What free software can geotag photos from a GPS track log?
Asked 8/10/2011
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2 answers
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I record hikes and bike rides with a GPS device and take photos with a compact camera. Afterward, I want to match the GPS track to the photo timestamps and write location data into the image metadata. What free software works well for this, ideally with support for GPX files and common photo formats?
Originally by Photography Stack Exchange contributor. Source · Licensed CC BY-SA 4.0
Photography Stack Exchange contributor
15y ago
2 Answers
7
I'm using a Holux M-241 and whole range of free software under Windows using Cygwin for Perl and Co.
- Adjusting time (if I forgot to synch camera/gps): ExifTool (multi-platform) or XnView (Windows)
- Downloading from device: BT747 (Java, writes to GPX or KML (latter for tracks in Google Earth))
- Tagging the images: GPSphoto.pl (Perl, so Perl and ExifTool needed)
- Checking: XnView (Windows: opens Browser-link to Geohack with coordinates)
- Checking/Adjusting manually (eg viewing direction): Geosetter (Windows: uses ExifTool again)
ExifTool has the advantage that it writes about the best approximation of standard XMP/IPTC/EXIF to the files (and compatibility to file formats, as @gordoco mentions).
GPSPhoto is actually quite versatile for tagging/retagging with different time-windows and time-offsets and offers to write some other data with ExifTool while one already is on it.
Originally by user2317. Source · Licensed CC BY-SA 4.0
user2317
15y ago
0
Generated from our catalog & community — verify before relying on it.
Yes—there are several good free options.
- exiftool: a widely used multi-platform tool for adjusting timestamps and writing GPS/EXIF/XMP/IPTC metadata. It’s often used as the tagging engine underneath other apps.
- geosetter: a popular free Windows application for geotagging. It can read GPX tracks, lets you manually place photos on a map, and also supports broader EXIF/IPTC editing.
- gpicsync: open source and available for Windows, Mac, and Linux. It matches GPX track timestamps to photo timestamps and writes coordinates to the files.
- bt747: useful for downloading tracks from some GPS devices and exporting to GPX or KML.
- xnview: handy for checking metadata and, on Windows, adjusting timestamps.
A typical workflow is: export your GPS track to GPX, make sure camera time and GPS time are aligned, then use gpicsync or geosetter to match timestamps and write location data. If your camera clock was off, exiftool or XnView can help correct the times first.
If you want the simplest GUI recommendation from the answers, Geosetter is a strong Windows choice; for cross-platform use, gpicsync plus exiftool is a solid free setup.
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