These are the questions I most frequently come across or have been asked directly. Please let us know — using the support option in the app — if there are any other question you’d like to see answered.
Can I use it on my WiFi iPad or iPod touch?
I would not recommend recording trails on one. The accuracy would not be very good. Personally, I use the iPad version for viewing trails on the nice, big screen. Your trails should sync over automatically using iCloud.
Does it work on iOS 8?
CameraGPS currently works only on iOS 8 and above.
Does it work in the background?
Of course! But do note that continuous operation in the background will dramatically reduce your battery life.
Can I import my trails recorded elsewhere?
Not currently. The intention is that trails are recorded and exported for use geotagging photographs. In this scenario there is no need for importing trails. Please let us know if you think this would be a useful feature and — especially — what your use case is.
Can I export my trails to a fitness tracking website?
CameraGPS is not a fitness tracking app. Obviously you’re welcome to use recorded trails for any purpose but we do not plan on extending the app in this direction.
Can I export my trails in KML format to load into Google Earth?
Again, the focus of the app is geotagging so this is not a focus for future development but please do let us know if this would be a useful feature.
My trail has a lot of points in places that I didn’t go!
CameraGPS can only record the information that is given to it by your iPhone. GPS signal is less accurate indoors and built-up areas and even under trees.
CameraGPS tries to highlight points that it thinks might be very inaccurate, allowing you to delete them.
You can also try adjusting the settings. Recording with a higher accuracy does give better results, though at the expense of your devices battery life. And if the presets don’t give you good results, you can always tweak the settings yourself. (If you find a really good combination, please let us know so we can share it with other users!)
I’m missing part of my trail! What happened?
Again, CameraGPS can only record the information that the iPhone gives it.
However, if you think there is a problem please send an email to support using the feedback button in the About box of the app. This will include some log files that will tell us what happened. There is not much point in sending the GPX trail — that will not show us what happened while the trail was being recorded.
What does “Distance filter” and “Desired Accuracy” mean?
“Desired accuracy” defines how accurate each point in the trail should be. Getting more accurate data takes more time and more power, reducing the battery life of your device.
“Distance filter” excludes points that are less than a certain distance apart. Lower values (or no filtering at all) makes your phone work harder and results in worse battery life.
For example, you could record very accurate points but only keep them if they are more than a mile apart.
If I change the distance filter, the presets change! I didn’t touch it!
If you change the filter or accuracy it is no longer the preset, so the picker automatically changes to “Custom.” CameraGPS always saves the filter and accuracy values for you.
Also, we sometimes change the values used in a presets. So if you upgrade to a newer version of CameraGPS you may find that a trail moves from a preset to Custom. The filter and accuracy values will not be changed.
What does the “On foot” and “In vehicle” setting do?
Apple uses the on foot and in vehicle values as part of their heuristics to get the best power consumption and accuracy from the GPS chip. CameraGPS does not use the value directly but using the incorrect value may result in less accurate trails or degraded battery life. Or it may have no effect at all depending on your device and iOS version.
Can I record trails when I have no data connection?
Yes.
Will I still be able to see the map when offline?
Maybe.
When you view a map on your iPhone, iOS remembers (caches) as much of the map as it can. So, if you look at a map and then switch on AirPlane mode, you will still be able to move around a little and zoom in.
The same thing happens when you start a trail in CameraGPS with a strong data signal and then spend the rest of the day away from the cell network. Parts of your trail that were visible when you started the trail will probably be visible even when offline. New parts will not. Also, you won’t be able to switch views and expect to see it update. Your best bet at getting the most data available offline is to use the normal map view. As you would imagine, using the satellite view takes up more space.
How big is this offline cache?
The area available varies depending on a lot of factors, few of which you or I can control. To give you some idea, I was able to cache a lot of the Bay Area (the City, Berkeley, the southern part of Marin) when I was there a couple of years ago.
Can I tell CameraGPS to remember bits of the map in advance so it will be available when I’m offline?
As far as I know there is no way for me to do this. The best I can offer is suggesting that you view the area you’re planning on visiting shortly before you lose your data signal.
Can I save to Dropbox or Box when offline?
No. You should get an error message saying so.
Is there anything else that won’t work when offline?
It won’t be able to copy your data to iCloud — though it will upload the data when you later get a data connection.
And it won’t be able to correctly name any new segments of your GPX trail (you can see them in the “Options” screen). Again, it should fill in the gaps once you have a data connection.
