Cheers!

Erik Leeman

Hello all

I was interested in knowing what kind of hardware do you use when you
need to make panoramas that contain a lot of moving subjects.
(festivals for example)

After some research I found O-360 optical system. Are there other
similar optical systems?

Also...if using O-360 do you have any tutorial in stitching the zenith
and nadir shots?

Thanks

Sometime around 1/1/09 (at 18:25 +0200) Mihai Stanescu said:

>Hello all
>
>I was interested in knowing what kind of hardware do you use when you
>need to make panoramas that contain a lot of moving subjects.
>(festivals for example)

I shoot festivals and similar busy environments (concerts and clubs)
among other places. Here are a few examples...

Cropredy Festival (Fairport Convention):
http://www.panoramaphotographer.com/cropredy/

Glade Festival:
http://www.edmgallery.com/3d/

Heaven Nightclub (Steve Hillage, handheld):
http://www.panoramapostcards.co.uk/vr/system_7/

When I was considering my first festival shoot I looked at a few
different options. I even bought a 360-One mirror system, which is
essentially the same sort of thing as the one you're looking at. I
ended up rejecting it entirely. (Doh!)

The benefit of a donut mirror 'lens' is that you get a complete
stitch-free horizontal image in one shot. No stitching means no
issues with someone leaping across the blend boundaries of adjacent
shots.

The drawbacks of these things...

* Low final panorama resolution (you use just a portion of a single
photo for the entire 360-degree sweep, versus compositing multiple
shots in stitched output). You will never get anything suitable for
full-screen use, let alone for prints larger than playing cards.

* Optical clarity is compromised (you're shooting a mirror, and on
top of this the vertical extremes will be rather less sharp than the
main parts)

* Additional zenith and nadir shots will be needed to create
spherical panoramas, and these will need to be taken with a different
lens. This will be rather clumsy and slow at best, and adding the
shots to the cylindrical image will take effort. I imagine PTGui
would handle this, but I've never bothered trying it because of the
very low maximum possible resolution.

I gave up this idea fairly quickly. I shoot festivals and clubs with
a 360Precision pano head for speed plus accuracy, and the Fuji S5Pro
with Nikkor 10.5mm lens. I have worked with eight shots around to
allow for a large overlap, but more recently I've been using the
standard six around. Plus one up and one down of course.

Speed of shooting is highly important; you need to use a head that
can be turned quickly and easily to the right click-stop points,
preferably with one hand and no specific concentration. If you need
to take separate zenith and/or nadir shots the head must allow for
quick vertical rotation or quick release for hand-help 'cap' shots.

I've just ordered the Atome head for the Sigma 4.5mm lens so I can
tackle completely insane chaotic environments. That lens can capture
a complete 360/180 image with three horizontal shots, which the Atome
can help me do in as many seconds. The maximum equirectangular image
size with that lens and my camera is around 4500px, which isn't
terribly large - but it is still better than a donut mirror solution.

I hope this is some help!

k

And here with the D700 are the New Year fireworks this year in Sydney
at 1600ISO (with a pole, 3 shots, f3.5, 10.5mm, 1/40th)
http://www.mediavr.com/nye09.htm or in Flash on panoramas.dk
http://www.panoramas.dk/

You might like to compare that with the 2007/2008 fireworks at the same
location with the Canon 5D at 800ISO
http://tech.groups.yahoo.com/group/PanoToolsNG/message/15929

This was my swansong with the D700 as I have got a 5DMkII and I sold
the D700 yesterday (switching cameras makes was fuzzing my brain
interface-wise). I used the D700 on NYE because I thought it might have
an edge for fireworks (and it would have been depressing if something
bad had happened to my brandnew 5DMarkII on its first outing -- it is
extremely hectic sometimes at Sydney NYEs.)

Peter Murphy
http://www.mediavr.com/blog



>
> Here for those interested in D700/10.5mm shots --
> http://www.mediavr.com/xmas.htm
>
> This is at 6400ISO. It wasnt that dark but Santa wasnt gonna stay
still

I had one, used it for a couple of events, and got rid of it.  The quality
was not that great, focus too soft, and resolution terrible (basically 70%
of a single frame.)  You can't stitch the zenith or nadir - there is just
too much missing.



