360 Degree Photography For Websites

[ChiangMaiThai]

I'm looking for someone in Thailand who does digital photography for products showcased on a website- in this case jewelry. You see this kind of thing on higher end websites where you can 'move' around a product. Does anyone have any further info regarding someone in Thailand capable of this? Does this require anything special for the website iteself?

[LivinLOS]

I have seen this kind of thing (3d modelling) done on computer modelled items where the item can be spun or moved round.. I have never seen anything of this type on a real item, just thinking about the process it would require the camera to have an image of the item from every possible angle which would be in all intents and practices impossible (unless I am miss understanding what you are saying)..

Could you link to a site that has what you are trying to do to emphasize the request.

Blender3d.org provides a plug in for the type of computer generated 3 d object manipulation I know of..

[udon]

CMT do you mean like this?

I too, would like to know how it's done.

[LivinLOS]

Those are done with a special fish eye lens..

The camera is mounted with the lens pointing straight up and the fish eye part of it makes the capture (you may need to take multiple images rotating if I remember correctly and stitch them together with the plug in SW).. Seen these lenses used by Realtors and Estate agents.

[udon]

LIL.

thanks,

Expensive lens?

Links?

[LivinLOS]

I 'think' what I saw before was using iPix (www.ipix.com) which can then be oputput to quicktime VR and other types of browser plug ins...

Panoweaver seems to do the same thing.. http://www.easypano.com/pinfo_pw.html

I dont think a fish eye lens is expensive but you need a digi cam that can take a fish eye lens addition (coolpix 900 can)..

[Crushdepth]

My gf used to do the 360 hotel room stuff using software from a company called IPIX. In addition to the fish eye lens you need a fitting for the tripod that snaps into place at 180 rotations so the shots line up properly. I think MWEB offer this, I can look it up if anyone's interested (there's another backyard company as well, but they charge like wounded bulls and have ridiculous requirements like flying them to stay at your resort for a few days at your expense). IPIX also charges a licensing fee for every image

I think you'd need something else for jewellry though, as you'd need the the camera to rotate around the object, not the other way around.

[moebius]

If you want to do 3d modelling of objects you can scan or shoot three or more images of the same object, import them into 3d model applications like Bryce and build from there.

There are more expensive versions of software out there that do the same, but if price is a consideration you probably don't want to hear the numbers.

Bryce does a pretty reasonable job. From a speed and price comparison point of view you could also put such jewellry on a clear surface and shoot as an movie in macro mode. Modelling apps can also render from certain formats, but it takes additional software.

;0)

[LivinLOS]

Thinking about it I can imagine you could make some type of 360 degree on a single plane by rotation and morphing many images into each other via a SW plug in, I dont know if it has been done but it could be.. To then do it over every 360 plane seems almost impossible to me, the amount of images needed would be enormous.

[udon]

http://www.virtualproperties.com/noipix/noipix.html

It looks like Ipix are trying to bully competitors.

For my use I'd go for QTVR, loads of tutorials available.

Another use for my G5.....

Thanks for the links folks.

[ChiangMaiThai]

It is like this, but the camera goes around the object instead of just turning on its own axis. I don't have a link, but I think I've sen it done for Sony or Pentax digital cameras on the web. You have the picture and then a left and a right arrow underneath. It appears that you are moving around the camera. Not sure if this is the same technology that allows for the cityscapes... If anyone knows for sure, I'm interested...

CMT do you mean like this?

I too, would like to know how it's done.

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

[autonomous_unit]

There used to be a very nice share-ware or open source package (I don't remember the licensing, exactly) called "Panotools" or something very close to that.

It algorithmically stitches together panoramic pictures taken by a regular camera, including extensive support to help correct for errors due to improper camera alighment. With careful work and a tripod, you can make flawless 360 degree panoramas without a special lens. It lets you interactively select key points on pairs of images to tell it how they overlap, and it then attempts to find the optimal math to merge everything. Its interface is not for the faint of heart, but its results can be breathtaking.

