It's all about the math

Damian Koh | May 05, 2006

We're really getting tired of all the math but an interesting thought came up when it was reported that Michael Cohen, a scientist at Microsoft Research, tried this summer to create a photo with 10 billion pixels. Do we even have 10 billion hairs on our body?

It's a little hard to swallow, but according to Cohen, you'll need at least 1,000 10-megapixel frames to form a 10-gigapixel picture. We're speculating these images would be used for commercial purposes which require Internet mapping and high-resolution photography services. Otherwise, the end picture aims at providing the user with a more familiar angle view compared with rooftop shots taken by satellites.

"The technique involves taking several hundred pictures with a standard digital camera, stitching the photos together and then compensating for changes in the position of the sun, the movement of clouds and other environmental factors during the time it took to take all of the photos", wrote Michael Kanellos from CNET News.com

You can even go one step further by weaving several gigapixel shots captured from different angles to create a three-dimensional photograph. Move aside, Google Earth.

Now before you decide to plonk the cash for Casio's 10.1-megapixel Exilim EX-Z1000, you may also want to know that pictures are taken with the camera mounted on a motorized rig and a computer controls the angle of the rig and the shooter.

Microsoft pictures a 10-gigapixel photo.