The "Retro Game Reviews" forum, which includes Retro Game Reviews, has been archived and is now read-only. You cannot post here or create a new thread or review on this forum.
[B][U]Panoramio.com online geotagged image hosting / sharing[/U][/B]Nowadays, you're given the option of many online photo sharing or storage services which allow you to upload your photos, and simply send a web link to your friends and family who may then view them online, as well as allowing a far wider audience to view them also, if you so desire.
Panoramio.com is one such service that is aimed at sharing your photos with the a wider audience, with a unique twist, because the service is built on geotagging your photos on a Google Map.
What is it all about?
Panoramio can probably best be described as another social networking web site, but one that focuses purely on photography. The goal of the service appears to be in allowing people from all over the world to upload and view photos that show off places and landmarks, rather than individual people.
The photos can be, and are in fact encouraged to be, marked out on a map wherever the picture was taken, allowing for others to view the world from the perspective of people who have been there.
Viewing the photos can be done without an account, but if you sign-up, you’re given 2GB of storage space to upload and show your snaps to whomever takes an interest. After visiting Italy and wanting to find somewhere I could upload them, I came across Panoramio, and gave it a go.
Uploading!
I was quite impressed with the uploading process that Panoramio have included. Rather than giving you 10 upload boxes, and requiring you to repeat that step over and over, you’re given a single upload box that you can continuously use while your photos are being uploaded.
Each photo will appear with a status bar next to it, indicating how the upload is going. One photo at a time is uploaded, but by using the single upload box, you’re effectively creating a list within Panoramio of photos you wish to upload.
It isn’t perfect, mind you, but I believe that's down to web browser limitations.
Mapping!
The point of Panoramio is to include the location where the photo was taken, and this can be done while uploading them. You are presented with a Google Map, and can pin-point the location with the little bubble included, by simply clicking the spot where you were standing when taking the photo.
Once you’ve plotted the first photo, the marker will stay put for your next selected photo, making it relatively simple to plot a group of photos taken in the same place or area. Photos that were taken all over the place can take up quite a bit of time when you’re plotting them, but the search function can speed that up.
You can choose to map your photos later on if desired, though I do find this processes a little less user-friendly, as the option to mark the next photo as being in the same place as the previous photo doesn’t seem to be available, as it was when you’re initially uploading photos.
Camera’s which include geotagging should include the location of each photo within the “Exif” info of the photo, meaning you don’t need to plot the locations yourself.
You’re it!
Once uploaded, your photos are listed as expected, with 32 pictures per page. You don’t seem to be able to place your photos in folders or categories in the same way you can on your computer, or on other online storage services, but you can tag them.
The tags are in effect a categorising feature, expect without the visual aid of folders on your screen. Instead, you can create a tag, and apply it to your photos as desired. Once you’ve created your tags, all you need to do is click “apply”, and click the photos you want to associate with your tags.
The process is simple and easy, but made a little fiddly by the lack of ability to show all your photos on a single page, meaning if you wish to apply the same tag to photos spanning multiple pages, you will have to go to each page in turn, which may be especially frustrating if you have uploaded many photographs.
You also can’t create your tags first, then select and apply them while uploading or mapping your photos.
That’s you, what about them?
As I’ve mentioned, Panoramio seems to be aimed for users to view other peoples photographs, rather than just as a photo storage service, and to date there appears to be thousands of photos available from all over the world, for example Pisa, New York, and the Eiffel Tower.
You can either select a tag to search for, use the search box, or directly browse the map included on the web site to view other people’s photos. Each photo contains the location it was taken on a close range map and a far out map, as well as the tags associated with it, and how many times it has been viewed. You can also add your own comments to each photo, or alert the owner if you feel they’ve misplaced the marker, and select them for the “best of” collection.
Digital cameras embed quite a bit of information within each photograph they take, embedded within the “Exif” info, such as the date and time, the type of camera, etc, and this info will appear next to each photo as a show / hide drop-down section.
Unsurprisingly, you can keep a list of your favourite photos or users on Panoramio, and there doesn’t appear to be any set limit to the number of favourites you can list. Each photo or user will have a grey star next to the photo’s title or the users screen name, and simply clicking this will add them to your favourites, with another click to remove them.
