360 Panoramas + long zoom

Ozy · Feb 23, 2002

I will buy a camera at the end of April, but I always like to research a lot before I buy something, thats why I am asking questions so early

I am a new web developer and I need the digital camera mainly to take pictures for the sites I create. Still, I would like the camera to take pictures that would be able to be printed (6 x 4) in a good quality.

I want quality pictures for my sites, and I want a camera that will allow me to take pictures under many different situetions. (mostly outdoors, and good low light pictures is a must).

Also I have 2 "special" kind of requirements:

1) Long zoom. I always liked long zooms, so if i can have it without sacrificing any of the other requrements would be very nice.

2)Full 360 degree pictures. When i say "full" I mean a full sphere where you can move up and down in addition to left and right. I need to get this with no more than 2 shots, so the camera should accept a fish-eye lence (except if there is another way to do it with just 2 (or 1?) shots).

The only cameras that I know that take fish-eye are the coolpix. Are there any other cameras that will do this, and also satisfy better the other requirements?

What about the Oly 2100Z , the Fuji 6900z or the Canon 90 IS?

Are there any other cameras that you expect that will be in the market (not just anounced) by end of April that might be able to meet those requirements?

My budget for the camera (and any additional lences) is abouot $1000 (using pricegrabber.com).

Thanks.

BillDrew · Feb 23, 2002

For the 360 panoramas, you should enter "IPIX free" (with quotes) into Google.com and do a bit of reading. IPIX's major advancement (the lawsuit) means there are problems with making a 360 from two fish-eye shots.

John Szeto · Feb 23, 2002

You've got champagne taste on a beer budget! You were correct,
in your price range the only camera that will accept a full 8mm
fisheye lens is the NIkon Coolpix. You may be able to get the Coolpix
995, Nikon fisheye, and auxilairy telephoto lens for $1000. It would
be nice, but I don't think you can swing the Nikon 5000 with that budget.

There are ways to make full spherical pans with 16mm equivalent lens, but I
think you need 8 shots. Check http://www.panoguide.com
Also, three photos, using a full fisheye lens gives much better resolution
that using two photos.

Ozy said:
I will buy a camera at the end of April, but I always like to
research a lot before I buy something, thats why I am asking
questions so early

I am a new web developer and I need the digital camera mainly to
take pictures for the sites I create. Still, I would like the
camera to take pictures that would be able to be printed (6 x 4) in
a good quality.

I want quality pictures for my sites, and I want a camera that will
allow me to take pictures under many different situetions. (mostly
outdoors, and good low light pictures is a must).

Also I have 2 "special" kind of requirements:

1) Long zoom. I always liked long zooms, so if i can have it
without sacrificing any of the other requrements would be very nice.

2)Full 360 degree pictures. When i say "full" I mean a full sphere
where you can move up and down in addition to left and right. I
need to get this with no more than 2 shots, so the camera should
accept a fish-eye lence (except if there is another way to do it
with just 2 (or 1?) shots).
The only cameras that I know that take fish-eye are the coolpix.
Are there any other cameras that will do this, and also satisfy
better the other requirements?

What about the Oly 2100Z , the Fuji 6900z or the Canon 90 IS?

Are there any other cameras that you expect that will be in the
market (not just anounced) by end of April that might be able to
meet those requirements?

My budget for the camera (and any additional lences) is abouot
$1000 (using pricegrabber.com).

Thanks.

Ozy · Feb 23, 2002

is Ipix the only way to do a full 360 panorama? I think I've seen some full panoramas seen with Quick time. Are those produced by Ipix software also? And I will no be based in the US. Will this Ipix patent be a problem to me?

Its kinda disapointing that only coolpix cameras can accept fish-eye lens at that price range. Are there any other cameras coming out soon that might offer this option?

Also, is there a cheaper "clone" of what they offer at http://www.remotereality.com/ ??

I think it might be easy to use several pictures to create a panorama when you are taking pictures of something that doesn't move. But wouldn't be hard (or even imposible) to do such think when almost everything around moves?

Michael_McKelvey · Feb 23, 2002

For full fisheye shots try http://www.easypano.net you can use Photovista from http://www.mgisoft.com however the stitching process is much more tricky than easypano's.

Michael http://www.360sphere.com

Ozy said:
is Ipix the only way to do a full 360 panorama? I think I've seen
some full panoramas seen with Quick time. Are those produced by
Ipix software also? And I will no be based in the US. Will this
Ipix patent be a problem to me?

Its kinda disapointing that only coolpix cameras can accept
fish-eye lens at that price range. Are there any other cameras
coming out soon that might offer this option?
Also, is there a cheaper "clone" of what they offer at
http://www.remotereality.com/ ??

I think it might be easy to use several pictures to create a
panorama when you are taking pictures of something that doesn't
move. But wouldn't be hard (or even imposible) to do such think
when almost everything around moves?

Ozy · Feb 23, 2002

easypano.net seems to be down now.

What camera and software did you use to create the Quick time pano in your Belfast page? It looks very good !!.

