
Microsoft's Photosynth, the best thing to happen to photography since the digital camera. - kalvin
http://www.slate.com/id/2209884/
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lunchbox
The best thing to happen to photography since the digital camera? Come on. The
"cool" factor of Photosynth is undeniable, but the author doesn't address what
Photosynth can actually be useful for once the novelty wears off (in my case,
about 3 minutes in). A few points:

\- Creating decent Synths is a PITA. You need either a huge number of photos
or extreme care in making them evenly spaced and overlapping; otherwise your
Synth will end up fragmented and will not render right. I was very
disappointed with the results when I tried making a Synth of my bedroom and
surroundings.

\- We already have advanced video and photo technology, which obviates many
conceivable uses of Photosynth. For example, 360 degree cameras (as found in
Google Maps Street View) provide a _much_ better user experience for providing
virtual tours of physical locations. Or, simpler yet, just hold up a video
camera and film the location, panning into and out of areas of interest.

Photosynth must have _some_ practical future uses for Microsoft to be
investing in it (unless this is just for publicity); I'm just disappointed the
article didn't address what these might be. Maybe they're just reusing the
same technology they use to patch together different satellite images for Live
Maps.

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jeroen
I agree that "the best thing" is a bit over the top, but the big difference
between photosynth and video technology is that the images already exist.

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dpeq
It's really amazing from the technical point of view, but I'm not sure if
that's really a good thing to happen to photography. Photosynths are more like
a rollercoaster ride in a fun park while a really good photo can be a piece of
art.

