touristguy87 wrote:

klausesser wrote:

touristguy87 wrote:

It seems that you're just trying to take a wide FOV pano here, not generate some ridiculous # of MP so I'd just redo it with a better perspective that would make this much simpler to stitch and then crop the shots to get the aspect-ratio that you want.

he shot a sphere . . . .

Yes, and APP supports spherical projections, right?

So if he can't get them to stitch properly with APP then maybe the problem is in the shots that he took?

I'm just asking, I don't see what the problem is with that, here. Maybe the question riles all the genius intellect on this forum...

especially when he clearly states that he's experimenting with different shooting techniques and at least one of you "geniuses" is trying to help him do just that.

again: you don´t know what you´re talking about but give "clever" advices . .
and insult others . as usual.

I didn't mean to steer up old wounds here

touristguy87 is right in that I am experimenting, but only with the nadir shot. I've successfully stitched 6+z, APP kinda does it automatically so I wont take credit for it. As for the quality of the shots, WB, HDR, that stuff is easy and fun once I know I can get a good stitch everytime. The correct nadir method is my main objective here. I want to be in and out of my shoot location and know for certain that I've got the proper nadir shot.

klausesser wrote:

Shooting the Nadir the way Hans suggested you don´t have to place anything - APP includes the Nadir perfectly. It´easily done to shoot - i did it several times - even without the monopod´s stabilizing.

I can't see myself doing this, the technique seems very accurate but tedious. I can't see myslef doing that in a clients office or a busy shopping mall

mediavets wrote:

The VPC feature in PTGui can only be used in certain circumstances anyway and the process seems to be quite fiddling.

I actually got the PTGui VPC method to work quite well (finaly!). After shooting 6+z, I moved the tripod 1m out, tilted the panohead 15º down and took a shot. I did have to fiddle with the control points in PTGui, but it took me about 1 minute to take my shots. I hope APP will add a similar option in future releases.

Last edited by janaslani (2009-02-28 23:04:08)

klausesser wrote:

APP already stitches the Nadir well - mabe you´ll have to play around with the settings and cp . . .

Yes, APP stitched my original nadir I posted well but it still took time to setup the tripod. The TEST images I've posted below PTGui was able to stitch successfully using VPC. The image before last is what I used for nadir. Can u see if APP can use this nadir?

Thanks in advance.

Last edited by janaslani (2009-02-28 23:16:37)

klausesser wrote:

Janaslani - there are no EXIFs . . which camera did you use?

Oh sorry, I uploaded jpgs for smaller size. D300, nikkor 10.5

Original's were shot in Raw. Can I include EXIF's if exporting jpg version from Apreture?

Last edited by janaslani (2009-02-28 23:27:28)

janaslani wrote:

klausesser wrote:

Janaslani - there are no EXIFs . . which camera did you use?

Oh sorry, I uploaded jpgs for smaller size. D300, nikkor 10.5

Original's were shot in Raw. Can I include EXIF's if exporting jpg version from Apreture?

sorry, man - i tried APP 1.4.2, i tried PTGui and i tried the StitcherUnlimited: they all produced garbage.
How the hell did you shoot this? Looks like you did one shot - nr.8 - far out of any axis.

If you wanna save time while shooting: set the camera to a down-angle of about 15° for ALL 6 shots and shoot only Zenith additionally.
This way i shot this one - having the camera´s horizont at 45° and corrected the pano using the vertical line-tool:

http://www.klausesser.de/Pano3.html

The camera was mounted on a monopole which was mounted on a heavy Gitzo Nr.5 tripod with additional weights and the pole was 45° oriented. The camera (20D with 10,5mm Nikon) was mounted having an angle of about 15° downwards so it looked at the base of the pano-head.
There was no Nadir shot needed - but a bigger Zenith-shot. The camera hung about 3m high above the reiling to have e better downlooking angle (we weren´t allowed to place it beyond the reiling.) I cycled the pole from the tripod-mount 6 times and shot two Zeniths cross-wise.

The whole "business" of pano-shooting bases heavily on preciseness! I strongly suggest to work exact - and not fast. You save much time afterwards by exact shooting.

best, Klaus

Last edited by klausesser (2009-03-01 00:42:26)

janaslani wrote:

mediavets wrote:

The VPC feature in PTGui can only be used in certain circumstances anyway and the process seems to be quite fiddling.

I actually got the PTGui VPC method to work quite well (finaly!). After shooting 6+z, I moved the tripod 1m out, tilted the panohead 15º down and took a shot. I did have to fiddle with the control points in PTGui, but it took me about 1 minute to take my shots. I hope APP will add a similar option in future releases.

AFAIK VPC only works when you can set nadir CPs on a flat/plane surface - that may be fine for your work but it won't work for many outdoor scenes.

