Zoomable Hi-res images

[macdamoose]

Problem: When I view photoblogs, there always seems to be something in the photo that I would like to see in more detail. Most bloggers post their photos around 600 pixels or smaller. This is fine for a general view of the image. But, I want more!

Solution: (I think) I have conjured up a hack/modification to Pixelpost that allows visitors to zoom in on the photo. The process is from a company called Zoomify. They have a free download available. So, if people are actually interested in this technique, please discuss it here.

Caveats: If you are on shared hosting with limited storage capacity, this may not be a good thing. So far, most of the Zoomified images are around 2-4MB. Again, it's for people who want to be able to show off their hi-res images.

Visit my photoblog and try it out. There are a few photos that I have used this on. ElevenTwentySix. Look for and click on the Zoom Image link above the photos that are zoomable.

Thanks,
JB
http://www.eleventwentysix.com/

[raminia+]

why not using a javascript to do it on the client side ?

[macdamoose]

A javascript zoom will only "blow up" what is already there. What I have done will not result in loss of quality of the photo.

Here is the steps that I have done:

Upload your 600 pixel (or whatever size you use) photo in the admin as normal.

Run your original photo (the Eiffel Tower example is 2136 x 2848, 2.88mb through the Zoomify Converter. The resulting folder is 1.24mb. This is uploaded to PP in the images directory.

When you view this photo in PP, the Zoom Image link will appear above the original photo. Clicking on this will load the zoomified swf file and allow you to zoom/pan the image. You can control how far in the user can zoom too.

As I stated before, this is for photos where you want visitors to be able to see hi-res versions of your photos.

Give it a try! Here is the link to the Eiffel Tower image

Then click on the Zoom Image link above the photo to take you to the Zoomify image.

If you have any questions/comments please post!

Thanks,
JB
http://www.eleventwentysix.com/

[raminia+]

really great feature but I cannot afford the bandwidth and needed storage
I test it before on your site. very cool!

[macdamoose]

Actually, bandwidth is not a problem. Only the parts of the zoomed image are shown. According to the website, the average view is less than 15k. I still need to run some tests to find out how realistic this is, but from my experience so far, it is a great way to show the details in your photos with minimal hassles.

As far as storage goes, I have my own server (2x80gb hard drives). But for someone that has that one great photo, this would make it easier to share. Also, by using this system, you don't have to have your original photo on the net, where anybody can download it and use it for whatever purposes they want. You get to control what they see and how they see it.

Thanks,
JB
http://www.eleventwentysix.com/

[chunsum]

Macdamoose,

what did you have to do to have the zoomify link generated.
did you add a new tag?

Thanks!