PhotoStudio 5.5 Panoramic Stitching Problem

[Sailor Don]

I bought a Canon PowerShot Pro1 about 3 months ago. It came with ArcSoft PhotoStudio 5.5 Digital Photo Editor. I have unsuccessfully tried to use the Stitch function to make a panoramic photo. The alignment targets don't work (or maybe I am doing something wrong).

I have an older version of PhotoStudio that came with my Olympus D-490Z. I think it is PhotoStudio 2000. The stitch function works OK on the old version.

Has anyone else encountered problems with ArcSoft PhotoStudio 5.5 Stitch function?

This panoramic stitch was done with the old PhotoStudio 2000.
http://users3.ev1.net/%7Esailord/lex/img0.jpg

[ScottK]

Is Canon no longer including the Photo Stitch app on the Solutions Disk (the same CD Zoombrowser comes on)? That's worked pretty well for me, though I don't do panoramas too often. I've never tried PhotoStudio for this (in fact didn't even know it could do stitching).

Another tip - try zooming in a little. I know with the G5 and A40, you get a slight bit of barrel distortion at the extreme wide end - given that the Pro1 has a wider wide angle, I wouldn't be surprised if its at least as noticable. This can give panoramas a kind of lumpy, wavy look.

[Sailor Don]

I wasn't aware of the Canon Zoom EX Photo Stitch until a couple of days ago when I accidentally found it as I was reloading some software. It works quite well on the first couple of experiments, but it doesn't have the same level of control that the Photo Studio 5.5 has (if it would only work).

This is a sample of what I did with the Canon Photo Stitch. The view angle is about 180 degrees.
http://users3.ev1.net/~sailord/BkYdPan4.jpg

[283CID]

Beautiful, Don... I have dabbled with stitching using the Photo Studio 5 that came with the Canon Scanner my bride has.... And, it doesn't do as well for me as the Canon Utility that came on my CD with the G-1.

One thing I have found that did help some...for us... was to use the Vertical Stitching. Turn the camera vertical and shoot a slug of pictures across the intended image. When you stitch them, they seem better for the angular prospective, and the width to height ratio seems nicer...

Maybe not for you, but for us..

[Sailor Don]

283CID,

Good idea to run the shots vertically. That should take some of the edge distortion out of the lens that way. More stitches, less distortion. I'm going to experiment with it on my next panoramic series.

Thanks for the tip :)

[Sailor Don]

Long before I posted my "Stitching Problem" topic, I sent a problem report to ArcSoft.
Now 24 days later, I get the following response:

Response (Cesar) 08/24/2004 12:02 PM
Hello Don,

The stitch tool was not designed for precise alignment at this time. However, we are continually striving to improve PhotoStudio and have entered a customer improvement request for our future version.

Cesar Managad
Technical Support
Arcsoft,Inc
www.arcsoft.com

I guess I'll stay with the Canon PhotoStitch for panoramic shots. It has less user input control, but very good results.

[283CID]

That is a little surprizing... that a released version of something is known to be.....what? Lacking?

Oh, well... Maybe the author of this thread can find a Canon Solutions CD and get The Real McCoy....

[ScottK]

If its worth it to you, you might want to try testing out some dedicated apps for panoramas. I've seen some pretty good feedback on Panavue in the past (www.panavue.com) but don't have any first-hand experience. And its $65, so you have to really want it. :? Maybe try googling on "photo stitch software" - there might be some decent free or cheap alternatives around.