The image was taken from Philosophenweg across the river Neckar with a 1200-mm-lens (600 mm + 2 x extender) and a 50-megapixel camera. The resulting angular resolution of 5110 pixels per degree is probably a world record for gigapixel images. The shot was realized just before sunset to minimize heat haze. Distance to the old town is approximately 500 m. At this distance, the depth of field is merely 20 m. Each frame has been refocused, but due to the shallow depth of field, not all image areas can be equally sharp. Also, air turbulence hits some areas more and some less, often randomly. 2650 single images were shot in 3 hrs and 45 mins, column by column starting from the right. Image overlap was 25 %.
Click here to explore another gigapixel image (46.5 gigapixels) of Heidelberg, taken from the Scheffel Terrace.
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