Yes. HoudahGeo supports JPEG as well as many RAW image file formats.
HoudahGeo may read all the same file formats as Apple's iPhoto and Aperture.
For writing EXIF, XMP & IPTC tags, HoudahGeo relies on Phil Harvey's excellent ExifTool. You may check this list for file formats ExifTool can write to.
Please use the demo version of HoudahGeo to test with actual files from your camera.
Yes! HoudahGeo offers various ways to geocode images: using a map, using Google Earth, from reference photos, ...
Yes. You may however experience problems with incorrect timestamps. At least some versions of Adobe's DNG converter suppose that both the computer and the camera share the same time zone. The computer time zone information is embedded in the DNG at the time of the conversion. It is best to make sure computer and camera time zones match when converting from RAW to DNG.
Canon CRW/CIFF files do not support GPS related IPTC or XMP tags. Thus these files cannot directly be written to. You may however create XMP sidecar files. The newer CR2 file format however is fully supported.
GPS devices come in a wide variety conceived for many different uses. It is a good idea to assess your needs and buy the receiver that matches those.
For the use with HoudahGeo, you need a device that has a track logging feature. This is available in most handheld receivers. Car navigation devices however usually do not have this ability.
You should also make sure that the device has the ability to export GPX or NMEA track log files. This may be done using software provided with the device or with third party software like HoudahGPS or LoadMyTracks.
Our latest favorite is the Wintec WBT-202. It features a removable battery as well as a removable microSD memory card. You may thus head off for long trips without bringing your computer along. Just pack additional memory cards. Where no power is available you may also bring additional batteries. The Wintec WBT-202 mounts as a removable disk. On this drive you will find track log files in the TES format. These may be used with HoudahGeo.
The older Wintec WBT-201 is smaller and cheaper, but lacks
removable memory. HoudahGeo supports connection to the Wintec WBT-201
using both USB and Bluetooth.
Device settings may be configured using the vendor's Windows
application or using the open source GTK-Rays-2 tool.
We can also recommend the Qstarz BT-Q1300. The Qstarz BT-Q1300 is based upon the MediaTek MTK with 66 channels tracking for fast acquisition and reacquisition.
The GlobalSat DG100, the i-Blue 747 and many other devices are also based on the MTK chipset. MTK-based devices exist with a variety of USB chipsets. Some of these chipsets require drivers for them to be visible to GPSBabel, HoudahGPS or HoudahGeo.
HoudahGeo users also report success with the driverless Amod AGL3080. This device mounts on your desktop much like a USB pen drive. You just need to point HoudahGeo to the track log files on the drive.
Nikon users looking for a device which supports viewing direction should investigate the Solmeta Geotagger N3 available from GPS-Camera.eu. This device has the camera write geotags directly to the image file as they are recorded. This will save you some work in HoudahGeo. You will still be using HoudahGeo to publish to Google Earth, upload to Flickr, ...
Decide on a time zone you will use over the course of the project. Typically this is either your home time zone or a time zone you travel to.
Set your GPS device to display time in the chosen time zone.
If your GPS device has no display, use a radio-controlled clock.
Start setting the time on your digital camera.
If your camera allows for setting seconds to zero, do so when the clock on the GPS device jumps to the next minute.
Otherwise set the time on the camera to the next full minute. Save the newly set time at the very moment the actual time on the GPS device catches up.
A photo must have a valid EXIF timestamp in order to geocode it from a GPX track log.
Remedy: Geocode the photo using the build-in map or using Google Earth.
HoudahGeo relies on the camera clock working consistently over the course of a project. If your camera clock was consistently off by a certain number of seconds, you may input this clock error when importing the first image into the project.
Remedy: If the clock error has changed over the course of the project you will need to manually edit the timestamps.
HoudahGeo inquires about the camera time zone when importing the first image into the project. You need to provide accurate information. Typically this is either your home time zone or the time zone you travelled to.
Remedy: Select Camera Setup from the Load menu and apply the correct settings.
In order to geocode a photo, its timestamp must fall between the time of two consecutive track points in a given track log segment. Photos taken outside the time span covered by the track log can thus not be geocoded. If you expect the photo to fall within the correct time frame, you may want to double check the camera time zone and clock error settings.
Remedy: Geocode the photo using the build-in map or using Google Earth.
HoudahGeo is available as a trial version. During the demo period you will be able to test the full feature set with the exception of export functions. These are limited to 5 images.
Is a very good idea! Single user and family licenses may be purchased from our web store.
Usually upon purchase you will be emailed an activation code. You may enter the activation code from the demo nag window. HoudahGeo will then connect to our servers and retrieve your license file. The file will be automatically installed. You will also receive a copy of the license file in email. Please keep that file in a safe place. You will need it to install HoudahGeo on your other or future Macs.
HoudahGeo licenses come as files. When you purchase HoudahGeo
you will be mailed your personal license file. There are many ways to
load the file into your copy of HoudahGeo. The most convenient being
to open the attachment right from your email application. The license
file may also be opened from the nag panel or from the standard
Open
command.
License files are personal and contain your e-mail address. Be sure not to mix up your license file with other people's.
