diff --git a/lib/utils/makeRequest.js b/lib/utils/makeRequest.js
index c539ed2..c0d05e8 100644
--- a/lib/utils/makeRequest.js
+++ b/lib/utils/makeRequest.js
@@ -71,7 +71,9 @@ module.exports = function(request, config, path, args, callback, encoding) {
     uri: (secure ? 'https' : 'http') + '://maps.googleapis.com' + path
   };
 
-  if (encoding) options.encoding = encoding;
+  if (encoding) {
+    options.encoding = (encoding=='binary')?null:encoding;
+  }
   if (config.proxy) options.proxy = config.proxy;
 
   if (typeof callback !== 'function') {