Does Google resize big photo spheres?

[SteinArneJ]

It may be because I haven't searched good enough, but it seems to me the photo spheres in Street View has a rather limited zoom-level.

I know there is a minimum resolution to Street View spheres - identical to that of the Ricoh Theta S(C).

Is there a maximum resolution as well?

Will huge high-resolution spheres made with DSLRs in AutoPano or PTgui be downsized to, let' say 10000 x 5000 pixels or less?

[LucioV]

Hi, usually some resize occurs. If you use panofetch to download full size panoramas from street view, you will notice that the size is higher than the uploaded one, but i'm not sure this is due to pano fetch or is Google upsizing panos.

Anyway, if you want to keep the original size and quality of pano you should host it on your server and display using a pano viewer (i.e. Kolor).

[SteinArneJ]

Thanks for your reply, @LucioV.

Have you seen confirmation from Google on resizing anywhere?

Sorry if I sound like a total noob here:  If I keep my photos on my server they will not be part of Google Street View, right?

If right:

My reason for posting spheres on Street View is to share information about places I would like others to discover.

I post spheres on Flickr as well - but they will never reach the same number of people as those on Street View - and people will probably check out the photo for its photographic quality, not for the information it gives about a specific place. So keeping it on my private server would probably limit this even more?

[LucioV]

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@SteinArneJ wrote:

Thanks for your reply, @LucioV.

Have you seen confirmation from Google on resizing anywhere?

Sorry if I sound like a total noob here:  If I keep my photos on my server they will not be part of Google Street View, right?

If right:

My reason for posting spheres on Street View is to share information about places I would like others to discover.

I post spheres on Flickr as well - but they will never reach the same number of people as those on Street View - and people will probably check out the photo for its photographic quality, not for the information it gives about a specific place. So keeping it on my private server would probably limit this even more?

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Yes, i've been told something about real stored size, but i cannot remember when and where!!! And maybe was referring to old SV Editor!

We always noticed differences between prestitched photos and stored photos.

If you keep your photos in an hosted server (or a service like GoThro hosted tours, Tourmake, etc.) they will never be part of Google Maps or Google Street View.

Not to mention Flickr: i'm a pro user since 2005, but i have around 1.2 million of views, versus more than 17 million of views on maps, in a fraction of time...

[Csaba]

I am pretty sure Google resizes photos. Just think about it: you are on a mobile with some low quality internet connection and trying to load a 10,000x5,000 pixel image. And there are size transitions between a 5" mobile display and a huge, 32" desktop monitor. Modern web technology allows for dynamically swapping smaller and bigger images when the display size changes (even when you reorient your mobile from portrait to landscape). 

To me, even it seems that SV "chops" the images into smaller pieces and re-stitches them on the fly. Especially on lower internet connection you can often see that the 360 images do not suddenly get crisp and clear but in smaller pieces (and only in the direction you are looking at). 

[Csaba]

Here is an article about responsive images: 

https://www.html5rocks.com/en/tutorials/responsive/picture-element/

This is something Joe Average as a self made web developer could also implement. Now imagine Google and its - human and financial - resources.

[Csaba]

All right, I have caught Maps (and our crappy internet connection at work) doing this "chop up photospheres" function. Here is one where three of those rectangles not yet fully loaded are "clearly" seen: