aweisbach Loc: Omaha Nebraska

When using a fisheye lens to create a 360 degree panorama, what is the general rule about focusing and metering?Should one get their focus and meter reading on the main point of interest, then leave it alone for subsequent shots in the series, or should you refocus/re-meter, for each shot.

fetzler Loc: North West PA

Perhaps others will have a different opinion but I think I would not use a fisheye lens. I have taken panoramas that go nearly 360 degrees using lenses in the 50-100mm range (FF) and stitching programs. I know that there are programs that make "spherical images" for computer viewing. I have no experience with these.

All exposures should be the same as should be the focus point. I have a circular fish eye lens (220 deg). It is somewhat difficult to focus everything precisely as subjects may be at very different distances. Depth of field is great but not infinite.

Longshadow Loc: Audubon, PA, United States

How does one stitch round images?

aweisbach Loc: Omaha Nebraska

Thanks for the reply. Not something I want to do personally. I have been approached by a marketing company that hires photographers to provide fisheye panoramas - they do all the post production work so that's not my concern ;)

BboH Loc: s of 2/21, Ellicott City, MD

I have been using Nikon's 10.5mm fisheye for some time - 6 around, 1 up (zenith), 2 down (nadir) -has and does work quite nicely -from wide open spaces to the inside of a Ford SUV, to my walk-in kitchen. Bye the way - I use PTGui to stitch

lowkick Loc: Connecticut

I don't think I fully understand what you are trying to do. Are you attempting to use a fisheye lens to make a panorama in the traditional manner? With the camera on a tripod with the plane of focus 90' to the earth? Or are you going to lay the camera down on it's back with the lens pointing up to the sky?

If you are shooting in the traditional manner, you probably only need to take 3 or 4 shots to get enough overlap. It would create an unusual effect, but I suspect that the enormous amount of distortion from the fisheye will cause the software to have a difficult, if not impossible time in stitching the shots together.

If you are using the second method it would need only one shot but, depending on what you are shooting, it might not be very interesting. If you were in a big city, shooting skyscrapers, it might be an interesting effect. The buildings would probably be fairly close to you and make up a good portion of the periphery of the photo. But if you were shooting a landscape like mountains, the distance of the main subjects from the camera might make them appear so small that they become just a small border.

Is there any other way to take a panorama that I'm not considering?

aweisbach Loc: Omaha Nebraska

It's nice to get a response from someone that has actually done this - what I am specifically asking is, as you rotate the camera around, are you refocusing and re-metering for each shot, or are you setting your focus and metering for the first shot, then not changing focus/metering as you rotate the camera?

lowkick Loc: Connecticut

Do you take the 2 nadir in order to eliminate the tripod from the picture? Can you post an example of one of your shots? I would love to see the results - it sounds really interesting!

BboH Loc: s of 2/21, Ellicott City, MD

No - you set everything and then shoot, touching but what it takes to snap the shutter

BboH Loc: s of 2/21, Ellicott City, MD

If you are still here - long time coming, can't tell you why. Sorry.
Here is what you asked for - the National Cathedral in DC. 360/180 laid flat.
Free program titled FSPViewer will show it to you in the round.

(Download)