Oregon 550

 

Oregon 550
Page Type Gear Review
Object Title Oregon 550
Manufacturer Garmin
Page By Alpinist
Page Type Mar 13, 2011 / Mar 14, 2011
Object ID 7594
Hits 2956
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Product Description

The navigator with the photographic memory! Oregon 550 combines rugged outdoor touchscreen navigation with a 3.2 megapixel digital camera. Add high-sensitivity GPS, barometric altimeter, 3-axis electronic compass and a microSD™ card slot, and what do you get? A multipurpose device that will make your biggest adventures even more memorable.

Take Pictures and Save Locations
Capture locations and memories with Oregon 550's 3.2 megapixel autofocus digital camera with 4x digital zoom. Each photo automatically is geotagged with the location of where it was taken, allowing you to navigate back to that exact spot in the future. Snap and view pictures in landscape or portrait orientation. With 850 MB of internal memory, you'll never miss a photo opportunity. To store online, simply connect Oregon 550 via USB and visit myDashboard to upload and store your photos at Picasa™, a popular online photo sharing community. For more storage, insert a microSD card; you can even view pictures from other devices on microSD with Oregon's picture viewer.

Touch and Go
Oregon 550 makes rugged navigation effortless with a tough, 3" (7.62 cm) diagonal, sunlight-readable, color touchscreen display. The interface is easy to use, so you’ll spend more time enjoying the outdoors and less time searching for information. Both durable and waterproof, Oregon 550 is built to withstand the elements; bumps, dust, dirt, humidity and water are no match for this rugged navigator.

Get Your Bearings
Oregon 550 has a built-in 3-axis tilt-compensated electronic compass, which shows where you're heading even when you’re standing still, without holding it level. Its barometric altimeter tracks changes in pressure to pinpoint your precise altitude, and you can use it to plot barometric pressure over time, which can help you keep an eye on changing weather conditions. And with its high-sensitivity, WAAS-enabled GPS receiver and HotFix® satellite prediction, Oregon 550 locates your position quickly and precisely and maintains its GPS location even in heavy cover and deep canyons.

Add Maps
Oregon 550 comes preloaded with a worldwide built-in basemap with shaded relief. Adding even more detail is easy: just insert a MapSource® microSD card preloaded with detailed maps. Oregon can accept a variety of maps for any navigational need. Add detailed street maps to get turn-by-turn directions to your destination. Add select topographic maps to take advantage of Oregon’s 3-D maps and elevation detail. Or add BlueChart® g2 maps, which provide everything you need for a great day on the water, including depth contours, navaids and harbors.

Find Fun
Oregon 550 supports OpenCaching.com GPX files for downloading geocaches and details straight to your unit. By going paperless, you're not only helping the environment but also improving efficiency. Oregon stores and displays key information, including location, terrain, difficulty, hints and descriptions, which means no more manually entering coordinates and paper print outs! Simply upload the GPX file to your unit and start hunting for caches. Show off photos of your excursions with Oregon’s picture viewer. Slim and lightweight, Oregon is the perfect companion for all your outdoor pursuits.

Share Wirelessly
With Oregon 550 you can share your waypoints, tracks, routes and geocaches wirelessly with other compatible Oregon, Colorado® and Dakota® users. Now you can send your favorite hike to your friend to enjoy or the location of a cache to find. Sharing data is easy. Just touch “send” to transfer your information to similar units.

Get Connected
You've been busy exploring and now you want to store and analyze your activities. With a simple connection to your computer and the Internet, you can get a detailed analysis of your activities and send tracks to your outdoor device using Garmin Connect™. This one-stop site offers an activity table and allows you to view your activities on a map using Google™ Earth. Explore other routes uploaded by millions of Garmin Connect users and share your experiences on Twitter® and Facebook®. Getting started is easy, so get out there, explore and share.

Features

Physical & Performance:
Unit dimensions, WxHxD: 2.3" x 4.5" x 1.4" (5.8 x 11.4 x 3.5 cm)
Display size, WxH: 1.53"W x 2.55"H (3.8 x 6.3 cm); 3" diag (7.6 cm)
Display resolution, WxH: 240 x 400 pixels
Display type: transflective color TFT touchscreen
Weight: 6.8 oz (192.7 g) with batteries
Battery: 2 AA batteries (not included); NiMH or Lithium recommended
Battery life: 16 hours
Waterproof: yes (IPX7)
Floats: no
High-sensitivity receiver: yes
Interface: high-speed USB and NMEA 0183 compatible

Maps & Memory:
Basemap: yes
Ability to add maps: yes
Built-in memory: 850 MB
Accepts data cards: microSD™ card (not included)
Waypoints/favorites/locations: 2000
Routes: 200
Track log: 10,000 points, 200 saved tracks

Features:
Automatic routing (turn by turn routing on roads): yes (with optional mapping for detailed roads)
Electronic compass: yes (tilt-compensated, 3-axis)
Touchscreen: yes
Barometric altimeter: yes
Camera: yes (3.2 megapixel with autofocus; 4x digital zoom)
Geocaching-friendly: yes (paperless)
Custom maps compatible: yes
Photo navigation (navigate to geotagged photos): yes
Outdoor GPS games: yes (Wherigo only)
Hunt/fish calendar: yes
Sun and moon information: yes
Tide tables: yes
Area calculation: yes
Custom POIs (ability to add additional points of interest): yes
Unit-to-unit transfer (shares data wirelessly with similar units): yes
Picture viewer: yes
Garmin Connect™ compatible (online community where you analyze, categorize and share data): yes

Price

Retail Cost (US): $499

Comparison of Oregon Models

450 has no camera and the worldwide Basemap
450t has no camera, the worldwide Basemap, plus the 100K US topo map
550 has a camera and the the worldwide Basemap
550t has a camera, the worldwide Basemap, plus the 100K US topo map

Images

Reviews


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Alpinist - Jun 13, 2011 12:22 pm - Voted 3/5

Initial review
See my review of the Oregon model 450t here.

Viewing: 1-1 of 1