Panoramics.... best technique

[Croasdail]

Hey all - getting ready to do the manditory family road trip of the National Parks out west (grand canyon all the way up to glacier) and I want to do some panoramic shots while there. From what I have read is that you can achieve much more detail rich images stitching together several images rather then trying to capture it all with a wide. Asuming that is try - and it makes sense - I have read is using non-wide lens (50-70mm) works better as there is no distortion to deal wth when stitching the images. The other items is that you should shoot manual so that the exposure is consistant across all images so that you don't get the exposure banding. Can anyone validate these assumptions - or correct them. I would hate to come back from 2 weeks on the road only to have done it wrong and have a mess to work with. Oh - and I will be bring a wide with me... I am going to cover my bases. Thanks!

[Inspired Photography]

I have done a little panoramic stuff, but not much.

Those are what i would consider the main points, and only add that a good tripod and careful panning will make all the difference. If you minimalise overlap in your images, you reduce "wastage" as well as making stitching easier. A good tripod is mandatory in my book.

But i am sure there are many people on this forum that can offer alot more than me.

Rob

[steven]

All that you point out is correct.

One other thing is to have the camera level on the tripod.
This helps with stiching as well.

As for overlapping, depends on if you are doing it by hand or letting a program do it. Less overlap is good if you are doing it by hand but more is good if you are letting a program do it as it will have more items to help line up the image.

[Mernya]

Make sure your aperture and exposure are locked throughout the panorama. That's fact. You don't want your depth of field to change between shots, and you want the tones to be continues from segment to segment. If the exposure compensates for each one, there will be differences. One way to fix that, though, is to replace the sky.

I just read an article that mentioned trying portrait mode, not landscape, for your pieces.

Finally, although a tripod is a must, I've seen panaroma rails as the 'best' way to do it. Basically, rotating the camera (except when doing 180s/360s) isn't your best bet, but panning the camera, is best. Especially true if your lens and your tripod mount don't line up.

[12345Michael54321]

Can anyone validate these assumptionss
Consider them validated.

Also, manually set white balance and focus. Although if shooting RAW, the importance of the white balance thing is minimized, and in practice even forgetting to shut off auto-focus isn't that big a deal when your subject is at effective infinity.

And be careful if using a polarizer. Since on a broad panorama, the degree of polarization will run all the way from minimum to maximum. Sometimes this isn't a problem, but often it is.

Try to level not just the camera, but the tripod/tripod head iteself. As mentioned, shooting in portrait orientation can be superior to shooting in landscape orientation. Using a remote shutter release can be handy, although it's often unnecessary. I find that lens hoods (even a $1.98 rubber one) are often quite useful in shooting panoramas, as you really want to avoid flare, and flare is all the more likely when taking a series of photos across a 180 deg. or greater arc. Be aware that if the panorama contains areas of both deep shadow and bright highlight (and any photo can, but a panorama is more likely to exhibit such extremes), you're going to have problems with dynamic range (although this can often be finessed in post-processing).

Here's a tip - in order to keep track of just which frame is the start of a panorama shoot, and which shot is the end, shoot one completely black image (manually set your camera to 1/8000 sec. and f/22, for instance) immediately before and after each panoramic series. It may sound unnecessary, but if you shoot 6 sets of panoramic shots of some canyon, one right after the other, you'd be surprised how easy it is to forget whether panorama 1 consists of files 4607-4614 and panorama 2 of files 4615-4627, or whether it was files 4607-4615 and 4616-4627. Of, you'll eventually puzzle it out, sure. But it's just faster and easier to stick a black shot at the beginning and end of every such sequence. (It's digital; don't worry about wasting film on the black shots.)

Taking along a small notepad, and jotting down something like "CRW_7808-7814, panorama of Michael's Canyon, Michael National Park, from scenic overlook #7, near the top of Handsome Green Eyes Falls" can be handy, especially if you're going to be visiting 14 parks and photographing 37 canyons. It all tends to blur together in memory, otherwise. Frankly, even if you're not shooting panoramas, it may be handy to jot down such notes. I mean, sure, with digital you get a record of aperture, shutter speed, focal length, etc., but until they integrate GPS into your camera, where the shot was taken will be unrecorded unless you write it down yourself.

