Sorry for the late entries. Here is what is going on so far.
I have completed the Southeastern Community College school, including the building that is behind it. Before I had turned in my first part of the school to Google, I added a building that the school is constructing on that will update the model to current standards.
I added a vacant building on the list for two reasons: I want to see if someone would be interested in buying it since its on Google Earth and that it was a very easy model to create.
My next project is to work on this building before the fire had destroyed it.
I've been having problems using the Gigapan stitching software that it came with the Epic 100. It freezes at 25% and no matter if I used either my laptop or desktop computer, it would still freeze at 25%. As for the Microsoft ICE, it freezes and crashes at 75%.
I'm attempting to use Microsoft Live Photo Gallery to make this work right.
So I tested the fairly new Gigapan and I found some interesting and shocking things about in using it.
Pros:
-Takes pictures perfectly
-Lines up images nicely
-Semi easy to use
Cons:
-Drains the 6 AA batteries in about an hour and a half
The Gigapan toke some awesome photos in a perfect alignment. Once you get use to using it or obtaining a manual online for further instructions, you will have a decent panorama image in no time. What's useful with this device is that it has a robotic arm attachment that can be set up to snap the photos for you. Also, there is a robotic turning device that is used to turn the device from the positions that you manually set. You can even pause the device in case of cars or people walking by in the path of the camera. If a picture was taken or wasn't taken that wasn't needed, you can pause the device and go back to the last position that it messed up on and repeat the picture step.
The downside to this device is that it drains the batteries like crazy. It's best to either have more than 3 pairs of 6 AA batteries to last you for more than 3 hours worth. Also, because of the settings your camera requires, depending on the battery life, it would drain in about an hour and a half at the most. The draining of the battery could be the result because I kept having some problems setting it up or was testing some things out.
Most of the time it displays that it will take a total of 19,000+ or so images to do a single panorama. This can be fixed by setting up the Gigapans position. You would have to do this every time you want to take a panorama in a different location of position or else it will end up with a crap load of images.
In conclusion, its a good device, but if you are willing to put up extra money for the Gigapan Epic Pro, it will save the battery hassle by having only 1 battery that it comes with and you can either plug and use it or take it out and charge it separately.
The results so far from the test of the Gigapan Epic 100 is marvelous! Unfortunately it's a bit too late now to start a complete panorama sequence due to the lack of time of day and the batteries that I put in are low and that I need to go to the store to pick up rechargeable batteries and a charger to go with it.
I bought a video and picture camera a while back, including a stand for them both. In addition, I'm receiving a GigaPan 100 in the mail tomorrow to help improve the picture taking process.
