theknight
Posts: 6
Location:
Registered: 3 Apr 2008
|
Panorama with a non-fisheye lens
Posted: 3 Apr 2008 at 21:28 GMT
|
|
Right I have the software PUGUI and PanoQTVR. My camera is a Canon EOS300D. The lens is a:
Canon zoom lens EF-S 18-55mm.
I do not have a tripod.
I would like to create a panorama and create a virtual tour - is this possible with my current equiptment?
Thanks. 
|
|
alert moderator
|
|
klaus mayer
Posts: 88
Location: Australia
Registered: 15 Jan 2008
|
Re: Panorama with a non-fisheye lens
Posted: 3 Apr 2008 at 22:18 GMT
|
|
That's how I had started. But stitching will be difficult if you don't have a tripod. Even a very cheap tripod is better than none. I took some good panos like this when I only had a pocket camera in the car.
You can use the lines in the viewfinder as help. Just remember where the end or the corners of the markings are on the background before rotating the camera to the next shot.
It would be difficult to take a full pano though, but 1 row or 2 rows are manageable. Take portrait photos to get a good height because some of the pano will be cropped if the shots are not level.
|
|
alert moderator
|
|
theknight
Posts: 6
Location:
Registered: 3 Apr 2008
|
Re: Panorama with a non-fisheye lens
Posted: 3 Apr 2008 at 22:29 GMT
updated: 3 Apr 2008 at 22:52 GMT
|
|
Hi Klaus,
Thank you for your reply. Realistically, how will my panos turn out with a zoom lens - got any examples? What setting should I take the shots at in the range 18-55? - at 18mm? Sorry, I am quite new to this.
Btw how many shots will I need to take to get a panorama? In terms of a virtual tour?
Thanks Klaus!
|
|
alert moderator
|
|
klaus mayer
Posts: 88
Location: Australia
Registered: 15 Jan 2008
|
Re: Panorama with a non-fisheye lens
Posted: 4 Apr 2008 at 2:46 GMT
|
|
I just remembered that there was a good post from Dorin about handheld panos in the Tips&Tricks Forum:
www.panoguide.com/forums/tipsntricks/4169/
I mostly use 18mm. Hans apparently manages to get a full 360x180 pano on a fullframe camera with only 7 shots at 17mm. I don't have a fullframe and take now about 12 shots per row over 3 rows plus nadir and zenith for a full pano.
12 shots in portrait give me about 30% overlap between the photos for control points. The more experienced guys in this forum take probably much less, but I prefer to have rather more images and delete some than having not enough and having to do it again.
If you use the zoom you will get better resolution but you will also need more photos. When creating a full pano from 18mm shots with 10 Megapixel I get TIF files >300MB which are difficult to handle. I often reduced the photo size (eg. batch resampling in Irfanview) to get panos of a smaller size in shorter time.
I suggest to try a 1 row pano in landscape and a 1 row pano in portrait, both at 18mm, to see the difference. Try 5 Megapixel images if you don't want to waste too much time for playing around until you have the best results.
One day I might buy a fish eye but I really like the detail and the ability to zoom into a pano if you have a better resolution. I never tried a 55mm pano because my computer probably would not handle the number of images required to get a full pano.
|
|
alert moderator
|
|
theknight
Posts: 6
Location:
Registered: 3 Apr 2008
|
Re: Panorama with a non-fisheye lens
Posted: 4 Apr 2008 at 15:46 GMT
|
|
Thanks Klaus.
Out of curiousity do you use a zoom lens as well at 18mm?
Btw what angle should I take my shots at, and will I be able to create a 360 degrees pano with a zoomlens at 18mm.
The nadir and zanith are top and bottom right. When it comes to stitching how should I go about stitching them.
Thanks again.
|
|
alert moderator
|
|
mediavets
Posts: 536
Location: Isleham, Cambs., United Kingdom
Registered: 8 Feb 2008
|
Re: Panorama with a non-fisheye lens
Posted: 4 Apr 2008 at 16:07 GMT
|
|
theknight said: Thanks Klaus.
Out of curiousity do you use a zoom lens as well at 18mm?
Btw what angle should I take my shots at, and will I be able to create a 360 degrees pano with a zoomlens at 18mm.
The nadir and zanith are top and bottom right. When it comes to stitching how should I go about stitching them.
Thanks again.
IMO you will not be able to create a 360x180 pano with 18mm lens without a tripod and pano head.
Andrew
|
|
alert moderator
|
|
gus
Posts: 394
Location: United Kingdom
Registered: 19 Jun 2007
|
Re: Panorama with a non-fisheye lens
Posted: 4 Apr 2008 at 16:07 GMT
|
|
Hi (name?)
