Glasshouse Mtns: who needs a wide lens?

DoctorIt

I've recently aquired a Canon G9 as something easier to carry around on all the trips we take (lugging around all the SLR gear was really starting to take some of the fun away from both the travel and shooting - almost impossible to do both well). The only thing I missed from my kit was the 10-22mm lens.

I love wide.

Never fear, the G9's built-in stitch assistant and then a quick trip to CS3's photomerge (very new and improved, methinks) gave me this result with almost no work. I let the camera do all the exposure and CS3 do all the merging. All I did was crop out the perspective correction, quick curves, tiny sharpening. Done. Very minimal work, and well worth it to get the wide shots I love without carrying a bag of lenses.

So this is no stunning photograph, but it took me about the same time worth of post-processing as it would have to swap lenses. The Glasshouse Mountains, just north of Brisbane.

gus

Nice pano mate...was it taken from on top of Wildhorse Mt ?

DoctorIt

gus wrote:

Nice pano mate...was it taken from on top of Wildhorse Mt ?

thanks mate.

Not sure what the name of the hill was, but it was just a few km down the road from the trailhead at Ngungun (we did that same hike again to the top). It's just billed as the glasshouse mtns scenic lookout.


I'm only upset I didn't get Beerwah (would be far left), but again, I did this really quick, just to try out the feature on the camera.

schmoo

Doc, marvellous view! Even with the cars sitting there I think this vista looks like something completely out of dinosaur-land. Sure you didn't catch a T-rex running through those trees?

My older SD800 has stitch-assist functions too but I've only used it once. The G9 is a pretty sweet camera though, from what I have seen and heard.

DoctorIt

schmoo wrote:

Doc, marvellous view! Even with the cars sitting there I think this vista looks like something completely out of dinosaur-land. Sure you didn't catch a T-rex running through those trees?

thanks S... it's a distinct possibility

My older SD800 has stitch-assist functions too but I've only used it once. The G9 is a pretty sweet camera though, from what I have seen and heard.

As silly of a feature as one may think, I actually really like it. My old Pentax Optio WP (going to vanuatu now ) had it, and when I bought a newer Canon A710 to replace the WP, it didn't have it, and there was at least a few times I wish it had the assistant. I know CS3 is doing all the heavy lifting, but it is nice to have that reference image to at least try and lineup the horizon and get the right amount of overlap frame to frame.

The G9's is in fact even smarter, making sure exposure is consistent, another big plus when one is in a point-and-shoot mindset.

pathfinder

Nice pano with no telltale lines in the sky, Eric. Nicely done. Well exposed, sharply focused, files from the G9 tolerate pretty nice enlargement, and I'll bet this pano will too.

Was this handheld, or did you have something to stabilize and hold the G9?

DoctorIt

pathfinder wrote:

Nice pano with no telltale lines in the sky, Eric. Nicely done. Well exposed, sharply focused, files from the G9 tolerate pretty nice enlargement, and I'll bet this pano will too.

Was this handheld, or did you have something to stabilize and hold the G9?

handheld, light was very good


The merged file was huuuuuuuge! So indeed, I bet it would look nice. Although, I think I'd like to go back and get a better shot sans parking lot - also take one more shot on the left to include the biggest of the glasshouses, Beerwah.

DoctorIt

brisbane
This one wasn't as good, so I didn't want to start a new thread, but here's Brisbane using the same g9 + photomerge magic.




Best part about this one... see those kayakers, there was actually only 2 of them. I dare you to guess that from the image!

dbd

Its easy to blend when the moving object is small and leaves no 'tracks'. Dry land is easier than water:


For larger size:
http://dbdimages.smugmug.com/gallery/1591637_Cg8ZD#133379632_v7EF9-O-LB

In water with a lot of action, the truncation of wakes is the killer:



Larger:
http://dbdimages.smugmug.com/gallery/1783214_f7FGF#90123558_hBFek-O-LB

Dale B. Dalrymple
http://dbdimages.com

dmalling

Wow, doctor, that mountain shot is great! I've got a G9 as well -- not quite ready yet for an SLR -- and am still trying to figure out how to really use it well. I'll be traveling into the mountains of Yunnan, China in a mere three weeks, and I'm hoping to be able to get some great shots like this one! You've inspired me.

schmoo

dmalling wrote:

Wow, doctor, that mountain shot is great! I've got a G9 as well -- not quite ready yet for an SLR -- and am still trying to figure out how to really use it well. I'll be traveling into the mountains of Yunnan, China in a mere three weeks, and I'm hoping to be able to get some great shots like this one! You've inspired me.

Wow! Welcome to Dgrin and I really hope you share the resulting photos with us. I'd love to see those mountains. I do love me some Yunnan tea

And doc, wiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiyyde is good, yes!

DoctorIt

schmoo wrote:

And doc, wiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiyyde is good, yes!

Indeed


And why didn't anyone tell me that Brisbane pano has a wicked green cast!?! Either my home-eyes are getting worse than my work-eyes, or my MBP screen is really going wonky on me. That shot looks fine at home, and practically martian here!


home
work (fixed)

DoctorIt

dmalling wrote:

Wow, doctor, that mountain shot is great! I've got a G9 as well -- not quite ready yet for an SLR -- and am still trying to figure out how to really use it well. I'll be traveling into the mountains of Yunnan, China in a mere three weeks, and I'm hoping to be able to get some great shots like this one! You've inspired me.

G9 is a great camera: my one recommendation, invest in a tripod, or get over the desire to keep your camera really clean. I like to travel light, so I've foregone the screen protectors and cleanliness and will use anything as support (rocks, trees, etc). But support you definitely need for such a "small" camera. I find I can handhold a bigger dslr/lens combo easier than the g9.

Looking forward to seeing some Yunnan photos