By: W. Patrick Day
[email protected] Panoramic Photography What is Panoramic photography ?
• a technique , using specialized equipment or software, that captures images with elongated fields of view. • an image showing a field of view approximating, or greater than, that of the human eye – about 160° by 75° – may be termed “panoramic” • Essentially any image that exceeds a 2:1 ratio (height to length) is considered a Pan Two methods
• Cropping • Stitching Dedicated Cameras “Alternatives”
• GoPano adapter
http://www.eyesee360.com/gopano/ “Alternatives”
• GigaPan
http://www.gigapansystems.com/ Software
• Canon Stitch (free*) /Nikon (?) • Photoshop • Hugin (Open Source) – http://hugin.sourceforge.net/ • Stitcher Unlimited 2009 ($350) – http://usa.autodesk.com/adsk/servlet/index?siteID=123112&id=12023907 • PTGui ($120/$225) – http://www.ptgui.com/ • Comparison of major software – http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Comparison_of_photo_stitching_applications_(software) Cropping
• Pros – No post production – No movement distortions/aberrations/ghosts – Less planning/errors – Less equipment needed • Cons – Resolution degrades as Height/Length ratio increases – Limited to max angle of lens Cropping Example Stitching
• Pros – Up to and beyond 360° – High resolution possible – HDR friendly (with equipment) • Cons – Equipment (hardware and software) – Planning required – MUCH room for error – Post production work Concepts: Lenses and Sensors
Simple Rules: • The shorter (lower) the mm of the lens, the wider the angle of view. • The wider the angle, the fewer the shots needed • The wider the angle of view, the closer you can get to the subject (and vice versa). • The closer you get to the subject, distortion will be more pronounced. Concepts: Focus
“Focus” is comprised of two components:
• Focus Point – The common (mis )understanding of what or where the camera is focused.
• Depth of Field (DOF) – the distance in front of and beyond the Focus Point that appears to have no visible distortion. Concepts: Hyperfocal Distance
Hyperfocal Distance (Easy concept, confusing definition)
A Focal Point at which everything half way from the camera up to the focal point is in focus AND everything beyond the focal point (to infinity) is in focus. Concepts: Hyperfocal Distance
Confused? Download FREE applications from:
http://www.dofmaster.com
(Windows, Palm, and iPhone/iTouch apps) Tips and Tricks
• Lock Exposure & ISO (MANUAL MODE) • Lock Focus (use Hyperfocal Distance) • Use Panoramic Head/Jig • Pay attention to moving objects • Watch for extremes of Light/Shadow • Shoot in Portrait orientation for max height Tips and Tricks
• Level Camera (tripod helpful) • Start from Left and pan right • Overlap images 10% to 20% • Do practice shoot • Don’t hesitate to start over Enough Theory, Show me how! Photograph Overlap Stitch Correct* Final The Full Monty…. The Full Monty…. Benefits of Pan Heads
• Incremental Stops • Nodal Point Correction • Stable/Consistent results Nodal Point
• Parallax error caused when two or more shots are taken where the pivot point is NOT over the camera’s entrance pupil. • Can cause image “ghosting” when software tries to stitch images. • Mitigated by using tripod, essentially eliminated with proper panoramic tripod head. Nodal Parallax Error Nodal Parallax Error Nodal Parallax Error Uncorrected Nodal Point Corrected Nodal Point Correcting Nodal Parallax Error Correcting Nodal Parallax Error Correcting Nodal Parallax Error Correcting Nodal Parallax Error Tilted Camera Tilted Camera Vignette Issues Collage Collage
San Francisco from Rincon Hill (1851) [first photographic panoramic]
Lookout Mountain, TN (1864) Bracketing & HDR Bracketing
• Bracketing is the technique of taking multiple shots of the same subject but changing the shutter speed. • Most camera have feature built in to take a 3 - image bracket. • Typical setting is Normal exposure, 2-Stop under exposure, and 2 stop over exposure. High Dynamic Range (HDR)
• HDR is the technique of merging 2 or more bracketed shots into single image. • Allows a greater range of color and exposure than a single shot could capture. • VERY useful for indoor shots! – Reduce need for lighting – Can compensate for overexposed windows • VERY easy to go overboard with color saturation. • Many software solutions including Photoshop. • Best is “Photomatix” (www.hdrsoft.com) Bracketing
1/1000 sec 1/30 sec
1/250 sec 1/8 sec
1/60 sec 1/2 sec
Canon 5DMKII - 16mm - f/8.0 - ISO400 Bracketing – HDR Links
• http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Panorama_Tools • http://www.photographyreview.com/cat/digital-photography-software/panorama/PLS_3081crx.aspx • http://gigapan.org • CALCULATORS: – http://www.nodalninja.com/pano_calculations.html