Boffins take gigapixel photos using ordinary camera

chris

Scientists at Carnegie Mellon University have developed a device that lets a standard digital camera take pictures with a resolution of 1-gigapixel (1,000-megapixels).

The Gigapan is a robotic arm that takes multiple pictures of the same scene and blends them into a single image. The resulting picture can be expanded to show incredible detail.

"Our goal is to bring the world closer together by making it possible for anybody to take these panoramas and show them to people across the world," Randy Sargent, chief architect of the project at Carnegie Mellon, told The Times.

The robot takes a single picture and then takes 36 horizontal and 10 vertical overlapping shots.

Software then merges the images to produce the final image, such as one of the South Bank in London.

No date for the release off the device has yet been given but it is expected to retail for several hundred dollars.



Source: vnunet

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dig deep

Looks like it would be a great gadget for us all.

However,,,,, seen it before

Any Japanese tourist group will do it that way

PoloMint

Interesting, but bow long does it take to take all these pictures? Needing an absolutely stationary subject must limit what it can be used for.

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'All you need is duck tape and WD40; if it moves and it shouldn't, use duck tape - if it should move and it doesn't, use WD40'

2cvbloke

That's what I was thinking, if you're taking a pic of a sunset you'll start with a light picture and gradually get darker and darker pictures...

I'd rather wait until the Genuine Gigapixel cameras hit the shelves...

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PaulR

And what about the 120GB memory card to hold your 4 photos on?

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PaulR

As I get older I find myself thinking about the hereafter - I go into a room and then wonder what I'm here after.

2cvbloke

Technology's advancing everyday, I'm sure by then we'll all be carrying round Terabyte cards in our mobiles, PDAs and cameras...

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rolfw

Yep so anyone can take bad pictures, but with incredible detail.

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2cvbloke

Well it's all to do with the owner, if they're 5h1t at photography, they'll take 5h1t pictures, but if they know what they're doing, they'll take superb pics...

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dabe

it's amazing how much detail you can get with panorama. i've tried using a point and shoot camera, taking 15 or so separate pictures and mashing them up in photoshop using the panorama function and it came out well - one could swear that it was taken using a canon mark3.