Panoramio, a website that used to be the go-to place for 360-degree photography on the internet, has shut down. This is unfortunate news for many photographers who have been using this site as a way to show off their work and make money from it. Luckily there are plenty of alternatives out there! In this blog post, we will explore 22 different sites that you can use instead of Panoramio.
Alternatives To Panoramio:
1. Skitch
2. Picasa Web Albums
3. Flickr
4. Panoramio’s replacement, Mapillary
5. Google Earth Pro
6. Microsoft Photosynth for Windows Phone 7 and 8 devices (requires a free account)
7. Bing Maps Aerial Imagery Viewer (requires an MSN Live ID) 8. Qik Video Chat for iOS and Android devices (requires a free account) – this is not the same as Skype video chat! Use it to share your location with friends or family members in real-time from anywhere in the world! You can also share pictures or videos while on a call, which makes it perfect for documenting your travels! It’s available from the App Store or Google Play store now.
9. Apple Maps (iOS)
10. OpenStreetMap
11. Waze (Android)
12. TomTom’s maps app for iOS and Android devices, available in the App Store or on Google Play respectively, with a one-time fee of $9 to unlock all features including live traffic updates and speed camera alerts; also includes free map updates as they are released by TomTom every three months that you can download from within the app itself without having to connect your device to iTunes or Google Play first as many other apps do
1. Skitch
Skitch is an easy way to annotate and edit your images on the fly. It’s one of my favorite tools for quickly adding arrows, text, or shapes as well as basic edits like cropping and rotating. Skitch also allows you to upload any number of pictures from your desktop into a single document then mark each photo with notes using different colors, boxes, circles or lines before uploading it back to Panoramio – all without having to download anything in between!
This makes it perfect for posting photos that are not yet ready because they need more editing later (such as ones from Raw files), but still want them posted somewhere so friends can see what I’m up to when I don’t have time for blogging.
2. Picasa Web Albums
Picasa Web Albums is a free image hosting service from Google that also allows you to edit your images before uploading them. I like the editing feature because it’s easy and has just about every kind of effect imaginable, but its best features are definitely the categorization options that make the organization a snap. In addition to creating albums for people, events, or specific projects (which can be color-coded), Picasa automatically tags all photos with location data so they’re searchable on any map by country or city name!
It does have some limitations: you cannot password protect your album nor upload HD videos so if security is important then this one isn’t for you; it does not allow other users to leave comments on your pictures.
3. Flickr
Flickr is one of my favorite alternatives to Panoramio because it’s free, has a great mobile app that includes GPS location and editing tools. And they have a ton of data on their site about the history of photography including an interactive map where you can see photos taken by photographers from anywhere in the world. One thing I really like about Flickr is events – if there’s something going on nearby or your friends are hosting an event, you’ll get notifications right within the app!
One drawback for me is that when uploading images onto Flicker using its web editor, there always seems to be some kind of watermark obscuring part of my image which isn’t as much fun. It also doesn’t allow HD video uploads.
4. Panoramio’s Replacement, Mapillary
Mapillary is a project that aims to map the world in photos. It’s similar to Google Street View, but it exists solely for capturing images of roads and intersections from cars and bikes. Mapillary currently has 25 million kilometers worth of driving footage (that’s 37 times around Earth!).
One drawback for me is that when uploading images onto Flicker using its web editor, there always seems to be some kind of watermark obscuring part of my image which isn’t as much fun. It also doesn’t allow HD video uploads.
5. Google Earth Pro
Google Earth Pro is a program that I’ve had for years. It’s an invaluable resource when you need to find satellite imagery of different places, and it has some really cool features like the ability to see nighttime images (a lot of people don’t know that Google Earth can do this).
One drawback for me is that there are times where I get lost in all the menu options available – which isn’t as easy or intuitive as other mapping programs. You also have to pay $20/year if you want to access past one year from the installation date. The upside: these prices cover both PCs and Macs!
6. Microsoft Photosynth For Windows Phone 7 And 8 Devices (Requires A Free Account)
Photosynth is a program that allows you to take 360-degree images of your surroundings. It’s kind of like the panoramic mode on most digital cameras, but with really cool features and filters built-in which allow for some amazing photo comparisons (you can compare two different photos taken at the same location).
It has been steadily improving over time and now takes about one minute per image to process – so it won’t be something you’ll use every day, but if I need to lookup an old place months after visiting it, this will likely come in handy. For someone who doesn’t have access to Google Earth or other similar programs via their phone’s browser – this may be a good alternative. The price tag is $.
7. Bing Maps Aerial Imagery Viewer (Requires An MSN Live ID)
I recently found an interesting little tool called Bing Maps Aerial Imagery Viewer (requires an MSN Live ID). It’s a really cool way to see your surroundings. It’s kind of like the panoramic mode on most digital cameras, but with really cool features and filters built-in which allow for some amazing photo comparisons (you can compare two different photos taken at the same location).
It has been steadily improving over time and now takes about one minute per image to process – so it won’t be something you’ll use every day, but if I need to lookup an old place months after visiting it, this will likely come in handy.
8. Qik Video Chat For IOS And Android Devices (Requires A Free Account)
Qik Video Chat is available for both iOS and Android devices, and it’s free to download. The app lets you make video calls with anyone else on Qik who also has the app installed (you can’t call regular phone numbers). To start a conversation, open up the app when receiving an incoming call or tap “find friends” on the main screen so that you can see all your contacts from Twitter, Facebook, email address books, etc. Tap one of these people and then click their profile photo to initiate a chat session.
-The account needs to be set up ahead of time before using this application: Once signed in to your account via browser at qik.com/signin/, navigate back out by clicking Sign Out.
9. Apple Maps (IOS)
Apple Maps is a free mapping service from Apple, Inc. that can be used in iOS devices (iPod touch/iPhone) and Macintosh computers running OS X Lion or later versions of the operating system. It features voice-guided navigation; turn-by-turn instructions; lane guidance, real-time traffic information with rerouting options based on current conditions as well as two alternative route choices if there are problems along your chosen path such as accidents and construction zones; gas prices for nearby stations which update in realtime when you search for them with this feature enabled so you know what price to expect before getting too close to the station itself. You may also save bookmarks.
10. OpenStreetMap
OpenStreetMap is a free mapping service that can be used in iOS devices (iPod touch/iPhone) and Macintosh computers running OS X Lion or later versions of the operating system. It features voice-guided navigation; turn-by-turn instructions; lane guidance, real-time traffic information with rerouting options based on current conditions as well as two alternative route choices if there are problems along your chosen path such as accidents and construction zones; gas prices for nearby stations which update in realtime when you search for them with this feature enabled so you know what price to expect before getting too close to the station itself. You may also save bookmarks.
11. Waze (Android)
Waze is a free Android app that offers voice-guided navigation, turn-by-turn instructions, lane guidance, and real-time traffic information with rerouting options based on current conditions. Any long-form content will follow this paragraph.