[bogiesbad]

Simon is right. I don't know if that is a flying head or not, but many stitching software packages can interpolate objects that change from picture to picture, such as a car that appears in one photo that is not in another....but it is far from 100% perfect and can sometimes result in interesting anomalies.

There are numerous anomalies in the Obamagraph if you look closely.

[simons-photography]

....or a DSLR.

my thoughts exactly, the "thing" has taken the wrong form and was obviously conceived with P&S's in mind leaving the semi-pros and pros out of the picture (the ones that know its going to be not a good idea). like I said a "robotic tripod head" would make more sense, all it needed was a geard stepping motor mecanism for rotation and a srewing elevator mecanism for the tilt, also the average P&S user will have to set the thing up to rotate on the lenses nodal point, its just so involved, I'd just spend the money on a proper pano head and this thing has cut me out anyhow with my K0D and has no real advantages. looking at the video they recomend a 10 second delay between shots...... that going to make it a very long shoot, lighting conditions will be reall different from start to finish.

that was a flying head I posted, I noted a couple of other anomalies too like people chopped in half.

The below photo in my ig is the before mentioned 54 Mp image snd thats a static subjust so could be done that way, this thing is yes a scam !

[LeoTaylor]

In my opinion something is not a scam if it explains what is being sold, what it does, charges a reasonable price, and no one is cheated. The GigaPan web site offers software to stitch together hundreds of images and a device to take them using a low cost camera. They won't attract many customers so they can't sell a robotic mount much cheaper.

I wouldn't want to take that many shots with a tripod. I've done 3-4 shot panoramas with good result when I didn't have a wide enough lens on hands. I did a 5*5 mosaic of the Moon but using a WebCam and computer controlled telescope. That one was painful to assemble. I use a program called PanoramaMaker 3 (it was free with a Nikon Coolpix) which gets finicky even at its 4*4 "tile" limit. I had to piece together small sections, then piece the sections together. I have not invested in a more sophisticated program because it is not something I do often.

If someone made a professional quality robotic mount for taking gigapixel mosaics with a DSLR I'd find it interesting, but would not be able to afford it! Most of the time my 6 megapixel Pentax is quite sufficient.

BTW: On the GigaPan web site there is a image of a pig statue competition in Bath England. The statues and buildings are great, but the audience is all broken up! Usually people move about as the camera pans. The Inauguration came out as well as it did because most everyone was sitting still.

[simons-photography]

well in my proffesional capacity I would say that its not exactly fit for purpose, of poor design and amateurishly made. if you want a good pano program download autostitch, for 99 euro you can get autopano which is based on autostitch technology and is very good, with a good manual tripod (ie: will degrees markings) you can achieve exactly the same as the "robot thing" and much bettermuch faster

[navcom]

well in my proffesional capacity I would say that its not exactly fit for purpose, of poor design and amateurishly made. if you want a good pano program download autostitch, for 99 euro you can get autopano which is based on autostitch technology and is very good, with a good manual tripod (ie: will degrees markings) you can achieve exactly the same as the "robot thing" and much bettermuch faster

Couldn't agree more...I have Autostitch as well. I've never had a problem doing huge panos. Don't need no stinkin' robot. With my pano head, I can take a dozen shots in less than a minute.

Now I wouldn't call the Gigapan robot thing a ripoff per se. It does what it says, so if you are willing to pay the bucks for one, more too ya. What I would call it is useless for the serious photographer in it's present form. It's a toy for the gadget-obsessed.

[simons-photography]

I think it is a gadjet to be ridiculed by serious photographers and jumped upon but later thrown at the wall by amateurs that do not understand the "mechanics" of panoramic photography. I'm not being snobby about it but after taking many pano shots with the intention of obtaining high res images I have come to learn many tricks and requirements and its partly due to that I have a DSLR now.

