Jorgen Poulsen
Posts: 24
Location:
Registered: 30 Apr 2008
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Choices
Posted: 1 May 2008 at 13:37 GMT
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So for now I have decided to buy a Nikon D60 or D40x and a Sunex Superfisheye with the Sunex panoramic rotator.
I understand that I will only be able to take the pics per panorama.
I will be taking pics both inside and outside.
Is there anubody who would like to recommend another setup with the same price range?
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Doug Aurand
Posts: 219
Location: Albuquerque, NM, United States
Registered: 2 Jan 2008
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Re: Choices
Posted: 1 May 2008 at 14:06 GMT
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Jorgen
That's a really good setup for starting out.
Simpler 3 fisheye stitching without a Zenith or Nadir shot needed and a rotator with a preset nodal point.
If Im' not mistaken the D80 is priced about the same as the D60, you might compare features
Doug Aurand
Albuquerque, NM
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mediavets
Posts: 139
Location: Isleham, Cambs., United Kingdom
Registered: 8 Feb 2008
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Re: Choices
Posted: 1 May 2008 at 14:16 GMT
updated: 1 May 2008 at 14:17 GMT
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Canon 400D and Sigma 8mm f3.5 FE with Nodal Ninja 3 or 5 pano head.
Why?
1. Because neither D60 nor D40X has Automatic Exposure Bracketing (I have a D40 and know I miss not having AEB).
2. With 4 shots using the Sigma 8mm f3.5 you will get a higher resolution pano than with 3 shots using the Sunex.
3. No wired remote option for the D60 nor for the D40X.
Andrew
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Jorgen Poulsen
Posts: 24
Location:
Registered: 30 Apr 2008
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Re: Choices
Posted: 1 May 2008 at 18:54 GMT
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Thank for that advice.
So with a Canon 400D and Sigma 8mm f3.5 FE how many pics would I need to create a panorama?
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Steven Scott
Posts: 1
Location: Lahaina, Maui, Hawaii, United States
Registered: 13 Mar 2008
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Re: Choices
Posted: 1 May 2008 at 20:01 GMT
updated: 1 May 2008 at 20:06 GMT
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The new Canon XSi has 12MP, 3-inch LCD, LiveView, longer battery than XTi, Dust reduction, etc. I believe it is called the Canon 450 outside the U.S.A. Body about $850 and one-lens kit about $950 US. It does do AEB (auto exposure bracketing). It is also 3.5 frames a second!
The new Nikon D60 DOES NOT do AEB, and thus, is not as competitive (in my view) with the Canon XSi model. It is cheaper, though, by $150+.
As an aside, the Nikon D300 does up to NINE level exposure bracketing, easily one of the highest in SLR's.
The Canon XTi (Canon 400, I believe) is coming down in price. I work in a "pro" camera store on Mau'i, Hawai'i, and our XTi price is $629 for the body only.
I am a BIG fan of prime, fixed-focal length lenses for panoramic pictures. The Sigma 8mm would be my choice, along with a Canon XSI.
Mahalo nui loa,
steve
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Doug Aurand
Posts: 219
Location: Albuquerque, NM, United States
Registered: 2 Jan 2008
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Re: Choices
Posted: 1 May 2008 at 22:56 GMT
updated: 1 May 2008 at 23:02 GMT
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Jorgen
With the Sigma 8mm f/3.5 on any camera with an APS-C sized sensor like the Canon XTi/400D or XSi/450D or Nikon D40, D60 or D80, the traditional shoot is 4 shots around horizontal plus a Zenith shot with a Nadir shot optional.
Using the new 360Precision Atome rotator just announced you'll theoretically only need 4 shots around horizontal because it tilts the camera & Sigma 8mm lens up 15° so there's enough overlap at the Zenith, eliminating the need for for a separate Zenith shot. There will be a "hole" on the Nadir, probably about the size of your tripod that can be covered with a tripod cap easily
Doug Aurand
Albuquerque
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gus
Posts: 305
Location: United Kingdom
Registered: 19 Jun 2007
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Re: Choices
Posted: 2 May 2008 at 6:59 GMT
updated: 2 May 2008 at 7:02 GMT
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Doug Aurand said: Jorgen
Using the new 360Precision Atome rotator just announced you'll theoretically only need 4 shots around horizontal because it tilts the camera & Sigma 8mm lens up 15° so there's enough overlap at the Zenith, eliminating the need for for a separate Zenith shot. There will be a "hole" on the Nadir, probably about the size of your tripod that can be covered with a tripod cap easily
Doug Aurand
Albuquerque
Just for completeness, this can be achieved with any pano-bracket that does not have a fixed upper arm. All the NNinjas for example, can be tilted up slightly to close the hole in the zenith. The hole in the nadir however, will be larger than the tripod footprint.
My personal preference is to tilt the camera slightly down, which opens up the hole in the zenith. My reasoning is that its easier to take a zenith shot (at 60°), and to patch the tiny hole in nadir using one of several photoshop methods, than to take a nadir shot and post edit it.
That said, some locations will have difficult nadirs to stitch, in which case an addtional nadir shot is helpful. This can be done either offset, or at angle(viewpoint correction) or handheld.
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gus
Posts: 305
Location: United Kingdom
Registered: 19 Jun 2007
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Re: Choices
Posted: 2 May 2008 at 7:10 GMT
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Steven Scott said: The new Canon XSi has 12MP, 3-inch LCD, LiveView, longer battery than XTi, Dust reduction, etc. I believe it is called the Canon 450 outside the U.S.A. Body about $850 and one-lens kit about $950 US. It does do AEB (auto exposure bracketing). It is also 3.5 frames a second!