I decided that quality was preferable over speed.  If you practice with a
tripod, you can do a full pano in a few seconds.  Just have a lot of coffee
first.



Rick Drew



From: PanoToolsNG@yahoogroups.com [mailto:PanoToolsNG@yahoogroups.com] On
Behalf Of Mihai Stanescu
Sent: 2009-01-01 10:25 AM
To: PanoToolsNG@yahoogroups.com
Subject: [PanoToolsNG] One shot panoramas



Hello all

I was interested in knowing what kind of hardware do you use when you
need to make panoramas that contain a lot of moving subjects.
(festivals for example)

After some research I found O-360 optical system. Are there other
similar optical systems?

Also...if using O-360 do you have any tutorial in stitching the zenith
and nadir shots?

Thanks





[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]

In 32-bit Windows XP, the maximum amount of virtual memory for an
application is 2GB. In the link below, you can modify the system to
increase the amount of memory available to applications.

WARNING: As stated in the article, your system can become unstable
since many device drivers assume the default settings. Your system
can even become un-bootable, which will require you to boot into safe
mode to undo the changes. Make a backup before any changes!

On my machine, after I made the changes, Photoshop now has about 1GB
more memory to work with.

Here is the article:
http://www.prophotowiki.com/w/index.php//3GB_Switch

When I used the /3GB switch alone, my system booted up, but became
unstable. I had to use the /USERVA switch to fine-tune the amount of
virtual memory allocated. With some testing I found that a setting
of /USERVA=2900 resulted in a stable system for me. I've been running
this setting for some time now, and have had no side effects.

Regards,
Ingemar
http://bergmark.com

Hi Mac users,

First of all: A happy and healthy 2009 to you all.

I just released a new version of ImageFuser being 0.5.5. See changelog for
0.5.5, 0.5.4 and 0.5.3 (last two not announced). As you can read I built an
automatic "check for updates" function. It means that I won't need to spam
;) this mailing lists as often as I did the past two months. For the time
being I myself am quite happy with the functionality right now so progress
will slow down (I think, but you never know if something interesting will
appear on the horizon or someone asks me to implement a function I myself
think is very interesting).


*0.5.5* 02 January 2009
* Implemented a more flexible way to give names to your "batch fused" or
"batch HDR"  images.
Options are:
        - <prefix><separated by><autonumber>
        - <first image name><separated by><last image name>
        - <prefix><separated by><first image name><separated by><last image
name>
<prefix> is a name that can be freely chosen. <separated by> is - (hyphen), _
(underscore), . (point) or nothing. <image name> is without extension.
(And I'm open for useful additions to this naming options)

*0.5.4* 24 December 2008
* Implemented an automatic "Check for updates" function. From now on you
will get a popup when a new version is available.

*0.5.3* 23 December 2008
* ImageFuser can now also create HDR images (button "Create HDR" and menu:
Options -> Create HDR). This option is also available
from the batch mode.
* Changed button "Add bracketed set" to "Open bracketed set" as it gave
confusion. You can't add addtional sets. You open a set to
work with.
* Added more tooltips (help). They are now on almost any text, slider or
button. If you hover your mouse over it you will see it.


As always:
Further info, screenshots and download: Go to my website
<
http://panorama.dyndns.org/index.php?lang=en&subject=ImageFuser&texttag=ImageFus\
er
>

Hoi,

Harry


[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]

Hi Peter,

Beautiful pano's of a very difficult situation. I think the D700 has
lower noise at 1600iso than the old 5D at 800 in your pano's.

I was thinking of getting the D700 so just wanted to know why you sold
it. Any downside apart from less pixels.

Happy New Year to all.

