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Canon 12x IS USM (S3 IS built-in Lens) -- 36-432mm (35mm EQ)

12/15/2014 01:11:01 PM · #3

Canon cameras come with stitching software called Canon Phototitch, and you can still download the free demo version of AutoStitch which works well, although you have to start with JPEGs.

giantmike

Canon EOS R6

Canon EF 100mm f/2.8L Macro IS USM

12/15/2014 01:59:41 PM · #4

Sweet, now I just have to find a scene worthy in this dreary time of year.

By the way, my hands down favorite stitching software is the free tool Hugin. It's so good, I never have to tweak settings any more. I just load images and click create panorama. It takes care of finding all of the control points, rotating and realigning, and even dynamic range to make sure things like the sky is perfect.
//hugin.sourceforge.net

Canon 12x IS USM (S3 IS built-in Lens) -- 36-432mm (35mm EQ)

12/15/2014 02:03:53 PM · #5

Originally posted by giantmike:

... I never have to tweak settings any more. I just load images and click create panorama. It takes care of finding all of the control points, rotating and realigning, and even dynamic range to make sure things like the sky is perfect.
//hugin.sourceforge.net

I forgot Hugin, though I think I tried it a long time ago ... I have had similar success using the defaults in AutoStitch. This might be an interesting time to process the same image with each program and compare ...

Elaine

Canon EOS R5

Canon EF 24-105mm f/4.0L IS II USM Lens

12/15/2014 02:07:12 PM · #6

I did not notice! Thanks for drawing that to our attention. Now to think of some place to go...

12/15/2014 02:20:40 PM · #7

It's been a long time since I tried a panorama, and although my camera has an automated feature I'd like to play with this Hugin software and Photo Merge.

What needs to happen during the shooting to ensure a clean and natural looking stitch?

I understand the tripod head needs to be level and locked except for the panning rotation part, and manual exposure/focus/etc.

Is there an optimal degrees of rotation between each shot? I see the Adobe page says they should overlap by about 40%, so I suppose I will try that way.

Has anyone here had success doing stitched night-sky photos? Doubt I'll get a clear sky this week, but maybe someday I can give it a shot.

Canon 12x IS USM (S3 IS built-in Lens) -- 36-432mm (35mm EQ)

12/15/2014 02:49:51 PM · #8

You listed most of the requirements: manual focus and exposure, as level rotation as possible (I shoot most of mine handheld). You may get away with as little as 20% overlap between frames, but the 40% recommendation is reasonable.

A focal length of probably 50-100mm is probably best -- wider and you can get distortion, longer and you'll have hardly any vertical. I recomend shooting in portrait orientation to include as much height as possible. Some of the stitching programs will let you "stack" two rows of images to gain vertical pixels.

DO NOT use a polarizer!

hahn23

Canon EOS-5D Mark IV

Canon EF 24-105mm f/4.0L IS II USM Lens

12/15/2014 02:55:15 PM · #9

My best selling panoramas in the gallery have the following characteristics:
a) 3:1 proportion.
b) Stitches of 5 to 7 images, overlapped 35%.
c) Lens focal length of 60mm. (to compress distance and present a natural, eye-pleasing, detailed scene)
d) Manual focus, set aperture, manual exposure
e) Complete depth-of-field from my toes to infinity
f) Tripod mounted captures. Leveled camera and leveled tripod. Shutter release cable.

eta: Yes, shoot in portrait orientation â�¦ even for an eventual horizontal image. They stitch better.

Message edited by author 2014-12-15 14:56:34.

Canon 12x IS USM (S3 IS built-in Lens) -- 36-432mm (35mm EQ)

12/15/2014 03:08:33 PM · #10

Most of the panoramas in this gallery are handheld -- later ones tend to be uncropped to show how "far off" from perfect horizontal alignment they are.

