I have only attempted stitching a panorama series once and wasn't happy with the result. My question is: if a lens has significant barrel or pincusion does the stitching software recognize it and deal with it? Or, should I get a prime lense and not use my zooms?
Posted by Bill Pelzmann on November 20, 2010 at 6:08 PM
What software are you using for stitching. CS4 does a great job, even without any lens corrections. However, with the new lens correction features in Lightroom, I do use those profiles before stitching.
Autopano does the best job I have seen with stitching (yes that includes CS5). It has the most controls to get things exact and will fix your lens corrections. I believe you can download a trial version.
RichieV
Posted by John Mumaw on November 20, 2010 at 6:27 PM
One tip is to never use any focal length less than 50mm in order to minimize barrel distortion. Anything less is going to cause problems, in my experience.
If you're using a newer version of Photoshop, the Lens Correction tab in Adobe Camera Raw does a great job in fixing lens distortion before you even get to stitching multiple images.
I have found using a 70mm or greater lens for my panos works well. I use zoom lenses all of the time for panos with no problems stiching (Photoshop).
To reduce parallax you should postition the optical center of your lens (not camera) directly over the point of rotation (eg. your ball head). This technique is very helpful if you are photographing near subjects. I have found that that this is not necessary if you are photographing subjects 50 feet or so in front of you.
Posted by Rod Hanna on November 20, 2010 at 7:25 PM
I agree with RichieV...Autopano is awesome, magical even.
I would also add that if you plan on building a pano with foreground and subjects at infinity a true panoramic head like the Nodal Ninja are invaluable.
My fav lens for stitching images is my 45mm TSE.
RichieV
Posted by Jim Bennett on November 20, 2010 at 10:16 PM
Even Photoshop Elements does a fine job of stitching panoramas. I just installed PSE9 ($50 from Costco until the end of this month, including shipping.) and it's even better than the version 7 that I have been using. There are several things to keep in mind besides just keeping the lens at least at the equivalent of 50mm to reduce lens distortion. All of your camera settings should be only in manual, so that the exposure, white-balance and focus don't change as you pan. I've also found bubble levels to be invaluable to keep the image as close to level as possible. I hope this helps.
Thanks for all of your inputs.
Does anyone publish data on the nodal points of various lenses (Nikon)? I've come accross techniques, but they require a lot of setup. I have metal machining capability and could make my own platform for this use.
Posted by Todd Caudle on November 21, 2010 at 12:54 PM
Actually Bruce. It is really easy to find the nodal point. I was originally worried like you, but in a period of <1HR I found them for 3 lens focal lengths. Come on down and I'll walk you through it.
RichieV
Posted by Rod Hanna on November 22, 2010 at 4:15 PM
I agree with RichieV...Autopano is awesome, magical even.
Discussion
11 repliesRichieV
If you're using a newer version of Photoshop, the Lens Correction tab in Adobe Camera Raw does a great job in fixing lens distortion before you even get to stitching multiple images.
To reduce parallax you should postition the optical center of your lens (not camera) directly over the point of rotation (eg. your ball head). This technique is very helpful if you are photographing near subjects. I have found that that this is not necessary if you are photographing subjects 50 feet or so in front of you.
My fav lens for stitching images is my 45mm TSE.
RichieV
Does anyone publish data on the nodal points of various lenses (Nikon)? I've come accross techniques, but they require a lot of setup. I have metal machining capability and could make my own platform for this use.
RichieV