I keep in touch with other people interested in microcontrollers via an IRC channel dedicated to the topic. A few days ago someone asked for help with a GPS related project. In talking with them I learned of the NEO-7M from Ublox. It is a fully compatible successor to the NEO-6M, uses a lot less power, and only costs a few dollars more. The typical power consumption of the 7M is about half that of the 6M. I will use the NEO-6M in the initial prototype as it is on the board I already have. I will take a closer look at the 7M for a later version of this project.

Using the NEO-7M will allow me to reduce the amount of current I need from the camera battery and offset the additional current required to power the microcontroller. I will also reduce the average amount of power used by putting the microcontroller to sleep when it isn't receiving, processing, or sending GPS data.

I will be using a µCurrent™ GOLD (created by Dave Jones of EEVblog fame) along with an oscilloscope to determine the current requirements of this project during various stages of its operation: initial satellite acquisition (after power on), satellite tracking, and when the AVR is in sleep mode.