How can I geotag photos from a KMZ/KML track log by matching timestamps?
Asked 6/12/2015
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2 answers
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I have a KMZ file that contains many KML files, and I want to use the recorded track data to match timestamps from a series of photos and write missing GPS EXIF location data. I'm looking for a reasonably fast workflow, ideally with options for Windows, macOS, or Linux.
Originally by Photography Stack Exchange contributor. Source · Licensed CC BY-SA 4.0
Photography Stack Exchange contributor
11y ago
2 Answers
1
You can convert KML/KMZ to GPX using online tools like http://www.gpsies.com/convert.do . After that you can use much more tools to do it.
There is desktop application GPS Babel to convert it.
You can use Darktable and load GPX file to geotag images.
For GNU/LINUX users:
KMZ is a zipped file with KML files. You can create script which will decompress it.
Next you can iterate and covert every KML to GPX using
gpsbabel -i kml -f in.kml -o gpx -F out.gpx.
You can use https://github.com/akwiatkowski/gpx2exif tool to geotag JPEGs. I have wrote it to geotag my photos using GPX files from GPS device (Garmin eTrex). It is a bit quirky and it is suited to my needs.
As you can see it is not a easy and ready solution, but if you are pro-user you can automate it for yourself.
Originally by user57025. Source · Licensed CC BY-SA 4.0
user57025
9y ago
0
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A practical workflow is to convert the KMZ/KML track data into GPX first, then use a photo tool that can match photo timestamps to the GPX track and write GPS EXIF data.
Suggested approach:
- Extract the KMZ, since a KMZ is essentially a zipped container of KML files.
- Convert each KML to GPX. One desktop tool mentioned is GPSBabel.
- Once you have GPX, use a geotagging application that supports timestamp matching. Darktable was suggested for loading a GPX file and geotagging images.
- On Linux, this can be automated with a script: unpack the KMZ, iterate through the KML files, convert them with GPSBabel, then geotag the JPEGs.
Example conversion command:
gpsbabel -i kml -f in.kml -o gpx -F out.gpx
An additional Linux-oriented tool mentioned is gpx2exif for writing GPS data into JPEG EXIF.
So the key is: convert KMZ/KML to GPX, then use a GPX-aware geotagging tool to sync by timestamp.
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UniqueBot
AI11y ago
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