Extra batteries. Extra memory.

Finally, do not wait until you're on vacation, going for the "money shot," to try your hand at panoramas for the first time. Rather, before you leave, go out and make a few panoramas locally, so you get familiar with the techniques. It's digital! It's not like you're going to have to blow big money on film and processing! The actual scene doesn't even matter very much, just so long as you gain a little experience.

[Becca]

And be careful if using a polarizer. Since on a broad panorama, the degree of polarization will run all the way from minimum to maximum. Sometimes this isn't a problem, but often it is.

That explains a lot about how some of my panoramas came out. Never thought of that....

Thanks!

[Croasdail]

Awsome advice everyone. I am now rethinking if my tripod is up to the task. Hope to come back with something worth sharing. If not, I will have had fun trying at least.... Thanks again for taking the time to give the detailed advice.

[d100763]

I think 12345Michael54321 said it the best, get out there now and start shooting practice panoramas. The closer the objects are the greater the distortion will be from frame to frame. That is why indoor panoramas are much less forgiving than beaches and landscapes. Tripod is essential, even a generic Rayovac $20 tripod is great help. Be careful of moving clouds as it will change the image and will not stich well. I use Panofactory for my panoramas, and get decent results. Good luck to you
PS if you are using stiching software go for big overlaps about 30% frame to frame.

[UncleDoug]

I think 12345Michael54321 said it the best, get out there now and start shooting practice panoramas. The closer the objects are the greater the distortion will be from frame to frame. That is why indoor panoramas are much less forgiving than beaches and landscapes. Tripod is essential, even a generic Rayovac $20 tripod is great help. Be careful of moving clouds as it will change the image and will not stich well. I use Panofactory for my panoramas, and get decent results. Good luck to you
PS if you are using stiching software go for big overlaps about 30% frame to frame.

You comment about clouds is a good one.
And clouds are another reason to get a good, dedicated panoramic head.
When I'm shooting pano landscapes here on lake Tahoe cloud movement is a factor.
Because I'm using a dedicated, use-specific head, I'm able to shoot 18 frames covering 180° in about 20 seconds. This does not eliminate the issue of cloud movement, but it reduces the problem to the point I can live with it.

Play with the tripod for a bit, but if you see any future in stitched panoramic photography spend the cash to do it the easy way. Once you do get the dedicated set-up you will wonder how you ever were able to create a pano in the first place. :D

[shiato storm]

make sure, if you're doing a panoramic watch out for parallax error. make sure you rotate the camera/lens around the nodal point, this will be ever more enhanced by a telephoto lens...

[12345Michael54321]

The concerns about parallax error and attention to nodal points are real, but they diminish in importance as subject to camera distance increases. And it's common (not invariable, but common) for panoramas to be done with the subject at or near effective infinity. The original poster here was asking about panoramas taken of scenics in national parks, for example. For something like that, worrying about rotating the camera around the nodal point of the lens, is probably unnecessary.

Mind you, I've done plenty of panoramas of living rooms, dining rooms, even bathrooms. (A good friend of mine is an interior decorator, and the only way for me to photograph some of her work is to stitch together mosaics consisting of multiple images, well, at least until Canon introduces a 6mm non-fisheye EF-S lens costing less than $500. Let's just say I'm not exactly holding my breath.) In situation like those, you'd be amazed how many details which are trivial enough to "fall out of the equation" when shooting landscape panoramas suddenly take on overwhelming importance.

Then there's the fact that most people don't understand that some things just can't be done, or at least not done easily and well. More than once, Jennifer has asked "Michael, would you mind taking a picture of the small closet in the daughter's bedroom? Try to show the design painted on the floor, and the ceiling fixture. Also, how the shelves on the left contrast with the storage compartments on the right."

Hey, this is a closet we're talking about. 5 feet wide x 3 feet deep x 12 feet tall, with a 20" opening (accordion door) to the bedroom. And I'm supposed to get everything in a single shot. Right. If I could pull that one off, I'd be wearing a big "S" on my chest, and flying around Metropolis in my free time.

Oh well, at least it's not wedding photography.