Stitching panoramas

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oROSSo

oROSSo

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When stitching a panorama that was taken on a normal tripod and head, once stitched gives a rugby ball kinda shape image that you can then crop into.

I went and bought a pano head and found my lenses nodal point (two candle sticks on a table technique) - when I stitched the images together I expected to get a more usual rectangular image but i was surprised to find the stitched image was more of a bow tie shape, meaning I still ended to crop into it.

Is this right or do I need to play about with the nodal point?
 


oROSSo said:
When stitching a panorama that was taken on a normal tripod and head, once stitched gives a rugby ball kinda shape image that you can then crop into.

I went and bought a pano head and found my lenses nodal point (two candle sticks on a table technique) - when I stitched the images together I expected to get a more usual rectangular image but i was surprised to find the stitched image was more of a bow tie shape, meaning I still ended to crop into it.

Is this right or do I need to play about with the nodal point?
Click to expand...

Are you using photoshop to stitch?. Doesn't it take nodal point into account?
 
oROSSo said:
No, PTGui. I dunno if I many be need to unstick some box
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This is a complete guess but I have a feeling modern stitching software will compensate for the point of rotation not being at the sensor, but instead in front.

Is PTGui any good, better that photoshop?
 
HebburnMackem said:
This is a complete guess but I have a feeling modern stitching software will compensate for the point of rotation not being at the sensor, but instead in front.

Is PTGui any good, better that photoshop?
Click to expand...
It's canny aye but I can't remember ever trying PS to stitch so can't really compare
 
oROSSo said:
It's canny aye but I can't remember ever trying PS to stitch so can't really compare
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It's actually very good. It has 6 different panorama modes, will compensate for vignetting and distortion. Separate to that it has image alignment for stacking. If you have PS extended, it has something like 15 different stacking modes that will work great for anything from astrophotography (noise reduction) to "tourist removal"
 
oROSSo said:
You might as well speak Chinese mate. I do have a thing for 3:1 ratios like
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You move the lens, you must suffer all the distortion that comes with that ;)

Nodal point schmodal point
 
Icarebecauseyoudo said:
You move the lens, you must suffer all the distortion that comes with that ;)

Nodal point schmodal point
Click to expand...
Cambodia is the manufacturer? How does the sliding back work? Can you get a digi sliding back?

HebburnMackem said:
It's actually very good. It has 6 different panorama modes, will compensate for vignetting and distortion. Separate to that it has image alignment for stacking. If you have PS extended, it has something like 15 different stacking modes that will work great for anything from astrophotography (noise reduction) to "tourist removal"
Click to expand...
Aye PTGui has loads of different modes, must be at least 30 at a guess. I'll see if I can have a play about with it
 
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oROSSo said:
Cambodia is the manufacturer? How does the sliding back work? Can you get a digi sliding back?


Aye PTGui has loads of different modes, must be at least 30 at a guess. I'll see if I can have a play about with it
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It's very simple. All it does it move the body forward so the rotational point is below the plane of the sensor.
 
It is nothing to do with nodal points, it is just because you are trying to project a part of a sphere onto a flat bit of paper. The wider your pano, the more pronounced the effect will be, so depending on the projection you use, you either get the bow tie shape, or you will be distorting the image. Using cylindrical projection in ptgui should improve things though

The pano head will only help you with parallax problems (foreground moving across background)
 
HebburnMackem said:
It's very simple. All it does it move the body forward so the rotational point is below the plane of the sensor.
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Nah, it's nowt to do with nodal panorama heads etc

Yes Ross, a sliding back is digi, for use with phase one or leaf. You're just sliding the back across the rear of the camera. The lens doesn't move. Hence the two images fit together like two jigsaw pieces and you don't have any distortion for software to try to fix
 
Icarebecauseyoudo said:
Nah, it's nowt to do with nodal panorama heads etc

Yes Ross, a sliding back is digi, for use with phase one or leaf. You're just sliding the back across the rear of the camera. The lens doesn't move. Hence the two images fit together like two jigsaw pieces and you don't have any distortion for software to try to fix
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i must be git thick cause I still don't understand how that would work. I would have thought that if the lens doesn't move and the back does, you're just going to have two of the same image?!
 
oROSSo said:
i must be git thick cause I still don't understand how that would work. I would have thought that if the lens doesn't move and the back does, you're just going to have two of the same image?!
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You've got this big image circle from a wide lens, and you're taking a letterbox out of it. Same as a film panoramic camera would , except in two parts

You can also move the back up and down, potentially you can have 6 shots that all stitch perfectly to make a massive image, doesn't have to be a panorama
 
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Icarebecauseyoudo said:
You've got this big image circle from a wide lens, and your taking a letterbox out of it. Same as a film panoramic camera would , except in two parts

You can also move the back up and down, potentially you can have 6 shots that all stitch perfectly to make a massive image, doesn't have to be a panorama
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ah OK got you.

Now I just need a lottery win.
 
Icarebecauseyoudo said:
I never had one ;)

Tbf I spent 15k when I went digi, paid for itself by now like
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Imagine i was to buy a 24mm tilt shift lens for pano's. Simply set my camera up in landscape orientation and took 3 picutres (-12, 0, +12 shift) would I get parallax issues? I'm guessing so?!

Also, is there a way of working out what aspect ratio that would give? I do like 6 x 17, I have to say.
 
oROSSo said:
Imagine i was to buy a 24mm tilt shift lens for pano's. Simply set my camera up in landscape orientation and took 3 picutres (-12, 0, +12 shift) would I get parallax issues? I'm guessing so?!

Also, is there a way of working out what aspect ratio that would give? I do like 6 x 17, I have to say.
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Not really, sounds about 2:1 to me ross

On a wide lens like that you're always gonna get distortion at the top and bottom of the stitch, obviously a longer lens is better. You move the lens, you get problems

A mate of mine has his horseman on ebay I see, great price. With 45mm, which is equivalent to 90mm on 617
 
Icarebecauseyoudo said:
Not really, sounds about 2:1 to me ross

On a wide lens like that you're always gonna get distortion at the top and bottom of the stitch, obviously a longer lens is better. You move the lens, you get problems

A mate of mine has his horseman on ebay I see, great price. With 45mm, which is equivalent to 90mm on 617
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I still think MF is out of my price range.

I've been thinking of upgrading to this Sony A7R which is reputed to be the best landscape camera before the jump up to MF. Shooting at either 35 or 50mm in portrait orientation around the lenses nodal point. I guess that will be my best option for now.

I can sell my 6D for £700+ these A7R's are £1150 from panamoz so it would cost me £450 ish.
 
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