There doesn’t seem to be a way to bulk remove favourites though, meaning you have to go to each user / photo to strike them from your list.
Google Earth!
Possibly the newest and most interesting feature of Panoramio is it’s inclusion within Google Earth. Each month, more photos are added to the list, although having your photos uploaded to Panoramio does not guarantee they will be available in Google Earth. Once you’ve plotted them, the Panoramio team will review your photos, and decide if they are worthy of inclusion.
You can enable / disable Panoramio photos in Google Earth under the “Geographic web” menu, within the Layers section.
You can also download individual “KLM” files that will add particular photos to Google Earth, independent from the included photos. These can either be your own photos, or those from other members.
As an aside, YouTube videos are also available to view within Google Earth, in the same way Panoramio photos are. You can also enable the Panoramio photos under the “My Maps” tab of Google Maps.
Using Panoramio on your own site!
If you have your own web site, and wish to include a Google Map with Panoramio pictures on one / some / all of your web page(s), then this is easily done thanks to the easy-to-use HTML code provided by Panoramio.
You may want to include a mini-panoramio for your local area, places you’ve been, places you’d like to go, etc, either made up of just your own photos, or everybody’s.
Panoramio also provide an API, or Application Programming Interface, if you wish to take advantage of the service with a little more customisation.
Overall rating!
Overall, I’d give the Panoramio.com service an 7 / 10, or 75%, because it’s a pretty simple concept, and one that they’ve executed rather well. Looking at photos from around the world can be interesting, especially if you’re planning on a trip around the globe, or even just a long weekend somewhere. It also makes Google Earth a little more interesting.
It can also make showing off your photos to friends and family easier, and provide a back-up copy should your computer hard drive fail.
There are a few things that could be altered and made more user-friendly, and the site does seem to suffer from a bit of slow-down from time to time, which is unfortunate, and quite unexpected considering the parent company seem to own the web these days.
Also, despite the fact that Google now owns Panoramio, you still need to set up a username and password separate from your Google Account, if you already have one. Considering Panoramio is only a recent purchase by Google though, this could well change.
Question?
How many times did I misspell Panoramio in this review? Answers on a postcard.
There have been no replies to this thread yet.
[B][U]Panoramio.com online geotagged image hosting / sharing[/U][/B]Nowadays, you're given the option of many online photo sharing or storage services which allow you to upload your photos, and simply send a web link to your friends and family who may then view them online, as well as allowing a far wider audience to view them also, if you so desire.
Panoramio.com is one such service that is aimed at sharing your photos with the a wider audience, with a unique twist, because the service is built on geotagging your photos on a Google Map.
What is it all about?
Panoramio can probably best be described as another social networking web site, but one that focuses purely on photography. The goal of the service appears to be in allowing people from all over the world to upload and view photos that show off places and landmarks, rather than individual people.
The photos can be, and are in fact encouraged to be, marked out on a map wherever the picture was taken, allowing for others to view the world from the perspective of people who have been there.
Viewing the photos can be done without an account, but if you sign-up, you’re given 2GB of storage space to upload and show your snaps to whomever takes an interest. After visiting Italy and wanting to find somewhere I could upload them, I came across Panoramio, and gave it a go.
Uploading!
I was quite impressed with the uploading process that Panoramio have included. Rather than giving you 10 upload boxes, and requiring you to repeat that step over and over, you’re given a single upload box that you can continuously use while your photos are being uploaded.
Each photo will appear with a status bar next to it, indicating how the upload is going. One photo at a time is uploaded, but by using the single upload box, you’re effectively creating a list within Panoramio of photos you wish to upload.
It isn’t perfect, mind you, but I believe that's down to web browser limitations.
Mapping!
The point of Panoramio is to include the location where the photo was taken, and this can be done while uploading them. You are presented with a Google Map, and can pin-point the location with the little bubble included, by simply clicking the spot where you were standing when taking the photo.
Once you’ve plotted the first photo, the marker will stay put for your next selected photo, making it relatively simple to plot a group of photos taken in the same place or area. Photos that were taken all over the place can take up quite a bit of time when you’re plotting them, but the search function can speed that up.
