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01/21/2005 09:46:23 AM · #1 |
| Can any digital camera take photos for the virtual tours, seen on real estate sites and car sites? If so, is there anything special I need? |
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01/21/2005 09:56:58 AM · #2 |
Depends on your definition of 'virtual tour'. A slide show is easy, but for an authentic virtual tour, you need the software that seams digital photographs together. Then you set up a tripod and take the required images, probably in a set order. (I'm only passing familiar with the process, so I can't go into any more detail).
The software should give instructions. I'm not sure if there's another way of doing it.
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01/21/2005 10:01:59 AM · #3 |
I do virtual tours here in New York City.
Basically what you have to do is create a cyndrical panorama so people can view and move around like they are in the photo.
You will need software to create hot spots so people can click to move to other areas.
Here is a link to the software I use:Tourweaver
As far as the panorama is concerned, you want a very wide angle lens, and a good tripod. And lighting is also a big part of it. Generally you want your virtual tours to have a natural feel, so I generally don't use a flash. I use a longer exposure on the tripod.
Message edited by author 2005-01-21 10:14:21.
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01/21/2005 10:18:16 AM · #4 |
I am selling my house here in Iceland and a man came here to photograph the house. He took 3 "virtual panorama" images. And the method he used was very intuative.
He had a camera with a very wide lens. Put it on a tripod and let the lens face directly up at the ceiling. In front of the lens was a spherical mirror which showed the whole room. And then he had some software to take that regular digital image and turn it into a "virtual panorama"
//www.draumahus.is/1/Tourviewer_Vesbg8_2050790.html |
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01/22/2005 02:49:01 PM · #5 |
Would the SCHNEIDER-KREUZNACH XENAR 0.7x Wide-Angle Lens be a wide enough lens?
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01/22/2005 02:58:34 PM · #6 |
That adapter will increase your current field of view by 30%.
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01/22/2005 03:05:22 PM · #7 |
I work at an advertising agency that specializes in real estate. One of our web developers has done this quite a bit for our clients, and I've discussed it with him a bit, so I'm hardly an expert, but will share what I know.
A note on lenses and tripods: there are two desirable traits to look for in a tripod: first is a reasonably accurate bubble level, and second are degree markings so you can rotate the camera a uniform number of degrees for each frame. It's not necessarily important to know the number of degrees, but it needs to be the same for each frame. This angle is a function of the "wideness" of your lens.
I suspect that ultra-short lenses will probably introduce distortion which is undesirable: stitching the image together is much harder with lots of distortion. A rectilinear lens will make stitching easier. And, if your lens isn't short enough, you can make two passes and stitch them together top and bottom. I.E. a ring of images that show the top of the room, adjust the elevation of the tripod, and a ring of images around the bottom. It's a good bit more work, but manageable.
I've seen that speherical lens/software combination for sale for about $800usd -- if you're going to make a business of building virtual tours, this would be a great investment. |
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01/22/2005 04:19:45 PM · #8 |
I worked doing real estate photography and virtual tours for a year here in Virginia.
Our tripods did indeed have 3 incremental "stops" on them, so that the photos lined up and overlapped exactly; also the lens we used was a special lens that quite literally photographed 180 degrees up and down, as well as sideways. When the virtual tour was put together in the software, you could actually pan down and see the tripod legs, or all the way up to the ceiling, and then of course, pan all the way around the room 360 degrees. Pretty cool, I enjoyed doing those.
I don't know where you would get this kind of equipment, it belonged to the company that I worked for. |
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01/22/2005 05:31:27 PM · #9 |
Originally posted by arnigunnar:
I am selling my house here in Iceland and a man came here to photograph the house. He took 3 "virtual panorama" images. And the method he used was very intuative.
He had a camera with a very wide lens. Put it on a tripod and let the lens face directly up at the ceiling. In front of the lens was a spherical mirror which showed the whole room. And then he had some software to take that regular digital image and turn it into a "virtual panorama"
//www.draumahus.is/1/Tourviewer_Vesbg8_2050790.html |
A special 360 lens can be found here.
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01/22/2005 06:16:45 PM · #10 |
| I think there was a real estate agent in Sydney which stopped doing virtual tours on the Internet because criminals were casing out the places to break into them. |
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