First Panorama Stitching Experiment

Canon EF-S 10-22mm f/3.5-4.5 USM

01/23/2006 03:10:45 PM · #1

I took 5 pictures to make this panorama image I put up on PBase:
Picket Post Mountain

I took all the pictures in quick succession using manual settings. The exposure and camera settings on all 5 pictures are EXACTLY the same.

However, when I brought the images up individually they obviously were not all recorded the same. How can that be? I did not expect that. It was as though some were taken using slightly different exposure or white balance.

I was able to make color and brightness changes to make the transitions look more natural in the final image. But it seems I should not have had to do that.

For those expeienced with creating panoramas my question is this:
Is it normal for different pictures taken with the same manual settings and lighting conditions to be so different as to require color balance, selective color and/or brightness adjustments to fix boundaries when creating panoramas?

I'll give brownie points for those of you that can point out the main problem I have with the adjusted image. I'll give you a hint, it is not a lighting or color problem. ;) :)

th3ph17

Canon EOS-20D

Canon EF 50mm f/1.8 II

01/23/2006 03:18:21 PM · #2

it isn't the same lighting conditions. You are standing on a globe, with your main light source 93 million miles [or so] away. It is directional. The sky is a gradient, light varies, shadow varies, etc.

also, unless you are shooting RAW, your camera is creating a jpeg with a color palette based on the pixels in the frame...so with even a slight change in direction you are going to get a different part of the sky/light gradient and a different palette.

Message edited by author 2006-01-23 15:22:19.

mycelium

Canon EOS-350D Rebel XT

01/23/2006 03:19:28 PM · #3

WRT your question about color balance, etc-

Yes, it's normal.

When you use the same settings for two exposures under the same conditions, the overall tone/hue/etc of the image is probably going to be the same, but it's not spread out over the whole image evenly.

You know how some ultra-wide-angle lenses get vignetting? The same thing happens on any picture (or so I understand it), just to a much lesser extent- The color balance, etc on the edges of a photo are often a bit off of the center of the photo. In most cases, this is unnoticeable, but then when you overlap them and accentuate colors/tones (& therefore differences) in PP, the discrepancies become more pronounced.

problem... curvature of the horizon..?

Message edited by author 2006-01-23 15:20:42.

kirbic

Canon EOS R5

Canon RF 24-70mm f/2.8 L IS

01/23/2006 03:19:45 PM · #4

Steve,
Was your WB set to something other than "Auto?" If set to Auto the color will shift perceptibly from frame to frame. When this happens, it can appear to affect exposure in some areas if the luminance in those areas is dominated by one color channel, blue sky for instance.
Polarization changes can also affect apparent exposure levels, as can the normal light fall-off of that occurs at wide angle settings.
On quick inspection, the one clear glitch that I see is the visible stitch line betwen the posts to the left of the gate, and the mismatch of the horizontal bar in that area.

jmsetzler

Sony Alpha a6000

Sony 16-50mm f/3.5-5.6 E-mount

01/23/2006 03:28:22 PM · #5

I had a similar problem once when I used a polarizer...

Olympus OM-D E-M1 Mark II

01/23/2006 03:31:15 PM · #6

Originally posted by kirbic:

Thanks! I think you are right... the white balance was set to "auto"... I forgot to change it to bright sunlight. That likely is the cause of the color and luminosity differences. I will remember that next time. It is a royal pain to correct. LOL!!!

Chiqui

Olympus 12-40mm f/2.8 Pro

01/23/2006 03:34:06 PM · #7

Well, there is a program called Panorama Factory and it will adjust the exposures to make it even throughout the pano but I don't know about the white balance. The program is not cheap, something like $60 but worth every penny.

June

Canon RF 24-70mm f/2.8 L IS

01/23/2006 06:02:48 PM · #8

Originally posted by jmsetzler:

I had a similar problem once when I used a polarizer...

Interesting comment... though Kirbic hit the nail on the head I was also using a polarizer. :)

kirbic

Canon EOS R5

01/23/2006 06:07:57 PM · #9

Originally posted by stdavidson:

Originally posted by jmsetzler:
I had a similar problem once when I used a polarizer...

Interesting comment... though Kirbic hit the nail on the head I was also using a polarizer. :)

Oooh, you double-whammied yourself, LOL! Great job on correcting the shots, you got a great match... well, except for that one little area.
Hey, BTW, I WILL be in PHX from April 08 or 09 until April 16 or thereabouts. And no business, this is all vacation! Let's get out and shoot!