Most helpful client reviews
134 of 136 people found the following review helpful.
Good but not perfect
By Charles Messel
After using the 550t for various weeks, I find the unit good but not perfect. It still has a great deal of issues, one of which I have been in touch with Garmin over. The main issue I have is it will sporadically corrupt the track file and stop showing the tracks on the map or permitting for elevation plots on the tracks. The only way to clear it is to attach the unit to a computer and replace the track file with a new one from the computer.
The compass once in a while loses it's way and needs to be recalibrated.
I have not had an issue with the accuracy underneath tree cover, that numerous have reported, but I have had a few tracks that were not 100% accurate. Walking on known roads, it will be various 100 feet off in a lot of cases. I am not sure if this is an issue with the preloaded Topo 2008 maps, or the unit's accuracy.
I love the camera and the tagging of each photo.
For a new unit, it is not bad, but it still shows a few rough edges.
Just an update - After comparing the tracks for accuracy, I found it was the 2008 Topo maps that were off. When superimposed over the City Navigator NT 2009 Street maps, the 550t was dead on. So the accuracy worries I have are shifted from the 550t itself to the topo maps it comes loaded with.
67 of 69 persons found the following review helpful.
One year after
By AP
I have owned the Oregon 550T for a year now and I think I have used each of it is most primary features, accessaries and software. My overall rating is that there is room for improvement, it is accessaries are very costly but it is one of the top hiking GPS merchandise equated to others. There is so much stuff that may be reviewed so I'll try to cover purchasing decision components and how-to tips that I think will be valuable for the ones looking for real and tested decision information.
- ACCURACY: I have applied my Oregon largely in the Shenandoah, VA area and have done hiking in South America as well. One point in behalf of the Oregon is it is capacity to quickly pick satellite reception and pinpoint your location. I have noticed altho that when you drasti change your location, let's say North American vs. South America, the GPS will need more time to discover the satellites in that area, but after that, it reconnects quickly.
One not pleasant detail is that even when you walk back and forth over the same trail and spot, the GPS shows your tracks assorted feet apart. The accuracy of the GPS from my measurements is around 25 feet and often times more. You may want to do not forget this when hiking and attempting to find the trail the GPS tells you is there. You may find it 25 feet "around" you and not incisively in the direction the GPS is telling you it is. I think it is accuracy requires improvement.
Initially I thought this is a problem in my GPS so I contacted Garmin's help and I was told fundamentally what I suspected. The accuracy is not 2 or 3 feet but a whole lot more. I think is not too dissimilar to a car GPS in this regards. I likewise found that once you tap on the satellite signal in the GPS it will provide you the GPS accuracy which oftentimes displays a number amongst 30 and 49. To me this is something that requires urgent improvement. The mission of a GPS is in the end let you know where your trails are, not supplying exact info is failing to it is basic mission.
- MAPS AND PRELOADED MAP: The Oregon 550T comes preloaded with the US Topo 100K. This is a very low detail map. My experience tells me that galore well-known park trails are missing, camp info is missing and basic routes are missing as well. It is just an awfully basic, high level map. I felt very disappointed to recognise that my over 500+ bucks didn't give me anything better so I contacted Garmin regarding this. I wanted something with more details so they kindly commended me to get the Garmin Topo US 24K DVD for my area (Southeast DVD) which is $129.99 or an BirdsEye imagery subscription for one year (more in regards to this last one later in my review) but they require of purchasing an further and added microSD Card. Expenditures continue.
- ADDITIONAL CARD: Technical help told me that the greatest or most complete or best possible microSD card supported by the Oregon 550t is 4GB so I got one. Make sure to review the microSD card speed before you buy it. There are assorted speeds, make sure to get the quickest possible to make sure uploading and downloading info doesn't becomes mission impossible. Installation of the card is hassle free and it got it in quickly. There is very little you may do with the card and the GPS alone if you don't have the necessary software tools to move maps around with your GPS. I'll talk when it comes to that later in my review.
- OTHER MAPS, DVDS OR CARDS OR WHAT: If you have been browsing Garmin's internet site you may have noticed an interesting potpourri of products. They have the same maps in various formats: DVD, microSD and download. I contacted aid and ask them what format is more commodious and why. Michael S from their technical team gave me this outstanding answer: "Thank you for contacting Garmin International. I would be happy to help you with this. For most of our maps there are quintessentially 3 options: Getting a disk, doing the download or getting the preprogrammed data card. When you get the disk you have these on both the computer and the unit. You may load these Topo maps onto as galore Garmin mapping handhelds that you own since it is not a locked product. With the preprogrammed data card, the maps are just on the card. They can not be viewed on the computer unless the Oregon is plugged in and Basecamp is running. They also can not be backed up. It may be put into any Garmin unit that accepts microSD/SD cards as it is not locked to a queer unit, but it may only be in one unit at one time. With the downloadable content, it is downloaded directly to your microSD card. The map may be backed up on the computer, but it can not be viewed on the computer unless the Oregon is plugged in and Basecamp is running. The map is likewise locked to the unit you downloaded it to, and can not be viewed in any other Garmin unit. As for the DVD version of the 24k Mid-Atlantic, the DVD is still forthcoming and will include both the Mid-Atlantic and Southeast regions. The share number for the DVD is 010-11319-00 and will be $129.99. If you have any other questions, please let me know. "
Well, as you may see from this answer you better get the DVD. If you have not purchased the GPS, you may want to plan on adding 130 bucks to your budget if you are planning to hike places you are not intimate with because the preloaded US Topo 100K is too high level.
