Wide Angle vs. stitching

[yrudd]

I haven't even received my G3 yet, but I have a question about wide angle shots.
It seems to me that stitching together a pair of side-by-side 4 megapix shots at the widest angle would yield a "better" panorama than a single shot with a wider angle lens.
Am I thinking wrong?
Anybody try it or otherwise know which is better?
Yaakov

[12345Michael54321]

It may be better. If only because a panorama derived from two 4-megapixel images (in actuality, usually a total of around 6-megapixels or less, since there will be some overlap between the images) may prove superior to a panorama derived from a single 4-megapixel image. This is even more likely to be the case when comparing a photo made from a single 4-megapixel image to one made from many, stitched together, 4-megapixel images.

Of course, there are also reasons why in some cases using a single image and a wide angle lens would be best. For example, if your subject is moving, the multi-photo panorama may not be practical. And even with stationary subjects, not everyone wishes to put in the time and effort neccessary for best results when stitching together multiple images on the computer.

Finally, you specify "stitching together a pair of side-by-side shots at the widest angle." I would mention that best results may not be obtained from using "the widest angle," but are often obtained from stitching together more images, all of them taken at longer focal lengths. Since wide angle shots sometimes exhibit distortions which increase the difficulty of obtaining natural-looking stitched together paroramas.

[yrudd]

Good points, and thanks. I don't usually think of wide angles when shooting moving subjects, but you're certainly correct. And I needed that reminder about the wide angle distortion, too!
Yaakov

[12345Michael54321]

Well, I didn't necessarily mean a moving subject like an athlete running the 100 yard dash. Flags blowing gently in the wind, people or cars moving in the distance, even a bird flying across the sky, should all be taken into account in stitching together multi-shot panoramas.

But the absolutely most important thing is to use a tripod! Anybody going for a multi-shot panorama, and not using a tripod in a situation where one could possibly be employed, is greatly reducing his likelihood of success, right from the start. Not saying that a tripod makes success certain, nor that not using a tripod makes failure certain, but that's the way the smart money bets. (And make sure the tripod is properly leveled. I would recommend either a level built into the tripod and the tripod's head locked into "90 degree and horizontal" position, or one of those bubble levels that can be slid into the camera's hot shoe. Or both. Determining level by eyeballing it isn't the way to go.)

Yeah, yeah, I'm a tripod ****. I admit it. If I'm photographing landscapes, or many other things for that matter, I'm more likely to go out without a spare battery pack, without an extra compact flash card, and without a polarizer, than I am to leave the tripod at home.

[dtrayers]

I agree about the tripod being essential, and not just for panoramas. I've learned to use it even when taking 'snapshots' of the kids at the park.

When setting up for a panorama, if you don't have a spirit level, you can just pan the camera back and forth and note where the horizon is in relation to a horizontal reference in the LCD, like the autofocus box. Look to make sure the horizon is straight across, and as you pan, the horizon stays in the same place in relation to the reference, and doesn't run uphill or down, and stays level. Play with the tripod adjustments until it's right. At that point, the camera should be level.

You can also do it with a ball head, but you have to line up each frame to try to keep it level. Much more difficult, but it's still better than hand holding.

Here's a panorama of Vancouver taken from across Coal Harbor in Stanley Park, next to the cannon. I used a tripod with a ball head. This is 8 frames.

http://home.attbi.com/~dtrayers/vancouver/html/vancouver-skyline.htm

[Andy_T]

David,

that's a great panorama shot!

Regards,
Andy

[Dana]

12345Michael54321 wrote:
But the absolutely most important thing is to use a tripod! Anybody going for a multi-shot panorama, and not using a tripod in a situation where one could possibly be employed, is greatly reducing his likelihood of success, right from the start. Not saying that a tripod makes success certain, nor that not using a tripod makes failure certain, but that's the way the smart money bets. (And make sure the tripod is properly leveled. I would recommend either a level built into the tripod and the tripod's head locked into "90 degree and horizontal" position, or one of those bubble levels that can be slid into the camera's hot shoe. Or both. Determining level by eyeballing it isn't the way to go.)

Yeah, yeah, I'm a tripod ****. I admit it. If I'm photographing landscapes, or many other things for that matter, I'm more likely to go out without a spare battery pack, without an extra compact flash card, and without a polarizer, than I am to leave the tripod at home.


I agree in general, that panoramas are easier w/a tripod, but I think in defense of beginners that it overstates the case a bit to say they are required.

Here's one I shot hand-held w/my old Oly 2020z (stiched w/Panorama Maker), and it came out quite nicely, as have several others I have done this way when I didn't have a tripod handy (which is often when you're on vacation or just wandering about w/camera in hand). With just a little practice it is fairly easy to get very nice panos using your body as a tripod. :-)

http://home.san.rr.com/dawhites/Images/pano%20beach.jpg

So don't let the lack of a tripod keep you from shooting panos!

Dana

[kb244]

I find that when shooting in stitching mode , the lack of a tripod is not really a problem, especially since the way the stitching mode works is gives you enough slack (15% or so it seems ) of overlap to work with, when you later snap it into PhotoStitch.

Here are a couple panoramics I did with my G3

http://www.deviantart.com/deviation/2220304
http://www.deviantart.com/deviation/2195182

[Biko]

I have taken some good panoramas without a tripod, I do walking in Yorkshire England and as the ground can be rough and slippy I take a Trekking pole a sort of monopod which is great and improves the horizontal alignment

This week I have bought the Raynox fish eye and went out to try it, the panorama is a complete 360 in every direction, the sheep with its head right in view nearly bit the lens!
http://www.btinternet.com/~i.c.palmer/360with5.htm

This one had to be done with a tripod.

[rssfhs]

Hey that's pretty fun to play with! Does that fisheye lens work with a g3? What software did you use to produce that panorama?

[Biko]

The fisheye fits the G3 its the RAYNOX DCR-FE180PRO and is pricey and weighs a lot.

You get some vignetting at its widest in corners but thats not a problem when stitching due to overlap on pictures, its a case of stitching together, you can use canon's own stiching software. I take a pic vertical up and same down off the tripod, and then touch pic up in photoshop using those shots to get rid of the tripod.