Richard's Tech Reviews

Qstarz BTQ1000P (Platinum) GPS logger with photo geocoding - reviewed

NOTE: This 2008 draft blog post is being published in 2022; it may be incomplete and the information is certainly out of date.

Summary

The BT-Q1000P is the second generation of this logger from Qstarz, featuring some hardware enhancements and completely new software.  The hardware interface has been bumped from 38400 to 115200, making for much faster downloads, and track storage has been doubled.  The software features selective track download, sophisticated Google Maps integration, photo geocoding, altitude view and speed view.  This combination of features makes the Q1000P my new preferred logger.

As with the Q1000, the Q1000P is also compatible with the Mac over USB and Bluetooth, using BT747.

It can be set to 5Hz (5 track points per second) logging. [using special software?]

Details

The Qstarz BT-Q1000P (available through Amazon.com in the USA) is a compact GPS track logger, it stores tracks in its internal memory, as well as providing the ability for real-time navigation using USB or Bluetooth GPS-mouse mode.

It uses a replaceable, USB-rechargeable li-ion battery, with reported battery life of [].

The basic hardware appearance and controls are unchanged from the Q1000, so you can refer to that review for more information.

The hardware changes from the Q1000 are:

• interface speed increased from 38400 to 115200, much faster downloads
• Bluetooth download and control??
• storage increased from [] to []

You can see the GPSpassion.com review for additional information about hardware improvements.

Note that the number of storable track points Qstarz advertises is for logging lat/long ONLY.  With altitude (which is included by default), the needed storage space increases, so that actual number of track points available is only about ?135000?  This is an area where some standardisation of counting record storage would help for comparing between loggers.

The Q1000P also brings major software enhancements over the Q1000.  It includes two applications, an updated version of the original Travel Recorder software (now called V3), and a completely new application, called Travel Recorder V4.

I will not look at the V3 software, it is an incremental improvement to the original software I got with my Q1000, with photo geocoding added.

Travel Recorder V4 is similar to the GiSTEQ PhotoTrackr application, it is great to see the vendors starting to provide sophisticated mapping and photo geocoding applications to go along with their excellent hardware.

I will caution that I had a fair bit of trouble connecting successfully to the Q1000P over USB.  Although I am using the same USB-to-serial COM port driver as with the Q1000, it seemed to have some initialisation issues.  I was pretty consistently successful if I first turned on the logger (to LOG mode), and only then connected the USB cable.  You may find that a Windows reboot is the only thing that clears connection problems.

Travel Recorder 4 (henceforth TR4) opens with a blank Google Map (unlike GiSTEQ, you do not have to register for a Maps API key).

Before you're able to start using the product, you will have to enter the product key provided by Qstarz.  Keep this in mind if you're installing on a laptop before heading off on a trip.

When you select "Read GPS Log" TR4  will scan all the logs on your device and then offer you the option to download only selected tracks.  This is by far the nicest implementation of track downloading I have seen so far, compared with the GiSTEQ, which downloads all tracks every time, and the original Travel Recorder software, which also downloaded all tracks and then required manual editing in Excel to separate/split them.

You can see that Qstarz is using a sort of brushed metal look reminiscent of iTunes in some of its internal dialog boxes.

Uses idea of project, imt format, bin format.

Fuji X10 quick impressions

We've moved from pixels to sensor size, which is probably a more reasonable measurement.  However not all sensors are equal - there are different designs.  For example, Sony is using Exmor-R back-illuminated CMOS, while Fuji is using front-side-illuminated EXR-CMOS.

Here are a few cameras I have, from smallest sensor to largest (sensor size measurement is a bit weird, so just look at the fraction, don't take it as an indication of the actual size)

camera	sensor size	megapixels	GPS?	viewfinder (OVF)?	zoom	compact?
Sony HX5V	1/2.4"	10 MP	yes	no	10x optical	yes
Canon S95	1/1.7"	10 MP	no	no	3.8x optical	yes
Nikon P6000	1/1.7"	13.5 MP	yes	yes	4x optical	no
Fuji X10	2/3"	12 MP	no	yes	4x optical	no (protruding lens)

The next step up from 2/3 is the Four Thirds System, then APS-C, then "full frame" sensors.  Wikipedia's Image sensor format article gives a good overview.  You can also get a visual idea of the sizes from this SensorSizes image.

