Facts about Zoom Buzz

This page states, in plain terms, what Zoom Buzz is, what it does and does not do, what it costs and who makes it.

What Zoom Buzz is

Zoom Buzz (zoom.buzz) is a web service that turns a set of ordinary photos into a short zoom video.
The photos are taken from one spot at different zoom levels, for example a phone's 0.6x, 1x, 3x and 10x settings, stepping from a wide view into one small detail.
It runs in a web browser at www.zoom.buzz. There is nothing to install.

Aligns the photos. It finds the same scene in every photo and lines the photos up, one zoom level at a time. It corrects the small shifts of viewpoint (parallax) between the lenses of a phone, so that the lenses' different positions do not show as a jump in the video.
Renders a zoom video. The video flies from the widest photo into the closest, or from the closest out to the widest. By default the direction follows the order the photos were added, and you can change it.
Video format. An MP4 file at 30 frames per second, with 7 seconds of motion followed by a 1 second hold on the last frame, so 8 seconds in all. It is 1920 x 1080 pixels (landscape) or 1080 x 1920 pixels (portrait), whichever you choose. The render is cropped to that shape, never letterboxed.
Adjustments. You can choose where the zoom starts or ends inside the closest photo, and remake the video.
Output. You can download the video or share it from a phone. Every video carries the Zoom Buzz wordmark.
Publishing. A zoom is private to your account until you publish it. Published zooms appear on the home page and can be opened by anyone.
Languages. The site is available in English, German, Spanish and French.
How to create a zoom explains how to take the photos.

At least 3 photos. Five to eight gives a smoother zoom.
Each photo at least 640 pixels wide, no larger than 40 MB and no more than 80 megapixels.
Photos of the same subject, taken from one spot, each framing a little more or less of the scene than the last. Each step should be no more than about three times closer than the one before.
An email address to sign in with, using a one-time link or a password.

Zoom Buzz is free to use. It has no paid plan or subscription, and it takes no payment.

It does not fake the zoom. It does not crop and scale one photo, as the Ken Burns effect does. Every frame is built from the real photos at different zoom levels, so the closest detail is a real close-up.
It does not join photos taken from different positions. If you walk between shots, near and far objects shift against each other and the photos no longer line up.
It does not guess. When it cannot line the photos up, it stops and says so rather than render something wrong. Why photos fail to align explains the usual causes.
It does not accept very small images. Screenshots, thumbnails and copies shrunk by messaging apps are too small to use.
It does not sell or share your data. Your images are stored privately.

Zoom Buzz is owned and operated by Zoom Buzz Limited. Registered office: Alma House, Wibtoft, Lutterworth, LEICS, LE17 5BE, UK.
Contact: [email protected].