Panoramic Photo: I need to take a building panorama. I will be using a Canon Rebel XTi w/ 18 - 55 mm zoom lens. If I mount the camera on a tripod and pan the camera after taking each...

paul06

I need to take a building panorama. I will be using a Canon Rebel XTi w/ 18 - 55 mm zoom lens. If I mount the camera on a tripod and pan the camera after taking each shot, the results will be misaligned. Suggestions please. Thank you.

minniev Loc: MIssissippi

paul06 wrote:

I need to take a building panorama. I will be using a Canon Rebel XTi w/ 18 - 55 mm zoom lens. If I mount the camera on a tripod and pan the camera after taking each shot, the results will be misaligned. Suggestions please. Thank you.

I am no panorama expert so I hope some other folks will help. I do shoot them occasionally though probably not with anyone's proper technique. The software (I use photoshop) will fix the alignment problems pretty well. Each photo shows up on a different layer, that when merged become one picture. My best results come when I leave plenty of room around the top, bottom and sides to allow for the software to do its magic and then for cropping because the alignment process causes each segment to have a funny shape that disappears when the layers are merged. Then I still sometimes have to tinker a bit with perspective issues in LR or photoshop manually at the end.

Steve_m Loc: Southern California

minniev wrote:

I am no panorama expert so I hope some other folks... (show quote)

Yes, and make sure that you overlap each picture with about 1/4 or 1/3. Also, it helps if you take those pictures in a portrait mode. That makes your panorama in a less of a noodle shape.

cheineck Loc: Hobe Sound, FL

minniev wrote:

I am no panorama expert so I hope some other folks... (show quote)

Here's one, hand held, 30-40% overlap, and merged in Photoshop. Easy.

marina pano

(Download)

don1047 Loc: Colorado

Also remember to use aperture priority mode or manual mode with constant f stop. Otherwise you won't like the results. Photoshop Elements does a nice job on panoramas.

Rongnongno Loc: FL

paul06 wrote:

I need to take a building panorama. I will be using a Canon Rebel XTi w/ 18 - 55 mm zoom lens. If I mount the camera on a tripod and pan the camera after taking each shot, the results will be misaligned. Suggestions please. Thank you.

No one has answered you yet.

To avoid the misalignment or parallax errors you need to find the lens nodal point. Here is what a quick google search finds (videos)
Note that if you are going to work on multiple rows you need a specialized gear as tilting the camera up or down will change the nodal point. The cheapest and really good manual panorama gear is the panasaurus.

jeep_daddy Loc: Prescott AZ

paul06 wrote:

I need to take a building panorama. I will be using a Canon Rebel XTi w/ 18 - 55 mm zoom lens. If I mount the camera on a tripod and pan the camera after taking each shot, the results will be misaligned. Suggestions please. Thank you.

Put camera on a tripod, put in the vertical position or portrait orientation, take pictures starting on the right and move to the left and try to overlap by about 1/3rd. This will get you started, but there are ways to do it better. But this will get you started.

Edit: I almost forgot to say, use manual settings, don't use any CP filters.

cheineck Loc: Hobe Sound, FL

Rongnongno wrote:

No one has answered you yet. br br To avoid the m... (show quote)

Go back to my post of the marina pano jpeg... it does kinda answer the question... no special settings, not constant aperture, speed, etc., no particular attention to tilt (just as steady as I could hold the camera). In other words, nothing special at all was done and IMHO the result turned out well. Perhaps it's Photoshops algorithm that makes it work so well.

Rongnongno Loc: FL

Hand held however stable you are does not correct the parallax but makes it even worse. What you are doing is not bad but not good either, sorry.

Your work is interesting but at at a pro level, sorry.

cheineck Loc: Hobe Sound, FL

Rongnongno wrote:

Hand held however stable you are does not correct the parallax but makes it even worse. What you are doing is not bad but not good either, sorry.

Your work is interesting but at at a pro level, sorry.

Parallax can, and does rear it's ugly head depending on the subject. Here's another...incidentally, none were meant to be "pro" images, just examples of what could be done without getting a degree from MIT.

Intracoastal pano

(Download)

Rongnongno Loc: FL

cheineck wrote:

Parallax can, and does rear it's ugly head depending on the subject. Here's another...incidentally, none were meant to be "pro" images, just examples of what could be done without getting a degree from MIT.

Please do read the op question carefully instead of taking this as a personal critic as it is not.

It becomes personal once you try to push your 'hand held' again and again instead of answering the question.

Steve_m Loc: Southern California

Another hint:
Take a first picture twice. First with a one finger front of your lens. Then on the last picture, take it again with two fingers front of your lens. When you download your pictures, it is easy to find your panorama series between those pictures with your fingers.

mdorn Loc: Portland, OR

paul06 wrote:

I need to take a building panorama. I will be using a Canon Rebel XTi w/ 18 - 55 mm zoom lens. If I mount the camera on a tripod and pan the camera after taking each shot, the results will be misaligned. Suggestions please. Thank you.

The "parallax effect" is most evident in nearby objects, and not so much with object further away. I'd say if your building is in the distance and there are no foreground object challenges, a simple tripod, Photoshop and an accurate rotation overlap with the camera in portrait orientation will produce good results. Also, I'd make sure you don't use the wide open focal length of your lens (i.e. 18mm) as this may cause lens distortion. Using manual on your camera is also highly recommended.

mdorn Loc: Portland, OR

cheineck wrote:

Here's one, hand held, 30-40% overlap, and merged in Photoshop. Easy.

Very nice!

JP/Avery Loc: Australia

Haha such a simple thing but that would make life alot easier in the processing side instead of starring at your pics for 5 minutes. Cheers for that :)

Steve_m wrote:

Another hint:
Take a first picture twice. First with a one finger front of your lens. Then on the last picture, take it again with two fingers front of your lens. When you download your pictures, it is easy to find your panorama series between those pictures with your fingers.