Where the Lumix DMC-ZS10 does shine brighter than a typical geotag-only camera is with in-camera location database and customization options. The camera tags photos with the real-world names of countries, states, cities, and landmarks, and you can enter your own custom location names ("Third Floor Kitchen," "My Backyard," and the like) and use these repeatedly for specific locations.

In my informal hands-on testing of the camera's GPS features, the Lumix DMC-ZS10 took about 3 minutes to link up to the satellites successfully; but once the connection was established, it did a good job of identifying key landmarks in San Francisco and tagging photos accordingly. For instance, it correctly pinpointed AT&T Park and Rincon Center--and after I set my own "PCWorld Offices" landmark, it popped up automatically every time I was in the vicinity of the workplace.

Geotagged images shot with the Lumix DMC-ZS10 showed up in the proper location on a map when I tested it with Picasa, Google Earth, and Flickr. For optimal results, it's a good idea to manually resync the GPS connection before you take each shot; the camera displays the elapsed time since the most recent GPS sync next to a satellite icon when the GPS feature is active.

All in all, the GPS features of the Lumix DMC-ZS10 worked well, but the unit can take quite a bit of time to establish a connection with the satellites, and the feature takes a toll on the camera's battery life if you leave it powered on. Used sparingly, it's a nice feature.