The best of Photosynth

Photosynth blew our minds from day one, and now the 3D image technology has matured to the point where there's even an iPhone app.

You can look at popular synths on the site, but we've dived deeper into the archives to find synths that do clever things with the technology, allow you to swoop around geek landmarks, and generally boggle our brains. These are our favourites, divided into two pages -- interesting places and other innovative uses for the technology. When you're done swooshing and whooshing, we'll show you how to create your own synth.

To view synths, first you'll need to install Silverlight, Microsoft's framework for running Web applications. Just click the link in Photosynth, save and run the installer, and you're good to go.

Battersea Power Station, London

Built in the 1930s and abandoned since 1983, the Grade-II listed Battersea Power Station is now best known for appearing on the cover of Pink Floyd's 1977 album Animals and for being on the verge of being transformed into trendy apartments, or a shopping centre, or something.

View from the London Eye

The view from the 135m above our nation's capital on the UK's most popular paid-for tourist destination, the London Eye.

Monument to Computing, Suffolk

Sculpted by Crispin Rope, the Computer Commemoration at Grange Farm makes reference to the work of Alan Turing with its three 'propellers' of lanhelin, containing elliptical, parabolic and hyperbolic cut-outs. It's located on St Isadore's roundabout in Kesgrave, Suffolk, near the site of the Colossus supercomputer.

Microsoft UK campus, Thames Valley Park

Microsoft may be rubbish at making videos, but it's great at making 3D photo applications. This is its UK headquarters in Reading.

Sergels Torg, Stockholm

This synth, of the central square in Sweden's capital, isn't particularly whooshy-swooshy but is a great showcase for high dynamic-range photography. Just look at that sky...

Prague Staré Mesto

The first synth, shot and built by Rick Szeliski, one of the pioneers of Photosynth. Fortunately, he managed to keep all the staggering stag parties out of shot on the Czech capital's Old Town Square.

National Geographic: Stonehenge Revealed

Stonehenge! Where the demons dwell / Where the banshees live and they do live well / Stonehenge! Where a man's a man / And the children dance to the Pipes of Pan / Hey!

Click through for some more oddball uses of the tech.