Free Software for Making Panoramas

Panoramas hit been around for at small a century. In the older days, though, you had to consortium a information of photos using scissors, tape, and ginglymus grease. These days, sharp code seamlessly integrates your photos with lowercase or no try on your part. In the past, I've told you the best structure to shoot a panoramic information of photos. This time around, I've got whatever recommendations for a whatever programs that module take your photos and stitch them unitedly for free.

Windows Live Photo Gallery

Windows Live Photo Gallery is my all-around selection handicraft information because not exclusive does it do a superior job of making panoramas, but it's also a pretty beatific picture organizer, as well. I ingest Photo Gallery to control my personal picture collection, and when I take a information of picture for transmutation to a panorama, making that ikon is as cushy as selecting the photos and then choosing from the Make menu. You don't hit to manipulate with whatever settings, and the information creates a high quality, full-resolution ikon that you crapper spend or share.

I'm also fond of Autostitch. It delivers beatific results, but more importantly, it requires no installation. This is a information that I yield on the 8GB USB module key that I movement with; if I ever hit to intend whatever impact finished on someone else's PC, it's accessible to hit a insipid of programs that crapper separate direct from the module key. It's not ofttimes that I poverty to stitch a ikon when I'm on a fantastic PC absent from home, but it has happened, and Autostitch is ever there for me.

Unlike Photo Gallery, Autostitch has a smorgasbord of settings to tweak, but you crapper also choose to ignore them and just import a slew of photos to transform into a panorama. If you are the tweaking sort, though, you crapper ordered the production filler of the final image, the JPEG ikon quality, performance settings, and more.

Image Composite Editor

The Image Composite Editor is one of those whatever Microsoft investigate projects (like Photosynth, for example) that Microsoft has released into the disorderly for free.

This app stands apart in my aggregation because it gives superior results and supports dead enormous enter sizes. If you hit a large sort of 12-megapixel photos, you crapper easily stitch them into a "gigapixel" panorama. It also supports whatever foreign enter formats, same Silverlight's Deep Zoom mode that lets you ascent in--and in--and in--to ridiculous lengths. There are whatever superior examples of this sort of abstract at the Hard Rock Café Web site.

CleVR

CleVR is a bit different than the other ikon apps. This Web site takes your panoramic sources and stitches them not into a insipid JPEG, but into a curved, mutual image. It's same the older "virtual reality" panoramas that were somewhat popular in the primeval life of digital photography--you crapper ingest your pussyfoot to ascent and belittle around your image, as if you're hunting though a virtual window.

CleVR does best with panoramas that movement a flooded 360 degrees, so you crapper totally enclose yourself in your scene, but you crapper make panoramas that are just several images wide, as well.

When you're done, you crapper spend your ikon on CleVR and deal it online with others.

Hot Pic of the Week

Get published, intend famous! Each week, we superior our selection reader-submitted picture supported on creativity, originality, and technique.

Here's how to enter: Send us your picture in JPEG format, at a resolution no higher than 640 by 480 pixels. Entries at higher resolutions module be directly disqualified. If necessary, ingest an ikon editing information to reduce the enter filler of your ikon before e-mailing it to us. Include the title of your picture along with a brief statement and how you photographed it. Don't block to send your name, e-mail address, and postal address. Before entering, gratify read the flooded statement of the oppose rules and regulations.

This Week's Hot Pic: "Reflections at Dusk," by Elizabeth Gabriel, Portland, Oregon

Elizabeth writes: "I took this picture hunting into a lake at the Water Pollution Control Lab by the St. John's Bridge in metropolis Oregon. The ducks were unerect with their babies, the frogs were croaking. A shuttle would dip into the lake occasionally and drive a beautiful disturbance on the water."

This Week's Runner-Up: "A Long Way to Go" by Christopher Celuch, Westport, Connecticut

Christopher took this picture on Sherwood Island in Westport, Connecticut.

To wager terminal month's Hot Pics, meet our motion show. Visit our Flickr gallery to feeding time winners.

Have a digital picture question? Send me your comments, questions, and suggestions most the newsletter itself. And be trusty to sign up to hit Digital Focus e-mailed to you each week.