Seeking Best Info Resources on Panos (w/example)
Hi all. I am working on a project to document a forest in a park before it is logged due to diseased trees. This will serve as both an historical record and for possible future interpretive products. Very challenging with complexity and dynamic range.
I am quite pleased with the panos I am producing but am interested in exploring the technical aspects further. I am an experienced editorial photographer but not with panos. I currently use just a regular tripod, a consistent exposure at f8, and a lot of overlap (5DII, canon 35mm 1.4 lens). I also provide some correction to distortion in PS. While the slightly wide lens may not be standard for this work, I like the depth in the results. The panos are huge and wicked sharp.
Can anyone recommend some good threads here on the technical? Books? Articles?
Pathfinder
)?
Do you think the fancy pano heads, etc., make a real difference? (was that a stupid question?
) Know absolutely nothing about this.
This forest will be logged soon, possibly next month, so I am on it. Not sure I can afford anything too expensive in terms of new equipment but any help pointing me in the right direction for more information will be greatly appreciated.
_________________
As an example, the photo below is huge (1400px here, hope this isn't too big for the forum, still doesn't do the original justice). 5dII, 35mm 1.4, f8, .8s, 10 frames (2 stacked rows of 5 with lots of overlap). No HDR. Some dodge and burn using curves layers/masks and a little rough correction of distortion using transform in PS (most done during stitching). Pretty standard.
I am quite pleased with the panos I am producing but am interested in exploring the technical aspects further. I am an experienced editorial photographer but not with panos. I currently use just a regular tripod, a consistent exposure at f8, and a lot of overlap (5DII, canon 35mm 1.4 lens). I also provide some correction to distortion in PS. While the slightly wide lens may not be standard for this work, I like the depth in the results. The panos are huge and wicked sharp.
Can anyone recommend some good threads here on the technical? Books? Articles?
Pathfinder
)?Do you think the fancy pano heads, etc., make a real difference? (was that a stupid question?
) Know absolutely nothing about this.This forest will be logged soon, possibly next month, so I am on it. Not sure I can afford anything too expensive in terms of new equipment but any help pointing me in the right direction for more information will be greatly appreciated.
_________________
As an example, the photo below is huge (1400px here, hope this isn't too big for the forum, still doesn't do the original justice). 5dII, 35mm 1.4, f8, .8s, 10 frames (2 stacked rows of 5 with lots of overlap). No HDR. Some dodge and burn using curves layers/masks and a little rough correction of distortion using transform in PS (most done during stitching). Pretty standard.
0
Comments
Yes. Here's a great resource, and pretty much all you need:
Pano Elements package
http://reallyrightstuff.com/Items.aspx?code=PanoPkgs&key=cat
Of course you'll need L-plate for your camera, too, and ideally an RRS Ballhead.
Download their PDF Catalog and there's a whole instructional series on how to shoot panos
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Edit: Yep, great, great resource. Thanks again. I need a grant though
Tripod stability is essential for panoramas. Fancy panoramic heads are not. What fancy heads are useful for is easy workflow while taking the photographs. Especially for full spherical type shots. It is easy to misposition by hand in complicated scenes. It's not nice to get home and find that shot 18 of 50 does not have enough overlap with shot 19. In scenes with motion or other problems that you have time to review on site, it is useful to be able to accurately reshoot those images you need to retake. For the type of scene you have, just a conventional pan head provides a more convenient image capture workflow than just a conventional ball head.
RRS sells stable fancy panheads. Don't settle for less than stable.
Dale B. Dalrymple
http://dbdimages.com
...with apology to Archimedies
You did not mention what software you are using for your pano creations. Like you I do find I like to correct some perspective via Image>Transform>Warp.
I love panos too. Like Andy, I favor the pano tools from RRS.
I have shot a lot of panos with only 1 line of images, and have very little experience with mulit-row composite images ( I call them composites, rather than panos, since they have multiple rows. ) If I were to begin to shoot multi row composites, I would definitely look at one of RRS pano head set up for multi row work. Or a Giga Pan head like here -- http://www.gigapansystems.com/?gclid=CISb0tbFm6sCFcNM4AodCUHC_w
Lots of single row panos, can just be done with "drive by shooting" - handheld, especially with mild telephotos. Of a good tripod and pano head like Dale mentioned.
Jeurgen Gulbins and Rainer Gulbins' "Photographic Multishot Techniques" , published by Rocky Nook might be of interest to you. Rocky Nook's photographic books are excellent and informative.
There is an interesting link about a pano in Antarctica here - http://www.luminous-landscape.com/techniques/antarctic-panorama.shtml
Incidently, I thought your pano you posted captured shadows and highlights very well, they are frequently quite difficult to manage in dense forest shots. I shoot HDRs in the woods at times to corral the light range.
Baldy's pano thread - http://dgrin.com/showthread.php?t=101529 - was epic.
Moderator of the Technique Forum and Finishing School on Dgrin
You have demonstrated good results with a 35mm lens for closest objects at the distance you needed. This summer I shot the glacier trail in Great Basin NP with a 7-14mm on M4/3 body (14-28 re: 35mm) on a tripod without problem. (But there were no elevated foreground items.)
If you want to know how close you can get without the fancy head, test your lens/body/tripod choice. Set the equipment up with an object with high contrast to the distant background as close as you think you will need. Shoot normally overlapped images with the close object in the middle of the overlap. Use vertical features in overlaps in horizontal rows, horizontal features for vertical rows. Perform a test stitch. Remember that distance of focus may have a significant effect.
This is the same way you can test the quality of your settings on a fancy head.
With a 50-200mm lens mounted level on the tripod by the lens collar, I found that the setup was parallax correct when set at 67mm. YMMV. With that setup I am dead on for single row images with foreground items and multi-row images from level up where the near foreground objects are in the first row.
There are successful strategies to reduce the weight you carry and the weight you take from your wallet.
Dale B. Dalrymple
http://dbdimages.com
...with apology to Archimedies
I'm amazed at the depth of these composites and the realism that can be achieved. Nothing really compares. This is perfect for what I'm doing since much of this forest will be logged in the near future. Shame, but a root rot fungus affecting the Doug Firs causes them to fall in the wind which is a real danger in a state park.
Thanks again.
Not cheap, but less than 1/2 of your 2K stated price. And quite robust!
Moderator of the Technique Forum and Finishing School on Dgrin
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