Do you guys use geo/camera option? If so, is it worth the extra $$? I'm debating if I should just get standard
I am not an end-user.?ÿ Let me put that out front.
Carlson will access?ÿ the built-in GPS inside SurvCE, allowing you to use it for recon if you are walking a tract.?ÿ You can store positions that you could run to later with your total station.?ÿ All the COGO operations would be fully available so you could get a preliminary acreage for a cut-off scenario.
If you have a robot, the GNSS receiver in the data collector can be used in lieu of a quick-lock device at the rod.?ÿ It takes a bit of localization/calibration to make this work but the GNSS receiver inside the Surveyor2 Geo model is plenty good for that application, even though not survey grade accuracy.
I have less idea about the camera but if I were actively using my Tennessee license, I think I would be taking photos of conditions I find in the field.
The Geo Cell model of the Surveyor2 lists for $300 more than the Standard model.?ÿ It would not take a great deal of application of the extra capabilities to justify the extra cost.?ÿ But it's only worth it if you'd actually use the features.
I use a Carlson Surveyor 2 and I wish I got the camera option.?ÿ The company I work for eventually purchased a Trimble TSC3, to be used with a Trimble R-10 GNSS receiver, that has a camera.?ÿ I have found many uses for it.?ÿ I used it yesterday to tag individual shots with a picture showing locations of proposed fences across a powerline.?ÿ I use it when I find untypical boundary monuments and when I map waste or water treatment plants etc..?ÿ
Some of the older guys in our firm thought the idea of?ÿ a camera in the DC was silly since we all have cameras in our phones or have small cameras tucked away in the work truck.?ÿ The designers put this myth to rest once they started receiving my work products.?ÿ Having a camera in the DC is convenient and having the images tagged to the points encourages field personnel to take more pictures where they are truly needed.?ÿ When you take the dedicated camera or smartphone approach, it inevitably leads to the pictures becoming an afterthought and the quality and quantity is diminished.?ÿ My company will never purchase another data collector without a camera.
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Can you actually write comments on the picture like it's available on Leica's dc's?
That would depend on the software. I know in Magnet Field, you can do multiple things to the picture.?ÿ Add the time stamp, location stamp, add text, highlight an area, and create various shapes and pen strokes.?ÿ You can even add a compass icon to it, to reference north for vantage point purposes.
When I replaced my old Allegro I picked up the Mini2 vs. the Surveyor2 (smaller) and decided on the GPS/camera options. Don't use either much but as mentioned by the other guys you can shift over to the internal GPS in Carlson to do some rough surveying/recon work. I've also provided photos with time/location stamps to clients. I would send along a portion of the CAD file with point #'s and a comment describing photo as ' taken from pt # xx looking SE toward prop. cor. #xx' Helps a lot vs. trying to convey the perspective via a phone call.
I also thought it might be a more valuable item if I were to sell or trade it in.