Doug Kerr
Well-known member
When doing panoramic photography with a conventional camera, multiple, slightly overlapping shots of the overall scene are taken by pivoting the camera in steps, and the images are joined to make a single large-scope image. In order to be able to properly join the images, we must avoid parallax shift between them. To do so, the camera must be pivoted about the camera’s center of perspective, which turns out to be the center of the entrance pupil of the lens.
It is widely, but incorrectly, said that the proper pivot point is “the nodal point” of the lens.
This matter is discussed at length, with numerous illustrations (and almost no math), in my tutorial article, "The Proper Pivot Point for Panoramic Photography", which has just been extensively updated and expanded. It is available here:
http://doug.kerr.home.att.net/pumpkin/index.htm#PanoramicPivotPoint
Among the changes in this issue are:
- An appendix has been added that shows how the principles discussed work in the case of a reasonable-size aperture. (In the basic discussion, a "tiny" aperture is used to simplify and clarify the work. Some had been concerned that the conclusion reached that way lacked generality.)
- A set of test images are included that demonstrate, in a "real life" situation, that in fact rotation about the entrance pupil, and not about either nodal point, produces the desired result.
It is widely, but incorrectly, said that the proper pivot point is “the nodal point” of the lens.
This matter is discussed at length, with numerous illustrations (and almost no math), in my tutorial article, "The Proper Pivot Point for Panoramic Photography", which has just been extensively updated and expanded. It is available here:
http://doug.kerr.home.att.net/pumpkin/index.htm#PanoramicPivotPoint
Among the changes in this issue are:
- An appendix has been added that shows how the principles discussed work in the case of a reasonable-size aperture. (In the basic discussion, a "tiny" aperture is used to simplify and clarify the work. Some had been concerned that the conclusion reached that way lacked generality.)
- A set of test images are included that demonstrate, in a "real life" situation, that in fact rotation about the entrance pupil, and not about either nodal point, produces the desired result.