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Panoramas
#12533
01/14/08 09:32 AM
01/14/08 09:32 AM
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Joined: Mar 2005
Florida
Jim Garvie
OP
Addict
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OP
Addict
Joined: Mar 2005
Florida
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I don't usually shoot these as a specific effort but I was recently going through some shots from an expedition to EPCOT last year and I found a couple that I thought would make a good panorama. So, since I have CS3, I took the mildly-edited shots and put them together to get this somewhat interesting view of the EPCOT Flower Show.  My question is: how many of you guys actually shoot panoramas as a formal exercise and what software do you use to stitch the shots together. Let me just say that I like to try everything in photography so I'll continue to experiment with panoramas with a real attempt to actually capture something that really lends itself to the technique. And I'm pretty satisfied with what CS3 does in terms of combining the images and adjusting them to each other. But I'm curious if there are other software solutions that handle this chore better. Input appreciated. Jim
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Re: Panoramas
[Re: Larry H]
#12535
01/14/08 10:32 AM
01/14/08 10:32 AM
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Joined: Jul 2006
Eden (no really!)
jamesdak
Old hand
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Old hand
Joined: Jul 2006
Eden (no really!)
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Jim, I have been shooting them now for a few months. I normally shoot landscapes and find CS2 does ok in most situations. But I recently tried the 30 day trail version of CS3 and it is much better. There are other tools out there like PTgui and such that are supposedly better. I am just limited in funds and prefer to buy quality lenses over a myriad of software programs. Where I run into problems are the shots where I try to take a structure (like a barn) that I am very close too and break it up into sections. It's hard to get the right perspective so that the frames line back up correctly. I've recently purchased a Jasper Engineering pano head to help with that. Now I just need to calculate were to set the "nodal point" for each lense I shoot at. I shot this Saturday, it is two verticals stiched together:  This one was around 6 or 8 images. It was shot with a Contax Zeiss 100/2.0 on a Canon 5D:  Hit this link for a larger version of this shot: larger image link
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Re: Panoramas
[Re: Jim Garvie]
#12536
01/14/08 09:47 PM
01/14/08 09:47 PM
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Joined: Feb 2006
Donner Summit, CA
glamson
Veteran
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Veteran
Joined: Feb 2006
Donner Summit, CA
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Quote:
I don't usually shoot these as a specific effort but I was recently going through some shots from an expedition to EPCOT last year and I found a couple that I thought would make a good panorama. So, since I have CS3, I took the mildly-edited shots and put them together to get this somewhat interesting view of the EPCOT Flower Show.
My question is: how many of you guys actually shoot panoramas as a formal exercise and what software do you use to stitch the shots together.
Let me just say that I like to try everything in photography so I'll continue to experiment with panoramas with a real attempt to actually capture something that really lends itself to the technique. And I'm pretty satisfied with what CS3 does in terms of combining the images and adjusting them to each other. But I'm curious if there are other software solutions that handle this chore better.
Input appreciated.
Jim
Jim,
I have been bitten by the pano bug for a couple of years. I've used many of the panorama software packages out there
and I've settled for the moment on the program Panomaker4Pro from Arcsoft. The important things for me in
a good panorama program is its ability to stitch difficult transitions and also match moderate exposure differences.
I also want a program that will allow you to manually tweak a stitch if the program just can't figure it out.
Panomaker4Pro meets all of these requirements pretty well.
Here is a set of pano component pics that I use to test a new pano program. As you can see, the distortions are
extreme in these pics of the Rainbow bridge at Donner summit. I was impressed that Panomaker4Pro could actually
still stitch these together, albeit the final product is somewhat distorted. When I tried this on PTGui, it puked.
Anyway, that's how I'm doing them. You can check out more at my website.
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Re: Panoramas
[Re: Jim Garvie]
#12540
01/15/08 10:45 AM
01/15/08 10:45 AM
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Joined: Feb 2005
Montana
Tony Bynum
Pooh-Bah
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Pooh-Bah
Joined: Feb 2005
Montana
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Yes, the better your shots, i.e., alignment, exposure etc, the better pano you can make.
I dont know about cs3's capacity although I know some bigshots that use it for stitching. I like the arcsoft pano maker software, I would not be afraid to buy it I just have yet to update. the new versions read raw files I believe.
while there are a lot of factors that contribute to well done panos, the keys, assuming your composition is done well, are to shoot a evenly lit subject in manual mode, maintain a level rotation, use proper overlap, shoot at normal or slightly telephoto, and rotate the pan around the lens nodal point. This is the reason some use focusing rails or long dovetail plates. . .
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Re: Panoramas
[Re: Jim Garvie]
#12542
01/15/08 02:09 PM
01/15/08 02:09 PM
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Joined: Feb 2006
Donner Summit, CA
glamson
Veteran
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Veteran
Joined: Feb 2006
Donner Summit, CA
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Quote:
George & Tony,
I'm going to have to give the Arcsoft product a try. I'll test it against CS3 and see if it works better for the panos I put together.
I could be wrong, but it seems to me if you're real careful about the pan -- exposure, overlaps, keeping everything level -- then the software doesn't have to do as much to make the blends. Am I right or is that just wishful thinking?
Jim
Jim,
Tony's advice is all good. I would just add that you should not use a polarizer because it causes uneven sky colors and
I would stress that it really helps to lock the exposure to the brightest part of the scene. If you let the camera
automatically meter the different panels, it can lead to real problems for the software.
If you try Panomaker4 make sure you use the Pro version. It has the manual capability to adjust the stitching which I
feel is really mandatory. It's really funny sometimes (rarely) how the software will freak on something that
looks pretty straight forward.
As long as I'm posting, here is another of mine
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