If someone thinks they can throw a P&S camera on it and "point and shoot themselves a pano" they will be dissapointed.

for what it costs plus the cost of a very study tripod (yes the amateur will find his/her argos £50 tripod no good so we are back to the begining: need pro equipment to start with !) I'd buy a decent tripod and pano head and know that I can work much faster doing it manually, this was also a reason for me buying a DSLR my digicam was a sucker for panos and it took ages to shoot one. With a DSLR I focus and then P&S away quikly and in the know that I have full control over my camera

Merriam-Webster Dictionary defines the word "Scam" as "a fraudulent or deceptive act or operation <insurance scam>". The item is advertised as a Point and Shoot mount that allows gigapixel panoramas yet the company intentionally used a modified mount and a modified DSLR. I am not going to reveal my source on that. To me that fits the definition of "Scam" almost perfectly.

http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/scam

If this were the old American west these guys would be selling us Snake Oil! Buyer beware!

[navcom]

Merriam-Webster Dictionary defines the word "Scam" as "a fraudulent or deceptive act or operation <insurance scam>". The item is advertised as a Point and Shoot mount that allows gigapixel panoramas yet the company intentionally used a modified mount and a modified DSLR. I am not going to reveal my source on that. To me that fits the definition of "Scam" almost perfectly.

scam - Definition from the Merriam-Webster Online Dictionary

If this were the old American west these guys would be selling us Snake Oil! Buyer beware!

Gotta point there.

[simons-photography]

This thing has been made to look easier than it is. Its the typical no experience or knowledge required for results like the pros, when someoe tells me that I'm dubious. I started out in pano photography thinking it was easy and a peice of cake, but after a few shoots I now have experience in the technique and can see in advance possible pitfalls or if the project is at all feasale. I can see there will be many unsatisfied customers with this thing

If you're interested in gigapixel photography, check out this site.
Gigapxl Project: Gigapxl Project

This thing has been made to look easier than it is. Its the typical no experience or knowledge required for results like the pros, when someoe tells me that I'm dubious. I started out in pano photography thinking it was easy and a peice of cake, but after a few shoots I now have experience in the technique and can see in advance possible pitfalls or if the project is at all feasale. I can see there will be many unsatisfied customers with this thing

I think that shot of yours is awesome! I also admire your skill in accomplishing what you have with the pano shots. Awesome!

[simons-photography]

This: Simons-Photography.com/The Countryside of Alberobello/roofs was one of my best pano shots. yes I know your thinking pano ? that ?I was about 1 metre from the wall and with a 28 mm lens had no chance but with that particular camera (my old fuji S6500fd fixed lens 28-300) panos only worked with the lens on 50 mm as below that distortion was too much to stitch photos together. I took 31 pictures to get that shot which turned out to be 180 Mp. I did the same when I did the insode of someones house for them.

[LeoTaylor]

This: Simons-Photography.com/The Countryside of Alberobello/roofs was one of my best pano shots. yes I know your thinking pano ? that ?I was about 1 metre from the wall and with a 28 mm lens had no chance but with that particular camera (my old fuji S6500fd fixed lens 28-300) panos only worked with the lens on 50 mm as below that distortion was too much to stitch photos together. I took 31 pictures to get that shot which turned out to be 180 Mp. I did the same when I did the insode of someones house for them.

Yours is an impressive photo but 31 frames and 0.18 Gigapixel is far from the 1750 frames and 5.63 Gigapixels of Hanasuma Bay on gigapan.com. Would you want to tackle 1750 frames with your tripod? Could you manually point the camera with that kind of accuracy and resolution?

As wrote, I have no interest in buying a robot mount myself, but I can not fault the company for providing a product that some people can use to produce the impressive collection on Gigapan's web site.

[simons-photography]

If I had a decent tripod with degrees marked on it maybe. there are servo controlled tripods that WILL take an SLR and you then have your choice of software. this all in one solution is a bit weak. I'm not saying that electronic aids are uneccesary but this thing is a micky take its poorly desiged and I hate to think about their software.

[ukbluetooth]

Sorry fellows but I really don't understand why you are being so mean.

Perhaps I am gullible but I think that some of those shots are nothing sort of amazing.

My favourite is the night time shot of London - 34 shots stitched together.

gigapan: South Bank over looking the River Thames, Big Ben, London Eye

And the one of Boston gigapan: Boston BackBay Charles river is just so much fun. For a few hundred dollars this must be a fantastic toy/tool.

I would doubt very much that is is a scam, after all it is endorsed by Carnegie Mellon University, NASA, Google, and National Geographic. I challenge anyone here to but together a 200 shot panoramic without this kit or a similar system.

JMHO.