Posted by Tim Stenning on March 30, 2007 at 7:56 PM
I have been attempting some panoramas using PhotoShop Merge. I can get them together, but I really need to improve my techniques from moment of capturing the images to the final merge.
At the best of times, I seem to end up with fuzzy diagonal merge connections or joints. I've tried to get all the images as close as possible in exposure....or correct them a bit later on. But still I get the diagonal merging joints.
Any tips would be appreciated. Thanks, Tim Stenning
I have no idea how to use PhotoShop Merge, but have used Autopano Pro with wonderful results. I don't even get the shots level when shooting and they stitch together beautifully. You may want to try it if you don't get the bugs worked out...I think they have a free trial version.
Posted by Arthur Lund on March 30, 2007 at 11:17 PM
I have been exactly where you are. The bottom line is that the Photoshop merge is probably
the poorest program out there to join photos.
A cheap one that I use is Panorama Maker. They have a trial use. Give it a try.
The only downside is that it will only handle 16 pictures at once.
I also found along the way that you must:
1. Set the whitebalance to something other than auto
2. Set the camera to manual
3. Set the aperture manually
4. Set the shutter speed manually
5. Use a level that slips into the flash attachment on your camera.
6. It also helps to find your lens hood and use it. As you pan
toward the sun it helps a lot.
I've been using PTAssembler from Tawbaware for years now:
http://www.tawbaware.com/ptasmblr.htm
When used with Enblend the stitches are seamless and I'm able to stitch 16-bit images. 99 percent of the time autocreate works perfectly. I checked the tawbaware website and see there is now a newer version than I have.
I also use a RRS ballhead with a slide to correct the "nodal point" For panos I typically use the vertical/portrait mount:
http://www.pbase.com/exodeepblue/image/57996265
Art L. offers some excellent advice above. With a decent panorama assembler, I use PIA, and a good set of images the transitions will be invisible. Getting the good set of images is the hard part. A panoramic head works very well, but they can be expensive. If you want to go cheap (I do) try the Panosaurus.
Pete D.
Posted by David Bostedo on April 1, 2007 at 10:15 PM
I've used AutoStitch several times an it works very well at correcting for off-level images and doing a good merge. And it's free. It's a University project and has been used as the basis for some other commercial programs (according to the website). It can be very slow (a couple of hours on my 3 year old laptop for 16 5MP images), but it's worth a shot.
I actually use a stitcher called Hugin which uses Panotools as it's backend. It allows fuzzy placement of markers and an amazing auto-adjustment feature. It also runs enblend to smoothen out the edges and exposure.
Discussion
10 repliesAt the best of times, I seem to end up with fuzzy diagonal merge connections or joints. I've tried to get all the images as close as possible in exposure....or correct them a bit later on. But still I get the diagonal merging joints.
Any tips would be appreciated. Thanks, Tim Stenning
the poorest program out there to join photos.
A cheap one that I use is Panorama Maker. They have a trial use. Give it a try.
The only downside is that it will only handle 16 pictures at once.
I also found along the way that you must:
1. Set the whitebalance to something other than auto
2. Set the camera to manual
3. Set the aperture manually
4. Set the shutter speed manually
5. Use a level that slips into the flash attachment on your camera.
6. It also helps to find your lens hood and use it. As you pan
toward the sun it helps a lot.
Art L.
http://www.tawbaware.com/ptasmblr.htm
When used with Enblend the stitches are seamless and I'm able to stitch 16-bit images. 99 percent of the time autocreate works perfectly. I checked the tawbaware website and see there is now a newer version than I have.
I also use a RRS ballhead with a slide to correct the "nodal point" For panos I typically use the vertical/portrait mount:
http://www.pbase.com/exodeepblue/image/57996265
Pete D.
The webpage is here.
More details here: http://hugin.sourceforge.net/