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I Call Myself ZOMBiE CYGIG
"Educated" At Maha Bodhi School, Victoria School, Anderson JC, LASALLE College of the Arts
What I Do Lazing, Hobby Crafting, DIY, Graphic Design, Computer Stuff that you don't get it
What I Avoid Hipsters, Soccer, Apple Brand, Outings
How Am I Like Logical, Practical, Off-Beat, Anti-Social, Sarcastic
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Notice
This is a delayed review which is supposed to be published during February 2013. Features of apps might have changed by now. New apps might have emerged.
Introduction
Here is a quick review of six Android Panorama Apps. I am using the LG Optimus 4x HD P880 to test these apps. All the apps tested are the pro and paid version, unless it comes only as a free app.
The images were shot under nearly the same circumstances for comparison. Note that the image host might have resized the sample images. I usually check on the image quality and not the pixels count, but one of the reasons to do panorama is to get a big picture from stitching small ones, where you can zoom in to see the details. In my opinion, it defeats the purpose of panorama if the final image is of low resolution. Click on the link to view the image on a separate tab.
The phone has 1GB RAM which is worth mentioning as some apps stitches and stores the image in real time while others commit them to storage before the stitching operation after the photo take session. The former will take up more RAM.
I will not discuss the sharing features of these apps as most of them can share images to social media pretty easily, or you can do it manually by hooking up to your computer or do it from Android’s picture gallery.
I will also not discuss about the usability as most of them are straightforward with build in guides that make use of your the sensors in your phone to give you feedback on keeping the shots straight or the way it should be.
360 Panorama by Occipital (Link)
Version 1.0.19, SGD1.25 (Free version with ads/limited features available) Sample Image 1 Sample Image 2
Stitching
Stitching is fine if you take regular 360º panorama, but the app gives you the option to go almost a full sphere, which in that case has poor stitchings.
Final Resolution & Coverage
You will get around a 8MP flat image. However do note that if you take an image of a sphere, the flattened final image is heavily distorted, but looks great on the in-app interactive view. Blank spaces appear if you do not manage to fill up the entire sphere as well. You will be able to see the entire space from where you are standing if you fill the whole sphere of view.
Image Quality
Image quality is average, but looks good enough for the on screen interactive view. Images are generally in focus with the option of locking the exposure as well. Little motion blurring.
Remarks
This is the only app that I had encountered with spherical panorama. It has an intuitive interface to guide you to take the required shots and it is fun to look at final interactive images. Patience is needed as the app crashes at times. The flattened 2D image produced could hardly be used but that is the nature of spherical panorama and not the fault of the app. It would be nice if it offers options to enable the user to reconstruct a more usable flat image.
Score
7.5/10
DMD Panorama by DerManDar Limited (Link)
Version 2.05, SGD1.13 (Free version with ads/limited features available) Sample Image 1 Sample Image 2
Stitching
Generally very good stitching with little errors.
Final Resolution & Coverage
I get around 10MP for the final image. You can get a full or near full 360º view.
Image Quality
Very good image quality that is limited by your phone camera hardware. Images are in focus with good exposure and exposure locking. Little motion blurring.
Remarks
Excellent all rounder panorama app.
Score
8.5/10
HD Panorama+ by Almalence (Link)
Version 2.11, SGD2.52 (Free version with ads/limited features available) Sample Image 1 Sample Image 2
Stitching
Generally good stitching but not as good as DMD Panorama.
Final Resolution & Coverage
I get 14 to 21MP for the final image. The coverage depends on the available RAM, with around 2048px in height (which will be cropped to around 1800px for the final picture), it fills up around 300º but means you do not get a little short of a full circle. My device has 1GB of RAM, and with more memory, you should be able to get a full circle on an even higher image height, provided that the OS allows the app to use those extra memory.
Image Quality
Under the same shooting circumstances as the other apps, some motion blurring could be seen. Exposure is locked. Noises are apparent as well.
Remarks
Not a bad panorama app, but certainly not the best either.
Stitching
Bad stitching with a lot of ghosting and errors.
Final Resolution & Coverage
I get a 0.7 to 0.8MP final image. Despite the name of the app, you will be getting more like 180º than 360º.
Image Quality
Bad image quality. Although the exposure is good, the image is generally out of focus. The resolution is too small to detect motion blur. The app does not crop away uncaptured area of the panorama and you will see black areas on the sides.
Remarks
Avoid this app. Poor stitching and image quality. Little settings to tweak with.
Score
3/10
Photaf Panorama Pro by Bengigi (Link)
Version 3.2.3, SGD3.99 (Free version with ads/limited features available) Sample Image 1 Sample Image 2
Stitching
Generally good stitching, but you can see obvious alignment errors on the place where you start and end the panorama. Final Resolution & Coverage
I can get 20MP from the final picture. You can get a full or near full 360º view.
Image Quality
Generally good image quality but some parts appeared to be very out of focus. Little motion blurring.
Remarks
Decent panorama app, you get the individual images as well when you export the images to a folder on your phone.
Stitching
Fantastic stitching. This app has the best stitching of all six reviewed. Almost no errors.
Final Resolution & Coverage
I can get 1.7 to 1.8MP from the final image. Surprisingly, you will get more than 360º view, around 370º, you will see some parts of the start of the image repeating again at the end.
Image Quality
Poor image quality. The final picture is blurry due to both motion and out of focus. Exposure is locked.
Remarks
Fantastic stitching and coverage, but greatly offset by the poor image quality and the small resolution.
Score
5/10
Conclusion
DMD Panorama seems to be the best panorama app in my test, it stitches the images well, has good image quality and good resolution. However, it seems like none of the apps are really versatile and really good in taking panorama. Leaving the issue of mobile phone camera hardware limitation alone, I think it is best that you capture the images manually, and then use Photohop to stitch them back together on your computer.