I am looking for some advice from those of you who shoot panoramic shots. I have not been able to get consistent results with AWB across long panoramics even though programs like Autopano Giga can manage a certain amount of WB issues.
What are people doing to set the white balance for taking long panos and what tools are you using?
I always use a known constant like Daylight for consistency. Like using manual mode, switching away from AWB is one of the requisites of successful panorama photography because AWB can change so rapidly.
Bingo. You have to pick a constant value and work from there. Auto will go all over the place as you pan the shot. I usually pick Daylight as well and then change it in post if need be.
Have either of you (or anybody) experimented with expo discs or the like? Or can you change the temp as needed just fine with daylight? And what do you do if you are in 'funky' light like a sunset or a cty wide pano with artificial lights?
RichieV
Posted by Kalin Wilson on April 11, 2011 at 8:44 PM
Ditto, Choose a manual setting and stick with it. You can deal with any color cast/temperature issues in LR before you stitch. I love my expo disk but I wouldn't use it for a pano shot, especially with 'funky' light because you'd get different shifts depending on the width of the pano and changing light.
for the same reason, take your polarizer off for panos, use manual or aperture priority to maintain the same depth of field, and manual focus, preferably at a hyperfocal distance or infinity. Ideally, the only thing that changes in each shot is the view.
Posted by Bill Pelzmann on April 11, 2011 at 8:45 PM
I shoot with AWB. In Lightroom I select one image in the pano. If needed, I adjust the WB, but in all cases I make certain that the WB is set to "Custom". After all other adjustments are made, I sync the settings for all of the pano images, then export to Photoshop for stitching.
Note: the "Custom" setting is critical. Otherwise the sync will use "As Shot" for each image, and that will usually vary for each.
"Have either of you (or anybody) experimented with expo discs or the like? And what do you do if you are in 'funky' light like a sunset or a cty wide pano with artificial lights?"
A plain ol' white coffee filter works just as well as an ExpoDisc (it's been tested), Rich. I carry one with a rubber band in the nook of a camera pack just in case. And setting a custom white balance using that filter is a great idea under city lights that can be a pain to replicate in post-process. Place the filter over the lens, take a shot directed toward the light source, then refer to your manual for what to do next. It's actuallly a pretty quick process, but not quite quick enough for a sunset.
Posted by Todd Caudle on April 11, 2011 at 9:00 PM
It shouldn't make a difference if you set a custom white balance before or after in post. It is the same argument as setting WB with digital and shooting RAW. Yes, your camera may jump around with AWB through the shots in the scene and it usually does in a pano shot, but there should be no issue with just picking a consistent WB in post for all the shots in the series. You just need to make sure to pick the WB that best reflects the entire scene and not just a single image within. Correct me if I am wrong here.
Posted by Jim Bennett on April 12, 2011 at 12:33 AM
The bottom line (in my opinion) is that all panoramas should be shot with EVERYTHING locked in manual mode. That includes WB and focus. If you forget to lock the WB and left it in auto, I would then open each raw file and save each file with the same WB setting before stitching them together. Once everything is stitched, then you can go back and adjust the WB for the whole image.
I'll echo the earlier replies that you probably don't want to be shooting in AWB or any kind of auto-exposure with panoramas. Yes, you can probably bring the white balance back to a norm when you process your RAW files, but it's probably better practice to set it to one setting before starting to shoot.
Typically I'll set up the tripod and head for a composition that I like, then shoot a couple of frames before each set to test exposure and white balance. I'll take some test shots of the most extreme frames: the brightest, most direct light, and the darkest, most indirect. If the exposures are too far apart, I may modify the shutter speed by 1/3 of a stop as I go (with 1/3 of a frame overlap for smooth transitions). Generally, on the brightest frame, I want to make sure that the WB is set so that the red channel doesn't burn out, and that the blue channel isn't too underexposed.
But yeah, the short answer, and what I do when the light's changing quickly, is to set one white balance and keep it there. And shoot RAW.
Koveh and others are correct, though, that -- unless the red channel did burn out -- you should be able to resuscitate earlier shots by going into your raw converter and forcing all of the shots to be the same white balance. Just don't go into Adobe Camera Raw, Select All, and click on AUTO: the newer versions recalculate for each image, rather than making an automatic adjustment across all of the images.
You will get no argument from me on setting a static WB before you shoot your pano. I do this as well and set everything in manual, but my point on WB is that if you don't (and I have forgotten before) there should be no reason why the varied WB will affect your final product.
Richie, if your seeing strange results with your blend, it is likely because you didn't click "Vignette Removal" and "Geometric Distortion Correction" options. Make sure these are selected and try again to see if it changes your results.
Sorry, Koveh -- I didn't mean to imply that you advocated setting WB in post, just to reiterate that it can be done if you have to. I almost never use auto WB, but I'm just as likely to accidentally leave it on a prior setting... RAW is a wonderful thing.
Not at all Mark, I did not take it that way =) I just wanted to make sure Richie knew that I do agree with setting it to a consistent WB, but I am not sure that is the problem for his pano not turning out right. I am curious to see if he tries it again with some of the settings and suggestions above and has better luck...
Discussion
13 repliesWhat are people doing to set the white balance for taking long panos and what tools are you using?
Thanks.
RichieV
RichieV
for the same reason, take your polarizer off for panos, use manual or aperture priority to maintain the same depth of field, and manual focus, preferably at a hyperfocal distance or infinity. Ideally, the only thing that changes in each shot is the view.
Note: the "Custom" setting is critical. Otherwise the sync will use "As Shot" for each image, and that will usually vary for each.
Typically I'll set up the tripod and head for a composition that I like, then shoot a couple of frames before each set to test exposure and white balance. I'll take some test shots of the most extreme frames: the brightest, most direct light, and the darkest, most indirect. If the exposures are too far apart, I may modify the shutter speed by 1/3 of a stop as I go (with 1/3 of a frame overlap for smooth transitions). Generally, on the brightest frame, I want to make sure that the WB is set so that the red channel doesn't burn out, and that the blue channel isn't too underexposed.
But yeah, the short answer, and what I do when the light's changing quickly, is to set one white balance and keep it there. And shoot RAW.
Koveh and others are correct, though, that -- unless the red channel did burn out -- you should be able to resuscitate earlier shots by going into your raw converter and forcing all of the shots to be the same white balance. Just don't go into Adobe Camera Raw, Select All, and click on AUTO: the newer versions recalculate for each image, rather than making an automatic adjustment across all of the images.
Good luck! It's addicting...
Richie, if your seeing strange results with your blend, it is likely because you didn't click "Vignette Removal" and "Geometric Distortion Correction" options. Make sure these are selected and try again to see if it changes your results.