On the advice of my buddy Warren Long, I’ve joined the photo GPS age. Just in time for Iceland.
Product Highlights
12.1MP Hi-Speed CCD Sensor
Waterproof to 40′ (12m)
Shockproof at 6.6′ (2m) Drop
Dustproof
GPS, Compass, Altimeter, Barometer Inc.
Leica 4.6x Wide-Angle 28-128mm Zoom Lens
1920×1080 Full HD Video
Very Fast Autofocus, Short Shutter Lag
2.7″ LCD Monitor–230,000-Dot Resolution
Easy Upload for Facebook/YouTube
Didn’t get the best price:
Camera, extra battery, case, 3yr warranty (yes) … CDN $560 + tax.
Should be some cool apps for that location metadata.
Leave a comment if you’ve got some advice for me on the new toy.
besthike.com 
Woohoo! It is fun to have your photos stamped with all that extra data.
If you really want the GPS location, make sure you give it time to get sync before taking photos. And indoors doesn’t work. If it can’t get a lock, then it just keeps using its last known position. But, I still love it. You can get in a tell it to get your current location, and then name it (e.g. “Home”).
I also really like their “honesty” in this one. During the upgrade from the TS2 to the TS3 they actually decreased the megapixels. No point they said. And I agree, only more so. I usually run my camera in something like a 6 megapixel mode rather than the cameras max (be it 12 or 14 megapixels). That is big enough to print a really good 5×7 and the last time I did that was 10 years ago.
Ditto for the movie mode. 720p is more than enough.
And I agree with the warranty. This is a camera that is going to get used and abused. 🙂
Tell me about your experiences. And if you ever find a way to recharge those lithium batteries with a small, light solar something, I want to hear about that too.
And if you use Picasa, you can enable the “location” display, and get red flags on a map for where each photo is taken. I love it.
Out with the blue, in with the new…
Looking forward to some nice color pictures, Rick ;_)
Looks like it uses one of those proprietary wall plug-in chargers Warren. Ouch… I prefer the USB charging method so much more, there is nothing my PowerMonkey can’t charge through USB.
Okay George, you are on deck to find a charger for something similar so that I can hack it to charge from something like a PowerMonkey. 🙂 Should be a REALLY common electrical rqmt to charge the battery.
If I can find an official USB charger for these batteries, I will buy it.