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145 of 147 people found the following review helpful.
Good but not perfect
By Charles Messel
After using the 550t for assorted weeks, I find the unit good but not perfect. It still has a good 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 on occasion loses it's way and needs to be recalibrated.
I have not had an issue with the accuracy under tree cover, that a heap of 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 heap 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.
81 of 84 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 applied each of it is most indispensable features, accessaries and software. My overall rating is that there is room for improvement, it is accessaries are very highpriced but it is one of the top hiking GPS productions 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 worthful for the ones looking for real and tested decision information.
- ACCURACY: I have applied my Oregon for the most part 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 speedily pick satellite reception and pinpoint your location. I have noticed though that when you drasti modify 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 various feet apart. The accuracy of the GPS from my measurements is around 25 feet and ofttimes 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 precisely 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 aid and I was told basically 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 many times displays a number amidst 30 and 49. To me this is something that requires urgent improvement. The mission of a GPS is at long last let you know where your trails are, not providing 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 a lot of well-known park trails are missing, camp data 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 regarding this last one later in my review) but they require of purchasing an further and added microSD Card. Expenditures continue.
- ADDITIONAL CARD: Technical aid 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 various speeds, make sure to get the quickest possible to make sure uploading and downloading data 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 internetlocation you may have noticed an interesting potpourri of products. They have the same maps in various formats: DVD, microSD and download. I contacted support and ask them what format is more commodious and why. Michael S from their technical team gave me this great answer: "Thank you for contacting Garmin International. I would be happy to aid you with this. For most of our maps there are quintessentially 3 options: Getting a disk, doing the download or getting the preprogrammed info card. When you get the disk you have these on both the computer and the unit. You may load these Topo maps onto as a good deal of 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 cannot 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 cannot 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 portion 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 info in the picture itself like a heap of 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 held 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 data will be displayed in a text field but not in the picture. I think there is misleading info here, this is what Garmin claims in their website: "Each photo is geotagged mechanically with the emplacement of where it was taken". Instead it ought to say: "Geolocation selective information is saved in the GPS each time you take a picture. No photo geolocation stamp is available".
Well, isolated 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 develop a little shade to better read the Oregon. I believe that still you may read it under 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 underneath shady conditions but may handle sunlight well sufficient to keep you moving and oriented.
- TOUCH SCREEN: The touch screen is in truth 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 also have buttons to do incisively 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 lot 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 good deal 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 selective information 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 selective information from your GPS and review the details of your tracks, alter titles, waypoints and so on. Then you may export your file as .GPX for future use or upload it to numerous 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, try using GPS Visualizer [...]. These cool guys developed this program that allows importing GPX files into Google and presenting it all together. I also like [...], you may download your GPX data, it will procedure 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 formulate my own maps I found TOPO! a National Geographic Product. You may create 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 galore 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 construct 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 sections but tiny subdivisions 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 costly device and even though it has a great deal of deficiencies it is in all probability the best of it is class. I have equated my Oregon to other GPS appliances of fellow hikers and the Oregon seems to be better in a good deal of aspects, not perfective but just better.
Well I hope you found in this review sufficient data to make an educated decision. Happy hiking!
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