Posts Tagged ‘gigapan’
GigaPan Time Machine Photography Tool Makes (Video) Time Travel Possible
With the same incredible level of detail that GigaPan’s earlier photo project provided, the GigaPan Time Machine site features several different worlds for the avid time traveler to explore. You can zoom in and out of early universe phenomena, track stinkbugs during plant growth, and follow the intricacies of brain veins. You can even make your own time machines.
The GigaPan Time Machine builds on the work of the , which allowed the user to zoom far into each photo while retaining the original resolution--because each photo was actually a mosaic made up of many other photos, taken at different ranges. Time Machine adds a fourth dimension, allowing you to zoom in, out, and around while also moving through time.
Time Machine is built with HTML5, the newest revision of the HTML language. Its capabilities, especially the ability to play video in a browser without the need for plugins, allows more seamless and less-bandwidth-intensive video playback. Plus, it means that what could be merely a tool for scientists is also a ton of fun for the curious everyday internet user, which we assume you are.
Zoomable 45-Gigapixel Panorama of Dubai Sets Record as World’s Largest Digital Photo
The shot was captured over more than three hours using a Canon 7D mounted to a robotic GigaPan camera mount that uses imaging technology similar to that found on NASA's Mars rovers. The sweeping shot is actually 4,250 individual shots cobbled together seamlessly with Autopano stitching software.
Said Donovan: "This was intended as a technical test. It was about exploring the limits of the hardware and software out there."
Which raises the question: Did we find the limit? The last record-holding digital panorama came in at 26 gigapixels, so the Dubai image is a significant advance. Given the fact that the image is composite, it's really not a matter of camera hardware; the robotic mount and the camera could, theoretically, snap more than 4,250 individual shots of a landscape. So it's really a matter of software and the processing power needed to stitch together the larger images. Which means that if the tools to make a larger digital pic don't exist yet, they certainly will at some point.
And what good is a record if it's never broken? In the meantime, check out an interactive version of the image on . If you think the image above looks like any other panorama, zoom in. And zoom in some more. If this is the closest you ever get to Dubai, it's still really, really close.