Microsoft Photosynth Pics Get Video-Like Update

We live in a three-dimensional world, so why not experience the Web in the same way? You can with Microsoft's latest update to its Photosynth technology, which adds a video-like quality to photos that are uploaded to the service.

Previous iterations of Photosynth have allowed users to take a collection of regular photographs and reconstruct them in a 3D environment, resulting in images known as synths.

New synths allow you to spin around an object (spin), put yourself in the center and look in every direction (panorama), follow a path toward a destination (walk), or slide across a scene (wall). It has a Google Street View-like quality, but with less lag time.

"The new synths are as smooth as a Steadicam video, but they're ultra-resolution and completely interactive," Microsoft said in a blog post.

The "Flight to Everest," for example, soars over the world's sixth highest mountain in a compilation of 132 photos that meld together to create a compelling 3D trip over the snow-capped peaks, each frame containing 60 megapixels.

Or take a spin around the Florence Baptistery in Italy, which was built out of 53 photos and provides a full 360-degree look at the building's architecture.

Once opened, the synths automatically begin playing on a repetitive loop. But for those who suffer motion sickness, Microsoft has included a pause button in the bottom right corner of the screen. Stop the video and take the tour at your own pace by clicking and dragging with your mouse; double tap to zoom in for more detail.

"Not everybody can rig a high altitude helicopter with an array of full frame cameras like [American mountaineer and filmmaker] David Breashears," Microsoft said. But anyone can make a synth.

"It brings a completely new perspective to the mountain" Breashears told Microsoft. "I've never seen anything as smooth and glorious as the new Photosynth of my Everest flight. It's like a video, but you can stop on any frame and zoom in."

Users can watch the photographer's path by typing "m" (for map) into the viewer; see the 3D-generated model by pressing "c" (for camera), then use your mouse wheel to zoom out.

"The new Photosynth allows you to capture amazing places and objects, share them with friends, and embed them in blogs and websites," Redmond said.

Check out new synths on photosynth.net/preview and then sign up to create your own.

Microsoft first previewed Photosynth at its 2006 financial analyst meeting, several months after it acquired Seattle-based Seadragon Software, which developed technology to display large images on computers and handheld devices. Microsoft later previewed a more in-depth look at the TED conference before its release in 2008. In 2011, it arrived on iOS.