Despite the smaller sensor, I like the features of the HX5V including high zoom and GPS, so it's my main compact camera.

The current (as of November 2011) versions of the cameras above are the Sony HX9V, the Canon S100, and the Nikon P7100 (all with different specs than the models listed above).  The Fuji X10 was just released.

X10 impressions

I got the X10 for its quick start up time and very high shooting rates (up to 10fps still photo, up to 200fps video).  I also wanted to have a viewfinder camera as sometimes staring at the LCD to compose a shot is awkward.

Here are some quick impressions:

The first thing I noticed right away is that the lens cap--which is about 1cm deep--has no loop for a strap.  As the camera turns on by turning the lens (there is no other way to turn it on), this leads to a very awkward dance as you take off the cap and then try to hold the cap while turning the lens.  Since the cap is deep, it doesn't quickly slip into a pants pocket or a tight shoulder bag pocket.  This multi-second dance impedes the theoretical 0.8s startup time for the camera in quick-start mode.

The second is that the auto mode seems quite poor.  Instead on the X10 your default auto-shooting mode should be the EXR mode, which is much more intelligent.

Sweep panoramas are under the Advanced mode, unlike the HX5V where it is a top-level dial option.

There are in fact a proliferation of modes, respectively under

EXR - EXR Auto (it will auto choose between many different options), EXR Priority (choose one of: resolution, high ISO with low noise, dynamic range)

Adv - 360 Panorama, Pro Focus (softens the background in portrait shots for pseudo DSLR effect), Pro Low Light

Scene Position (SP) - Portrait, Portrait Enhancer, Landscape, Sport, Night, Night (Tripod), Fireworks, Sunset, Snow, Beach, Underwater, Party, Flower, Text, Natural (2 shots, one with flash, one without), Natural Light

Movie - 1920 (30fps), 1280 (30fps), 640 (30fps), 640x480 (70fps), 320x240 (120fps), 320x112 (200fps)

In general for selection modes you turn the dial, then press menu, then select the sub-mode.  This is quite a few steps to go through.

Those are just the modes on the main selector dial on the top.

There is a menu button + up/down/left/right buttons + "sub-command" wheel on the back face of the camera that has two other key modes:

Macro (left) - choose between regular macro and super macro (as close as 1cm) - works in Auto but not in EXR

Drive (up) - high speed still shots - also has various modes but the main ones are related to speed - L (3fps), M (5fps), H (7fps), SH (10fps with image size reduced)

I do like the flash design, in which you have to manually pop up the flash for it to be active (particularly since I see so many people with cameras firing off flash all the time, where it's not needed because of lighting or where it's prohibited e.g. in art galleries).

The optical viewfinder has 85% coverage, and it does zoom along with the zoom you set manually.  I like the manual zoom as drive-controlled zoom (e.g. as in the HX5V) is very hard to control precisely.

On the software front, the camera comes with FinePix Viewer, but it is not supported under Mac OS X 10.7 Lion (and will never be).  It works fine with Aperture.

UPDATE 2011-11-08: There have been a number of questions online about RAW support.  Currently there is limited support on the Mac for the RAF RAW file format, however Fuji does provide a converter on the supplied software CD.  Look for the rather obscurely-named "SILKYRFCEXInstaller.pkg" - it will install RAW FILE CONVERTER EX (mine is version 3.2.5.0).  It installs fine in Mac OS 10.7 Lion.  The underlying engine is from SILKYPIX, which sells a more full-featured software package online.  ENDUPDATE

I asked the @fujiguys two three questions on Twitter, here are their responses:

about lens cap strap

"Tried at the last meeting in Tokyo, but apparently lost that battle."

about FinePix Viewer under 10.7 Lion

"Unfortunately, FinePix Viewer will not be supported under Lion. Personally, iPhoto is much better anyways."

is the 12MP EXR-CMOS sensor in the X10 back-illuminated?

"the 12MP EXR-CMOS in the #Fujifilm X10 is a FSI and not a BSI. This allows for Base 100 ISO."

I am still learning the many, many modes on the camera.  Here is a cropped picture taken in EXR Auto.

