Check out this 195-gigapixel image of Shanghai

[midian182]

Forward-looking: It’s long been said that smartphones are killing off the need for traditional cameras, but we’re unlikely to see a handset that can create a 195-gigapixel photo anytime soon. A panoramic image of this size was made by a Chinese company and is reportedly the world’s third-biggest photo and Asia’s largest.

The image is the work of a company called Jingkun Technology, or Bigpixel Technology Corporation. It’s obviously a little too large to put here, but you can explore it on the company’s website. The firm recently said over 8 million people had visited the site, though that number will be a lot higher by now.

The panorama was created from a series of photos taken from the Oriental Pearl Tower in Shanghai over the course of several months. These were then put together using image-stitching technology to come up with the final piece.

Bigpixel says their photos are 2000 times more precise than those captured by consumer-level cameras. Despite being taken from so high in the air, you can zoom right down to street level and even see the expression on pedestrians’ faces.

Zooming example...

A megapixel is one million pixels. While there is more to the quality of a photo than just having the highest MP count, smartphone companies are readying devices that can capture 48-megapixel shots, which contain 48 million pixels. A gigapixel is one billion pixels, so this image contains an amazing 195 billion pixels.

With China’s reputation for monitoring its citizens, there are already concerns over how this technology has the potential to be misused—not just in China, but around the world.

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https://www.techspot.com/news/77995-check-out-195-gigapixel-image-shanghai.html

 

[toooooot]

I bet the program that goes with this video but not shown in the news also has tags on each person in photo with his or her name age hobbies jobs and level of danger toward Chinese government.
Well if not, Chinese government would ask to give them exactly that.

 

[captaincranky]

I bet the program that goes with this video but not shown in the news also has tags on each person in photo with his or her name age hobbies jobs and level of danger toward Chinese government.
Well if not, Chinese government would ask to give them exactly that.

OK look, this image was created over a period of months, then stitched together using panorama software.

In short, all this hysteria over Chinese government surveillance attached to this accomplishment, is completely unwarranted. Whomever's picture was in the composite photo is most likely long gone, unless of course they were in the last couple of exposures, and even that's a monumental stretch. Not to mention a 195 gigabyte sensor, or a synchronized array of smaller sensors totaling 195 GB, would be necessary for that shot in a single capture.

Given current technology, you would need lenses yards in diameter to capture that much detail in a single exposure.

The bottom line is, the Chinese people have a whole lot more to worry about with Google's new search engine, and the rapid proliferation of high def traffic cameras on just about every corner, than that which is basically a publicity stunt by the company who created it..

 

[toooooot]

OK look, this image was created over a period of months, then stitched together using panorama software.

In short, al this hysteria over Chines government surveillance attached to this accomplishment, is completely unwarranted. Whomever's picture was in the composite photo is most likely long gone, unless of course they were in the last couple of exposures, and even that's a monumental stretch. Not to mention a 195 gigabyte sensor, or a synchronized array of smaller sensors totaling 195 GB, would be necessary for that shot in a single capture.

Given current technology, you would need lenses yards in diameter to capture that much detail in a single exposure.

The bottom line is, the Chinese people have a whole lot more to worry about with Google's new search engine, and the rapid proliferation of high def traffic cameras on just about every corner, than that which is basically a publicity stunt by the company who created it..

China liked your post, they are now deciding if they should hire you to make this technology better and its citizen more "secure."

 

[captaincranky]

China liked your post, they are now deciding if they should hire you to make this technology better and its citizen more "secure."

You should probably talk to someone about your paranoid fantasies, they're staring to overtake your sense of reason.

Or in the spirit of the holidays, why should I wish for a white Christmas, when I have all the snowflakes I can handle right here. Merry Christmas..... (or not).

 

[toooooot]

You should probably talk to someone about your paranoid fantasies, they're staring to overtake your sense of reason.

Or in the spirit of the holidays, why should I wish for a white Christmas, when I have all the snowflakes I can handle right here. Merry Christmas..... (or not).

Happy Saturnalia to you too my friend

 

[captaincranky]

Happy Saturnalia to you too my friend

Gracias tibi!

 

[Axle Grease]

Those images are amazing. There's still lots of poverty in china's cities. You can zoom in on many high-rises to reveal that they are slummy apartment complexes.

 

[koblongata]

On a clear day.

 

[captaincranky]

Those images are amazing. There's still lots of poverty in china's cities. You can zoom in on many high-rises to reveal that they are slummy apartment complexes.

If you've ever watched the show, "Blue Bloods" (CBS 10:00 PM EST), it's filmed in NYC. They find the most horrifying slums and high rises for sets. Some places in that city could probably give Shainghai a run for its squalor.

The company that did the photography is probably based in Shainghai. You would think that Hong Kong would be a better subject, it was, (not sure if it still), the showplace city in all of China.

Although, with that said, I think that Shainghai likely has the most new growth, and hence the fanciest new skyscrapers

 

[ross01]

I bet the program that goes with this video but not shown in the news also has tags on each person in photo with his or her name age hobbies jobs and level of danger toward Chinese government.
Well if not, Chinese government would ask to give them exactly that.

they use cameras that are 1 billion times weaker to tag each person so why would the government waste time on this camera when they have capable cameras that already do the job?????????????????

 

[captaincranky]

they use cameras that are 1 billion times weaker to tag each person so why would the government waste time on this camera when they have capable cameras that already do the job?????????????????

The only point I can see to this concept is as a publicity stunt. It has absolutely no intelligence value, since all the information could be many months old. If information isn't immediate, it's just about worthless from an intelligence standpoint. So and so, talked to so and so 5 months ago, but we don't know what was said, is well past useless.

All it is, would be the world's most highly detailed travel poster, pure and simple.

Some of those who have commented on this, seem to have completely missed the ramifications of this being a massive panorama, being stitched together over a period of months, created from only god knows how many individual exposures..

 

[nismo91]

Just travelled to Shanghai in August, and I stayed just a station from Luziazui. this picture is way sharper than what you eyes can see (even on the highest building in SH) and also look at how clear this photo is. considering when I'm there the sky was never clear, just foggy or cloudy.

anyway kudos for them to pull off this piece of art. I'd imagine someone would print this giant image into a wall and still not lose details.

there's also picture of HongKong which I've been there too, but this one is way more detailed.