Erik Ahrend
Posts: 87
Location: Canary Islands, Spain
Registered: 26 May 2005
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Pole aerial VR & 5D/Sigma 8/Agnos RingT combo..
Posted: 1 Jul 2008 at 18:13 GMT
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I am starting a new project that involves quite a bit of pole aerial VR´s..As I want to keep things as simple as possibly I am starting with a Nikon FC-E8 and agnos rotatorA that i will be receiving by the end of this week or next one the latest. But eventually I might want to migrate to a higher quality setup. Obviously, I want to continue shooting a fisheye for simplicity and for just one row spherical panos..
I currently shoot with canon 30D and EF-s 10-22 @ 10 with a 360 precision panohead. The results are amazing, but to be honest, a bit overkill because find the 10.000 x 5000 resulting panos unusable for web display. I normally go to something around 5000x2500 for fullscreen with results that my clients haven´t complained about and that make a good compromise between quality and size.
I am interested in a Canon 5D/Sigma 8 f3.5 combo. I believe you can get a full spherical pano with just 3 shots, is that correct? If so I guess the resulting planar should be around 8000x4000 roughly..?? I would appreciate comments on the final size and quality of the files. If spherical is possible with just one row I will consider Agnos RingT for simplicity and ease of use. So if the results were good enough I could consider trading my current Canon 30D/Ef-s10-22/360PrecisionAbsolute combo for the 5D/Sigma8/Agnos RingT one...I know that the general argument is "why go for less shots/less quality?", but I am also going to get involved in a lot of event photography, so the less shots the better, and as I said before, the output of my actual setup is very nice but maybe unnecessary for web display. Would anybody using this 5D/Sigma8 combo be willing to donate some files for me to inspect??
I´ll love to hear your experiences/knowledge with the 5D/Sigma8 setup..
Thanks in advance for your kind advise!
Best, Erik.
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Doug Aurand
Posts: 720
Location: Albuquerque, NM, United States
Registered: 2 Jan 2008
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Re: Pole aerial VR & 5D/Sigma 8/Agnos RingT combo..
Posted: 1 Jul 2008 at 18:55 GMT
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Erik
The 5D is an expensive camera to put on top of a pole
Using the Sigma 8mm with the 30D would only take 4 shots.
Doug Aurand
Albuquerque, NM
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Erik Ahrend
Posts: 87
Location: Canary Islands, Spain
Registered: 26 May 2005
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Re: Pole aerial VR & 5D/Sigma 8/Agnos RingT combo..
Posted: 1 Jul 2008 at 18:58 GMT
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Doug, I was under the impression that you needed a zenith shot fot the Sigma in a cropped sensor Canon..
Erik.
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Hans Nyberg
Posts: 824
Location: Denmark
Registered: 28 Aug 2005
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Re: Pole aerial VR & 5D/Sigma 8/Agnos RingT combo..
Posted: 1 Jul 2008 at 19:03 GMT
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5D and an 8mm is not a good combination. You get much better resolution with your 30D + Sigma 8mm.
The 30D will need you to take 4 images and the resolution is around 7000x3500
With the 5D you can do it in 3 images but the resolution will only be 5600x2800.
If you want more resolution with least images you need a 12mp 1.6 sensor like the 450D and the Sigma 8mm.
That will give you around 8600x4300
Or a 5D and a shaved Tokina 10-17mm which used at 12mm/ 4 images also will give you 8600x4300
Hans
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Steven Scott
Posts: 38
Location: Lahaina, Maui, Hawaii, United States
Registered: 13 Mar 2008
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Re: Pole aerial VR & 5D/Sigma 8/Agnos RingT combo..
Posted: 1 Jul 2008 at 19:03 GMT
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Erik,
Doug is right. I shoot PAP (pole aerial photography) and have the Manfrotto 269 HDBU tripod that goes to 25 feet. I use a Canon G9. At times, I'm not able to go above 15 feet due to the wind.
I manage a pro camera store, and have put a Canon 40D, Canon 5D, Nikon D60 -- all on the tripod. It is scary. Not only might I lose a camera, but it would snap the tripod with just a small amount of wind. (A short gust of wind almost cost me a 40D!)
