Drop zone ariel view database....

[LongWayToFall 0]

The thread about a TV show going to different drop zones with amazing scenery got me thinking. How hard is it to take a bunch of rapid pictures, and combine them to make a full 360 degree view, that you can pan with your mouse? I realize that in freefall the point at which you take the pictures is going to be changing, but it would be close enough, right?

It would sorta be like this, but also allow you to pan downwards to check out the LZ.

http://www.panoramas.dk/Fullscreen2/Full22.html

This could be a good learning tool when traveling to different DZs, and not to mention pretty cool to check out beforehand.

[knic 0]

This would be awesome to show some of my no-jumping friends what I see in freefall. It's hard to explain to them why I jump, this may help.

- Knic

[quade 4]

Special lenses are available to do full pans in a single shot.

quade -
The World's Most Boring Skydiver

[madhatter 0]

Nice thread in the vidiot forum with examples here

A VERY MERRY UNBIRTHDAY TO YOU!!!
D.S # 125

[LongWayToFall 0]

Nice! they have a couple good skydiving ones. The one under canopy has a description further down the page and says they were at 10,000 ft, so it is not very helpful for checking out the dz/lz but still a sweet photo for sure. It would be cool if we could get more of these. Thanks for the link!

[theonlyski 8]

Ive got software that can take still shots and make them into a 360 panoramic, as long as they all overlap one another. It came packaged with my CoolPix P4 camera.

"I may be a dirty pirate hooker...but I'm not about to go stand on the corner." iluvtofly
DPH -7, TDS 578, Muff 5153, SCR 14890
I'm an asshole, and I approve this message

[LloydDobbler 2]

Quote

Ive got software that can take still shots and make them into a 360 panoramic, as long as they all overlap one another. It came packaged with my CoolPix P4 camera.

Unfortunately, that won't quite work for this purpose.

Since the photographer will presumably be in motion (under canopy, out the door of the aircraft), the perspective will shift between each shot. So the stitching won't sync up (esp. given how long it would take to snap that many overlapping shots).

For this sort of in-motion panorama, you need a mega-specialized panoramic camera.


Or you could conceivably just drop the Google StreetView car out of the back of a Skyvan.

Signatures are the new black.

[theonlyski 8]

Quote

Quote

Ive got software that can take still shots and make them into a 360 panoramic, as long as they all overlap one another. It came packaged with my CoolPix P4 camera.

Unfortunately, that won't quite work for this purpose.

Since the photographer will presumably be in motion (under canopy, out the door of the aircraft), the perspective will shift between each shot. So the stitching won't sync up (esp. given how long it would take to snap that many overlapping shots).

For this sort of in-motion panorama, you need a mega-specialized panoramic camera.


Or you could conceivably just drop the Google StreetView car out of the back of a Skyvan.

It would stitch the pictures together, as long as there are 3 points that match up on 2 intersecting pictures..

But I get your point

"I may be a dirty pirate hooker...but I'm not about to go stand on the corner." iluvtofly
DPH -7, TDS 578, Muff 5153, SCR 14890
I'm an asshole, and I approve this message

[LloydDobbler 2]

Quote

It would stitch the pictures together, as long as there are 3 points that match up on 2 intersecting pictures..

But I get your point

Might be worth trying it to see how big the skew is. If you play around with it, let us know. (But do a high hop & pop, if you're going to be snapping shots with a point & shoot, FYI).

(My vote's still on the Google Van.)

Signatures are the new black.

[theonlyski 8]

Sure, once I get back stateside, current and remember to take a camera on a jump, Ill get right on that

"I may be a dirty pirate hooker...but I'm not about to go stand on the corner." iluvtofly
DPH -7, TDS 578, Muff 5153, SCR 14890
I'm an asshole, and I approve this message

[LongWayToFall 0]

Ha! Stupid google van. well what if you were just belly flying, and set a rapid fire on your camera and did a 360 looking straight out, and then another while looking mostly downwards? That should cover it, and hopefully won't be skewed because of the altitude loss.