Two of my favorite teams here at Microsoft have teamed up to deliver an exciting new way to explore panoramic photos: Microsoft Research Image Composite Editor and Photosynth. You can now create stitched panoramas in Image Composite Editor (ICE) which can be uploaded to Photosynth to get ‘buttery smooth gigapixel panoramas’ (using Silverlight, my new team -- bonus).

The best part is it’s wickedly simple…

1. Drag and drop your photos into Image Compositor Editor.
2. Click the Publish to Photosynth button.

Click on the image below or here to be taken to a gallery of panoramas created with this new feature.

Here is my result on the Photosynth site: http://photosynth.net/view.aspx?cid=767dcbda-58fc-4577-9f1c-40a33fe997a0

For the photography buffs here are the details: Image taken near the Rim Village Visitors Center and historic Crater Lake Lodge this image is a composite panorama of 53 images. | Equipment Used: Canon 5D Mark II Camera | Canon EF 24-105mm Lens | Manfrotto 055XPROB Tripod | Manfrotto 804RC2 Pan Tilt Head | Canon TC-80N3 Remote Shutter Release. Image Details: ISO = 100 | Aperture = f/18 | Exposure = 1/125 | Focal Length = 24mm.

I’ve been playing around with a new toy for the past couple of days. After shooting with a Canon EOS 10D for just over 5 years I’ve upgraded to the new Canon EOS 5D Mark II in the kit along with the Canon EF 24-105mm f/4L IS USM lens.

Some folks love to see the unboxing so, steeling myself to resist the urge to quickly get everything unwrapped, I methodically took pictures each step of the way. This seems a bit titillating in a geeky sort of way, but family safe nonetheless. ;)

The box.

Flaps open with the camera registration card on top left and the lens registration card in the cardboard tray, top right.

Here I’ve pulled out the registration cards and cardboard tray. Lens and accessories are in the white inner box on the left, camera on the right.

Lift up the flap and pull out the camera body shrouded in bubble wrap. (The Canon 10D packaging had much more protection around the camera body in form fitting styrofoam end caps which placed much more ‘dead air’ between the body and the box.)

After pulling off the bubble wrap and the body is further protected from dust and scratches by a protective layer of unwoven fabric.

The body revealed – looks great, and instantly recognize it will feel very, very similar to the 10D in my hands.

Beside the inner box containing the camera body are the manuals and two of the three software discs (more on these resources later).

The inner box containing the lens and other accesories.

The accessories in their shrink wrap.

Accessories out of the shrink wrap, clockwise from the left: USB cable, combination audio + video cable, charger, battery and strap.

Revealing the lens in protective wrap and foam end caps.

Lens unwrapped: hood, lens, leather lens case. The case was a pleasant surprise and will come in handy as additional protection when storing the lens in the camera bag. It doesn’t have any padding though so won’t be appropriate for storage otherwise (like in luggage or loaning to a friend).

Lens placed in the case – feels like a one size fits all rather than specific to the lens -- there is a lot of extra room.

Lens placed on the camera. The first thing I notice is the setup is extremely solid and well built – it definitely feels like a step up. The flipside: The lens is much heavier than anything else I have in my bag, making it pretty front heavy by comparison. Something I’ll have to get used to carrying around – and think my monopod is going to get used much more as a result.

Battery, cover and charger. The charger was a pleasant surprise compared to the one which came with the 10D.

Instead of a separate corded plug, this charger has the plug built into the charger itself…

…which conveniently folds away making for a wonderful improvement in portability and storage.

The documentation, From top to bottom, left to right:

• Barcode for shrink wrapped manuals (I wanted to be thorough), Manual (English), Manual( Spanish), advertisement for Canon printers in multiple languages
• Movie playback addendum, advertisement for the Canon Digital Learning Center, Pocket Guide (English), Software Instruction Manual CD (Multiple Languages)
• Canon Software Summary Sheet, Essential Products and Solutions CD, Canon Software CD, Pocket Guide (Spanish)

Then came the wait for about three quarters of an hour for the battery to charge, checking the flashing light on the charger often to see if it turned a solid green. Finally it did and I could start playing!

The new gear is simply stunning and the full frame sensor has already allowed me much more flexibility using my current gear. Compare these shots taken with an EF 50mm f/1.4 USM lens from a distance of approximately 2.5 feet and identical settings…

Left = 10D and Right = 5D Mark II. besides the obvious overall increase in resolution of 6 to 21 megapixels, one of the biggest reasons I went with the 5D Mark II instead of the 50D was the full frame sensor. It really allows you to leverage the full range of capabilities in your lenses. In this example, the 50mm feels much more like a wide angle lens whereas before sometimes I could not get far enough away to include the entire subject due to the 1.5x field of view (FOV) crop on the 10D and others in the series (20D – 50D) – very common when shooting indoors at family + friend events. I also like the slightly more ‘widescreen’ aspect ratio of the new camera for its creative possibilities.

I debated going camera body only but ultimately decided on the kit which includes the lens because it’s effectively the equivalent of getting a rebate of $160 compared with purchasing them separately. Plus, all of the lenses I’ve bought in the past 5 years have been primes (i.e., not zoom) and I’ve been missing the flexibility of zoom and the 24-105mm gets universal high marks based on the reviews I’ve read recently.

I’ve been snapping a bunch of pictures and got a few other bells and whistles – hopefully I’ll have time in the coming weeks to share likes + dislikes which might be helpful to other x0D owners thinking about an upgrade of their own.