I use a Manfrotto 488 RCO tripod head. It adds some stability, but also some weight. Weight is a HUGE consideration. I have a new web site with limited information at www.mauipanoramics.com. More to come!!!
I'm also shooting Panos at 10 - 25 feet. Remember, too, you'll need good remote control software or wireless. I use two software packages and have the Canon G9 connected via USB cable.
In the perfect world -- it gets no better than a Canon 5D and Sigma 8mm. But it's a lot of money -- and I'm not convinced it's worth it for PAP.
I'll have more samples up on Friday, with various cameras at 15-25 feet.
Mahalo,
steve
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Hans Nyberg
Posts: 824
Location: Denmark
Registered: 28 Aug 2005
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Re: Pole aerial VR & 5D/Sigma 8/Agnos RingT combo..
Posted: 1 Jul 2008 at 19:15 GMT
updated: 1 Jul 2008 at 19:20 GMT
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Erik Ahrend said: Doug, I was under the impression that you needed a zenith shot fot the Sigma in a cropped sensor Canon..
Erik.
You just need to tilt it 5 degrees up for zenith.
That is actually the same as the rotator of your panohead usually takes up.
But usually for pole panos you should have a very light panohead, Just a small angle from a building market is what I use often together with the 5D and a shaved 10.5 or Tokina.
If you do not get enough for zenith you can easy retouch it on a cubeface.
Hans
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Erik Ahrend
Posts: 87
Location: Canary Islands, Spain
Registered: 26 May 2005
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Re: Pole aerial VR & 5D/Sigma 8/Agnos RingT combo..
Posted: 1 Jul 2008 at 19:24 GMT
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Thanks for the kind replies.
I am considering the 5D not only for PAP but as my general workhorse..Truth be said, the fourteen images I need to take in order to complete a spherical pano with my current setup can be a pain considering the amount of stitching and post-processing time involved..I am lost now, because I have never had the need for a file bigger than 5000x2500 for my fulscreen panos, but still people comment on the lack of resolution with the 5D/Sigma combo..I need a setup that enables me to work faster and spend less time stitching/postprocessing..Plus shooting faster in evbents and other "moving"situations can be great help too..
Steve intersting site you have there, I wil surely return to it!! About the manfrotto tripod you are using, a very interesting piece of gear, and according to the manufacturer´s brochure it should be Ok to load it with up to 10Kg...Plus, I want to do some night time long exposure aerial panos of coast areas, so windy conditions are out of the way anyhow..
I would still love to get ahold of a good quality file/sample of the canon 5D /Sigma 8 f3.3 combo to play with..Anybody..??
Thanks!!
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Erik Ahrend
Posts: 87
Location: Canary Islands, Spain
Registered: 26 May 2005
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Re: Pole aerial VR & 5D/Sigma 8/Agnos RingT combo..
Posted: 1 Jul 2008 at 19:27 GMT
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Thanks Hans!! That is why I am considering the Agnos RingT. It can´t get much more simple or light than that, can it? But using it alone (without a TCP rotator) will make the tilting impossible.I want to keep things as light and simple as possible..
Erik
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Doug Aurand
Posts: 720
Location: Albuquerque, NM, United States
Registered: 2 Jan 2008
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Re: Pole aerial VR & 5D/Sigma 8/Agnos RingT combo..
Posted: 1 Jul 2008 at 19:49 GMT
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Erik
While Hans has a lot of experience with PAP, I thought the solution to avoid a Zenith shot on a pole, especially for an outdoor sscene, would be to tilt down 5-10° and fill the "hole" at the Zenith with "blue sky" or clouds.
You'd convert the stitched image to a Cubic Strip or 6 separate Cube Faces with something like Pano2VR and use Photoshop to fill in the Zenith with "blue sky" and edit out the pole at the Nadir by Cloning from the area around it
If you use RealViz Stitcher Unlimited 5.7.1, you can output the Cube Faces directly, then re-stitch the faces and output several different formats all from the same program
Doug Aurand
Albuquerque, NM
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mhc1
Posts: 188
Location: Hamburg, Germany
Registered: 29 Dec 2005
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Re: Pole aerial VR & 5D/Sigma 8/Agnos RingT combo..