You have loads of questions, all of which we all had as beginners. My first suggestion is to search online for information regarding the basics about making panos. Otherwise you will spend hours asking questions and getting vague responses, whereas someone out there has already written tutorials on the basics.
You can create very good panos with your setup, remember the following:
1) keep all settings constant from shot to shot (WB, ISO focal length, shutter speed, aperture, flash off(on). In other words you will have to learn how to use your camera in manual mode - if you dont know already.
2) Learn what your lens' nodal point is, and why buying a pano head like the "nodal ninja 3, NN3", and a sturdy tripod are crucial for good panos.
3) Learn how to use your new software , your camera, before worrying about the nadir (bottom) and zenith (top)
Lastly, make yourself a cup of tea (or 10!), scroll through the forums, and the internet for a few days, practice over the weekend, which will put you a position to ask more specific questions that are more likely to attract useful responses.
Welcome to the forum, and now that the pano-bug has bitten, enjoy!
gus
some links:
homepage.mac.com/ponyboy/linksqtvr.html
ivrpa.org/vr/links
www.rosaurophotography.com/html/technical.html
www.johnhpanos.com/tuts.htm
www.circularworlds.com/links.html
That should get you going......
|
|
alert moderator
|
|
theknight
Posts: 6
Location:
Registered: 3 Apr 2008
|
Re: Panorama with a non-fisheye lens
Posted: 4 Apr 2008 at 19:16 GMT
updated: 4 Apr 2008 at 19:16 GMT
|
|
Found this:
www.fromparis.com/video/make_a_quicktime_vr_in_10...
Everything seems to make sense now, unfortunantly it seems as though for every tutorial I find all of the phtographers are using Fisheye lenses and not zoom lenses (I am using a 18-55mm one on a canon).
With zoom lens the problem I am having currently is if I shoot lets say 12 shots vertically, due to the lens not being wide enough in portrait mode I can't seem to get the ceilings/floor into the shot.
Thanks guys.
|
|
alert moderator
|
|
DorinDXN
Posts: 1731
Location: Timisoara, Romania
Registered: 14 Nov 2006
|
Re: Panorama with a non-fisheye lens
Posted: 4 Apr 2008 at 19:29 GMT
updated: 4 Apr 2008 at 19:36 GMT
|
|
Hi, stay tuned as I'll start right now a thread for making panos with 18-55mm kit lens
it can be done, the prove is here
www.dxn.ro/en/panorama.html
(please read the notes and notice where 18-55 appear)
Dorin
|
|
alert moderator
|
|
mediavets
Posts: 536
Location: Isleham, Cambs., United Kingdom
Registered: 8 Feb 2008
|
Re: Panorama with a non-fisheye lens
Posted: 4 Apr 2008 at 19:41 GMT
updated: 4 Apr 2008 at 19:45 GMT
|
|
theknight said: With zoom lens the problem I am having currently is if I shoot lets say 12 shots vertically, due to the lens not being wide enough in portrait mode I can't seem to get the ceilings/floor into the shot.
Thanks guys.
Quite - you will need to shoot more than one row if you are to get 360x180 degree coverage.
To do that with any precision you will need a pano head - such as the Nodal Ninja 3 - mounted on a tripod. It is very unlikely that you can get a good result handheld or just using a regular tripod on it's own.
Andrew
|
|
alert moderator
|
|
bucko
Posts: 20
Location: United States
Registered: 24 Oct 2005
|
Re: Panorama with a non-fisheye lens
Posted: 4 Apr 2008 at 21:21 GMT
|
|
The 18mm lens setting will require a minimum of 3 rows plus zenith and nadir for full 360x180 stitch... Portrait orientation, 10 shots around for each row (i.e., 36 degree interval). One row each at -45, 0, and +45 degrees pitch, plus the zenith and nadir.
Landscape orientation requires fewer images per row (8 images at 45 degree intervals), but more rows are required (5 rows at 30 degree intervals pitch), again plus zenith and nadir. Using a tripod this may be the more convenient approach as the tripod likely will have the proper intervals marked for you...
This can be accomplished using only a tripod (no pano head) but it is unlikely you can achieve this degree of precision without a tripod. A pano head will make your life much easier and it is worth buying one or even constructing one should your budget demand this...
The good news is that you can produce high quality stitched images with your camera and lens combo but this combo will require more work than would a good wide angle or fisheye lens.
I look forward to Dorin's tutorial...
Charlie
|
|
alert moderator
|
|
