Italy Part Two (E330 and Panoramas)

Here are some panoramas that I shot in Italy with the E330 and the Panorama Scene Mode (yes you need an Oly memory card). They were stitched together with Photostitch, a little program that Canon used to give out with their digital cameras.
I was very impressed with the results.
Enjoy,
Steve

http://www.pbase.com/swandy/italy_panoramas

see topic

Good ones.

I especially like the first three, and I've never seen the Colisseum like that before. Very nice.

Regards,
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Brian
http://www.photosig.com/go/users/userphotos?id=6797
http://www.myfourthirds.com/folder.php?id=1605

Some very nice images! One sugestion: it appeared that with a couple of the shots, you shot at the widest angle and thus had barrel distortion. Meybe next time shoot at not quite the widest angle. Just a suggestion Still like the composition and great dynamic range exibited.
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shinndigg
http://www/pbase.com/shinndigg

That's a very good suggestion. I think people just naturally try to shoot at the widest angle opening - this way you need less shots for the composition - but I will definitely try out your idea. (It should especially work better in a confined place like a plaza.)
Thanks,
Steve

Thanks.

We were on the lowest level (around ground level) that visitors are permitted and it seemed like it would make an interesting perspective for the panorama.
Steve

Oh, we is suppose to click on the link. Ahhh.

Nice panos. Some are a bit small to really see much in it, but pretty good. I agree with the erlier comment about not using the widest wide, or at least not on that lens.
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Dale

Not bad Steve. Some interesting locations there, nice.
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Terry
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FourThirdsFAQ -> http://www.fourthirdsFAQ.com

I love the 5 terre photo. Vernazza is where I come from.

Ciao

Few Chincoterra images are nice - with good composition - the last Venice is not bad. What I did not like though was what appeared to be clipped highlights - sometimes there are just too many holes in the sky. Overall the images appear to be somewhat washed out, in my opinion of course.

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• Sergey

My Olympus shots;
http://www.pbase.com/sngreen
http://myolympus.org/folder.php?page=&id=308&offset=20

Well, if you really want an opinion.....

From a stiching point of view, yes, they work, and from a "snapshot" point of view, also. But the only ones I find photographically interesting are the Orvietto and Venice shots, and even these are borderline. The problem is that they are all taken under harsh, uninteresting light, and they all lack a sense of foreground to background composition. I'm sorry if this sounds harsh, it isn't meant to be, just constructive.

For the light, well you need to get up early or stay out late - not much choice there. And wide panoramas are difficult at these times due to low sun angle. For composition, this is one of the drawbacks of stitching. It is difficult to visualise and compose a shot when it is made up of several components. This is why dedicated panoramic cameras have a string edge over stitching. Personally I have done a lot of panoramic photography, using an XPan, and also a Lumix LX1, and I've also done a lot of stitching...but I've never considered any of the results good enough to show on my website.

One idea is to make a "virtual viewfinder" by cutting a rectangle at 16:9 (or whatever you like) ratio in a piece of thick card, and just carrying this around to help visualse what you will end up with. Maybe even take a reference single shot using this to mask the lens, as a guide for later stitching and cropping.

Sorry if this sounds cruel but at least I've just spent 20 mins looking and thinking, and I could have just ignored you or written "great photos tx 4 sharing"

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E-System & other stuff...
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Hi Dave,

Thanks for the comments. I agree that it is difficult to visualize a panorama composition, that is why I just keep trying.

As far as the lighting, we were on a tour and had to make the shots when we were at the location in question.
Steve

Very nice series, I hope I can visit Italy some day.