Bye,
Vivek Dev Burman
Kolkata

shoot handheld!
with the camera straight above your head.

for example
http://www.360cities.net/image/farmers-market-in-old-havana-onions

all panos in the area of the farmers market (and most in havana in fact) are
handheld.

pano heads are overrated ;))


Jeffrey Martin
www.360cities.net - The World in Virtual Reality
tel. +420 608 076 502 / skype jeffrey.s.martin


[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]

Hi Vivek
I shoot a lot of panoramas of interiors and landscape where I would
like as much resolution as possible - so pixels are the main reason now
that the Canon has good high ISO though maybe not as good as the Nikon.
Also I am really into panoramic video and I want to use the Canon for
that.
And the dB noise level of the Nikon really bugged me with candid
photography. The Canon is almost silent in one mode.

Peter


--- In PanoToolsNG@yahoogroups.com, Vivek Burman <vdb123@...> wrote:
>
> Hi Peter,
>
> Beautiful pano's of a very difficult situation. I think the D700 has
> lower noise at 1600iso than the old 5D at 800 in your pano's.
>
> I was thinking of getting the D700 so just wanted to know why you
sold
> it. Any downside apart from less pixels.
>
> Happy New Year to all.
>
> Bye,
> Vivek Dev Burman
> Kolkata
>

I wish all of you a happy new year ... in virtual tour :-)

It's here <http://www.nicolasburtey.net/bonneannee2009/>  .

Because, it's a little bit tricky to do it in every langage, "bonne
ann�e" means "happy new year", in french !

Regards,



[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]

Sometime around 2/1/09 (at 11:35 +0100) Jeffrey Martin said:

>http://www.360cities.net/image/farmers-market-in-old-havana-onions

Impressive, and close to flaw-free. Looks like a great place for
shooting panos, too.


>pano heads are overrated ;))

I've done hand-held shots, but this, for example:
http://www.panoramaphotographer.com/nc/fairview/new-home.html

- with so many possibilities for parallax, and shot bracketed for
enfusing, shows why pano heads are also UNDERrated! ;-)

k

I just experimented with a monopod, hold in place by a cellphone
holder attached to my belt. (you rotate the monopod in the phone
holder). See http://www.panoguide.com/forums/galleries/5649/
regards,
Ronald

--- In PanoToolsNG@yahoogroups.com, "Mihai Stanescu"
<mihai.stanescu@...> wrote:
>
> Hello all
>
> I was interested in knowing what kind of hardware do you use when you
> need to make panoramas that contain a lot of moving subjects.
> (festivals for example)
>
> After some research I found O-360 optical system. Are there other
> similar optical systems?
>
> Also...if using O-360 do you have any tutorial in stitching the zenith
> and nadir shots?
>
> Thanks
>

Jook made it again for the 6th time.
http://tinyurl.com/8uwuok

Outrageous.
My candidate for the pano of the year award :)

Congratulations
J�rgen



--- In PanoToolsNG@yahoogroups.com, "Hans Nyberg" <hans@...> wrote:
>
> Jook made it again for the 6th time.
> http://tinyurl.com/8uwuok
>

--- In PanoToolsNG@yahoogroups.com, "Mihai Stanescu" <mihai.stanescu@...> wrote:
>
> Hello all
>
> I was interested in knowing what kind of hardware do you use when you
> need to make panoramas that contain a lot of moving subjects.
> (festivals for example)
>
> After some research I found O-360 optical system. Are there other
> similar optical systems?

Yes, my company offers the GoPano optic:
http://www.eyesee360.com/gopano/

We were selling our optics under the 360 One VR brand with Kaidan. This is the
latest
design and is an EyeSee360 product.

We include PhotoWarp with every optic we sell, which has more capabilities than
the 0-360
bundled software, including batch processing.

Best Wishes,
Michael Rondinelli

Great shot Jook!