Michael McKelvey said:
Michael http://www.360sphere.com

Ozy said:

is Ipix the only way to do a full 360 panorama? I think I've seen
some full panoramas seen with Quick time. Are those produced by
Ipix software also? And I will no be based in the US. Will this
Ipix patent be a problem to me?

Its kinda disapointing that only coolpix cameras can accept
fish-eye lens at that price range. Are there any other cameras
coming out soon that might offer this option?
Also, is there a cheaper "clone" of what they offer at
http://www.remotereality.com/ ??

I think it might be easy to use several pictures to create a
panorama when you are taking pictures of something that doesn't
move. But wouldn't be hard (or even imposible) to do such think
when almost everything around moves?

Click to expand...

Rich Gibson · Feb 23, 2002

Photovista does not allow the 8mm fisheye because of threats of lawsuits from Ipix. Last I heard IPIX costs $25.00 per exposure to print. Secondly two fisheye's will yiled considerable distortion at the margins of the lens. Ipix, no one knows how, got a patent for digitally stitching two 180 degree fisheye images. Sort of like joining two different lenses and patenting glasses.

Anyway, a German optician, Helmut Dersch has developed very sophisticated software which will stitch anything. He resommends three 180 images so your can eliminate the distortion at the edges. There is a lot of information available and lots of links. However, it's not anywhere near "quick and dirty" exercise. You have to study a bit. By using three images, he avoids the IPIX issue, since the patent is specifically for two, not three images.

Finally, if you are interested in the Nikon coolpix series check out page 3 of the Nikon forum's pages. I posted a site which has detailed information on coolpix nodal point for various lenses using varioous coolpixs.

Rich

Good luck.

Michael McKelvey said:
Michael http://www.360sphere.com

Ozy said:

is Ipix the only way to do a full 360 panorama? I think I've seen
some full panoramas seen with Quick time. Are those produced by
Ipix software also? And I will no be based in the US. Will this
Ipix patent be a problem to me?

Its kinda disapointing that only coolpix cameras can accept
fish-eye lens at that price range. Are there any other cameras
coming out soon that might offer this option?
Also, is there a cheaper "clone" of what they offer at
http://www.remotereality.com/ ??

I think it might be easy to use several pictures to create a
panorama when you are taking pictures of something that doesn't
move. But wouldn't be hard (or even imposible) to do such think
when almost everything around moves?

Click to expand...

hardsuit01 · Feb 23, 2002

Ozy said:
1) Long zoom. I always liked long zooms, so if i can have it
without sacrificing any of the other requrements would be very nice.

2)Full 360 degree pictures. When i say "full" I mean a full sphere
where you can move up and down in addition to left and right. I
need to get this with no more than 2 shots, so the camera should
accept a fish-eye lence (except if there is another way to do it
with just 2 (or 1?) shots).
The only cameras that I know that take fish-eye are the coolpix.
Are there any other cameras that will do this, and also satisfy
better the other requirements?

hardsuit said:
just announced in POP photo mag.
real 360* panoramic IN 1 SHOT.
egg shaped lens atachment that is shot inverted ?
that is , you hold camera pointing upward and lens captures
360* shots in 1 shot. is this whack? or what.

check out http://www.eggsolution.com

Ozy said:
just found out my self . i'm goin there now!

hardsuit

hardsuit01 · Feb 23, 2002

hardsuit said:
are these guys INSANE ?
its ONLY $995.00, granted its the only one , but come on.
anyway heres the stats.
its a vertical orented lens, aspheric optic of aluminum metal.
glass shield protects lens form scratches.
housing of ABS plastic, light weight given its size.
focal length - 135mm, weight - 12.4oz, max diameter - 137mm
46mm camera thread, FOV 360* X 90* wow !
and now the cameras, FUJI 4900/6900, CANON G1/G2,
POWERSHOT 90 IS, NIKON COOLPIX 990/995,
SONY DSC-F505/707, SONY DSC-S75/S65.
more to come I hope...

hardsuit

Ozy · Feb 24, 2002

I didn't know about this company either .. and I really like their web page !!! But they offer what remotereality offers at the exact same price with them. But with remote reality you can get an upgrade(when you pay more) that will let you takefull sphere 360x360 with 2 shots.

Still, good thing to know that there are similar products around. Maybe that will drive the prices down at some point.

hardsuit said:
hardsuit said:

are these guys INSANE ?
its ONLY $995.00, granted its the only one , but come on.
anyway heres the stats.
its a vertical orented lens, aspheric optic of aluminum metal.
glass shield protects lens form scratches.
housing of ABS plastic, light weight given its size.
focal length - 135mm, weight - 12.4oz, max diameter - 137mm
46mm camera thread, FOV 360* X 90* wow !
and now the cameras, FUJI 4900/6900, CANON G1/G2,
POWERSHOT 90 IS, NIKON COOLPIX 990/995,
SONY DSC-F505/707, SONY DSC-S75/S65.
more to come I hope...

