Thursday May 7, 2009

Gigapan Review

I took a Gigapan down to Patagonia with me to test it out. And man, did I take it with me. I hiked over 40km holding this thing in my bag. I don’t know if this makes me the most committed reviewer in the history of reviewers, but it puts me somewhere within the pantheon. If you want to jump right over to see the pic below there on the Gigapan site, just click here.

The Gigapan is a cool device. In short, it is a robot that sits atop your tripod. You attach your camera to the robot, program the robot with the upper-left and lower-right of the photo, and then the robot does the rest. It automatically maps out a 2-D grid across the sky and snaps the photos.

The initial setup of the Gigapan was pretty easy. They have a nice video on the site that you can follow. You don’t have to be too technical to understand it.

Depending upon the Gigapan you get, it can hold a variety of cameras. Even though my main camera is the Nikon D3X, I used the Panasonic LX3 on the Gigapan. This is actually just fine, since you end up getting a lot higher resolution from having so many shots.

The second step is importing all the shots into software to stitch together the panorama. There is a lot of software for this. I used PTGui, although you can easily use Photoshop as well.

Good Stuff:

- Great for rookies, amateurs, and advanced amateurs that want a simple way to take photos
- Ensures that you will not miss a vital shot in a big panorama (a missing square can cost you the whole shot)
- If you already have a smallish camera and want a slick way to take panos, then this is a fun option.

Bad Stuff:

- My biggest complaint is that is was big and bulky. This is the same tech that was used on the Mars Rover, and it feels like one of those NASA devices from the 70′s. There is no elegance to this device and it’s a major commitment to take off swap cameras on your tripod. If you are JUST going out to shoot with the Gigapan and a tripod, then you don’t have to worry about the switching.
- If you are a professional, you likely already have a tripod already and are pretty conversant on how to map out a grid in your head and get your overlapping photos anyway.

Below is a shot with it in Argentina (using an LX3). You can see the full size one here on the Gigapan site, where it is zoomable. The second shot is a photo of the device when I was first trying it out in Chicago.

You can find out more at the Gigapan Website.

The Wiles of Patagonia, a 14K panorama (by Stuck in Customs)

Gigapan in Chicago (by Stuck in Customs)

About Me
  • http://www.jmg-galleries.com Jim Goldstein

    I’m impressed with your effort to carry this with you on your trip. I keep waiting for the Gigapan folks to release this device with the ability to hold a dSLR. In the meantime I keep photographing and stitching panoramics the old fashioned way. Thanks for the write up.

  • http://www.gadgetguys.com Sanjay Nasta

    Wow 2 Gigapans in the same neighborhood. How Geeky. Gigapan did release a version that works with a dSLR. The issue with that version is the amount of weight it supports. Telephoto lenses on dSLR’s are heavy. The Gigapan works best with a telephoto (I use it with the Canon S3IS).

    The other issue I have is coming up with great photography with the Gigapan. If you go to their site there are a few great pictures…that use the device to it’s potential. I’m still struggling with that aspect of this device.

    For me the 360 degree panoramas (e.g. panoramas.dk) are a lot more addictive.

  • http://www.facebook.com/people/Richard-Uchytil/501351240 Richard Uchytil

    All of the panoramas I’ve done have been with me holding the camera, not on a tripod. Why? Mainly because I’m somewhere with the family, don’t want to carry my tripod, and suddenly realize something would make a good panorama. I use Photoshop CS4 to stitch them together. Most of the time it works great, especially when the photos are off in a distance rather than close up.

    I’ve wanted to try the Gigapan because I like the idea of setting it up and walking away, letting it take tons of photos. I thought there was software included with it to do the stitching? It is kinda ugly, but seems to be reasonably priced for my favorite types of panoramas – many zoomed in shots stitched together so when you zoom in you can see great detail.

    Thanks very much for the review!

  • Colin Berry

    man, you get all the cool toys! I remember looking over their website when they were testing it. Can you set it to take bracketed exposures at each place it stops? You could print pretty enormous with that resolution.

  • Luisa

    Hi, I just want to say THANKS for just a short line in this review – the mention of PTGui. Yes, you can make panoramas in Photoshop, but it seems to take a lot of work and time, at least for me. PTGui made my day – what with the 50+ panoramas from last summer still to stitch!
    Trey, thanks for your wonderful photos and invaluable advice. You really opened up a new world of photography for me.

  • http://www.stuckincustoms.com Stuck In Customs

    Colin – I think they are working on a model that will allow it to take multiple exposures (clicking the button several times at one grid loc)

  • Rob

    Hi Trey,

    Have you checked out the new Gigapan Epic Pro? Do you think that it’s also “for rookies, amateurs…” or is it more robust (sorry, couldn’t come up with a better word) than the version you tried? It seems like it could be a big timesaver, but maybe I’m missing something?

    Thanks!

    -Rob

  • Pingback: Cool Digital Picture Frame Reviews images | The best Digital Photo Frame

  • Pingback: Digital Photography Composition For Dummies (For Dummies (Computer/Tech))

  • Pingback: Grabbing a bite at sunset | Speed iPhone

  • Pingback: Cool Review images | Online Products Marketplace

  • Pingback: Cool Unique Backpacks images | Cool Hats

  • Pingback: At the galleries News] | Digital Frame Buying Guide