Easy Deep Zoom Panoramas with Microsoft’s ICE

Microsoft Research have produced a great panorama application that requires almost no input at all! It’s called Microsoft Image Composite Editor (ICE).

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Now there are several programs out there that will do panoramas and you probably got one with your camera. However what is really great with this is the stitching algorithm seems very good and best of all is the very easy export to Deep Zoom Tileset!

(For more info on Deep Zoom see http://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/library/cc645050(VS.95).aspx or for the very good Deep Zoom Composer application for creating them go to http://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/library/dd409068.aspx)

It can also export in a new format called HD View.

(For information on this tool and plug-in see http://research.microsoft.com/en-us/um/redmond/groups/IVM/HDView/HDcreate.htm.)

You just add your images and the rest is pretty much done for you. I have quickly tried it a on a couple of panorama I took while on holiday in Spain. These are the out the box Deep Zooms and took no other intervention from me. 5 minutes and done.

This one was taken on a tripod using a Nikon D300. 15 Images.

Click to see Deep Zoom Panorama of the Villa

and this using a compact Panasonic DMC-FT1 camera hand held, but using the Panorama help function. 7 Images.

Click to see Deep Zoom Panorama of Andalucia

You can get and download ICE for free at http://research.microsoft.com/en-us/um/redmond/groups/ivm/ICE/

 

 

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