Panoramics

We are currently experimenting with the world of Panoramics we are learning.View my latest effort full 360º x 180º at last. solved the problems with the zenith and nadir shots has been an interesting exercise.

Digital Panoramic's

This page is devoted to members to display there Panoramic's. we are currently working with the Apple QuicktimeVR Viewer plug-in if not installed on your computer then it can be downloaded for free here.

What is Panoramic's Photography

Since the inception of photography over 150 years ago, photographers have continuously sought better ways to bring realism and a sense of intimacy to their viewers. While panoramic photography has been with us for almost 80 years, recent imaging technologies and software have taken the panorama to yet another level, allowing capture of complete 360° x 360° cubic and spherical views of the scenes we photograph, along with the ability to display them in powerfully immersive environments. Cubic and spherical panoramas expand upon the traditional flat or cylindrical panorama. They allow for documentation of the complete environment around you and provide a way to virtually immerse your audience into your vision. They even offer a new means of artistic expression. Natural spaces and architectural projects can be accurately and interactively visualized by audiences who may never actually visit these locations in person. Virtual reality (VR) panoramas and object movies provide superior means to entertain, educate and inform, as well as to market and sell commercial products.

Simple and Quick method

This is how to make a simple panoramic image using multiple photos and Adobe Photoshop's CS3 Photo merge. (you can locate photo merge in photoshop under automate > photo merge). You can blend from 2 to 15 photos each then stitch together (automatically) in Photomerge. Try a group image two images stitched together will give you a higher resolution print.
This process is really easy and when you are done you have a image that is not only wider than any lens you own but can also be printed to absolutely ridiculous size if you have the ink But better than printing, is your panoramic can now be shown on the Clubs web-site. The first step is to take the photos. I recommend that you use your camera in the Portrait position so you get more of the top and bottom of the scene in view.
The next part is the trickiest part. When rotating the camera around to capture the sides of the scene you should keep your lens in the same spot and move your camera. allowing for each image to over lap the previous by about 35-20% this makes PhotoShop align the images. You want to overlap your photos as much as possible so photoshop has a lot to work with. Now crop the pano and finish with your PhotoShop workflow to finalize the image.

Advance Method

That was very simple but hand held has serious drawbacks: alignment of the various images is but one. But now you have got the Pano-bug and want to learn more so sit back as this is just one method that I use to produce panoramas for my Web and Proshow image viewers.
( I blame it all on Cliff Carter from Steyning CC at our Digital meeting).You'll come across an enormous language when you start dealing with "panoramic", "spherical", "cubical", "cylindrical", "360°x180°", "360°x360°" or "vr" photography.
One way to try to simplify things is to divide between the basic types of final image the various terms listed above refer to. With a "VR object" image you want to circle around an object to see it from every perspective; with a "panoramic" image you want to show everything that is around you or everything you can see from one single perspective.
For these single images to fit together, you have to take all the pictures from the same point. If you move the camera even slightly, near and far objects will be subject to small (but important) distance shifts between one shot and the next , this is called "parallax" and the resulting images won't fit together easily.
So how you can rotate the camera around without getting parallax effects?
By locating its 'entrance pupil' the entrance pupil is the exact spot within the camera/lens where all beams of light cross before hitting the film or CCD image sensor. By spinning the camera around this precise point, you can modify the view without changing the position of the camera's "eye" so near and far objects maintain the same relationship between each other between shots, and everything fits together more accurately during stitching.

There are 6 major steps to follow:

• i. Identifying and adjusting the camera entrance pupil above the pano head.
• ii. Levelling up your tripod for the pano shoot.
• iii. Planning your number of shots (depends on camera & lens used).
• iv. Taking the horizontal rows of photos and the top "sky" (zenith) photo.
• v. Taking the bottom "ground" (nadir) photo of the sphere.
• vi. Stitching pictures and generating the panorama using special panorama stitching software.

What Camera Settings Should I Use?

• 1. Decide how much depth of field you want across the entire scene and choose an appropriate aperture f/8 to f/11 is advised for sharpness. Since most panoramas are of places and not people, you can set maximum crispness and depth of field out to infinity by focusing on the hyperfocal distance.
• 2. Set the camera's exposure mode to Manual; exposure across the scene needs to be consistent. If you're not comfortable with manual exposure settings, take a few shots in Aperture Priority at your chosen aperture, note the shutter speed, and use that setting for manual exposure.
• 3. If you're shooting digital, don't use Auto White Balance. Set your White Balance manually.
• 4. Decide how much overlap you need. A rule of thumb is 30-50%, but the actual amount of overlap is not that important and the amount of overlap can vary from image to image. on advantage of using a Pano head is that it can be adjusted to take the required no of shots in a 360° range.
• 5. Use raw for the image as this allows the white balance and exposure to be adjusted in you raw converter and synchronize these setting to all images.

Their is lots off websites to discover more on creating panoramics, some I have embedded in the article, for a comprehensive overview of this vast subject I recommend you look at digicaminfo.

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• The Official website of the British Monarchy. To get a idea of what it might feel like to stand in a room at the Palace, explore a Virtual Room, which allows you to have a 360 degree view of The Grand Staircase or The White Drawing Room. Quicktime or Flash required.
• Visit this site for 360° Panoramas, amazing in wide screen.
• See panoramic's by location.