Garmin Oregon 550T 3-Inch Handheld GPS Navigator with 3.2MP Digital Camera (U.S. Topographic Maps)
Manufacturer: Garmin
Customer Rating:
 
List Price: $599.99
Sale Price: $507.22
Availibility: Usually ships in 24 hours
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Product Description
The navigator with the photographic memory--Oregon 550t combines rugged outdoor touchscreen navigation with a 3.2 megapixel digital camera. Add preloaded U.S. topo maps, along with high-sensitivity GPS, barometric altimeter, 3-axis electronic compass and microSD card slot.


The result? A multipurpose device that will make your biggest adventures even more memorable.

Oregon 550t combines rugged outdoor touchscreen navigation with a 3.2 megapixel digital camera. Click to enlarge.


3.2 megapixel autofocus digital camera with 4x digital zoom. Click to enlarge.

Preloaded with U.S. topographic data for the continental U.S. and a worldwide basemap with shaded relief. Click to enlarge.

3-inch diagonal, sunlight-readable, color touchscreen display. Click to enlarge.


Picture the great outdoors.


Take Pictures and Save Locations
Capture locations and memories with Oregon 550t's 3.2 megapixel autofocus digital camera with 4x digital zoom. Each photo is automatically 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 log into my.Garmin.com to upload and store your photos at Picasa, a popular online photo sharing community for friends and families around the world. 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 550t makes rugged navigation effortless with a tough, 3-inch diagonal, sunlight-readable, color touchscreen display. The interface is easy to use, so youÕll spend more time enjoying the outdoors and less time searching for information.


Both durable and waterproof, Oregon 550t is built to withstand the elements. Bumps, dust, dirt, humidity and water are no match for this rugged navigator.


Explore the Terrain
Oregon 550t comes with built-in U.S. topographic data for the continental U.S. and a worldwide basemap with shaded relief--all the tools for serious climbing or hiking.


Map detail includes national, state and local parks and forests, along with terrain contours, elevation information, trails, rivers, lakes and points of interest.


Get Your Bearings
Oregon 550t has a built-in 3-axis tilt-compensated electronic compass, which shows your heading even when youÕre standing still, without holding it level. Its barometric altimeter tracks changes in pressure to pinpoint your precise altitude, and you can even 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 550t locates your position quickly and precisely and maintains its GPS location even in heavy cover and deep canyons.


Find Fun
Go paperless with Oregon 550t by quickly downloading information from Geocaching.com for up to 5000 caches, such as location, terrain, difficulty, hints and description.


No more manually entering coordinates and paper print outs. Slim and lightweight, Oregon is the perfect companion for all your outdoor pursuits.


Share Wirelessly
With Oregon 550t you can share your waypoints, tracks, routes and geocaches wirelessly other Oregon and Colorado users.


Now you can send your favorite route to a friend to enjoy or the location of a cache to find. Sharing data is easy. Just touch "send" to transfer your information to similar devices.


What's in the Box
Oregon 550t, AA battery charger, 2 AA NiMH batteries, Carabiner clip, USB cable, Owner's manual on disk, Quick start manual

Product Details
  • Tough, 3-inch diagonal, sunlight-readable, color touchscreen display
  • 3.2 megapixel autofocus digital camera with 4x digital zoom
  • Barometric altimeter tracks changes in pressure to pinpoint your precise altitude, can plot barometric pressure over time
  • Both durable and waterproof, Oregon 550t is built to withstand the elements
  • Built-in 3-axis tilt-compensated electronic compass

Video Reviews
No video reviews found for this product.

Customer Reviews
A GPS I can trust
 
Review Date: February 20, 2010
Reviewer: goliath100,
I have suffered over handheld, off-road GPS for a long time. I tried a Oregon 400t which has many features in common with the 550t but the difficulty seeing the screen and the 2 axis compass made it difficult for me. Prior to that I had a Deloreme which was completely unreliable.


Pros

I found The 550t to be completely reliable when I needed it.

Satellites were picked up almost instantly.

The 3 axis compass and waypoints got me back to where I needed to go while cutting trails in the snow. (I certainly would have had trouble getting back without it)

Amazon price very good. You can find it a bit cheaper but Amazon is so reliable... And with 1 day shipping.

Battery life was a LOT better than expected based on some of the prior reviews. Not sure if this is due to newer firmware or what. But I used it for 10 hours with the included rechargeable batteries including taking a few pictures and was still able to use it for another 6 hours a few days later without recharging, and without hitting red on the battery gauge.

Cons

The user interface is still a little clunky, having to traverse so many screens, but much better with the addition of the dashboards.

The PC software, basepoint and others seem inadequate for managing tracks and waypoints... I started using EXPERTGPS which is for sale on the Internet instead.

Still some difficulty reading the screen in bright sunlight but a lot more usable than the 400t

I had hoped the lat / long would be superimposed on pictures but it was only stored in the file properties

UPDATE:

This thing is so good at picking up signal... I tried to turn it on and NOT get signal (saving a track) I hid out in a bathroom in the center of the house with no windows. Still got full signal in seconds. My old GPS wouldnt pickup a signal in the house even near a window.

