The Panorama Thread

Andy · June 2, 2007

Lots of folks like to shoot Panoramas. Some want to learn, too.... So, let's put some tips and tricks here in this thread, for folks to learn from!

1. Gear
I use and recommend Really Right Stuff pano gear. Specifially, for single-row panos, the PCL-1 panning clamp and also a nodal slide. More here:
http://reallyrightstuff.com/pano/index.html

2. Finding the nodal point:
http://dgrin.smugmug.com/gallery/2114189

OK so, tip #1! Lose the circular polarizer :lol3

This is five shots, portrait-orientation. Notice, the effect of the C-PL in the middle of the pano... not really desireable, is it!

More to come, but I want to hear from all you other pano-shooters, with your best tips :ear

Nikolai · June 2, 2007

OK, I'll play
Tip #2: Allow 30%..50% of ovelapping between the shots.
Stitching software works so much better when it has some wiggle room.

Here's 11 shots pano from last Smumug Shootout in Bryce Canyon, UT, May 2006.

Andy · June 2, 2007

TIP #3

Shoot in Manual - keep the exposure consistent across all shots. Shoot in RAW, then match everything in RAW, synchronize the files.

Nik, your shot has an exposure flaw, about 1/2 way across - noticeable in the sky, particularly. Easy enough to fix though!

Nikolai · June 2, 2007

TIP#4 Shoot Fast
Light can change, people can move.

If you act fast, even tripodless shooting can save you a day.

David_S85 · June 3, 2007

Tip #5
To lessen the effect of ghosting, look for continuous movement in the scene you want to capture. For example, if clouds are moving from left to right, shoot the sequence the same way. Reverse the shooting sequence if the movement is right to left.

Clouds are less a problem than anything else in a set of shots, but do look for any movement first because it is far easier to deal with it at the shoot than in post.

Nikolai · June 3, 2007

David_S85 wrote:

Tip #5
To lessen the effect of ghosting, look for continuous movement in the scene you want to capture. For example, if clouds are moving from left to right, shoot the sequence the same way. Reverse the shooting sequence if the movement is right to left.

Clouds are less a problem than anything else in a set of shots, but do look for any movement first because it is far easier to deal with it at the shoot than in post.

Tip #5.1
If you're dealing with the cars, boats, people, or any other easily identifiable small objects, reverse the direction. You really don't want to have 5-7 copies of the same car in your final shot.

David_S85 · June 3, 2007

Nikolai wrote:

Tip #5.1
If you're dealing with the cars, boats, people, or any other easily identifiable small objects, reverse the direction. You really don't want to have 5-7 copies of the same car in your final shot.

Sometimes, that can be fun! Here is my first-ever pano, done back in the 1990's, and without software (obviously). A few of us are in there more than once. Note: no overlapping was done, since I didn't know how to deal with that in 1997.

Now, assuming you do want to place someone in the shot several times... place the person or thing smack dab in the middle of each shot, and don't overlap 50%.

Skippy · June 3, 2007

Andy wrote:

TIP #3

Shoot in Manual - keep the exposure consistent across all shots. Shoot in RAW, then match everything in RAW, synchronize the files.

Nik, your shot has an exposure flaw, about 1/2 way across - noticeable in the sky, particularly. Easy enough to fix though!

Great Thread Andy

So if you are shooting in RAW and in Manual from which part of your image did you take your reading from for Exposure?

Am I correct to think you exposed for the brightest part of the image,
then set the exposure for that and then shot the sequence

Or am I misunderstanding this

.... Skippy

David_S85 · June 3, 2007

As far as exposure settings go, I will use the meter in the camera to note the exposures over the entire scene before I shoot. The differences can be pretty dramatic. You don't want to blow out the shot, but if using a wide enough angle, I don't mind blowing out the one or two with the sun in it if the sun is included in the shot. I then go more with a gut feeling than with the most proper exposure of the brightest shot. Sometimes the differences are closer, and I end up averaging the exposures and going with that. Every scene is different. Shoot in RAW — always. And to make more sure, I bracket every shot so I can have three versions of the whole thing. Cheaper than going back there.

Tip #6: Manual Focus.
Besides manual exposure mode, I also use manual focus. More than likely, the most important subjects in a pano will be at or near infinity distance. So that my lens won't accidently focus on one nearby object while rotating, I use auto focus on the most distant object pre shooting, then switch the lens to manual, and shoot the sequence. I also try not to use a lens wide open. The more items are in focus, the better. I usually want to be between f/8 and 11 for most lenses I do pano's with.