1�F - I have no sympathy for you. Something tells me you were better dressed
for the cold than the women in short skirts all around you. :o)

Mark
www.360cities.net
www.pinnacle-vr.com
www.northernlight.net


>-----Original Message-----
>From: PanoToolsNG@yahoogroups.com [mailto:PanoToolsNG@yahoogroups.com] On
>Behalf Of Hans Nyberg
>Sent: Friday, January 02, 2009 8:08 AM
>To: PanoToolsNG@yahoogroups.com
>Subject: [PanoToolsNG] New Year at Times Square
>
>Jook made it again for the 6th time.
>http://tinyurl.com/8uwuok
>

>-----Original Message-----
>From: PanoToolsNG@yahoogroups.com [mailto:PanoToolsNG@yahoogroups.com] On
>Behalf Of Jeffrey Martin
>Sent: Friday, January 02, 2009 5:36 AM
>To: mihai.stanescu@...
>Cc: panotoolsng
>Subject: [PanoToolsNG] Re: One shot panoramas
>
>shoot handheld!
>with the camera straight above your head.
>
>for example
>http://www.360cities.net/image/farmers-market-in-old-havana-onions
>
>all panos in the area of the farmers market (and most in havana in fact)
>are
>handheld.
>
>pano heads are overrated ;))
>
Absolutely! Good thing I had a steady hand when I shot this:

<http://krpano.com/krpano.html?pano=panos/sanctuarie/sanctuarie.xml>

8^)

Mark
www.360cities.net
www.pinnacle-vr.com
www.northernlight.net

Hi,

I guess the combination of GIMP 2.6; Mathmap 1.2.4 and Windows 2000
don't work together.  Yes? No?

That's what I'm trying to get working.  I have GIMP 2.6 and the .gimp folder
you mention in the README for Mathmap 1.2.4 is .gimp-2.6 in C:\Documents and
Settings

Any comments will be appreciated...

Ken

Never mind.  Figured it out...

Ken Warner wrote:
> Hi,
>
> I guess the combination of GIMP 2.6; Mathmap 1.2.4 and Windows 2000
> don't work together.  Yes? No?
>
> That's what I'm trying to get working.  I have GIMP 2.6 and the .gimp folder
> you mention in the README for Mathmap 1.2.4 is .gimp-2.6 in C:\Documents and
> Settings
>
> Any comments will be appreciated...
>
> Ken
>

Hi all,

Does anyone have any experience with screw-on Wide Angle adapters such
as the Merkury CL-62WB? There seem to be dozens of brands and styles
available, and I'm not finding much in the way of reviews or
evaluations. I'd be using it on a video camera with a 62mm mount.

Regards,
DR

Here's a monopod shot I did on the stage of a small night club in Seattle during
a
performance of the band "Babyland" from L.A. -they do a mix of percussion and
electronic
music- hence all the sparks from the hand held metal grinder :)

They were moving around so much, it was very tricky to get the pieces together
(had to go
around multiple times).

http://tinyurl.com/7ox3pl

Nikon D300 w/10.5mm

-b

Sometime around 2/1/09 (at 21:58 +0000) bohonus said:

>it was very tricky to get the pieces together (had to go around
>multiple times).

It has to be said that this is precisely the problem that the
one-shot lens/mirrors don't suffer from. I wish this didn't have to
also mean being restricted to one shot's set of pixels.

k

Should be fine for what they are designed to do.

But be aware, they will degrade sharpness and usually introduce chromatic
aberration.

For photos this is generally not that great, but for video the resolution is
already quite low.



Usually, they are all made by the same manufacturer and rebranded a dozen times
with different names. If you shop around, you’ll probably see the same picture
under different brands.

Phoenix makes a lot of them.





Sacha Griffin

Southern Digital Solutions LLC

http://www.southern-digital.com

http://www.seeit360.net

404-551-4275









From: PanoToolsNG@yahoogroups.com [mailto:PanoToolsNG@yahoogroups.com] On Behalf
Of Daniel Reetz
Sent: Friday, January 02, 2009 4:56 PM
To: PanoToolsNG@yahoogroups.com
Subject: [PanoToolsNG] Experience with .45x wide angle adapters?



Hi all,

Does anyone have any experience with screw-on Wide Angle adapters such
as the Merkury CL-62WB? There seem to be dozens of brands and styles
available, and I'm not finding much in the way of reviews or
evaluations. I'd be using it on a video camera with a 62mm mount.

Regards,
DR

.

