Take Gigapixel Images With The Gigapan Imager

A lot of you might have heard of ultra-high resolution gigapixel photography and the Gigapxl Project. Gigapixel images are composed of a minimum of one billion pixels, and the amount of detail in each photograph can be mind-boggling.

So far, the technology has been out of bounds for the average consumer, as it was simply too expensive to buy such a camera system. Well, not anymore. The Gigapan site (in association with Charmed Labs) is offering a ‘Gigapan Imager’, which allows you to take high resolution photographs with a standard digital camera. The images can later be stitched together to create gigapixel panoramas.

Snip from the site:

The Gigapan imager (pictured) can capture incredibly high-resolutionGigapan Imager Gixapixel Photo System panoramic images with a standard consumer digital camera. It accomplishes this by precisely manipulating the camera’s pan and tilt gaze with precision motors while taking many, possibly hundreds of pictures.

The pictures are then digitally "stitched" together with special software to create a seamless panoramic image. The results can be amazing–images with incredible detail, clarity and billions of pixels.

The introductory price for the system is an amazing $279. Don’t get too excited though. You still have to apply for the public beta program by October 19, and then be willing to spend a lot of time shooting panoramic images.

You can apply here, for the beta program at Charmed Labs. Also, visit the Gigapan site to check out some brilliant gigapixel images, and a downloadable Google Earth layer..