Image merging
S_MERGE is a very versatile tool for merging two images. Total flexibility in alignment of the images such as scaling, relative positioning and rotation is allowed. No need to worry about under or overlapping.
Once the images are aligned you have several options for blending them together. Options for fading the edges of one or both images prior to overlaying are available which gives an attractive seamless join without the inappropriate edges seen as a result of merging two images of different sizes and positions.
When all done you have the option to save a part or the entire merged image to a file.Download the latest version here
Overlaying Maps
A typical application of S_MERGE is blending of relief/topological maps with political or road maps.
Below is an aerial photo of Thirlmere in the lake district UK .
The picture below is the road map with contour lines of the same area as above.
You can merge the two together as below. Notice the overlaps, left and right.
Finally crop the overlaps and save the image below. Remember to adjust brightness and contrast as needed. Find other options for blending the two images if you wish such as brightest, darkest or average pixel, you can also adjust the 'bias' between the two images when blending.
Old and new map overlays:
As well as relief and political map overlaying as above, there are situations where ancient maps of say archaeological sites need to be overlaid with a modern map of the area.
Image Watermarking:
An important application is watermarking of images.
No need to worry about image size differences between the "watermark" text image and the input main image.
S_merge does not remove parts of images that are not overlaid with the other image.
The watermarking also can be faded at the edges in the final picture (not shown here).
Cylindrical Panoramic Projection:
Typical cameras have lenses that produce rectilinear images. These stretch the image so that vertical, horizontal and diagonal lines that we perceive as being straight are reproduced as straight lines. There is a command in S_Merge which distorts the image to a cylindrical projection of up to + or - 90° rotation about the vertical. The amount of rotation can be set with the slider control in this command. Most swing lens/rotating panoramic cameras produce this kind of image. As an example imagine a horizontal straight line stretching from horizon to horizon at some height above ground. Stand some distance away from and face head on to the line. The line in front of you will be seen to be at some height above the ground but looking left and right, the line will appear to converge down to the horizon. This command will project that image onto a flat surface.
"Soft14.com - Freeware, shareware and quality commercial software downloads"
