by Alex Nicoll
Photosynth is an app on iOS and Windows phones that allows you to make panoramas of any sort by stitching together photos. Why do I need this if my phone already has a panorama function you might be wondering? This app creates 3D representation of sights by having you move your device so that your camera covers every part of what you are seeing. This app can capture an entire mountain view, interior of a monument, or sunset on the beach. On a recent trip to Prague, I found that the app was especially good for capturing the dome of a church I visited. Instead of a flat representation, the photo mimicked the actual curves of the dome, providing realism that I had never seen from my camera before.
Photosynth has its own social aspect, where users can upload their panoramas as interactive, zoomable photographs for anyone with the app to view (Check them out here). The pictures also can be exported as normal photo files. These files are as high-quality as your device’s camera can create, but are not interactive and therefore not as three-dimensional as they are in the app. This is not the app’s problem so much as the app showing the problem with normal, two-dimensional photographs. The best part, even better than catching every detail in the Parthenon, is that the app is free. If you find yourself coming back from your travels, looking at your photos, and thinking “That’s not what that looked like in real life!” then this app may bring you just a little bit closer. A useful, user-friendly photo-stitching app with the best price of all? Count me in.
