IT Guru

London Panorama - in 80 Gigapixels

While digital camera manufacturers compete over megapixels, offering 5, 7, 12 and more megapixel cameras, technologically-minded people conducted the following experiment - they took several high-resolution photographs...

While digital camera manufacturers compete over megapixels, offering 5, 7, 12 and more megapixel cameras, sceptics continue to doubt whether such high-resolution photos are even necessary. It would be a mistake to assume that an image with "large" pixels is automatically higher quality, but it does have its advantages. One example is the ability to zoom in multiple times without losing image quality. However, such enlargement is not infinite and cannot substitute optical zoom.

A high-resolution photo is not exactly convenient, because the small details remain unnoticed when viewed on a limited-size monitor or in a small print photograph. It should also be noted that the more megapixels, the larger the image file size.

To make such an image practically usable, technologically-minded people conducted the following experiment - they took multiple high-resolution photographs at varying optical zoom levels. The result was images of several gigapixels. True, such an experiment also requires special equipment - a device that "rotates" the camera in pre-calculated steps, and also changes the optical zoom level.

Click on the image to experience the gigapixel power :)

The record belongs to the London panorama, a 80 Gpix image (Flash):

http://www.360cities.net/london-photo-en.html

Previous flagship - Budapest with 70 Gpix (MS Silverlight 4)

http://70gigapixel.cloudapp.net/