My wife has a hard time seeing the screen in the sun. While it is not the brightest I can see it.

PS I also tried a Delorean pn-40 after the guy at REI raved about it. I returned it 12 hours later when I found the 3 axis compass varied by 45 degrees or so, spinning while being held stable... I had previously sworn I would never buy another Delorean. I was righter than the REI store guru.
Never lost...
 
Review Date: September 20, 2009
Reviewer: Cane Toad Lover, Spanaway, WA
I just recently got my 550t as a replacement for a Colorado 400t. The topo maps are the same, the user interface is similar, but that is where it stops. Don't get me wrong, I really enjoyed the Colorado, but REI doesn't carry it anymore. On to the Oregon. I love it. It is the simplest piece of electronic equipment I own (and I own an electric razor). I have not had the problems that other users seem to have had. It works great in all conditions, and mine works well under trees (light-medium). I think the geotagging feature with pictures is awesome. I have already used it to ensure I could get back to the exact same mud puddle in my Jeep. Speaking of vehicles, I also installed City Navigator for North America. The Oregon works seamlessly with the map-set, and directions are almost perfect. I guess my only suggestion would be to allow me to have a picture of a Jeep instead of an arrow when I am driving like you can do in the dedicated auto GPSr's. Anywhoo, a great little unit, kinda pricey, but well worth the money, in my opinion.
Garmin Oregon 550t I Love It!
 
Review Date: March 23, 2010
Reviewer: MoropMan,
I just bought the latest Garmin Oregon 550t and so far it has been a great unit! I am, however, coming from having owned only one other GPS unit, a Lowrance unit purchased way back in 2000. Compared to my old Lowrance the Oregon 550t is GREAT! No more being stuck in a valley or under heavy cover and not being able to lock on. Easy to use, easy to see in bright sunlight and so far has proved to be very accurate. Also, super easy to hook up to my MacbookPro and load/download information. I am a missionary and live in the middle of the jungle in central Papua, Indonesia. (Formerly Irian Jaya) I need a reliable GPS unit for extensive hikes and survey to outlying villages and so far the Oregon 550t has proved to be everything it says it is. Great job Garmin!
Oregon 550T
 
Review Date: April 27, 2010
Reviewer: Profsparrow, PORT LAVACA, TEXAS, US
The only negative with this GPS is that the user's booklet doesn't give very much information. The manual on disk is a "4" on a scale of 1 to 5 (5 being the best). However, the GPS is easy to use and most of the menu items are pretty much self-explanatory. Having the TOPO maps included is a big plus. If you were to buy the more inexpensive 450T and have to buy the maps for various regions you could easily spend far more to have maps for the entire U.S. than what this device costs. The scale is acceptable, the contour intervals are not as good as a USGS map of course, but you do have the option to purchase more detailed map (at at least $99 a "pop"). I've found that I don't really need that much detail. As a backpacker, I found setting a route using my own waypoints to be a great asset. I've also used this GPS for geocaching and it is pretty accurate. The camera is another plus, the detail is good enough unless you want to print an 8X10 photo. Downloading the photos was relatively simple and I was able to easily bring pictures into my Kodak Easyshare program as well as my Nikon program. Again as a backpacker I like to only take items with me that have more than one purpose (I use a frisbee as a dinner plate, but I have yet to find more than one use for my toothbrush). Anyway, I'm pleased with this GPS and reccommend it.
Best Garmin I've owned so far
 
Review Date: May 9, 2010
Reviewer: Amy Thueson, Lewiston, Id
after using a 60C then 60CSX for the last several years, we upgraded to the Oregon 550t this year and totally LOVE it!! i've also owned a Nuvi 250 that i upgraded to a 260w and I use a Forerunner 205 for marathons. of all the garmins i've owned/used so far, this is the most user-friendly, and fastest. very easy to use for geocaching...you can view all the hints, logs and cache details on your device in the field where it really helps when you're searching for that hard-to-find cache. even in the hands of our younger kids the touch screen is super user-friendly and easy to use. at the same time, i'm on our county's Sheriff's Search and Rescue ATV Posse, and this gps provides all the usefulness i could ever wish for. the tracking function is similar to other garmins and in the field i love the rugged waterproof feel and not having to worry if i drop it off my ATV in the mud. the satellite reception works great even in my basement surrounded by concrete and its super fast...locates your position is less than 15 seconds every time. camera works fine...picture quality is good...a flash would be nice but you dont miss it that much. i've been able to find some topo maps online available for download that are 24k instead of the 100k that Garmin includes, but it would be nice if Garmin included the 24k topo maps on the unit strait out of the box. the lanyard seems to be much stronger but i still dont trust lanyards. i've lost both of my gpsmap60s and had to backtrack looking for them in the past because the lanyard broke on one and the belt clip broke on the other...both while riding a horse and bouncing in the saddle a little. never had problems with either of them bouncing out of my ATV handlebar mount though. overall 5 stars and totally worth the price.

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