Director of Pixelcase Co-founder of Tours From Above Creative Director at NorthStudio360. Designer and developer of the 360 video system behind Nimmo Bay Helicopter 360video.
I was after a super simple tagging system for panoramas that alowed visitors to “tag” comments to points of interest within the panoramas.
This will also work with Gigapixel panoramas.
I have now cut through 12 Sigma 10mm hoods with only 1 casualty. The problem is the hoods are made of quite thick aluminum so care must be taken. The hood is only 2 mm from the lens so a hacksaw is out the question so I bought this bench drill and grinding disc specifically for this task.
BE VERY CAREFUL – the filings will get between the casing and the lens and STOP the focus from working! – Blow away filings as you go AND at the end test the focus with the lens facing the floor so any loose filings work outwards rather than further into the lens.
I visited Vancouver again to shoot aerial panoramas just east of Vancouver Island for a Heli Fishing Resort with Ryan and Chris from NS360 – My Equipment was all packed up including the 5Ds – I spent a whole week reducing weight to the frame and trying other folding possibilities.
Although it was mainly intended for aerial panoramas, we also managed to capture some awesome 360 video footage using our equipment – the resulting viral video (above) has achieved 25 million hits so far.
Quote from Google Maps Mania
“Luckily it is the weekend, which means you can probably afford to have your attention consumed by Tours From Above.
Tours From Above is a showcase for some of the world’s best aerial panoramic photographers and some of the most amazing 360 degree panoramas you will ever see. The site uses Google Maps to show you the locations of aerial panoramas. These panoramas allow you to view oceans, forests, waterfalls and some of the world’s cities in a way that you have never seen them before.
It is truly breathtaking to view New York’s skyscrapers in a 360 degree panorama taken from the air. If you get bored of New York you can use the Google Map to fly over to Zambia to view a gorgeous panorama of the Victoria Falls from above.
I’m not going to waste any more of your time talking about Tours From Above. You are going to need all the time you can spare to view these amazing panoramas. So, go visit!:
I am always looking for a quicker way to get the lat and lon for use in google maps – most sites are just too in depth to visit, just to copy the co-ords.
This is a simple way of getting them really quick – GET LAT LONG
Gigapixel Images using a DSLR have just been made easier with today’s launch of the Gigapan Epic Pro – It takes Cameras up-to 10 pounds.
I have just returned form a Quick trip to Sydney and Melbourne to capture the skies above both cities – Over 60 aerial panoramas in 2 hours flight including places like the Olympic Village, Opera House, MCG, Bondi Beach, Docklands and many others – Here are some links:
www.pixelcase.com.au/vr/melbourne
www.pixelcase.com.au/vr/sydney
I also experimented with HDR Aerials using a modified BIOS hack which forced 3 brackets in 1/5th of a second – you will see that at Maquarie Lighthouse in Sydney. The first of its kind in the world I`m sure.
I have finally finished the design and construction of 5D MK2 Camera Rig capable of producing single shot aerial panoramics and HD 360 video – On early test it is also good at producing ground based 1 shot VR as well although a little heavy. This test I took to the skies of Perth with Brett (www.pixelcase.com.au) to get some aerial footage. You can see a couple of shots here. This is Mrk 4 Version of Rig using 5 Canons.
I am a fan of Apple stuff… but I am also glad that Windows/Google are snapping at their heels once more. Manufacturers have noticed that the iPads serious flaw is the lack of Flash and Apples refusal to acknowledge it.
Flash is the single best thing that has happened to the panoramic industry in, well, ever.. So I suggest we tell everyone to get an ISlate from HP who are happy to collaborate with Adobe.
Not only will you be able to produce virtual tours for the web – but developers will be able to produce AIR (Virtual tour apps) – that will run on all windows, all normal macs and now the iSlate.
