Photosynth is an impressive service from Microsoft. It enables you to upload photos and turn them into interactive 360 panoramas, photo walls, spins, or photo walks. The Photosynth team recently announced a new version of Photosynth, and it’s a really cool web experience. It leverages WebGL to visualize the content, and runs great on both desktop and mobile devices (as long as the devices support WebGL).
Those who know me well or regularly read the blog probably already know I have an obsession with aerial photography using remote controlled multirotor helicopters. Once I discovered Photosynth, my first thought was “Wow, these ‘Photo Walks’ will be incredible to visualize flights”. I capture most of my flights in time-lapse photography mode with a GoPro camera attached to a DJI Phantom copter. The time-lapse images are perfect for Photosynth – I normally capture on a two second interval, though the Photosynth team suggested trying an even shorter interval for better results.
To generate the best Photosynths, you need to start with the best photos. This is where Lightroom comes into the picture. Lightroom is an incredible tool for editing photos and bringing out their details. You can enhance exposure, colors, clarity, saturation, reduce noise, and more. Even better, it excels at bulk image editing. Thus it’s perfect for processing your photos for preparation to create a Photosynth.
Check out the video below to get an overview of Photosynth, and preparing your photos with Lightroom.
Now, you’re ready to learn more about both Lightroom and Photosynth, right?
Don’t miss this series on Getting Started with Lightroom 5 on Adobe TV, or Terry White’s “How To Get Started With Lightroom“. Don’t have Lightroom? Just become a member of Creative Cloud, and you can get Lightroom and Photoshop today!
Then check out Photosynth to learn more and sign up for the preview.
Below are Photosynths from a few of my flights. If your browser supports WebGL, you’ll be able to see the fully interactive experience – you’ll be able to scrub through the photos, zoom in, and pan the images at full resolution. It’s best viewed in full-screen mode.
If your browser doesn’t support WebGL, then you’ll just see a video of the Photosynth playback, which is still cool, but nowhere near as cool as the interactive experience. Check here to see a matrix of browsers that support WebGL. Note: In Chrome on Android you have to manually enable WebGL support.
Virginia State Capital Building – Richmond, VA
Virginia State Capital by andrewtrice on Photosynth
Golden Gate Bridge – San Francisco, CA
Golden Gate Bridge by andrewtrice on Photosynth
ATT Park – San Francisco, CA
ATT Park, San Francisco, CA by andrewtrice on Photosynth