Panoramic images are always fun to look at; but, they aren’t always fun to produce. Lining up images, stitching them together, getting them to match – it can be a hassle. Or, you could just go the Galileo route and things will be infinitely easier.
Galileo is a small device, about as big as two hockey pucks stacked atop each other. In the rotatable top section, there is a groove, just made to snugly hold your iPhone. The bottom section holds a rechargeable battery, powered by a micro USB cord.
There are two models available – the 30 pin model for iPhones 3GS, 4 and 4S as well as iPod Touch 4th generation, and the Bluetooth model which adds support for iPhones 5, 5C and 5S. Plug in your iPhone, load an appropriate app , and watch your phone do magic with panoramic or time-lapse images.
Two of my favorite apps for photographers are DMD Panorama and TimeLapse .
DMD Panorama (available for 30-pin units only)
This has got to be the quickest way to get quality panoramas. Simply insert your iPhone in Galileo and load the Dermandar DMD Panorama app. Level your tripod or place on a table top and press “Start.” The phone will spin in the Galileo and in about 27 seconds, it has recorded all the frames for a panorama. Processing takes another 10 to 15 seconds and presto – a viewable panorama on your phone.
From here, you can share via a number of ways – Twitter, Facebook, email, save to your camera roll or upload to the Dermandar website, where you can get an interactive link to email or embed.
Here’s an example of the standard resolution image, shot on a really snowy day in two versions: the standard flat jpeg image and the interactive pano.
See the flat jpeg image here: http://dbhas.info/19RA4sR
See the video example here: http://pnr.ma/dDligL
There’s an in-app purchase ($1.99) available for the HD Unlimited option which gives you 9MB files instead of the conventional 2MB files. On an iPhone4S, that equates to an image 17,099 x 2,500 pixels in size.
As a bonus, you can also use the app in a hand-held mode. The accuracy and smoothness doesn’t equal the results of using the Galileo, but it’s great if you are somewhere and you didn’t pack your Galileo.
TimeLapse
TimeLapse is my other favorite and I’m just getting started thinking about shots I can do with this app. When mounted in the Galileo, it allows automated panoramic photography with both pan and tilt applications. This means that not only can you grab those beautiful passing cloud shots, but you can also pan the field of view and tilt upwards as you rotate the Galileo. Being automated, the results are far better than anything you could handhold.
Variables that you can set include the amount of time you wish to record (days, hours or minutes), and the final length of your video (in minutes and seconds.) With the Galileo, you can also specify precise degrees of rotation and tilt as well. Finally, select a piece of music from your iTunes library and the resultant video will have musical accompaniment as well.
See the video example here: http://vimeo.com/77616669
Galileo
These are just a few of the apps available to work with Galileo. More are available now and more are in the pipeline. Check it out – it’s not only fun, it’s quite practical. See more on their website at http://motrr.com/ .
Doug Bardwell , based in Cleveland, OH, writes about interesting new travel technology topics, across the country and around the world at DougBardwell.com . Feel free to drop him a line at travel.dougbardwell@gmail.com with suggestions for future products to be reviewed. If you've ever used one of the products he's reviewed, please leave your thoughts in the comment box below. To get his stories delivered to your inbox, click the RSS feed or the "Subscribe" button above or follow him on Facebook , Twitter, LinkedIn and Google+ . To read Doug’s disclosure notice, click here .
via Examiner National Edition Gadgets & Tech Channel Articles http://www.examiner.com/article/the-world-spins-around-galileo?cid=roadrunner