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
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 Good but not perfect |
| Review Date: July 28, 2009 |
| Reviewer: Charles Messel, San Pedro, CA |
After using the 550t for several weeks, I find the unit good but not perfect. It still has some issues, one of which I have been in touch with Garmin over. The main issue I have is it will periodically corrupt the track file and stop showing the tracks on the map or allowing 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 sometimes loses it's way and needs to be recalibrated.
I have not had an issue with the accuracy under tree cover, that some have reported, but I have had a few tracks that were not 100% accurate. Walking on known roads, it will be several 100 feet off in some 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.
Just an update - After comparing the tracks for accuracy, I found it was the 2008 Topo maps that were off. When superimposed over the City Navigator NT 2009 Street maps, the 550t was dead on. So the accuracy concerns I have are shifted from the 550t itself to the topo maps it comes loaded with. |
Mixed Blessings in an attractive package
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| Review Date: September 8, 2009 |
| Reviewer: F. Josephsen, |
Having "played" with this device for few weeks now, i'm still not convinced it was worth the money.
Mostly there's the trust issue, I'm not entirely sure I can trust it. I've repeatedly lost waypoints. I feel REALLY naked without a fix point of where I parked my truck and I'd like to be able to get a fix to the last waypoint, which works fine as long as you have the waypoint. If you loose the waypoint, you are well, kind of lost. Seems like the only reliable waypoint you can have (at least I haven't lost one yet) is to take a picture. Problem is that taking pictures burns batteries even quicker and batterylife is a real issue with this device. real issue. waas off, compass off, back light low and time out set to a few seconds, you still burn batteries FAST. and what is worse is that it is more like catastrophic failure than a slow decline, one moment you have 5 bars of battery and the next, its panic time. Not sure I understand this, what I do understand is that lithium batteries are kind of pricey. Forget the nihm batteries that comes with the device,I've no good experiences with those. If you are going anywhere without paved roads and cell coverage be sure to bring an 8 pack of lithium batteries, may just save theday. Also, bring a back up device, if I haven't been there before I save the truck's location on the Nuvi and bring that too, then I pull out the nuvi and save a waypoint occasionally. That has saved me before and seems 100% reliable. The oregon ? not so much.
Back to the waypoints,I've had TWO issues with waypoints, one of which I opened a ticket for (with Garmin) and another one I'm just going to wonder about,I can't reproduce it at will. Occasionally when you save the current track the waypoints dissapear. Garmin suggested I do a device reset. Has happened twice after that. The other issue is probably even worse, save a waypoint, just tag it with the default name (an incrementing number#, 1 for the first, 2 for the second and so on.. then find out that while the counter incremented you have NO waypoints saved. Thank goodness I found that out in a place I've been before. And today it failed to connect to my lap top. Had to do another device reset. YAY!
Its a pretty device though, and it feels good in the hand, has real potential if they fix the issues. I really DO like the waypoint function, it is by far the easest, fastest waypoint save around, just fix the reliability issues. That has got to be a software issue.
ONE feature I REALLY like: the trip timer, very addictive.
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Oregon great for geocaching, but not perfect
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| Review Date: August 22, 2009 |
| Reviewer: N. Browne, |
Got my Oregon 550T approximately a month ago and have been completely reinvigorated to go geocaching. No more route planning, reviewing logs and printing out all of the potential locations to visit. All GPX files on [...]which are easily downloaded and updated (with premium membership).
Screen is still somewhat difficult to read in direct sunlight unless you have the backlight on fairly high which limits the batteries, but one observation I made the other day, it is nearly impossible to see with polarized sunglasses. I checked this out with my Vista C as well and it was still somewhat difficult with the glasses, but not as bad as the Oregon.
Took it ATV riding last weekend and it was GREAT for that as well. Topo's really helped in the back woods and paths as well as the tagged pictures allowing for a quick Google Earch overlay of our route and pictures of the trip! Truely a unique way to record your trips!
I would highly recommend if you are new to geocaching as it makes it so much easier, as well as for hiking and biking as you can keep your camera at home for basic pictures. But I would NOT recommend this if you are looking for a vehicle GPS. I love my Nuvi and am obviously a Garmin fan, but this one would miss the mark in a car. |
Never lost...
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| 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. |
A GPS I can trust
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| 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
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.
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US $395.00
