Worlds largest stitched image completed

Discuss photography techniques, equipment, etc. here.
dnmilikan

Worlds largest stitched image completed

Postby dnmilikan » Fri Mar 12, 2010 11:36 am

To those who are interested in photography apart from slide show production. This stitched image project of Paris has been in the works for over a year and has recently been completed. This sets a new record of 26 gigapixels.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PypARCJHJ9I

Donald Miller

Robert Barnett

Re: Worlds largest stitched image completed

Postby Robert Barnett » Fri Mar 12, 2010 12:26 pm

That isn't really that hard to do. Last Christmas I bought myself a Christmas gift. It was a Gigpan Epic 100. It is a tripod mounted robot that uses your camera to shoot the images automatically with the proper over lap for gigbit images. It is actually quite affordable and a lot of fun especially if you are like me and love panorama shots.

It does make doing these kinds of images much easier. Proper aligning the camera for the proper over lap of 50, 100, 200 or more images is not something a normal human could do and do well. I can handle 9 images manually at most. Beyond that it ends up a mess.

http://gigapansystems.com/

Robert

Robert Barnett

Re: Worlds largest stitched image completed

Postby Robert Barnett » Fri Mar 12, 2010 12:29 pm

Oh, one more thing. You can forget thier stitching software that comes with it. It is horrible. Not only in its interface but in the quality of its stitching. I use PTGui for mine work and it does very very well. Photoshop CS4 on the other hand tends to choke with more than 20 images and that is with my i7 processor Windows 7 64-bit and 12GB of RAM and 32TB of hard drive space. PTGui on the other hand works flawlessly, has a good interface and the final stitching is very good.

http://www.ptgui.com

Robert

.
Posts: 262
Joined: Thu Mar 05, 2009 7:54 pm
Location: Woodstock, Georgia

Re: Worlds largest stitched image completed

Postby silverfox » Fri Mar 12, 2010 2:58 pm

Thanks for the info on this project

The URL for website of the Paris 26 Gigapixels

http://www.paris-26-gigapixels.com/index-en.html

Great visual and informational tour of Paris



silverfox wanting to go back to Paris

Active Member
User avatar
Posts: 37
Joined: Sat Mar 06, 2010 2:42 pm
Location: Left Coast

Re: Worlds largest stitched image completed

Postby ernie » Fri Mar 12, 2010 3:31 pm

Thanks for posting, makes me want to return for another visit.

ProShow Hall of Fame
User avatar
Posts: 3043
Joined: Tue Nov 01, 2005 10:10 am
Location: Scotland

Re: Worlds largest stitched image completed

Postby briancbb » Fri Mar 12, 2010 3:39 pm

Find the 'St Germain des Pres' church (just about pan centre of the photo). Just below that is a long grey roof. At the left hand end of this is a dark brown roof, at the right hand end of this is a patio with a very large tortoise. 8)
Briancbb (Brian, Clown by birth)
Thanks Al for the signature
Producer v6.0 Build 3410

Active Member
User avatar
Posts: 37
Joined: Sat Mar 06, 2010 2:42 pm
Location: Left Coast

Re: Worlds largest stitched image completed

Postby ernie » Fri Mar 12, 2010 3:51 pm

Good eye Brian!

.
Posts: 262
Joined: Thu Mar 05, 2009 7:54 pm
Location: Woodstock, Georgia

Re: Worlds largest stitched image completed

Postby silverfox » Fri Mar 12, 2010 4:13 pm

What a project .... I can't stop viewing the website ....

the shooting layout in the Paris image : 138 columns and 17 rows, that is 2346 images
the final size : 354159 x 75570 = 26,763,795,630 pixels

.
User avatar
Posts: 840
Joined: Fri Jan 05, 2007 10:31 am
Location: Long Island, New York

Re: Worlds largest stitched image completed

Postby Ron » Fri Mar 12, 2010 4:46 pm

Hey Don
Thanks for the link
What a work of art!!
Robert
That isn't really that hard to do

ya think!!
Around 2 0r 3 thousand photo's - planning the shoot must have been a job in itself, then actually taking them, then the post processing to make them look like they were taken at the same time - oh then you have to stitch them together....Hmmmm
Almost can't put my brain around it all.
"Family over Friends" "Night over Day" "Nikon over Canon" "Gravy over Everything"

dnmilikan

Re: Worlds largest stitched image completed

Postby dnmilikan » Fri Mar 12, 2010 6:34 pm

Another link covering the details involved in making of this image.