  
<http://geo.yahoo.com/serv?s=97359714/grpId=18227848/grpspId=1705006496/msgId=25\
684/stime=1230933343/nc1=3848644/nc2=4025304/nc3=5202323>




[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]

--- In PanoToolsNG@yahoogroups.com, "Juergen Schrader" <panorama@...> wrote:
>
> Outrageous.
> My candidate for the pano of the year award :)
>
> Congratulations
> J�rgen

But there's still 360+ days for us to shoot this year! ;)

I finally got round to putting a panoramic timelapse video I made a
couple of years ago on Vimeo this morning
http://www.vimeo.com/2700811
The HD version should be available there shortly. I will have to
organise some sound for it.
This was shot with a Canon 5D (or for the 360 views -- two Canon5Ds at
180 degrees) and mostly a 10.5mm Nikkor (or two 10.5mm Nikkors)  or a
Sigma 15mm and
then corrected with the Photoshop Panotools plugin to rectilinear or
equirectangular perspective. This was all jpgs but the Canon 5DMkII has
good burst capacity with its sRAW formats and so the dynamic range and
colour should be better in a new one I am making using sRAW.

Peter Murphy
http://www.mediavr.com/blog

This looks great Peter!

Did you use anything to stabilize camera movement or software to align
successive
images?


--- In PanoToolsNG@yahoogroups.com, "panovrx" <mediavr@...> wrote:
>
> I finally got round to putting a panoramic timelapse video I made a
> couple of years ago on Vimeo this morning
> http://www.vimeo.com/2700811
> The HD version should be available there shortly. I will have to
> organise some sound for it.
> This was shot with a Canon 5D (or for the 360 views -- two Canon5Ds at
> 180 degrees) and mostly a 10.5mm Nikkor (or two 10.5mm Nikkors)  or a
> Sigma 15mm and
> then corrected with the Photoshop Panotools plugin to rectilinear or
> equirectangular perspective. This was all jpgs but the Canon 5DMkII has
> good burst capacity with its sRAW formats and so the dynamic range and
> colour should be better in a new one I am making using sRAW.
>
> Peter Murphy
> http://www.mediavr.com/blog
>

Take a picture of a building etc with your mobile phone and software
correlates it with panorama-based databases (not realtime yet) and info
tags appear on the picture

http://vicos.fri.uni-lj.si/research/hyperlinking-reality-via-camera-
phones/

Peter Murphy

With this Century Optics .3X ultra fisheye 37mm MKII on a Canon hv20,
I'm getting a sharp image without any lens vignetting, Very nice wide
full frame view with very little decoration on top and bottom. I do
have to zoom into it just a little though.
This newer MKII is sharper and has less of a fisheye effect than the
older MKI, I would guess the FOV is somewhere around 160 degrees.
Here's a photo of the setup:
http://www.indiavrtours.com/pic/hv20_fisheye.jpg

Regards,
Roger Berry

> Hi all,
>
> Does anyone have any experience with screw-on Wide Angle adapters such
> as the Merkury CL-62WB? There seem to be dozens of brands and styles
> available, and I'm not finding much in the way of reviews or
> evaluations. I'd be using it on a video camera with a 62mm mount.
>
> Regards,
> DR
>
> .
>
>
<http://geo.yahoo.com/serv?s=97359714/grpId=18227848/grpspId=1705006496/msgId=25\
684/stime=1230933343/nc1=3848644/nc2=4025304/nc3=5202323>

>
>
>
>
> [Non-text portions of this message have been removed]
>

Hi,

Did a cylinder last summer.  I screwed up as usual and
overexposed everything I did that day.

I managed to recover a set of images to about 80% of what
I want but part of the sky is really blown out.  It's heavily
banded just above the horizon.

In general, what is the approach to minimizing the ugly banding.
You can see what I'm talking about here --

http://pancyl.com/images/ConvictLakePathThumb.jpg

In the center, the ugly banding just above the horizon.

The same thing is around the Sun but I figure that sort of fits
into the semi-surreal mood of the piece.  Maybe the banding
on the horizon does too.

What would you do?