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Best panorama software?

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Here is a sample of a five-frame panorama stitched with CS3. I realize that the details are not fully visible as they would be in the original which is about 10,000 pixels wide - but it looks pretty good there as well.

(The slight discoloration of the sky in the left section is my and the narrow white stipe along the left edge are my errors, not CS3 stitching errors.)



Dan

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G Dan Mitchell
SF Bay Area
http://www.gdanmitchell.com/
 
David J. Littleboy said:
Leicaman said:
I was just wondering what suggestions you might have as to the best
panorama making application? I work on a MacPro.
Click to expand...
I've been using Panorama Factory, but it does occassionally leave
ghosts.

The image below has problems at both the seams (it's handheld, 3
images, 5D + 24TSE with no tilt or shift). (I carefully rotated each
in Lightroom, but even then the problems remained.)

I also tried to set the points manually, and did not succeed in
getting a good merge with Panorama Factory.

With Photoshop CS3's Photomerge function, there was only one minor
problem that was fairly easily fixed with some clone tool work.
Click to expand...
Update: when I told Photomerge that I wanted a cylindrical projection (instead of letting it guess), it did a great job with no problems that I've been able to find.

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David J. Littleboy
Tokyo, Japan
 
GaborSch said:
The wrong curvature in a pano is never due to the lens distortion.
See my post above with the subject "Straightening panos ".
Click to expand...
I never suggested the problem was from lens distortion. What I suggested was a way to remove the curve, but if there's a better way, and I hope there is, then that's the way to go.
 
I see what you mean.

This curvature can not be removed by lens correction. The center of this curve is far outside of the image.

The cause of it is incorrect positioning of the horizon in the pano. Note, that the "horizon" in the pano is a concept, not a visible line and it can be set explicitely and implicitely. In the above case, the horizon is too low.

Here is a demonstration of the issue:

http://forums.dpreview.com/forums/read.asp?forum=1005&message=24047035

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Gabor

http://www.panopeeper.com/panorama/pano.htm
 
ALan

i played with both now PTA as well as PTG and there is no question. PTG while allowing you to do everything manually as well is a lot easier to use. Not sure about the functionality. Haven noticed anything about HDR panos in PTA.

Output quality seems very similar but PTG seems to have more functionality and is easier to use IMO

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Michael Salzlechner
http://www.PalmsWestPhoto.com
 
Gabor

obviously there is software for different people. Some pano software is fully or almost fully automated with no or little manual overrides which is good for the occasional user who wants a pano but doesnt want to do a lot of work.

Then of course you have people who want more control.

PTA as well as PTGUI will give you that control but PTG makes it easier to get there by providing more automated as well as semi automated functionality without loosing the manual override

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Michael Salzlechner
http://www.PalmsWestPhoto.com
 
Leicaman said:
Where you access setup functions in CS3 Photomerge? Can the user
choose between both manual and automated stiching and blending?
Click to expand...
I begin by selecting a group of images in Bridge and using ACR to do initial batch adjustments to the RAW files as a group: exposure, contrast, black point, saturation, CA adjustment, etc. Then I click the Done button.

(If I had badly distorted images I might well bring them into PS next and use the Panotools plugin to deal with this, but it isn't generally necessary.)

Next, with the same files selected in Bridge, I choose Tools -> Photoshop -> Photomerge...

A dialog opens in PS that lets me confirm (or add/subtract) the files and there is also an option to choose from several different projections. Once the conversion is complete you end up in a PS file with a separate masked layer for each component image. Here you can tweak if necessary, though it often isn't necessary at all.

As far as I know from my experience with the new CS3, the automatic stitching is the norm. However, since you have access to the separate layers and their masks you can easily edit the automated result if necessary. (If done fully manual stitching in the past, and this process in CS3 is both faster and quite accurate at least with the images I've tried so far - and some of them are relatively complex, including grass, rocks, and leaves and so forth.)

I wouldn't deny the possibility that certain images at the sharp end of the bell curve might fall outside of the capabilities of the CS3 process and still be manageable by an expert using with a more hands-on fully manual program, but I'm confident that most users will find the CS3 tool to work very well indeed.

Dan

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G Dan Mitchell
SF Bay Area
http://www.gdanmitchell.com/
 
The only way is to tag it. The best thing to do is put "Tagged - (NT)" in the subject line so people at least know you have nothing further to say.
Klondike said:
Great stuff. I know no way of saving a thread for later review
without posting to it. Is there a better way?
Click to expand...
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'Women and cats will do as they please and men and dogs should relax and get used to the idea.' -- Robert A. Heinlein
 
I have used Panavue and PT Assembler. Panavue works fine but PT Assembler is amazing. The plugins that are free that help with the stitching and blending allow you to make superb panoramas. And the support by Max Lyons is excellent. You can use it in completely manual mode or automatic mode or a mix in between.
 
Leicaman said:
Where you access setup functions in CS3 Photomerge? Can the user
choose between both manual and automated stiching and blending?
Click to expand...
You can select a manual positioning mode. I haven't tried it, but it sounded as though it wouldn't do any warping for you.

In automagic cylindrical mode, you can adjust the masking/blending since it leaves the layers around without collapsing them.

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David J. Littleboy
Tokyo, Japan
 
And required for some things.

From the FAQ:

"Since version 5, PTGui does not require Panorama Tools anymore. However, Panorama Tools is still supported; Panorama Tools can be used as a stitching and optimization engine in PTGui.

PTGui handles nearly all functionality of Panorama Tools natively, but Panorama Tools is still required in the following cases:
Stitching of very wide angle images (field of view of 110 degrees or higher)
'line' type control points
'morph to fit'

The latter two can be considered advanced/experimental use, and are not used in normal stitching projects. "

I use line control points lots.

Steven

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Summer 2007:
http://www.pbase.com/snoyes/images_summer_2007

2006 White Sands and Bisti Workshop
http://www.pbase.com/snoyes/white_sands_and_bisti

 
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