You can choose to map your photos later on if desired, though I do find this processes a little less user-friendly, as the option to mark the next photo as being in the same place as the previous photo doesn’t seem to be available, as it was when you’re initially uploading photos.
Camera’s which include geotagging should include the location of each photo within the “Exif” info of the photo, meaning you don’t need to plot the locations yourself.
You’re it!
Once uploaded, your photos are listed as expected, with 32 pictures per page. You don’t seem to be able to place your photos in folders or categories in the same way you can on your computer, or on other online storage services, but you can tag them.
The tags are in effect a categorising feature, expect without the visual aid of folders on your screen. Instead, you can create a tag, and apply it to your photos as desired. Once you’ve created your tags, all you need to do is click “apply”, and click the photos you want to associate with your tags.
The process is simple and easy, but made a little fiddly by the lack of ability to show all your photos on a single page, meaning if you wish to apply the same tag to photos spanning multiple pages, you will have to go to each page in turn, which may be especially frustrating if you have uploaded many photographs.
You also can’t create your tags first, then select and apply them while uploading or mapping your photos.
That’s you, what about them?
As I’ve mentioned, Panoramio seems to be aimed for users to view other peoples photographs, rather than just as a photo storage service, and to date there appears to be thousands of photos available from all over the world, for example Pisa, New York, and the Eiffel Tower.
You can either select a tag to search for, use the search box, or directly browse the map included on the web site to view other people’s photos. Each photo contains the location it was taken on a close range map and a far out map, as well as the tags associated with it, and how many times it has been viewed. You can also add your own comments to each photo, or alert the owner if you feel they’ve misplaced the marker, and select them for the “best of” collection.
Digital cameras embed quite a bit of information within each photograph they take, embedded within the “Exif” info, such as the date and time, the type of camera, etc, and this info will appear next to each photo as a show / hide drop-down section.
Unsurprisingly, you can keep a list of your favourite photos or users on Panoramio, and there doesn’t appear to be any set limit to the number of favourites you can list. Each photo or user will have a grey star next to the photo’s title or the users screen name, and simply clicking this will add them to your favourites, with another click to remove them.
There doesn’t seem to be a way to bulk remove favourites though, meaning you have to go to each user / photo to strike them from your list.
Google Earth!
Possibly the newest and most interesting feature of Panoramio is it’s inclusion within Google Earth. Each month, more photos are added to the list, although having your photos uploaded to Panoramio does not guarantee they will be available in Google Earth. Once you’ve plotted them, the Panoramio team will review your photos, and decide if they are worthy of inclusion.
You can enable / disable Panoramio photos in Google Earth under the “Geographic web” menu, within the Layers section.
You can also download individual “KLM” files that will add particular photos to Google Earth, independent from the included photos. These can either be your own photos, or those from other members.
As an aside, YouTube videos are also available to view within Google Earth, in the same way Panoramio photos are. You can also enable the Panoramio photos under the “My Maps” tab of Google Maps.
Using Panoramio on your own site!
If you have your own web site, and wish to include a Google Map with Panoramio pictures on one / some / all of your web page(s), then this is easily done thanks to the easy-to-use HTML code provided by Panoramio.
You may want to include a mini-panoramio for your local area, places you’ve been, places you’d like to go, etc, either made up of just your own photos, or everybody’s.
Panoramio also provide an API, or Application Programming Interface, if you wish to take advantage of the service with a little more customisation.
Overall rating!
Overall, I’d give the Panoramio.com service an 7 / 10, or 75%, because it’s a pretty simple concept, and one that they’ve executed rather well. Looking at photos from around the world can be interesting, especially if you’re planning on a trip around the globe, or even just a long weekend somewhere. It also makes Google Earth a little more interesting.
It can also make showing off your photos to friends and family easier, and provide a back-up copy should your computer hard drive fail.
There are a few things that could be altered and made more user-friendly, and the site does seem to suffer from a bit of slow-down from time to time, which is unfortunate, and quite unexpected considering the parent company seem to own the web these days.
Also, despite the fact that Google now owns Panoramio, you still need to set up a username and password separate from your Google Account, if you already have one. Considering Panoramio is only a recent purchase by Google though, this could well change.
Question?
How many times did I misspell Panoramio in this review? Answers on a postcard.