mapping photos using a GPX file is often called geocorrelation). To do this, you have to export the recorded track from your GPS unit as a GPX file. In digiKam, select the photos you want to correlate, choose Image -> Geolocation -> Correlator, then press the Load GPX File button and select the GPX file. Hit then the Correlate button, and digiKam does the rest. Keep in mind that for this feature to work properly, the time on your GPS device and digital camera must be in sync. If the time on both devices differs, you can specify the time gap in the Difference in min[utes] field.
Once you’ve geotagged your photos, you can view them on the map without leaving the convenience of digiKam. To do this, click on the Geolocation sidebar to expand it, select the photo you want, and you should see it on the map. digiKam even lets you choose between different map providers, including Google Maps, OpenStreetMap, and MSN Maps. To switch to the desired map, choose it from the drop-down list at the bottom of the Geolocation sidebar.
Quick Notes
- digiKam can geotag photos in the JPEG and RAW formats.
- If your GPS device doesn’t support GPX format, you can use the GPS Babel tool to convert the device’s proprietary format to GPX.
- In the future, digiKam will support Marble and OpenStreetMap for offline geotagging.
- Nokia has recently opened their map web service API, so it’s possible that digiKam will provide support for Nokia maps in the future.
Thanks to Gilles Caulier for the comments.