Posted: 1 Jul 2008 at 19:53 GMT
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Erik,
the Sigma 8 with a above mentioned 30D will work perfectly with a RingT, BoBracket, TRing - or whatever.
Just slant them by 60° and you have a perfect 4 shot gear.
I did some Pole - 3m only because my pole isn´t longer - by fixing a monopod in my belt - 98% success.
Even with heavily unprecise 90° turning you get very good panos.
40D // Sigma 8 about 8100 x 4050 px resolution.
Ciao
Mike
www.360de.de
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Nick Fan
[NodalNinja]
Posts: 278
Location: Hong Kong
Registered: 26 May 2006
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Re: Pole aerial VR & 5D/Sigma 8/Agnos RingT combo..
Posted: 2 Jul 2008 at 5:59 GMT
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Steven Scott said: Erik,
Doug is right. I shoot PAP (pole aerial photography) and have the Manfrotto 269 HDBU tripod that goes to 25 feet. I use a Canon G9. At times, I'm not able to go above 15 feet due to the wind.
steve
Hi Steve,
How do you remote control your G9?
nick
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Erik Ahrend
Posts: 87
Location: Canary Islands, Spain
Registered: 26 May 2005
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Re: Pole aerial VR & 5D/Sigma 8/Agnos RingT combo..
Posted: 2 Jul 2008 at 8:51 GMT
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Hi again..I am sorry, my english might not be that good, I have read this "slant by 60º" a few times but I´m not sure what it meand exactly, could someone please explain?
Thanks!!
Erik.
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mediavets
Posts: 420
Location: Isleham, Cambs., United Kingdom
Registered: 8 Feb 2008
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Re: Pole aerial VR & 5D/Sigma 8/Agnos RingT combo..
Posted: 2 Jul 2008 at 9:34 GMT
updated: 2 Jul 2008 at 9:36 GMT
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Erik Ahrend said: Thanks Hans!! That is why I am considering the Agnos RingT. It can´t get much more simple or light than that, can it? But using it alone (without a TCP rotator) will make the tilting impossible.I want to keep things as light and simple as possible..
Erik
No, Luca Vascon who designed the RingT told me that because of the palstic ring inside the metal you can set a small tilt angle with the RingT.
Andrew
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Erik Ahrend
Posts: 87
Location: Canary Islands, Spain
Registered: 26 May 2005
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Re: Pole aerial VR & 5D/Sigma 8/Agnos RingT combo..
Posted: 2 Jul 2008 at 9:36 GMT
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And by the way, I just noticed the Atome pano/head/ring that looks sturdy and well built (like all the 360precision products) and could do the trick. What would be the main difference between it and the Agnos ringT? (there isn´t that much a difference in price , at least now..).
Thanks, Erik.
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mediavets
Posts: 420
Location: Isleham, Cambs., United Kingdom
Registered: 8 Feb 2008
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Re: Pole aerial VR & 5D/Sigma 8/Agnos RingT combo..
Posted: 2 Jul 2008 at 10:33 GMT
updated: 2 Jul 2008 at 10:34 GMT
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Erik Ahrend said: And by the way, I just noticed the Atome pano/head/ring that looks sturdy and well built (like all the 360precision products) and could do the trick. What would be the main difference between it and the Agnos ringT? (there isn´t that much a difference in price , at least now..).
Thanks, Erik.
Right now the difference is that the Agno's RingT is available and the 360Precision Atome is not (yet). So no-one AFAIK has any experience of using an Atome yet.
There was some talk that the Atome might have a designed- in tilt but that's not confirmed AFAIK.
There is a Bophoto ring bracket for the Sigma 8mm f3.5 too - that's the least expensive and (I think) most lightweight:
www.bophoto.com/bracket/bracket-SIGMA-8mm.html
I have a Bophoto bracket for the FC-E8 and it is very good.
Nodal Ninja is planning to release ring brackets with a new series of rotators soon too.
Andrew
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