Panorama stitching software recommendations?

dancorder

Hi,

I've got a few panoramas to stitch together and was wondering if anyone has any recommendations.

I tried PanoramaStudio last night which seemed to do a good job, I also tried Zoner Panorama Maker which was pretty poor (at least with my images).

A while ago I tried Arcsoft Panorama Maker for a one off and whilst I remember it being pretty good it won't let me install a new trial so I can't compare it directly.

So does anyone have any experience/recommendations for panorama software?

NHBubba

I haven't done a proper pano-stitch in far too long. (I have GB's of panos ready to be stitched, but no time to actually sit down and do them!) But when I was stitching a lot of panos I was using a tool called PT GUI with fantastic results. You should certianly add PT GUI to your list of software to check out..

claudermilk

NHBubba wrote:

I haven't done a proper pano-stitch in far too long. (I have GB's of panos ready to be stitched, but no time to actually sit down and do them!) But when I was stitching a lot of panos I was using a tool called PT GUI with fantastic results. You should certianly add PT GUI to your list of software to check out..

I could have made almost the exact same post. It's been a while, but PT GUI was far and away the best tool I ran across.

jfriend

PTGui here too

dancorder wrote:

Hi,

I've got a few panoramas to stitch together and was wondering if anyone has any recommendations.

I tried PanoramaStudio last night which seemed to do a good job, I also tried Zoner Panorama Maker which was pretty poor (at least with my images).

A while ago I tried Arcsoft Panorama Maker for a one off and whilst I remember it being pretty good it won't let me install a new trial so I can't compare it directly.

So does anyone have any experience/recommendations for panorama software?

I've also been extremely impressed with PTGui. I've even done multi-row panos (5x3 - 15 total photos) and it worked really well.

sherstone

my personal favorite
It costs $, about 100 of them
but I have successfully used and love

Autopano Pro

http://www.autopano.net

It can be used in full automatic or have manual interaction if needed.

There is a demo version that works exactly the same as the registered
version but it will put a watermark on the images.

worth checking out

dancorder

Thanks everyone, I tried PTGui last night and wasn't too impressed with it's auto matching, however it does allow you to correct it pretty comprehensively. I tried Panorama Studio again too and whilst it made a better job of the auto matching it didn't seem to have as good a method for fixing it if it ever got it wrong.

I might have a look at autopano too, it cost $20 more but if it can get the matching right automatically and still allow manual override it might be worth it.

Andy

sherstone wrote:

worth checking out

Bleh, PC only

NHBubba

Another option is PT Assembler. This tool is written by a guy named Max Lyons. His photography is some of my favorite out there.. especially his panos. What's best is he offers a lot of help using his tools. In fact his guides are decent reading even if you aren't using his tools!

In my experience no auto-alignment/stitching is worth a damn. Like you say, if the auto-stitch is decent, then the output is not flexible enough to let you tune. And if the output is flexible enough to tune, then the auto-stitch tends to be a little crappy. In my opinion I prefer something that offers the highest capacity for tweaking.. The Panotools based tools, like PT Gui and PT Assembler let you output as a PSD w/ layers and masks. The masks can be tweaked to your hearts content. Sure, it's more labor intensive.. but the results are better.

At least that's my opinion.

Also in my experience, crap in = crap out. If you have very poorly aligned originals, then you will never end up w/ a high quality output. Using a tripod or similar tools when shooting is imperitive. ... This also helps the auto-stitching tools out.

For example this full 360 degree pano-while the subject may not be all that interesting-was a snap to stitch using PT Gui because I used a tripod and a pano alignment tool (a homemade bracket fresh off the end mill pictured).



Larger version is here.

dancorder

Thanks for the information. I did use a tripod, however I have no idea what you mean by a pano alignment tool. Care to elaborate?

Edit: Don't worry, I found a description on the PTAssembler site thanks.

NHBubba

I know you said that you found the pano brackets.. but here is some more info just for the sake of sharing:

You can buy a Bogen/Manfrotto head that will do it all. Upside: Really great results and lots of flexibility. Downside: Expensive.
You can buy a 'Panosourus' head which is the same idea but made of plastic and a lot cheaper. Upside: affordable, works. Downside: not nearly as flexible.
Or you could make your own. Upside: as flexible as you care to make it, cheap. Downside: quality depends on your skills.

I made my own bracket based on the homemade bracket in that last link. I used to work for a company that had a small metal working shop on-site. The guy that ran the shop let me come in early and work on my bracket every now and then. Unfortunately I am a software engineer, not a machinist.. and it shows. My mount is not that great.. but it works. Over the years I have upgraded parts of it. The base was the first to go, replaced w/ a Bogen 300N base that lets me adjust the angle of the shot w/ a lot more precision and ease. It works far better than the pivot my home-made solution had. ... Were I to try to make another pano bracket I would totally make mine out of PVC or something easier to work w/ than metal.

dancorder

Well it took a while but here's what I managed with PTAssembler



Very large version

NHBubba

Sweeeeet! The seams look perfect. Well done..

dancorder

Thanks, it was worth the effort

Now I just need to find time for the other 4 or 5....

sherstone

Andy wrote:

Bleh, PC only

Actually I think the both the current and Beta that is available for download works on OSX as well. It is true that PC gets favoured in his release schedule but Mac is definately being developed as well.

http://www.autopano.net/download - shows the PPC and Intel Mac (universal binary) as available for download.

geospatial_junkie

Save the money on software and purchase a dedicated panohead. This will provide seamless stitching in most every program (including photoshop).

Nikolai

I used to swear by Panorama Factory.
With the advent of CS3 - and *especially* CS4 - I don't use anything else but PS.

Here's a 38 portrait frame stitch in PS from last month (click for a bigger version)


and here is a couple of large group shots I did at the burial service last week (due to a potential upsetting nature of the material I only provide the links):
10 frames in church: http://nik.smugmug.com/photos/376580038_GVzu8-X3.jpg
9 frames outdoors: http://nik.smugmug.com/photos/376588398_3TP64-X3.jpg


All these were handheld.
Last one was in A mode with fill flash in ETTL

mwgrice

Andy wrote:

Bleh, PC only

Are you maybe thinking of some other product? Not only does Autopano Pro run on Mac, it runs on Linux, and the same serial number seems to work on all three platforms.

http://www.autopano.net/buy-autopano/download.html

Harrington

mwgrice wrote:

Are you maybe thinking of some other product? Not only does Autopano Pro run on Mac, it runs on Linux, and the same serial number seems to work on all three platforms.

http://www.autopano.net/buy-autopano/download.html

There are pros and cons to Autopano Pro. I like the interface of the program. It does a great job aliening the photos. It does not do well with blending the images. It tends to give me similar results to Photoshop CS3.

Here is an example:


I do not recommend spending the money on Autopano Pro when you can use Photoshop CS3's photomerge to get similar results.

If you don't want to spend money and get okay results, I would recommend using Hugin - It's free! http://hugin.sourceforge.net/

I have yet to find the perfect program to stitch panos. Maybe Photoshop CS4 will be it. Does anyone have more recommendations?

Scott_Quier

I've used CS3 a few times.

This is an IR images captured with an IR converted 20D, 14 seperate exposures:


If I use proper technique (Full manual, NOT AWB, AF off, etc), I get some pretty good results...