Nikolai · June 3, 2007

David_S85 wrote:

Tip #6: Manual Focus.
Besides manual exposure mode, I also use manual focus. More than likely, the most important subjects in a pano will be at or near infinity distance. So that my lens won't accidently focus on one nearby object while rotating, I use auto focus on the most distant object pre shooting, then switch the lens to manual, and shoot the sequence.

Tip #6.1 Use Hyperfocal distance for lansdcape panos.

Use expodisc or dof master charts to set the focal length (manual) to a value that provides you a hyperfocal distance. This way you'll get the most of the frame tack sharp.

David_S85 · June 3, 2007

Nikolai wrote:

Tip #6.1 Use Hyperfocal distance for lansdcape panos.

As much as hyperfocals might help, honestly, and out in the field, I want to get the shot done and not have to look up things on some kinda chart. At f/8 or higher and using moderate wide angle lenses, it just wouldn't help that much.

Nikolai · June 3, 2007

David_S85 wrote:

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As much as hyperfocals might help, honestly, and out in the field, I want to get the shot done and not have to look up things on some kinda chart. At f/8 or higher and using moderate wide angle lenses, it just wouldn't help that much.

Just don't set it to infinity, cut it some slack

David_S85 · June 3, 2007

#7: You may get some banding if...
...you use an extremely wide angle lens in bright daylight. So let's say you have your pano making software set to image blending, and set to automatically de-barrelize the images, and you didn't use a polarizer filter (note: as Andy mentioned earlier, don't ever use a polarizer filter on pano's), and your pano head was properly calibrated. So what happened?

This full 360º shot was done at around 8am at Bryce, specifically at Bryce Point, at last year's Dgrin Shootout. The image was with a 10-22 Canon lens set at 10mm, 8 total shots & portrait orientation, with about a 33% overlap on each shot. Notice the banding effect...

The banding is due to the atmosphere's natural difference in brightness at different angles from the sun. At 10mm, the lens is taking in so much sky per shot that the software can't handle the difference between the shots. At 10mm, the lens is going to distort badly at each edge. Nothing I can do about that (and yes, each shot has been de-barrelized first). Stitched shots with wide angle distortion get a double whammy since you are edge blending. The wide angle vignetting at 10mm doesn't help either. Yes, I can spend some time in PS or PSP trying to blend it more manually, but the same shot at 17mm and at 22mm doesn't show this banding. Now if this was a night shot, or low-light shot, the stitching would be an easier task.

Special notes:
10mm, Canon 20D, ISO 100, 1/640, f/8.0. Final image size was 9910 x 3290.
The railing was about 6 inches away from the lens!
The moon is in this shot. Can you see it? (it is very small)
We waited about 20 extra minutes to take this set. It was swarming with a 2-bus tour group. I was so glad when they left!

dbd · June 4, 2007

... some banding if ...

David_S85 wrote:

#7: You may get some banding if...
...you use an extremely wide angle lens in bright daylight. So let's say you have your pano making software set to image blending, and set to automatically de-barrelize the images, and you didn't use a polarizer filter (note: as Andy mentioned earlier, don't ever use a polarizer filter on pano's), and your pano head was properly calibrated. So what happened?

This full 360º shot was done at around 8am at Bryce, specifically at Bryce Point, at last year's Dgrin Shootout. The image was with a 10-22 Canon lens set at 10mm, 8 total shots & portrait orientation, with about a 33% overlap on each shot. Notice the banding effect...
The banding is due to the atmosphere's natural difference in brightness at different angles from the sun. At 10mm, the lens is taking in so much sky per shot that the software can't handle the difference between the shots. At 10mm, the lens is going to distort badly at each edge. Nothing I can do about that (and yes, each shot has been de-barrelized first). Stitched shots with wide angle distortion get a double whammy since you are edge blending. The wide angle vignetting at 10mm doesn't help either. Yes, I can spend some time in PS or PSP trying to blend it more manually, but the same shot at 17mm and at 22mm doesn't show this banding. Now if this was a night shot, or low-light shot, the stitching would be an easier task.

Banding due to atmospheric effects will show in all focal lengths. These bands are also vertical, not around the sun. This problem's cause is not software, but optical vignetting. See:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vignetting
or
http://www.vanwalree.com/optics/vignetting.html

You will get less banding if you:

1) Correct for vignetting before stitching (remove the effect)
2) Overlap more (use less effected regions of the images)
3) Use longer focal lengths of the lens (lessen the effect)

Dale B. Dalrymple
http://dbdimages.com

dancorder · June 4, 2007

#8 Hiding Seams
This is the single most useful things on stitching panoramas that I've seen: http://www.tawbaware.com/ptasmblr_tutorial.htm#seams it's allowed me to stitch pictures together that didn't line up all that well so that you really can't see the joins. (As Nik says large amounts of overlap help here)

The Panorama Thread

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