Panoramic Questions

[jbdavies]

Hello everyone!

I have a quick questions (and guranteed to have a lot more!:D).

I have a EOS 40D and was wondering if I could take panoramic shots? And if so, how?

I have so much to learn about this camera... it's kinda nerv-racking. :lol:

Thanks a ton for your help.
Jeremy :)

[chauncey]

What kind of PP software were you planning on using? It makes a big difference.

[Cyth0n]

Sure you can take panoramic shots. It involves a bit of post processing though. You need to take a series of shots with the same exposure and then stitch them together. It's important that the edges of the shots match up, so it's useful to leave a bit of overlap. The easiest way to make sure everything lines up is to use a tripod and pan the head horizontally. Also try to use a lens that doesn't have too much distortion. Finally, using your polarizer is not normally a good idea when making panoramas, it can lead to uneven polarization.

There are a number of software programs designed specifically to stitch photos into panoramas but there's no reason you can't just use photoshop.

[jbdavies]

I have no idea what software I would be using. All I have is the software that came with the camera. I have photoshop, but just the trial version, but I have no idea how to use it. :D

Is there another program out there that isn't so expensive? Hehehe

Thanks for your help!

[rowdyred94]

Try the Autostitch (http://www.cs.ubc.ca/~mbrown/autostitch/autostitch.html) demo. It's nearly automatic. Make sure you go into options and change the size, etc.

Search the forums for how to shoot. You mostly just use manual to keep the exposures consistent.

[argyle]

PTGUI is a very good stitching program. Not sure what Canon includes on their CD, but there may be something there as well. A tripod is recommended, but others also create panos by handholding as well. Do a Google search for panoramic photography...a lot of stuff will come up.

I use PTGUI...they have a free demo that you can play with, only downside is that it puts a watermark across the final stitched image.

[jbdavies]

Awesome! Thanks for all your help guys/girls/people... :D

Greatly Appreciated.

[bishop13]

Photostitch that comes with the camera has never done me wrong :)

[jbdavies]

Sweet! I'll try that sometime. :)

Thanks everyone!

[michaelgreen78]

You can also use a dedicated panoramic head on your tripod. These can be expensive so here's a good alternative (http://photography-on-the.net/forum/showpost.php?p=2562109&postcount=22). I've yet to make one but a colleague has and found it to be very good.

The pano head helps your stitching later in software by ensuring all the edges and perspectives etc stay constant.

Also, I have used Canon's free software and found it to be very good.

[FreemanAMG]

Actually panoramic photos are a little bit tricky. I whish you could speak some spanish (can you?), because I collaborated in a podcast about this very same question.

Long story short. You need a tripod, keep your camera in level, take photos overlapping about 1/3 the frame. Also, a pano head could be very usefull (but very pricey). To find why, try googling something about "nodal point". You can also go DIY and make a nice pano on your own.

[bomberman]

Is there another program out there that isn't so expensive? Hehehe

Photoshop is significantly cheaper if you're a student (I believe it's $300 instead of $1000 CAD). $300 is still too much for me, so I use an opensource image manipulation tool called GIMP. It has worked very well for me so far (I don't know how to do photostitching with it, but it is a very powerfull tool similar to Photoshop).

[jbdavies]

Hmmm.... I wonder if I can get the student version... :D

FreemanAMG - Sorry... I only speak english, and even that's questionable. ;)

[rammy]

Take a read through this thread:

http://photography-on-the.net/forum/showthread.php?t=412143

[jbdavies]

On nice! Thank you! Was a very useful thread. :)

[jackc00]

excellent, this is just what I was just looking for. many thanks.