Case Study: QTVR vs. IPIX Comparison (Production costs, film vs. digital)

(Updated: March, 2005)

First Step: Choosing Film or Digital

Deciding whether to choose film or digital technologies for panoramic VR photography will depend upon a variety of factors. These include the quality of work you need to produce, the volume of images you anticipate shooting, what equipment you may already own and what other types of photography you may want to do in the future. For example, if you are planning to shoot object VR, you will most likely want a digital camera system that you can use for both panoramic and object VR (the high volume of images, along with precision alignment needed between shots for object VR almost necessitates choosing a digital format). The quality of digital cameras has improved dramatically in recent years and prices continue to fall. This trend is fully expected to continue in the foreseeable future. Of course, desktop film scanners and computer hardware will also probably continue increasing in quality and decreasing in price.

Film cameras on the other hand, represent a far more mature technology than their digital counterparts, and do not generally change significantly from year to year. Correspondingly, their prices remain fairly stable. They also provide the highest quality imagery for the lowest overall cost. Combine this with their ability to capture the widest fields of view, and the preference for most photographers is to use film for panoramic VR photography, and digital for object VR.

For an overview of factors affecting one's choice between film or digital capture for panoramic VR images, refer to the accompanying VR Photography Tech Note.

Long term costs should be considered when making such a choice. Below are several examples of the equipment and ongoing production costs for digital and film options for both QTVR and IPIX photography. If your work is planned only for low-end uses, you may be able to choose a consumer-level digital camera system. However, if you are planning high-end panoramic photography, you will probably want to consider a film or professional digital system. Note that the VR technology you choose can significantly effect both your set up and long-term production costs. Having to pay annual license fees to IPIX for use of their software can be expensive for lower volume producers. On the other hand, you are likely to save money on film, processing and scanning with IPIX because you’ll shoot only 2–4 images per panorama, rather than a dozen or more.

The figures in the following table should be considered very rough estimates, and subject to change as both technology and corporate business models adjust in the coming years. Costs can also vary regionally. These figures are presented with the assumption that the user already has a relatively current computer capable of running various VR authoring software programs, and a CD or DVD writer for archiving and storage of digital files.

Next: Examples

Due to differences between QuickTime VR™ and IPIX™ technologies, we’ll compare the up front costs, as well as production expense differences between authoring five and 500 images for each.

Example 1: Low end (web production/CD-ROM only) work - Consumer Level Digital Camera

* In 2004, IPIX dropped their original $25 per image "key" licensing model (which they discounted in volume quantities), in favor of an annual license which allows assembly of an unlimited number of images in a year. Thus the cost per image is reduced the more you assemble. If you only produced five IPIX panoramas in a year, your licensing cost per image would be between about $200 and $500 (assuming you have a single user license). The difference between the $900 and $2,800 licensing costs is dependent upon the features you want included in your software. If you produced 500 IPIX images in that same year, your cost per image would be between $2 and $5 each, Since the annual license fee is so high, IPIX technology is generally only attractive to high volume producers any more. If you produce less than 100 IPIX images in a year, you would have been better off with IPIX's older $25 "key" fee per image. However, IPIX no longer offers this as an option.

Example 2: 35mm camera – High quality for print, CD, DVD and Web distribution

*Note that slit-scan film-based panoramic cameras, such as the Seitz Roundshot models, can also be excellent choices for shooting high end panoramas. However, these cameras range in price from around $2,000 to $10,000, but cannot generally be used for QTVR cubic or iPIX spherical because they don’t work well with fisheye lenses.

Example 3: Professional digital camera – High quality for Print, CD, DVD and Web

Note that high end slit-scan digital panoramic cameras, such as the Panoscan and Spheron models, are also excellent choices for high end panoramic photography. These cameras currently range in price from around $15,000 to $30,000+ and can be used for both QTVR and IPIX panoramic imaging.

Summary: QTVR vs. iPIX costs

The up-front costs of equipment are significantly higher for IPIX than QuickTime VR. And, as one would expect, choosing higher quality professional equipment costs more than a low end consumer equipment choice, no matter which VR technology one chooses.

The cost difference between shooting QTVR and IPIX on 35mm film is significant at the extremes of high and low volume production. Low volume work (less than 100 panoramas per year) is far more economical with QTVR, while high volume work, favors IPIX. However, few producers even use film any more, and most VR work is captured digitally. Digital capture reduces the production costs of both technologies, but the burden of IPIX's annual licensing fees makes QTVR more economical except for the highest volume producers (more than 200 panoramas each year). The cost of the annual IPIX license is supposed to be offset by the reduced costs of film, processing and scanning, which applies only when shooting on film.

The ongoing cost of iPIX annual software licenses will generally make IPIX a far more expensive choice over the long term, even after the initial camera and other capital equipment expenses have been amortized. The exception to this will be in high volume shops creating hundreds or thousands of panoramas each year. IPIX promotes their "ease of use" and simplicity of their technology, along with potential time savings, as worth the added costs of their ongoing licensing fees.