Last edited by mediavets (2009-03-01 01:14:36)

janaslani wrote:

Wow, that's an amazing pano you took. I've been reading your setup trying to picture your rig. It's very cool what u did there.

I'm going to keep experimenting. Right before your post, I posted my version of the stitched pano using the pics I posted. I used PTGui and VPC and after some tweeking, it seems to have worked:

http://www.shutterspin.com/artefina/pano.mov

I also thought about your idea of shooting at 15º down and a bigger zenith. I tried it but the whole bottom of the shots end up having the base of the panohead which in my case, using the 360preciion adjuste is across the bottom of the shot. How do you fix that afterwards?

Forget Quicktime the pano 'world' has switched to FlashVRs, as a means of more readily reaching the widest audience.

-15 degrees pitch - or any downwards pitch - is not a rule carved instone.  Set the downward pitch such that just the edge of the rotator appears in your shots.

You may like to try shooting the 'zenith' at about +65 degrees rather than +90 - or shoot both - because a +90 zenith shot ( a very plain ceiling, or a clear blue sky, for example) sometimes lacks any features for auto or manual CP placement. A +65 'zenith' shot if more likley to enable linking the 'zenith' with the main row of shots in such circumstances. In fact your image set is a good example of where this technique could have made it easier to stitch with APP.

Most PTGui users hang out on the Panoguide.com forum should you ever wish to seek advice on PTGui.

Last edited by mediavets (2009-03-01 01:57:20)

janaslani wrote:

I also thought about your idea of shooting at 15º down and a bigger zenith. I tried it but the whole bottom of the shots end up having the base of the panohead which in my case, using the 360preciion adjuste is across the bottom of the shot. How do you fix that afterwards?

Right - but you can´t avoid some post-pro anyway about the base. So having the camera mounted slightly down-angled you get a very small footprint - which is retouched easly or filled with an additionally Nadir-shot.
The bigger the footprint the more complicated it´s to be filled. You still could think over placing a mirror-ball or a plate with your logo as footprint - if it´s small enough.

For having a "live" bottom you have to shoot a Nadir - there´s no way around it. Using the "tilted" camera at least it´s easier to add the Nadir.

Anyway i like better to use my 20mm Nikon on my 20D and take 40 shots for a sphere.
It takes some minutes longer - but i can use KR´s multi-resolution to zoom into the sphere far better because of the higher resolution.

Shooting a sphere takes me around 6-7minutes vs. around 4-5 minutes using a fisheye - that´s not too much in places like offices, stores or other locations.

Only in crowded places or having fast moving clouds or so you NEED to be faster.

best, Klaus

Last edited by klausesser (2009-03-01 01:44:36)

janaslani wrote:

mediavets wrote:

You may like to try shooting the 'zenith' at about +65 degrees rather than +90 - or shoot both - because a +90 zenith shot ( a very plain ceiling, or a clear blue sky, for example) sometimes lacks any features for auto or manual CP placement. A +65 'zenith' shot if more likley to enable linking the 'zenith' with the main row of shots in such circumstances.

Yes, I understand, great tip, thanks.

mediavets wrote:

Most PTGui users hang out on the Panoguide.com forum should you ever wish to seek advice on PTGui.

I'm not quite sold on PTGui. But i have checked out the forum there. I do like APP's interface and ease of use.

I got the +65 'zenith' tip from Hans Nyberg a true pano guru (and PTGui devotee!).

.............

I opted for APP over PTgui because I too liked the interface and ease of use. But some feel just the opposite.

I couldn't face the steep learning curve of PTGui.

There's no doubt that PTGui is a wonderful tool in the hands of an expert; but it may take years to become an expert.

PTGui has been described as a 'stitcher for engineers' vs. APP as a 'stitcher for photographers'.

IF a lot of your work could be real estate panos in empty/unfurnished properties with a lot of plain coloured walls and ceilings then PTGui could be a better bet because these sort of scenes are not easy to handle with APP because of the way the automatic CP placement (SIFT) algorithm works, and because the system for manually placing CPs (in a zone/region) also depends on this algorithm vs. placing CPs precisely by hand in PTGui.

DrSlony wrote:

Here is a tutorial on how to extract and insert the nadir using open source software (Hugin): http://panospace.wordpress.com/2008/03/ … the-nadir/

Such a procedere i use with CubicConverter and Photoshop - somewhat easier. CubicConverter is a Mac-only "swiss army-knife for the panomaker" . . .
Makes QT or Flash movies from APP´s equirectangulars. Very good also is Pleinpot for making Flash-movies from equis or cubefaces.

I tried HugIn on Mac - janaslani also uses a Mac - and it didn´t convince me at all.
But that´s two years ago - maybe it´s better now.

I use FreePV for playing Quicktime panoramas, smooth and wonderful!