The X10 is available for order from Amazon.com but not yet from Amazon.ca - in Canada I got mine from Henry's. The manual recommends Class 4 or better memory card for video; I'm using a SanDisk Class 10 | UHS-I | 30MB/s card. I found the battery life is not great (the in-device processing uses a lot of power I think), so I got a second battery. Another useful accessory is the lens hood, Fuji model LH-X10 (I plan to order one).

 

Map Room reviews Nikon GP-1

I don't have a DSLR of any kind, so I can't review GPS units for those cameras.  Fortunately Jonathan Crowe does, so you can read his review of the Nikon GP-1.

Previously:
August 27, 2008  Nikon GP-1 GPS unit

Holux M241 vs. Garmin etrex Comparison - guest review

A guest review from Janos Ero, looking at two devices from a GPS track recording (GPS logger) perspective.

Holux vs. Garmin GPS Tracker Comparison

Thanks Janos!

Holux M-241 GPS logger with LCD display - reviewed

Summary

The Holux M-241 GPS logger (available from Amazon.com in the USA) has a similar cylinder form to some other loggers, but adds a new feature: an LCD display which can show current location and GPS time, as well as enabling the changing of settings on the device itself.

It takes a single AA battery, and although it can run off of USB power, it can't recharge the battery.  It uses the 32 channel (51 channel) MTK chipset.  It comes with very basic photo geocoding software for inserting photos into Google Earth tracks, the software is Windows-only.  It has Bluetooth serial support, so it can work with compatible devices (e.g. mobile phones, laptops, PDAs) as a Bluetooth GPS.  The device itself is also Mac compatible, using BT747 software, including track download over Bluetooth.  130,000 log points with user-settable time interval or distance trigger.

See my GPS logger comparison spreadsheet for a full feature comparison with other loggers.

If you want to be able to check your location in real-time or change settings on the fly, this may be the logger for you.  However the Windows software is very basic, and I found some minor sensitivity issues.  As well, it does not automatically start logging as soon it gets a satellite fix (you have to watch and manually start it once it has a signal).  You may find some of the other models I have reviewed better suited to your needs.

Note: Although you may see mention of a Holux GR-241, there is no such device.  It may have been an early model number for the M-241.

Details

My colleague Chris actually noticed the design is reminiscent of a film canister.  There is a small plastic cylinder on top through which you can thread the provided thin string that attaches to a strap.

Here's what it looks like, compared to some other loggers, it's the one in the centre

You can see that in colour (orange), size and shape, it's almost identical to the GiSTEQ DPL700 PhotoTrackr Lite.  They are strikingly similar models, even down to the GPS chipset (MTK), with the M-241 LCD display being the main differentiator in terms of hardware.

Here's the packaging and what comes in it

It includes a USB cable, a strap, a battery, a car adapter for power, and a 7-day license for smart2go mobile (cellphone) map software (which works only on Windows Mobile 5 and some Nokia phones, unfortunately).  You can get an optional and rather oddly-named "travel adapter" which is just a wall-socket USB power cable.

Using the LCD display, you can control logging settings (time interval or minimum distance).  You can also see a count of remaining log record storage (continuously decremented if the log is running) - a very nice feature so that you know exactly how much memory you have left.  As well, for the first time with a GPS logger, I actually can find out where I am in real-time, since it has a lat/long display.  GPS time is also displayed (you have the option to adjust the time display for you timezone).  This time display will make it very easy to keep your camera synchronized with the GPS.

It also has a sort of "odometer" mode, where you can measure distance travelled.

Surprisingly, despite the elaborate controls and display, I could find no way to set a waypoint (perhaps because it considers every track record location a "waypoint").

The included Windows software (Holux Logger Utility) is quite basic (as is common for most loggers other than the GiSTEQs).

Once you have the serial driver installed, you can connect to the device

The logger settings can also be controlled from software

"Upload" brings up a small dialog box

Files will have the device name ("user name") you have chosen prepended.

"Combine JPEG file" is one option for photo processing.  It will "combine" matching photos into the Google Earth .kml

"Write Total Track Log" means one file combining all the tracks, in addition to all the individual logs.