Mahalo nui loa,
steve
Had a look at this camera - It's fantastic value for money! I wish I didnt have a 10.5mm nikon and SB-600 flash already, otherwise i would have upgraded in a flash.
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John Houghton
Posts: 2011
Location: Hitchin, United Kingdom
Registered: 17 Jan 2005
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Re: Choices
Posted: 2 May 2008 at 7:38 GMT
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The Canon 450 is certainly great value for money. My one reservation about it would be its likely buffering performance. It has only a 6 frame buffer. I've not yet seen any reviews giving buffering performance test results, so this may or may not be a significant drawback. However, if you want fast performance with bracketed shots, it's possible you might want to look elsewhere.
John
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mhc1
Posts: 102
Location: Hamburg, Germany
Registered: 29 Dec 2005
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Re: Choices
Posted: 2 May 2008 at 8:54 GMT
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Nikon // Canon
It may be interesting but:
Sigma 8 on
Nikon D80//70//200.(1.5Crop).. can do with 3 shot ehwn 60° slanted
Canon 1.6 can do also but if not tirned very precisely there are missing parts.
I do not advice 60° slanted & 3 shots , but if your crop is 1.5 or smaller you could practice and be able do shoot with 3 quite well.
Of course you don´t habe the amount of overlap and you are using the critical part of the lens. Sigma 4.5 or Sunex will be easier to shoot with 3 - but speaking about quality there is a remarkable waste in sensor area.
I would go on a 1.5 crop an Sigma 8.
ciao
mike
www.360de.de (relaunched)
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Doug Aurand
Posts: 219
Location: Albuquerque, NM, United States
Registered: 2 Jan 2008
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Re: Choices
Posted: 2 May 2008 at 14:43 GMT
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Gus
The reason I suggested the 360Precision Atome was because Jorgen seams to be looking for a simpler work flow, especially since he's considering outsourcing the stitching.
A non-adjustable rotator like the Atome would eliminate the need for him to find the No Parallax Point.
I've used iPIX Rotators for years and thats one of the best things about them; each rotator is designed for a specific Nikon Coolpix (or other brands) camera model and either the Nikon FC-E8 or E9. Just putting the camera/lens in place and screwing it down sets the NPP.
That would be one of the benefits of him using the Sunex 5.6mm he's considering and their proprietary rotator; the NPP is preset.
Doug Aurand
Albuquerque, NM
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mediavets
Posts: 139
Location: Isleham, Cambs., United Kingdom
Registered: 8 Feb 2008
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Re: Choices
Posted: 2 May 2008 at 14:52 GMT
updated: 2 May 2008 at 15:17 GMT
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Doug Aurand said: Jorgen
With the Sigma 8mm f/3.5 on any camera with an APS-C sized sensor like the Canon XTi/400D or XSi/450D or Nikon D40, D60 or D80, the traditional shoot is 4 shots around horizontal plus a Zenith shot with a Nadir shot optional.
Using the new 360Precision Atome rotator just announced you'll theoretically only need 4 shots around horizontal because it tilts the camera & Sigma 8mm lens up 15° so there's enough overlap at the Zenith, eliminating the need for for a separate Zenith shot. There will be a "hole" on the Nadir, probably about the size of your tripod that can be covered with a tripod cap easily
Doug Aurand
Albuquerque
When I shoot outdoors using the Sigma 8mm f3.5 FE on my D40 (1.5 sensor crop) with the Nodal Ninja 5 pano head I usually shoot 4 around at +5 degrees.
This covers the zenith and leaves a square hole slightly smaller than the rotator 'drum' of the NN5 head - ie. far smaller than the tripod footprint, and nothing of the NN5 rails appears in the stitched pano. I use Autopano Pro to stitch and render with spline 36 interpolation and Smartblend.
Or with 6 around (just for 'fun').
Yes, I am aware that the head and focus is not set perfectly - I just wanted to show the size of the nadir 'hole' so swapped from my Nikkor 10.5mm and used a rough NPP adjustment for this pano.
Andrew
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Doug Aurand
Posts: 219
Location: Albuquerque, NM, United States
Registered: 2 Jan 2008
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Re: Choices
Posted: 2 May 2008 at 15:36 GMT
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Andrew
Those shots really show how liitle the "Nadir Hole" is when tilting the Sigma 8mm up.
Because the Canon APS-C sensors are a little smaller than the Nikon equivalent, they not only crop the sides of the image with the camera in portrait position, but also a little of the top and bottom.
To get enough overlap at the Zenith, I have to tilt my Canon XTi/Sigma 8mm a little more. 15° is plenty, but I'm trying to see what 10° will do using my Nodal Ninja 3
Doug Aurand
Albuquerque, NM
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John Houghton
Posts: 2011
Location: Hitchin, United Kingdom
Registered: 17 Jan 2005
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Re: Choices
Posted: 2 May 2008 at 17:54 GMT
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Doug, With my 40D (same size sensor as the XTi) a tilt of 5° works, so 10° should be ok. Just playing with some images in PTGui, I can see that 4° is the minimum to close the hole, so 5° is cutting things a little too fine.
John
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Doug Aurand
Posts: 219
Location: Albuquerque, NM, United States
Registered: 2 Jan 2008
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Re: Choices
Posted: 3 May 2008 at 1:44 GMT
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John
Thanx for the info.
I had an idea that I might be able to get away with 5° but I haven't had time to practice much with the Sigma 8mm. The few samples I've tried had the No Parallax Point off a little.
When you shoot with the cmaera tiled up, do you shoot a Nadir shot to pull the bottom together or is there enough overlap?
Thanx again
Doug Aurand
Albuquerque, NM
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