These two show the difference between shooting with a wide-angle vs "normal" lens -- shot from the same spot, both handheld, uncropped, unadjusted, resized to 10% original size in stitching process:

12/15/2014 04:26:56 PM · #11

Thanks for the info. Will try some test runs this afternoon and go from there.

GeneralE - the second one is using a longer focal length, right?

To do a focus bracketing panorama, will the bottom row (showing the foreground) be the only ones set to a closer focus distance, or do you shoot each frame at near and far focus? I don't anticipate needing to focus bracket with my crop sensor as long as I can shoot at f/16 or so, but it would be good to know.

Canon 12x IS USM (S3 IS built-in Lens) -- 36-432mm (35mm EQ)

12/15/2014 05:01:51 PM · #12

Originally posted by MadMan2k:

Thanks for the info. Will try some test runs this afternoon and go from there.

GeneralE - the second one is using a longer focal length, right?

Sorry, that's what I thought, but "upon further review the call is overturned" (still in football mode).

As it turns out, those were both shot at the same focal length, but with different numbers of frames and overlaps -- I think the one which looks like it's taken with an ultra-wide is eight frames, while the other is only three. I think it has to do with "perspective correction" when the image is taller. FWIW you can get some great effects trying to "straighten" a stitched vertical pan:

12/16/2014 07:25:20 PM · #13

Couldn't get there in time yesterday, but shot some tree scenes at the park today and tried stitching.

Is there any way to get a straight panorama when the camera is vertical but pointed sightly up and not level with the horizon?

I wanted to do that to get the tops of the trees, but it came out very bowed and not a straight panorama.

Would getting further away and using a longer lens be the ticket?

This is about the most stitching I can get away with in this case:

Wider than that it looks bowed. The horizontal ones I shot of a stream turned out straight, but just a boring photo.

Message edited by author 2014-12-16 19:30:40.

Canon 12x IS USM (S3 IS built-in Lens) -- 36-432mm (35mm EQ)

12/16/2014 07:43:33 PM · #14

Farther away might help. Using the perspective-correction tool can help. Shooting way wider and including more than your intended final subject and cropping can help.

NstiG8tr

Canon EOS-5D Mark IV

Canon EF 85mm f/1.2L II USM

12/16/2014 08:18:58 PM · #15

Photoshop CC has a nice tool for patching those panos so you don't have to crop them to death.Select area with lasso tool then Edit> Fill> content aware.

mefnj

Nikon D7100

Nikon AF-S DX NIKKOR 18-200mm f/3.5-5.6G ED VR II

12/16/2014 09:05:56 PM · #16

another pretty good free stitching program is Microsoft Image Composite Editor.

//research.microsoft.com/en-us/um/redmond/groups/ivm/ICE/

just need SilverLight installed as well.

giantmike

Canon EOS R6

Canon EF 100mm f/2.8L Macro IS USM

12/16/2014 09:12:33 PM · #17

Originally posted by NstiG8tr:

Photoshop CC has a nice tool for patching those panos so you don't have to crop them to death.Select area with lasso tool then Edit> Fill> content aware.

That isn't going to be legal in Advanced editing, if I'm understanding your post. You cannot create new features, which it sounds like this would be doing.

Bear_Music

Samsung Galaxy S24 Ultra

Sony 24-70mm F4 Vario-Tessar T* FE OSS

12/16/2014 09:32:53 PM · #18

Originally posted by giantmike:

Originally posted by NstiG8tr:
Photoshop CC has a nice tool for patching those panos so you don't have to crop them to death.Select area with lasso tool then Edit> Fill> content aware.

That isn't going to be legal in Advanced editing, if I'm understanding your post. You cannot create new features, which it sounds like this would be doing.

Filling pano gaps with matching colors/textures isn't introducing new features. We won't be dinging that for this special cha;lenge, I'm quite sure, though we haven't discussed it.

12/16/2014 10:35:12 PM · #19

Gave that content aware fill a shot - very cool. Hope the weather cooperates tomorrow.