Foolography Unleashed: Geotagging With Limits

One of the best things to happen to digital photography since Photoshop, geotagging is the no-fuss way to remember where your images were shot. More than that, it helps your computer know- kind of like a timestamp for places- and that means you can sort them by location, or plot maps showing where you've been. Some newer camera models actually have a method for automatic geotagging built-in, but most DSLR cameras still require an additional unit to support the feature. There are a few competing systems on the market, including a solution we recently reviewed that uses an iPhone to handle the actual locating.

One interesting solution is the Foolography Unleashed. They offer different models to support different cameras, all of them Nikon at the moment, and we've been working as usual with our handy D90. The Unleashed connects over Bluetooth to a compatible GPS device, and simply translates the current position to a format your camera can understand. It's embedded in the metadata with each photo taken, and remembers the last-known location in the case of signal loss.

We've been using the Holux GPSlim 236, provided by Foolography, to take our camera on the road. We liked the cute little dongle- it's barely noticeable when plugged into the camera, and unlike some we've seen, doesn't affect even tight neoprene sleeves or cases. It also requires little setup, once paired to a GPS device, and is sturdy and well-built. But the GPS itself is another matter- it needs to stay within range of the camera, and has some trouble getting a good fix indoors (and even sometimes outside). We also found it to be a bit inaccurate, at least when compared to geolocating in a city using an iPhone with Wifi turned on. And it took much longer to get a fix on our position, which can be frustrating if you're just snapping some quick shots.

Though the dongle is self-powered, you will need to worry about charging and carrying yet another device in the Bluetooth GPS. And though remote camera control is promised, it is listed as "not yet available" and wouldn't be super-convenient. We didn't notice much drain on our battery- certainly nothing like the strain created by using an Eye-Fi card- but the feature set isn't nearly as broad.

Overall, we really wanted to like this, but it's a tough sell. Part of it is the cost, at over $150. For those without an iPhone but with a Bluetooth GPS, this makes sense. Otherwise, you might want to look elsewhere for a more convenient, cheaper option.