- THE CAMERA AND DIGITAL ZOOM: When I read that the Oregon may geotag pictures with the emplacement of the shot I got excited. For a minute I was thinking the camera may imprint this data in the picture itself like galore digital cameras may do with the date/time stamp. I was wrong, there isn't such thing as that. When you take pictures, selective information is recoded and kept in the GPS. You may download the pictures using BaseCamp and then upload the pictures to an album in Picassa, and then when you click the picture, geolocation info will be displayed in a text field but not in the picture. I think there is misleading selective information here, this is what Garmin claims in their website: "Each photo is geotagged mechanically with the emplacement of where it was taken". Instead it must say: "Geolocation selective information is saved in the GPS each time you take a picture. No photo geolocation stamp is available".
Well, detached this fiasco, I find the GPS camera not to be that incredible, just a little phone-like camera without real zoom or wide angle. It will take pictures but any other digital camera will be capable to do a better job.
- SUN LIGHT READABILITY: I have been hiking at sunlight and underneath the forest. I prefer to give rise to a little shade to better read the Oregon. I believe that still you may read it beneath sunlight. Yes it is not going to be unbelievable clear but what may be more splendid that direct sunlight? The screen may be read better beneath shady conditions but may handle sunlight well sufficient to keep you moving and oriented.
- TOUCH SCREEN: The touch screen is actually nice. It feels a little like an iPhone. You may tap on the icons and move the screens from side to side, reorganize the icons and move around. You likewise have buttons to do precisely the same so you may choose.
- DURABLE AND WATERPROOF: The unit is impressively light and it seems rugged but I don't have any plans of testing it is durability any further. I just feel that messing with a very pricey toy like this doesn't meet the necessaries of my curiosity. The unit likewise claims to be waterproof and I have seen a heap of demos in YouTube where the unit is operated underneath the water. Well, the unit connects to a PC using a USB cable and the connector is at the bottom of the device. A little cap is all what will prevent your unit from getting wet. I'm positive the unit will endure a heap of exposure to rain and hopefully will survive a fall to a river. Make sure to keep the USB connector cap well adjusted.
- DOWNLOADING DATA - MAPSOURCE: So you went for your basi hike and you recorded your tracks in your GPS. But how do you download this data to your computer? The answer is MapSource. In order to get MapSource installed you need to have a Garmin product antecedently installed. So install Training Center and then install MapSource. Just Google these names and the word `download' to find them. They are available at Garmin's website and thanks goodness they are free. With this software you may download info from your GPS and review the details of your tracks, modify titles, waypoints and so on. Then you may export your file as .GPX for future use or upload it to a good deal of websites. MapSource may compute the profile of your hike and other interesting data.
If you want to see your track in Google Maps or Earth, undertake using GPS Visualizer [...]. These cool guys invented this program that allows importing GPX files into Google and presenting it all together. I likewise like [...], you may download your GPX data, it will routine it and get your the assent profile, speed, etc. Your GPX info will become available to any person and you may download files for your GPS as well. Try this example: [...]
While attempting to find a way to give rise to my own maps I found TOPO! a National Geographic Product. You may develop the topo maps of your hikes and print them out or get the PDF version of them and send them to your friends or just save them for future reference. TOPO! costs 50 bucks. The quality of the Topo maps is so bad but I couldn't find anything better. I hope one day you may merge your GPX files with Google Earth in terrain mode in one tool. Google Earth is still the best Topo maps I have found.
The last tool I want to mention is EasyGPS, a nice little program that will concede you to download and upload GPX files to your GPS and browse the tracks on the screen. It allows some basic editing. I find MapSource a lot better.
- BIRDSEYE IMAGERY AND BASECAMP: For those places where real maps are not available, Garmin offers you the BirdsEye Imagery subscription. It is 30 bucks a year and it only works with one device. BirdsEye imagery is just satellite images (like Google Earth) that you may download to your GPS. BaseCamp is the software that will concede you to download imagery to your computer and invent a library. From your library of images you may right click images and upload them to your device. In your device and while hiking they will look like an further and added layer. It is nice if the areas you will be hiking don't have a lot of trees. The quality of the images is good but if you plan on downloading a lot of them make sure to get the 4GB microSD and galore patience. You can not download huge sectionalizations but tiny subsections and one at the time.
