Setting Up Gigapan by cogdogblog
posted 22 Jun ’08, 8.37pm MDT PST on flickr
I set out today to give a test ride to a new camera device, the GigaPan, a computer controlled camera mount designed to make large detailed images of landscapes and such.
However, it;s a long story, but I am without my spare battery and charger for my Cabon Powershot (left it in some hotel on the east coast), so I did not have juice for a panorama.
This spot is on the edge of the Mogollon Rim looking south over the town of Pine, Arizona.
I will return when I have juice!
I am fairly sure I would lose my own head were it not attached. Sometime earlier this year, I lost the battery charger that came with my Canon SD800, and had a generic one purchased at Best Buy (I had ordered an original Canon one, but accidentally gave my PO Box instead of my street address, and it got lost on the UPS delivery machine when I was away on travel).
Well sometime during my 2 week east coast trip, I left my spare battery and my charger in one of the 4 hotels I was at. So when I went out to test this Gigapan gizmo, I knew the batter was below 20%, and that last bit went fast (burned during the set up portion).
So on order for delivery is my 3rd charger and battery 😉
I was really hoping to be able to share my first Gigapan image- I was introduced to this by Keene Haywood from UT Austin who showed me the stunning images and annotation zooms you can do with the online panoramas (check out http://www.gigapan.org/ ) and he made some special arrangements to get me one of the last ones from their beta, and he brought it to New Jersey to get it to me.
So although the camera failed, I did enjoy watching how the GigaPan rig did move and snap the shutter, just like a good little robot.
With this and the Panoramio site I stumbled across yesterday, I am very interested in this process of photography connected to places.
Hopefully, with a new battery (and a fully charged spare, plus i ordered an 8 Gb SDHC card for maximum storage), I’ll have images in a few days.
I’m officially jealous. I’ve been watching this cool little piece of machinery for a few months now and think it’s going to be a great tool. I can’t wait to see what you do with it.