AGL3080: Amod AGL3080 GPS Data Logger (Windows and Mac Image Software included)
by Amod
Our Price: $79.99
Availability: Usually ships in 24 hours
Category: GPS or Navigation System
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Customers in the UK,
Buy this product at amazon.co.uk
for British Pounds
Digital Photo Product Details
Manufacturer: AmodBrand: Amod
Edition: Electronics
Model: AGL3080
Publisher: Amod
Studio: Amod
Music Label: Amod
Product features:
- SiRF III chipset for best sensitivity and low speed tracking.
- Standard USB 2.0 interface which doubles as an USB Flash Disk
- Works with Windows, Mac, and Linux based computers.
- Windows and Mac photo tagging software included
- You can switch logging mode in just few seconds without PC utility needed in your journey
Digital Cameras Photo Reviews of AGL3080: Amod AGL3080 GPS Data Logger (Windows and Mac Image Software included)
Customer Review: Nice with a Mac! Review the device, not the software bundled.
Summary: 4 Stars
To help people struggling with the whole Mac compatibility reviews and of the bundled software that I too tried to figure out when looking, let me boil it down for you.
A GPS data logger does one thing. It records a file of your location at some set interval (often 1 second). That is it (although some will include more or less data on your location that others such as altitude, current speed, etc.). The next two questions you should then ask yourself about any data logger to be used with any computer system are A) In which file format is the log recorded? and B) Can I get the log from the device onto my computer?
For A) some loggers log in one of the industry standard formats while others use their own proprietary format. Regardless of what format it logs, is it one that you can easily convert to other formats? GPS Babel is probably the most popular log file converter, runs on both Windows and Macs (as well as other systems), can convert between a ton of different formats, and is free. So as long as the logger you are looking at uses a format that can be converted, you are all set there.
This logger, the AGL3080, uses standard NMEA format written to plain text files.
For B) you want to know is the data stored in a way your computer can get to it. Some have to be "talked" to and then the data "downloaded" out of the device. Others show up as a mass storage device where you can just grab the file. For a Mac, all you want to know if when I plug the device into my Mac, what do I need to do to get to the log files?
This logger, the AGL 3080, simply appears on your desktop like a USB thumb drive and all the log files are there as plain old text files (with an extension of .log on them). Select them and drag them to your desktop. Done. No software to install, no communication protocols, or any of that stuff.
At this point you have your data. Any talk about bundled software ignore. You can use any number of GPS tools out there, free, shareware, commercial, etc. To review the logger based on the software it comes with is stupid. This would be like reviewing a new digital camera and giving it a bad review because the photo editing software bundled with it stinks or is windows only, etc. You have the data, you have a way to convert the data to other formats, now search for a Geocoding application that suits your tastes and needs and convert the data to whatever format that app requires.
So after you learn those two things about any potential logger, the rest is simply hardware and firmware features to compare. For this logger, the AGL 3080, I will point out a few of the main features plus my personal opinion of them...
Battery: uses 3 AAA batteries. While some people complain that it doesn't use a rechargeable Li-Ion battery, I prefer it this way. I bought NiMH rechargeable AAAs (so I have two sets) but I always know I have the option to pop into a convenience store and grab AAA alkalines off the rack in a pinch. With a non-removable rechargeable battery, if you forget to charge your battery, you don't have any recourse. No logging that day! I know when I vacation with my family and we have been out all day walking the city, by the time I get back to the hotel, I'm tired, kids are tired, all the crud you bought that day has to somehow fit in the suitcases, etc. It is very easy to forget to plug the GPS data logger into the charger before bed and not realize it until the next morning when you are all up and getting ready to head out for the day. But I can always grab some alkalines. Other GPS loggers with built in batteries don't give you that safety net.
On the flip side, the 3-AAA batteries do make the device a bit larger than many other loggers. Mine is slightly larger than my Nokia 6263 flip style cell phone, to give you an idea. But it is still plenty compact to throw into my backpack and not be an issue.
Logging interval: With the recent firmware update, you can now pick between several time intervals, 1 second, 5 seconds and 10 seconds plus different levels of logging from recording all kinds of data (travel speed, direction, number of satellites being used, etc.) to bare bones (basically Long & Lat). So the loggers internal 128MB can hold anywhere from 72 hours of tons of data to 2880 hours of minimal data.