Click to expand...

hardsuit

Michael_McKelvey · Feb 24, 2002

Ozy said:
easypano.net seems to be down now.

http://www.easypano.de/ is where it is now. It is strange how easypano keep moving themselves across different domain names, however their software is good news.

Ozy said:
What camera and software did you use to create the Quick time pano
in your Belfast page? It looks very good !!.

The pano on the Belfast page was done with http://www.mgisoft.com 's Photovista touched up in Photoshop Elements, the Quicktime 5 version had to converted to Quicktime 5 using a free Mac only utitility from Apple - though there are somewhere PC versions. The pano took several hours of editing on a PC - so learning the technique may not help you terribly, using full fisheye shots is better in terms of speed - if not quality...

Michael http://www.360sphere.com

Ozy said:
Michael McKelvey said:

Michael http://www.360sphere.com

Ozy said:

is Ipix the only way to do a full 360 panorama? I think I've seen
some full panoramas seen with Quick time. Are those produced by
Ipix software also? And I will no be based in the US. Will this
Ipix patent be a problem to me?

Its kinda disapointing that only coolpix cameras can accept
fish-eye lens at that price range. Are there any other cameras
coming out soon that might offer this option?
Also, is there a cheaper "clone" of what they offer at
http://www.remotereality.com/ ??

I think it might be easy to use several pictures to create a
panorama when you are taking pictures of something that doesn't
move. But wouldn't be hard (or even imposible) to do such think
when almost everything around moves?

Click to expand...

Click to expand...

John Szeto · Feb 24, 2002

Here's an example of a full spherical panorama that I made using a
Nikon Coolpix 800, three images, and Photovista 1.0.1 Check out
the ceiling in this pan of the main cathedral in Saigon.
http://www.mindspring.com/~johnszeto/cath2b.htm

Ozy said:
hardsuit said:

hardsuit said:

are these guys INSANE ?
its ONLY $995.00, granted its the only one , but come on.
anyway heres the stats.
its a vertical orented lens, aspheric optic of aluminum metal.
glass shield protects lens form scratches.
housing of ABS plastic, light weight given its size.
focal length - 135mm, weight - 12.4oz, max diameter - 137mm
46mm camera thread, FOV 360* X 90* wow !
and now the cameras, FUJI 4900/6900, CANON G1/G2,
POWERSHOT 90 IS, NIKON COOLPIX 990/995,
SONY DSC-F505/707, SONY DSC-S75/S65.
more to come I hope...

Click to expand...

hardsuit

Click to expand...

Ozy · Feb 24, 2002

looks good. And ceiling although someone that looks for it might be able to find the point where the 2 images conect its still very good.

What about special kind of tripods. E.g a tripod that will hold the camera in some distance so that the bottom of the tripod is not visible in the pictures. Does such thing exists?

John Szeto said:
Ozy said:

hardsuit said:

hardsuit said:

are these guys INSANE ?
its ONLY $995.00, granted its the only one , but come on.
anyway heres the stats.
its a vertical orented lens, aspheric optic of aluminum metal.
glass shield protects lens form scratches.
housing of ABS plastic, light weight given its size.
focal length - 135mm, weight - 12.4oz, max diameter - 137mm
46mm camera thread, FOV 360* X 90* wow !
and now the cameras, FUJI 4900/6900, CANON G1/G2,
POWERSHOT 90 IS, NIKON COOLPIX 990/995,
SONY DSC-F505/707, SONY DSC-S75/S65.
more to come I hope...

Click to expand...

hardsuit

Click to expand...

Click to expand...

John Szeto · Feb 24, 2002

What you'll need is the camera on a long arm mounted on the tripod, to extend beyond the legs....maybe 24" or so. Then keep the camera stationary, rotating 120 deg for each shot(assumming 3 fisheye images), and rotate the tripod in and arc around the camera center....to keep the tripod out of view of the fisheye. You'd probably need a counter balance
on the other side of the arm for a heavier camera. I'd probably use
a 1x2 oak strip, which you can buy in various lengths for Lowe's or
Home depot. I've drilled and tapped oak , real hard wood, for the
1/4x20 tripod threads several times....it holds up.

Ozy said:
What about special kind of tripods. E.g a tripod that will hold the
camera in some distance so that the bottom of the tripod is not
visible in the pictures. Does such thing exists?

John Szeto said:

Ozy said:

hardsuit said:

hardsuit said:

are these guys INSANE ?
its ONLY $995.00, granted its the only one , but come on.
anyway heres the stats.
its a vertical orented lens, aspheric optic of aluminum metal.
glass shield protects lens form scratches.
housing of ABS plastic, light weight given its size.
focal length - 135mm, weight - 12.4oz, max diameter - 137mm
46mm camera thread, FOV 360* X 90* wow !
and now the cameras, FUJI 4900/6900, CANON G1/G2,
POWERSHOT 90 IS, NIKON COOLPIX 990/995,
SONY DSC-F505/707, SONY DSC-S75/S65.
more to come I hope...

Click to expand...

hardsuit

Click to expand...

Click to expand...

Click to expand...

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360 Panoramas + long zoom

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