Not enough time for GPS lock for geo-tagging when taking a photo I turned on geo-tagging for photos, but the problem is that the GPS locking procedure seems to only start when I open the camera app - but it takes minutes for it to lock on a location and by that time the photo opportunity is gone.

Is there any way to enable GPS lock to be ready even before opening the camera app? For instance some phone settings to toggle it off and on, or some service I can get which continuously runs in the background and maintains a GPS lock?

And if there is, what will be the power implications of maintaining a GPS lock? Does it drain a lot from the battery, or is it relatively benign?

My device is Samsung Galaxy S 2, running Android 2.3.3.
I've found that if I'm using another app in the background that polls for location (e.g. latitude in Maps) I tend to get much more accurate geo-tags in photos. YMMV, but perhaps if you know you're going to be shooting photos you can open up Maps or similar first to start the process going.

WRT your battery life question, leaving maps open tends to destroy my battery in a few (5-7) hours (Dinc 1, known for horrible battery life anyway, even among android phones), especially if I'm shooting a number of photos. When I know I'm going to be using my phone in that manner I typically bring a second battery along, so that when I'm done I can still make calls.