By the way, the manual can be found on the company website...
http://www.amod.com.tw
to see the various logging options plus the other features of the logger.
Even at the one second interval with full data giving 72 hours of logging, I think this is plenty. That is three days if you left it on 24 hours a day. With turning it off when sleeping and maybe other "down" times (while eating, etc.) you can easily get a week of logging out of it. But with the other logging interval options you can go MONTHS before you had to empty the device.
One nice thing about this logger is because it shows up as a mass storage device on a computer system, I can use my On The Go (OTG) portable hard drive to download the data off the logger into the drive without a computer around. So a two week vacation without a computer and my OTG portable HD is enough to let me do full 1-second data logging.
Finally, accuracy: Here is the thing, they all kind of have problems in a way that most of us didn't realize all GPS systems suffer from because many of us are used to Car GPS units (e.g. Garmin, Tom Tom, etc.). GPS accuracy kind of jumps around a lot and when you stand still, a GPS receiver will have you jumping around your location by many meters in some cases. In Car GPS units, when you are not moving, it doesn't update the map on the screen so you stay still on the map. When you do move, the GPS not only gets satellite data, but also calculates your speed and direction to determine where you next point SHOULD be so any weird readings do not result in the display jumping all over the place. In addition, the built in Maps help by determining where the roads are and where you car SHOULD be located and heading so you stay on the road and the display doesn't suddenly jump to show you in the adjacent field. So it all appears very steady/stable.
With these data loggers, you don't have mapping software to help. In addition, the chip sets often have a feature called "Static Navigation" (SN) that helps to "smooth" a track being logged by not logging data unless you are moving at a certain speed (I think 3 MPH or faster). The problem with SN is that when walking, you are often NOT walking fast and so you tend to get a data point, then the next one may not be until you are a couple blocks away because you are walking slow. So you may get straight line approximations between two points which may show you traveling THROUGH a building rather than turning the corner around it.
This logger, the AGL3080 comes with SN ON. But on the web site you can download firmware to load into it to have SN OFF. This gives you a much more accurate track, but does come with trade offs. Basically when you stand still, it keeps logging your position and because GPS will record points all over the place near you, you end up recording a bit of a "cloud" of points around your location when standing still. The longer you stand still, the larger and more dense that cloud of points gets. In addition when walking down the street, you may get some stray points recorded off your path.
In either case, for most of us this isn't really an issue since we tend to be more interested in figuring out approximately our route and which block the photo was taken. We don't really need to know exactly which store front we were in front of or which boulder we were standing on in a location thousand of miles from our homes. I would be just happy to see my map of points in a city nicely spread around the map approximately on the block where I was. But most points will be spot on. You just have to realize there might be some variability.
If you are a hiker and need much better accuracy, you may be better off looking into one of the $200+ mapping devices rather than a $65 logger.
As pointed out by another reviewer, the firmware can only be updated on a Windows machine, but most of us have access to one even if we tend to use Macs and you likely will pick one firmware or the other and stick to it, so it isn't like you will need to do this very often at all. Because the firmware for both versions total to only about 5MB and because this logger shows up on the computer as a thumb drive, you can load the folders of files for both updates onto the logger to always be handy. So if you are on the road, if you can get 3 minutes of time on a windows computer, you can change FW versions as needed. But most of us won't likely need to bother with it.
Conclusion: I like this logger. It does what it says it does, allows me to use rechargeable AAA batteries but also grab alkalines in a pinch, logs in an industry standard log file that is plain text, and loads on my Mac desktop like a thumb drive. Its accuracy is fine for my needs and is not a band breaker. Ignore references to the bundled software in other reviews. I never even bothered to load anything of the CD when I got mine. I use other third party applications to Geotag my photos.
More AGL3080: Amod AGL3080 GPS Data Logger (Windows and Mac Image Software included) reviews:
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Description of AGL3080: Amod AGL3080 GPS Data Logger (Windows and Mac Image Software included)
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 and software such as JetPhoto, GPSVisualizer, etc.Digital Cameras & Photo Categories
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