Whenever I’m called upon to present and demonstrate DSLRs on television or at instore events, I am amazed at the functionality each new generation of the technology introduces. It seems never-ending, with the latest models able to shoot high definition video, record stereo sound, display a ‘live view’ of the shot you’re about to capture… and more.

Almost from the start, digital cameras could record data that logged the time the shot was taken, the lens aperture and shutter speed, plus focal length, along with the picture’s ISO setting. This is tucked away in the picture file and known as ‘metadata’, accessible later on the computer.

So it was natural that clever camera designers would fall upon the GPS system to log your exact position on the globe at the moment of exposure and record this data in the picture file. Known as ‘Geotagging’, this gives you a way to file your photos, arranged by time and place of exposure.

Camera makers are approaching the feature in a number of ways. Some DSLRs, for example, include a port to directly connect a GPS unit — ‘talking’ to the camera and logging the GPS info in the metadata. Others, such as Ricoh’s Caplio 500SE, are termed ‘geotag-ready’, with GPS logging available via one of two add-on modules.

Brands such as Nikon are building it right into some of their cameras. The Nikon Coolpix P6000 compact, for example, integrates a GPS unit for attaching geotag information.

Once latitude and longitude is logged to each image file, you can go to sites that support GPS metadata, such as Flickr, and view your images on a map or search for images tagged with particular locations.

Geotagging is becoming more commonplace and, as more cameras incorporate it over the coming months, it will be easier for all photographers to enjoy its benefits. Then we can happily use our cameras and later dig up the data on ‘who, what, where and when’ of each shot we take.

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