http://www.paris-26-gigapixels.com/index-en.html

Donald Miller

Robert Barnett

Re: Worlds largest stitched image completed

Postby Robert Barnett » Fri Mar 12, 2010 9:32 pm

When using the GIgapan system you put your camera in manual mode after you take a sample reading for the exposure. You also put the camera in manual focus mode. The result is that focus doesn't change and neither does exposure. You use the lens with the highest zoom level you have (for me that is 400mm) and then just tell the Gigapan where to start taking shots and where to end. It figures out how many shots are needed, what the overlap is and then goes and shoots them all for you. You just sit there and wait. It moves the camera, presses the shutter release, etc.

It really isn't that hard. Something like this had to be used for the Paris one. No human could do 2 or 3 thousand images with overlap and have that work.

As for the software, you need a good computer and good software. That would be PTGui and not the stitching software that comes with the Gigpan, it isn't even at version 1 year. it is sub 1.0 so basically beta. It could get better but right now it is horrible software.

Robert

.
User avatar
Posts: 840
Joined: Fri Jan 05, 2007 10:31 am
Location: Long Island, New York

Re: Worlds largest stitched image completed

Postby Ron » Sat Mar 13, 2010 9:13 am

Robert
Thanks much for the info, seems like my thought process was old, old, old school. I should have realized that some sort of system could do it, I really couldn't wrap my head (dumbass) around the process.
Thanks Ron
"Family over Friends" "Night over Day" "Nikon over Canon" "Gravy over Everything"

dnmilikan

Re: Worlds largest stitched image completed

Postby dnmilikan » Sat Mar 13, 2010 9:54 am

With all due respect, the Gigapan system was not used for this image. In fact the Gigapan system is totally inadequate to this job (it can not hold a Canon 5DII with a 600 mm lens). The stitching program wasn't Gigapan either because it is not adequate to that job as well. The stitching was accomplished by Kolor's program. The computer controlled head (in this case) was designed by the photographer.

The Autopano Pro forum (Kolor) has a thread where discussion related to building a motorized pano head by adapting a telescope equatorial mount is discussed. While Ptgui has been around for awhile, Autopano Pro or Autopano Giga has a much heftier capability.

Donald Miller

Robert Barnett

Re: Worlds largest stitched image completed

Postby Robert Barnett » Sat Mar 13, 2010 10:09 am

First I never said the Gigapan was used for this project.
Second, who says you need a full on dSLR to do it.
Third. Using my Gigapan Epic 100 I have shot and stitched a 1000 image panorama so yes the Gigapan can do this job.

I was simply pointing out that...

First that paris image was not done with a tripod or by hand holding. No human could shoot that many images with the proper overlap.
Second, that if you were interested in doing something similar it doesn't take $20,000 worth of hardware to do it.
Third, I was pointing out that the equipment to do it is readily available, affordable and fun (with the exception of the Gigapan Stitching software which is horrible)
Fourth, Here is one that was done with the Gigpan: http://gigapan.org/gigapans/15374/
Fifth, You can see others done with the Gigapan at: http://gigapan.org/gigapans/most_popular/

Robert

Robert Barnett

Re: Worlds largest stitched image completed

Postby Robert Barnett » Sat Mar 13, 2010 10:18 am

I had better clarify something before a certain person has a kitten.

By tripod I mean a stock tripod. Something that you can walk in to a store and buy off the shelf. The one used for the Paris project was custom made and therefor not a tripod that can be purchased (at least not at this time.)

Frankly it would have been quicker and cheaper to use a Gigpan. No right now you can't use a dSLR (but that is not needed, there are many cameras that will work with the Gigpan that take images just as good as the cameras they used.) Also, a Gigapan for dSLR's is coming. In fact I know of two people that are beta testing the units.

Lastly I use a Panasonic GH1 with a 45-200 lens which with the 2X crop factor is 90 to 400mm and get images in quality that will rival that Canon. Also image quality isn't quite as important with a Gigapixel Pano as it is with single images. A pano hides a great deal of issues.

Just to clarify!

Robert

Next

Return to Photography

Who is online

Users browsing this forum: No registered users and 13 guests