The "reverse" panorama of circling around an object turns out to be a degenerate case of the same mapping problem, as I recall. Rather than trying to rotate a camera to take a set of pictures with the focal-point staying in exactly one spot in space, you want to sweep the camera around with the focal point remaining on a circle and the image centered at the center of the picture.

There are really three steps here:

1) take pictures with the correct geometric alignment

2) use software to stitch the images into one continuous image map

3) use some viewer interactively project the map into a more familiar view

The viewer is important, since you would need something to distribute from your website. I have no idea what licensing issues there are here; I don't know if panotools has any support for this.

The other trick is to get color-balance and exposure to match for all pictures in a set. The panoramic mode on digital cameras does this by fixing those settings on the first image and then only allowing you to adjust the framing and focus on subsequent images. The PC-based software does the actual stitching and tries to be easier, more automated than panotools.

Other things you can do with the map besides viewing it interactively are to print a mosaic to plaster onto a globe, view directly like one of those whole-earth composites of satellite imagery, project into a cylindrical mode etc.

[autonomous_unit]

I forgot to add: making a full spherical map is the same problem as the limited "panoramic horizon", just with the camera rotating in all directions (looking outward) or around a sphere (looking inward) until enough images are taken to cover all points on the map. More pictures means that the overlapping edges can be discarded and there is less distortion/blur due to optical problems at the periphery of the camera's images. I've never tried to make one of these.

A typical outdoor panorama is just the pictures covering a 360 degree circle with maybe +/- 20 degrees from the horizon (whatever the field of view of a single image turns out to be w/ the chosen lens). A typical night-sky "hemisphere" would of course be a 360 degree circle with 180 degree field of view above the horizon and none below.

[Crushdepth]

Panorama tools photoshop plugin.

[aqua4]

Oddly enough I did offer the service to Estate Agents in Pattaya about 2 years ago. Nobody was interested. I thought it was a great idea. You could do a virtual tour of a house.

Cost wise it was reasonable, it would take about 10 minutes to do a room. The only problem was that I had to do the website as well as it used a java backend to display the images. The software listed uses Flash or Real Player. I never really fancied them as people need to download them, whereas java was already in just about eveyones machine.

No special lens was needed to do the panaromic views, just a tripod.

[LivinLOS]

So has anyone found any link of a site that display products with a 360 degree drag view around the product ??

I am thinking this is a very tough task and thats only in one plane not all around drag in 3 dimensions..

[autonomous_unit]

So has anyone found any link of a site that display products with a 360 degree drag view around the product ??

I am thinking this is a very tough task and thats only in one plane not all around drag in 3 dimensions..

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

Check out http://webuser.fh-furtwangen.de/~dersch/PTVJ/helpers.html for a quick explanation of how this works. There are also tools linked from this site which might be useful.

You basically maintain a 2D array of images with background and/or alpha mask, and these represent the object from different yaw/pitch coordinates. To view it, you have to morph between adjacent images in the array. The Apple QuickTime VR viewer can do this, and I think I've seen that on an automobile manufacturer's website before.

[ChiangMaiThai]

http://consumer.usa.canon.com/ir/controlle...5&modelid=11158

Click on 360 view. If you're on dial up it might take awhile. But this is exactly what I am talking about. Pretty cool. I have a feeling its real pricy to do, but anyone know for sure?

[tingtongmaak]

I'm looking for someone in Thailand who does digital photography for products showcased on a website- in this case jewelry. You see this kind of thing on higher end websites where you can 'move' around a product. Does anyone have any further info regarding someone in Thailand capable of this? Does this require anything special for the website iteself?

Glypt a Samui/Bangkok company can do it. http://www.glypt.com/360-photography

[GmB]

Quick time VR Objects

http://developer.apple.com/documentation/Q..._section_5.html

Edited February 14, 2009 by GmB

[GungaDin]

CMT waited 4 years for that reply, I hope he's still around.

[sniffdog]

360 degrees pornography ...? wow, I got too excited too soon.