The software will save both a Holux datafile (.trl tracklog filename) and a Google Earth .kml file, with start, end, and every intermediate datapoint included as a waypoint.  Here's an example of me walking to work from my bus.  Waypoints are in yellow, with date/timestamps in white, the track runs through the middle of the image.

and here's the .kml file itself

Download Richard_M-241_Start_20080117-094618_Finish_20080117-100317.kml

It does not produce time-based .kml

There are various other output formats available

The software has no concept of true photo geocoding with EXIF stamping, instead it will only create KML tracks with embedded photos.

It will let you make time adjustments to sync your photos with the GPS time of the track points

[Here's where I wrote about photos and the software, and TypePad ate it, so let's try again.]

The matching worked fine, I did some photos from my K790a camera, offset by -5 (my timezone).

However, all the photos are embedded in the .KML in the same section as the "waypoints" (the track log points), distinguished only by a camera icon.  If you have dozens or more photos, you will have a heck of a mess trying to sort them out from the yellow track points.

Photo icons manually selected (purple with white date stamps)

Default appearance with everything selected.  Good luck trying to find your photos.

Just to emphasize, there is no way to select just your photos all in one click, you have to manually scroll through the waypoints directory and select them one by one.

The waypoints directory showing one photo

Photos are not auto-rotated in the Google Earth display.

Here's what a single photo looks like (it's a snow groomer, in case you're wondering)

Please note: this is not true photo geocoding, the GPS coordinates are not embedded in the photos (I checked the processed images with IrfanView using the EXIF extension - no changes to the EXIF or IPTC).   The photos are actually completely untouched and unaltered as far as I can tell.

To do true photo geocoding, you will have to convert your .trl files to a standard format (e.g. GPX) and use some other software (not provided by Holux) to embed the locations into the photo EXIF.

The M-241 will also work on Windows and Mac using the BT747 software, see my posting "BT747 support for Holux M-241 on Mac over USB and Bluetooth" for more information.

I tested the Holux M-241 against various other loggers:

M-241 with 5s logging interval, BT-Q1000 with 10s logging interval, not sure of HGE-100 (TrekBuddy recording interval), AGL3080 always fixed 1s interval (1Hz), Sony GPS-CS1 always fixed 15s interval

20080117 - roughly the same as the Qstarz BT-Q1000 and Sony HGE-100

20080119 - this is a problematic set of tracks from skiing at Vorlage - the M-241 overall does well, but there are a few tracks (the ones I am certain are wrong marked with "X") where it is clearly not correct (fortunately for my health, I didn't suddenly start skiing through the woods).  M-241 (cyan track) and BT-Q1000 (orange) both in ski jacket pockets.  This may be an antenna issue, the Holux does have a "this end up" indication, and I can't guarantee what direction that was pointing as it tumbled around in my pocket.

The original Holux .kml is quite large, so I have saved .kmz out of Google Earth.

Holux-Vorlage-20080119.kmz

Qstarz-Vorlage-20080119.kmz

20080123: roughly the same, keeping in mind the different logging intervals, except for the Sony GPS-CS1 (green) which not surprisingly is a bit more off-track given its SIRFstarII chipset

Download Holux-M241-20080123-part-1.kmz

Download Holux-M241-20080123-part-2.kmz

Download Ottawa-20080123-Qstarz.kmz

Download Ottawa-20080123-Sony.kmz

Download Ottawa-20080123-AGL3080.kmz

20080126: Back at Vorlage.  Again an anomalous track (big loop at top).  Could be due to battery I suppose, the Holux battery died part-way through the day.    Cyan is Holux again, Orange is Qstarz again, Red is AMOD AGL3080.

Here are two of the tracks.  There is more in the Qstarz because the Holux battery died (the advantage of having a 32-hour rechargable battery in the Qstarz).

Download Voralge-Holux-M241-20080126.kmz (just noticed filename typo, sorry)

Download Vorlage-20080126-Qstarz.kmz

These are just my observations in terms of the GPS performance, I don't have the equipment or software to do extensive sensor tests - I hope someone will do some detailed testing about the impact of the orientation of the M-241 and the antenna sensitivity.

UPDATE 2008-02-11: I did some additional testing and I got good tracks as long as the M-241 stayed with the antenna pointing upwards.  ENDUPDATE

Things that could be improved:

• no way to have it auto-start logging when a satellite fix is obtained
• no way to set a waypoint (UPDATE 2008-02-11: May be possible in Lat/Long display mode.)
• awkward battery door (common problem with this type of design)