Microsoft Photosynth allows photographers to create 3D panoramas by endlessly shooting one scene
Microsoft just released its new Photosynth product to the public which allows users to create and navigate a 3 dimensional panorama of a scene. Once a user uploads anywhere from 20 to 300 photos of a scene, Photosynth then analyzes them to find similarities and overlays them so that you can then explore and share the view online. While you may be able to upload some old vacation photos to relive the experience, the truth is that they recommend an exhaustive regimen around shooting rooms and objects in order to create a high quality Synth.
Photosynth is a downloadable application and it’s no surprise that it only runs on PCs running Microsoft Windows. You will also need the included browser plugins which come for both Internet Explorer and Firefox in order to view Synths. Once you have installed the plugins, you can start out by viewing the sample Synths that are hosted online. When you are ready to create your own Synth, you simply begin uploading pictures that overlap. You can thumb through the photos while Photosynth is building the 3D view.
Once you have created a Synth it is hosted online by Microsoft who has ever so graciously provided 20 gigabytes of storage per user. Since you have to do all the processing of these complex overlays on your own processor, it’s somewhat ridiculous not to allow users to save their work on their own computer. While the community hosting feature can be a fun way for users to share their Synth, there is no reason to require that you make them public other than to rapidly fill up the free space and force you into a premium membership.
After reading Photosynth’s photography guide for creating better 3 D views, it becomes readily apparent that old vacation photos would not create an optimal Synth. Even for shooting pictures for the view of the inside of one room seems daunting. The Photosynth guide recommends starting by snapping as many as 30 pictures while standing in the middle of the room and getting 50% overlap on each picture. You can get an idea of just how many shots this can take in the figure on the left, though it may be hard to discern from an origami snowflake.
Do any of your old vacation photos fit the bill so far?
Next, you go to each corner of the room and take overlapping shots to help Photosynth fill in the blanks as in the second figure on the left. The recommendation also includes taking similar shots from each wall to ensure coverage, as well as closer shots of any items that users might want a better view of. They gave the example of including close up shots of paintings on a gallery wall so that viewers can get the detail. The guidelines for shooting around a 3D item such as a sculpture are similarly daunting, so creating a Synth of a sculpture gallery might prove to be the ultimate test of a photographer’s wit and patience.
While I don’t see Photosynth gaining as widespread adoption as media sites like Flickr and Youtube, it could appeal to some photographers looking for a new and interesting way to showcase their work. Synths might also become a great way to showcase real estate, hotel rooms and travel destinations. One of the sample works is a 3D view of the Taj Mahal in great detail. The only hitch is that the Photosynth plugin would have to gain widespread adoption. This is a relatively creative and innovative new service from Microsoft, but it may not be for everyone.
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