- BATTERIES AND CHARGER: I'm glad I got a nice couple of rechargeable batteries and the charger in the box. No complains here, I charge the batteries the night before hiking and they last all day long easily. I haven't noticed them drain out because of lack of use. They go strong for long periods of time.
So as you may see it is a very highpriced device and though it has some deficiencies it is in all probability the best of it is class. I have equated my Oregon to other GPS gimmicks of fellow hikers and the Oregon seems to be better in a heap of aspects, not perfective but just better.
Well I hope you found in this review sufficient selective information to make an educated decision. Happy hiking!
57 of 59 humans found the following review helpful.
Garmin Oregon is to GPS as Apple iPhone is to cellular.
By Richard Graver
I not long back just purchased 2 new Garmin GPS units to upgrade my aging Garmin Legend (Original Model). I was hesitant to buy the Oregon due to the mediocre reviews on Amazon, but at long last I decisive to take a chance.
First I purchased the Garmin Dakota 20, and I genuinely liked it. Small, Battery Efficient, Easy to Use, and Paperless Geocaching using the touchscreen. Good stuff. I called my friend who likes to have the latest and greatest, and he told me he had purchased the Oregon 400t when it initial came out last year. I took a drive to his house to compare it to my new Dakota 20... Very similar in capabilities, only littler and less solution on the screen. After seeing his unit, and how well it ran I found myself craving the higher solution screen, and 3D Terrain features, so I went up and purchased another one, this one, the Garmin Oregon 550. I decisive versus buying the Oregon 550t because the 550 had a little deeper discount than the "t" version. Ultimately I chose to buy the 550 since it was around $60 off retail, VS. only $1 less than syndication on the 550t. I figured I could add the TOPO maps later. Plus I had likewise just purchased the Dakota 20, and the $160 divergence in cost was sounding beauteous good. I have completely busted my crazy cash for now.
Ultimately I find this unit to be right in line with all of the other Oregon models software wise... it works precisely the same way. So go and read numerous reviews on the other Oregon models sine this unit doesn't have a heap of reviews yet. It is VERY similar in capabilities, but this one has a few added goodies.. 3 Axis Compass + 3.2MP GEOTagging Camera (Good stuff)...
Another observation amid the new 550 and 550t models... Garmin's specs say the these models have equivalent storage, but in fact this is not the case, the 850MB seen in the specs relates to the free space after taking into account the included maps. In reality it is more like 550 = 1GB, 550t=4GB internal memory. Mostly a non-issue since both have a Micro-SD slot behind the battery, which happily accepted an inexpensive 4GB SDHC card, and since SDHC was supported I would suppose you could add an even more spectacular one.
Like the other reviewer stated I noticed that the roads on Garmin's 2008 TOPO maps are more or less off.. this is effortlessly recognizable if you load a driving map, calculate a route, and then disable the driving map, you will see the driving route is not incisively on the road. To me this is all the more reason to just get the 550 model (at this point) without the TOPO maps. You may add them later once the road info is fixed. On second thought, the TOPO features themselves on the 2008 map seem fine, only the road data is a little off, so if you are using the maps as they are intended this is in all likelihood a non-issue. At the time I just felt like the 550 was a better bargain, only $90 more than the Dakota 20 I had just purchased, which also was still at the full $350 syndication price since it is still a brand new model.
The only other glitch was with the Compass calibration, which went haywire for a moment, but resolved itself after a reset, and hasn't happened since. We'll see if it becomes an issue.. but I doubt it. The reset was very fast as this unit boots up very quickly.
I decisive to make these purchases since my girlfriend has conveyed an interest in "Re-Taking Up Geocaching", we in truth haven't done it in a while (Since '02), and it is such a outstanding outdoor activity. The initial point in making these purchases was the ease at which you may add Geocaches into the unit directly from the internetlocation with a single mouse click. She was having disturb getting employed to adding the co-ordinates into the old Garmin Legend with that tiny joystick, it was VERY TEDIOUS.
So now she has the Dakota 20, and I have the Oregon 550, and we may effortlessly transfer geocaches back and forth wirelessly, and it is easy as pie to download them from [...].
To me, these new Garmins are a huge upgrade from my old "Legend", and they are waterproof and rugged as ever.
I would have given this product 5 stars had it not been for the couple of little glitches, which I suppose will be fixed in the future by way of a firmware update / map update from Garmin.
Truely.. the new touchscreen Garmin units are to GPS's, as the iPhone is to mobile phones. In a class by itself.
See all 61 client reviews...
