Large data capacity – stores over 256 000 data records : AGL3080 Photo Tracker is a GPS-based data logger designed to provide location information for digital photos. Unlike other similar products AGL3080 does not need driver to operate. When you plug AGL3080 into a computer via USB port it will simply appears as an external drive. The recorded log is standard NMEA format which is compatible with many online tools such as JetPhoto GPSVisualizer etc.

5 Responses to “AGL3080: Amod AGL3080 GPS Data Logger (Windows and Mac Image Software included)”

1. Flannery 626 says:

   June 10, 2010 at 12:00 am

   I use the AGL3080: Amod AGL3080 GPS Data Logger to post photo locations for use with my photoblog. Early on I had frustration matching photos with location tags because the software didn’t always recognize the EXIF data from the camera. I still can’t figure out what the software matching feature doesn’t always work. However, I decided that I could manually match photos with location my copying the location from the AMOD data and create a Google map of the location for the photo I wanted to post. That works just fine and has eased the frustration of trying to match every photo.

   My purpose for using the device is pretty simple (geotagging photos to post location in my photoblog posts) and it works fine for that.

   I had purchased the suggested add on software (JetPhoto pro), but I don’t use it anymore.

   The device is easy to use, although it sometimes takes a while for the gps to find the location.
2. jfd says:

   June 8, 2010 at 12:00 am

   The logger works as advertised but the accompanying software is badly conceived and implemented. Each picture must be selected (one cannot select a list with Ctrl-A), the button ‘Display GPS Logs on Google Maps’ doesn’t work and generates a unending succession of error messages, it doesn’t seem to be possible to locate more than a few pictures on a map, and so on…
3. Jeremy Thornhill says:

   May 25, 2010 at 12:00 am

   I did a good bit of research before settling on this unit. I use Linux and OS X primarily, so I wanted something that would work with minimal hassle on both; the flash storage strategy of this particular unit ensures optimal compatibility.

   It works like this: put in AAA batteries, turn unit on, wait for lock, then start moving. That’s all there is to it; it records your track to internal flash memory, which you can mount as a normal storage device in pretty much any operating system.

   One thing to consider: it’s absolutely crucial to allow the device to get the initial lock, which is indicated by a *blinking* green status LED; the green LED on its own means bad signal (I find this counterintuitive, so be sure to pay attention to the instructions). If you don’t stay stationary at boot up to allow for the unit to get a lock, it may take a *long* time to get one when you’re on the move; however, if you get the lock first and *then* start moving, the tracking works great, even giving me good data indoors.

   As R. Simpson mentions in his review, there are six modes of operation which provide varying degrees of sensitivity and storage consumption. You toggle these by holding both buttons during startup, and the status lights flash in certain patterns to indicate the mode. You *must* refer to the documentation to understand what mode the various lights represent, so don’t just toss the manual; if you lose it, search online for the AGL 3080 manual v2, as the original manual did not document this.

   I use the “GGA/GSA/RMC/VTG 5 second” mode, AKA “Mode 3″ which is indicated by a solid GPS LED during mode selection and gives 360 hours of data. 5 second granularity is good enough, and this ensures I can record multiple tracks on the device with no worries of storage requirements even if traveling without my laptop. Even the default mode gives 72 hours of data, though, which should be fine for most use cases.

   So far, I have yet to run down the batteries all the way; I use rechargeables, which I just charge overnight after a day’s use so I’m good to go in the morning. I guess if you leave the device on all day you might drain them completely, but I have yet to do this.

   When you’re ready to geotag, your workflow is going to depend greatly on which software is at your disposal. The device outputs data in NMEA format, one “session” per file. I personally use gpsbabel to convert this to kml or gpx data, and I use that data along with a perl script (gpsPhoto by Peter Sykora and Andreas Neumann) to tag the photos. It helps to keep your camera’s clock synchronized as closely as possible with real time; if you’re off the mark, you’ll need to compensate for the offset within your tagging software of choice. If you’re interested in writing your own script, the heavy lifting can be done by libexif, and wrapper modules exist for most scripting languages. I find gpsPhoto.pl to be a capable solution out of the box, though.

   The only thing about this product that I would like to change would be its size. There are now smaller units that have internal lithium ion batteries with similar battery life that would be more appropriate for e.g. sports tracking. This thing isn’t huge (easily clipped on a belt or camera bag) but it’s not tiny either; those more expensive models might be worthwhile if you value portability.
4. Vivek Gupta says:

   May 19, 2010 at 12:00 am

   I bought this specifically for a photo trip I had planned in Arizona. This worked out great for tagging my photos in Aperture 3 and the integration was easy, since no software install was really needed for working with this on a mac. My mode of operating was to put it in the constantly recording mode (I downloaded the PDF manual from the website as that was newer than what was included on the cd with the packaging), then whenever I finished shooting photos, I turned it off again (though sometimes I forgot). At the end of the day I would connect the logger to my laptop and see it as a drive with a folder full of log files in there. I copied these off to my computer and then deleted them from the logger (to make sure there was enough space). In Aperture after importing my photos into a project I then added my GPS logs to the project. Using the Places tool in Aperture I could then line up a photo I knew with a GPS track, Aperture then prompts me as to whether I want all of the pictures automatically tagged based on the timestamps (adjusting for the difference between the photo I picked and the track time for the location I picked). Now I can browse my pictures on a map and see where it was we were hiking.

   The battery life was great and the logging seemed to work well based on the tracks that I saw. I used the strap that came with the logger to strap it to my camera bag or to my belt loop when not carrying my bag around with me. A couple of improvements would help this product:

   1) Add an LCD for some information display

   2) Display the battery life percentage on the display

   3) Display the time that the GPS unit thinks it is, making it easier to check the time on the camera to make sure things are synced up

   I’m glad I bought the device, even though I was uncertain based on the reviews I saw and I was taking it on a trip without having time to test it and get used to it. This will be one of the items I make part of my standard travel kit.
5. Christopher A. Blevins says:

   April 17, 2010 at 12:00 am

   The device itself is about the size that I expected. Weight is not really an issue with the nice clip that I can stick it on my backpack or camera bag. Battery life (I used the every 5-second frequency) was about 2 days on one rechargeable set; very good in my opinion. The data storage capacity is very good if you turn the frequency slightly down from the every second default (which isn’t really necessary).

   The software that came with the device wasn’t the best, but no driver installation is necessary to pull off the raw logs. I discovered that Aperture 3 does a fine job of importing the data itself onto your pictures, so I didn’t have the need for a converter program.

   Overall, excellent device that doesn’t kill batteries and can store an entire vacation without having to download!. Lock-on-time I discovered is good too; around 2 minutes cold start, 10 seconds hot start.