Well, Microsoft has zapped us again with another übercool photo gizmo. It’s called Photozoom.

You have to get a Windows Live logon to make Photozooms, but anybody can then view them over the web.

Please note that the first time you try to view one, you may have to install Microsoft Silverlight (Microsoft’s super-clone of Adobe Flash). If none of this means beans to you, don’t sweat it. Just click to install Silverlight, if you like. I seriously doubt that it will cause your computer any discomfort. You may as well go ahead and do it, because more and more juicy things are going to be showing up on the web that require the Silverlight thingamabob.

This morning I walked out in the street and took this shot. I then went to the Photozoom site and created an account (no funny business here – just give it a name). I then made an ‘album’ of one photo and gave it a name. Then I uploaded the photo. They even give you the code you need to imbed it in your blog or website as I have done here. It’s all so easy that I was a bit dumbfounded. I kept thinking, “Something’s not right here. This is going too well.”

Here is what it looks like:
The controls are very intuitive. Click and drag on the image to move around. Use your mouse wheel to zoom in and out. Try the little button that says “Full Screen Mode” when you mouse over it. It’s incredible!According to the speed of your connection, you may have to wait a few seconds for the image to clear and become sharp. When zooming, you’ll eventually come up against the limits of my camera to form a sharp image on only a few pixels.I’ve heard some people say that the Windows Live thing is not very interesting, because there’s not much there. I beg to differ. If you dig around there is some amazing stuff. I showed you Photosynth a while ago – now Photozoom. What next?

Just keep it coming.

Related posts:

1. Microsoft PhotoZoom is Now DeepZoom Microsoft Photozoom is now Silverlight Deepzoom. Read this for a nerdy treat....
2. New Panoramas A couple of days ago it was a misty, cold morning. Low clouds were drifting slowly over the Finnisterre Mountains across Astrolabe Bay from Madang. I got this panorama on the way to the office. Madang residents and those who have lived here will find this scene very familiar: I...
3. Giant Green Fly Have a look at a little green fly through the magic of Microsoft Photozoom. Brought to you by author and photographer Jan Messersmith of Madang, Papua New Guinea....
4. Today’s Invertebrates Go for a stroll through author and photographer Jan Messersmith's garden. Have a look at some spiders and a horny caterpillar. Discover the Curry Tree. Seven photographs and text....

This entry was posted on Friday, October 31st, 2008 at 12:20 and is filed under Photography Tricks. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.