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Advice needed on MF body and lens to rent

K

Klaus Esser

pro member
Nicolas Claris said:
BTW Michael

one can't say that autopano is easy to understand, starting from scratch yesterday night I could only achieve the image posted late in the after noon today…
That said, it was on the G4 Powerbook and test and try is loooooooong with only 5 images… it took me a while to understand how to save PSD file not flattened!

and then, the result was far from perfect, I don't think the lack of nodal plate is faulty, but it is true that choosing a diagonal angle shoot in the room doesn't help much…

I'd like to know your default settings… hehe
Click to expand...

Hi Nic!

AutoPano is one of the fastest stitchers. Even PTGui-Fans say so.

The best way is to shoot 3 rows symmetrical - one horizontal, on up and one down. This way you have a VERY wide angle (depending on the amount of single shots). I use a 35mm Nikon for that purpose om the 20D - but 20mm is also ok. 50mm you only should use for reall highres - there´s no advantage otherwise.
Flatstitching is basically the same as using a uww in one shot. The distortions are nearly identical - which is obvious.

Stitching of 3 rows and 6 shots each row from TIFFs or JPGs or RAWs takes around 10min. on my Mac G5 2x2GHz with 8GB RAM.
Rendering is done in 15min avarage at around 70MPx in TIFF 16bit.

best, Klaus
 
nicolas claris

nicolas claris

OPF Co-founder/Administrator
Wow, so many answers! I'll try to answer all:

Michael,
thanks for posting the pics with the Zörk, now I understand and see that Asher has a better Zörk. That could be a good rock song title, LOL!:
"Asher has a better Zörk" LOL!

BTW I like colors and compostion of your pic
Zo%cc%88rk.jpg

doing so just to bring an info is a beautiffull way of living photography, this should inspire all beginners: Don't snap, express your artistic feels… Great!

-----------
"I'm not sure if a G-4 powerbook is really the box to stitch"
You're right but it's my home/Sunday machine!
Close to an hour of calculation with the powerbook G4 = a few minutes with my office Dual core intel Mac…

The problem with stiching is that foreground can be very close… even in large boats…

-------------

Leonardo, "think is in long term. What are your needs going to be like and which system may go in that direction..."

I'm an old type guy and my thinking is to produce the best possible work, at least for my own sake. Then I'll try to sell it… this is always a bet on the future (past is over), the only healthy way to built this way is to have affordable bets. I always (well nearly) have bought my gear without having to pray my banker for a loan. I pay cash, even if it makes my lunch with potatoes only (we're on the bet side).
I can't pay? I don't buy. Unless I'm sure it will be paid back within the upcoming assignements.

So I am not ready to buy now a full MF system, my aim is to test in real life, but it seems to be quite difficult… Ok, I'll certainly a different way to try… maybe "If you come to NY we can go shoot with my humble MF/camera/lenses..../" is very nice invitation that I do accept! and by the way to meet you as I do like very much your work!
----------------

Asher
your explanations and pics are brilliant, thanks!

-----------------

Klaus

For autopano speed, please see above answers to Michael

"The best way is to shoot 3 rows symmetrical - one horizontal, on up and one down."
I wonder how you do this, I can't imagine that the camera stays on th same level/place on the tripod, just rotating up, horizontal and down without TSE? Does autopano accept such distortion? Any more explanation?

Once again, many many thanks to all!
 
Last edited:
Asher Kelman

Asher Kelman

OPF Owner/Editor-in-Chief
Hi Nicolas,

AutoPanoPro is so good you can pretty well manage, (leaning on a tree or door frame to steady oneself) to shoot a three rows, hand holding the camera, by carefully moving the camera through an imaginary nodal point of the lens! Of course a pano head would be a dream and so fast!

The further away the subject is the better!

APP can use every processor core in each Intel chip so that it would be 2 in a dual processor and 4 in a quad. I don't think CS2/CS3 can take advantage of each core like that!

My MacBook Pro 17" is way faster than my dual G5 2.3 GHZ even with half the memory.

Asher
 
K

Klaus Esser

pro member
"I wonder how you do this, I can't imagine that the camera stays on th same level/place on the tripod, just rotating up, horizontal and down without TSE? Does autopano accept such distortion? Any more explanation?"

Of course you need a pano-head - Manfrotto SPH for example or one of the dozens of other brands.
It should be a multirow-head. Shooting a 3-row pano with 8 pictures a row takes about 10min.

Autopano perfectly stiches and planproject it - other stitchers do it also of course . . . well: maybe not this comfortable and fast . . ;-)

TSE is obsolete - because you´re tilting the camera around the lenses npp-point, which is in combination with flatstitching more extended and more universal.

best, Klaus
 
M

Michael Fontana

pro member
Nicolas, look:

animation320x200.gif


that's one row; but the cam might be looking up and down, as well; for multirows:

vr-pro.jpg


Off course, this turns, as well, but the lens is still turning arround the so called "nodal point", more precisley: NNP
 
M

Michael Fontana

pro member
This example was just for showing the principle's of turning upsidedown the cam.

I remind, when looking for a panohead, that someone wrote, that the Novoflex (example above) is not sturdy enough for heavy cams as the 1 Ds-2, with a bigger lens.

Therefore, I didn't went for it, but for the Seitz:

That one holds a 1 Ds-2 & the macro 100 mm precisly in position.
 
K

Klaus Esser

pro member
Michael Fontana said:
Klaus, the pixorbes is not a good solution, if you want make some QTVR's as well: the Nadir will show the motor block. Personally, I don't mind having this option, as well.
Click to expand...

Hi Michael!

Yes - but the PixOrb isn´t designed for cubical panos - it´s designed for ultra-highres rectilinear shootings.
For cubes you don´t need 300 pics . . . :)
But a motorized head isn´t bad at all for cubicals also. Saves time and you can mount it on a long telescope-pole.

bst, Klaus
 
K

Klaus Esser

pro member
here´s my own modification of a Monfrotto Head:

IMG_1089.jpg

IMG_1091.jpg

_MG_3849.jpg


I got the L-arm made of strong alloy and set a toothed (?) plate on it with the counterpart
on the camera-arm.

the shots were hastily taken during the experimental phase on the go . . ;-)
 
K

Klaus Esser

pro member
Asher Kelman said:
How much sag of the camera is there?

Asher
Click to expand...

I don´t understand "sag" . . sorry.

best, Klaus

Oh - i see: there´s absolutely no sag there, because the tilting arm is fixed by the "teeth" of the base and the"counter-teeth" of the part which is fixed to the tilting arm.
So the "teeth" of both mounted disks grab into each other and fixes the vertikal arm and the tilting camera-arm.

you can see the "teeth" of the disk on the last picture. The counter-disk is screwed to the camera arm.
When the center-screw is loosened the arm can be tilted - when the center-screw is tightened the tilt-arm can´t be moved at all. Not a fraction of a millimeter.

There´s no sag at all. :)
 
M

Michael Fontana

pro member
Klaus, you' re one of these Gizo users, carrying heavy metal bars arround.

I've one of these too, but since going digi, it was replaced by a lighter Manfrotto, for location shots.
 
K

Klaus Esser

pro member
Michael Fontana said:
Klaus, you' re one of these Gizo users, carrying heavy metal bars arround.

I've one of these too, but since going digi, it was replaced by a lighter Manfrotto, for location shots.
Click to expand...

I understand that well - i have three lighter Manfrottos too . . :) and a Linhof. But sometimes it just has to be very rigid . . ;-)

best, Klaus
 
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