Pano question

[Mary Penta Robinson]

This is a question concerning techinique in regards to panoramic images. I recently had the opportunity to capture the Dallas Cowboys Stadium from the inside, which of course is round. These were not professional images, they were shot for a friend of a friend who is an avid Cowboys fan. While I did do a quick pano, handheld, as they were trying to lay down the astro-turf for the college game, from the entrance to the stadium and I did achieve a pano of sorts, my question is as follows. I used CS5 to stitch the images together and I was wondering if I had shot the images from the center of the stadium, would I have gotten a more realistic curved, rounded look to the pano? I used the auto stitch selection in CS5, though I had tried several other options available, none of which looked any better.

 

[Charles L Webster]

What you are experiencing is called "perspective distortion" and is a function of the wide-angle lens you used. Using a longer lens from the same position would eliminate the oddly curved sides.

Moving to the center of the field might have helped, but perhaps not, given the focual length you used (18mm).

 

[Mary Penta Robinson]

Thank you very much, Chas, I'll will keep that in mind next time. I don't do many panos, matter of fact I think this is only my 2nd one and only because they were requested by friends, however, would prefer to be able to do them correctly rather than just getting by. I'll use my 50 mm lens the next time and the D3 instead of the D300 and the 18-200.

 

[Ben Rubinstein]

If you are looking for a more centered perspective then you can come closer to it using the vanishing point tool in more sophisticated pano programs such as autopano pro and PTGUI. To be honest the easiest and best way it to shoot in as centered as possible in the first place, saves the post processing problems, especially when it's beyond the bounds of the program to do what you need.

 

[Mary Penta Robinson]

My vision was to have an almost 360 degree look to the final image. I will certainly look into those programs you mentioned, Ben, thank you.

 

[Asher Kelman]

My vision was to have an almost 360 degree look to the final image. I will certainly look into those programs you mentioned, Ben, thank you.

How many pictures in this pano and was it done freehand or on a tripod. I do wonder about just moving the center in the software. I would try out PRGui or AutoPano Giga. These are wonderful tools and worht the investment.

Asher

 

[Mary Penta Robinson]

How many pictures in this pano and was it done freehand or on a tripod. I do wonder about just moving the center in the software. I would try out PRGui or AutoPano Giga. These are wonderful tools and worht the investment.

Asher

It was done freehand and I had about 7 or 8 shots of the stadium. I also did multiple exposures due to the varied contrast between the open roof area and the darker side areas of the stadium. Normally I would have used my tripod, but there were too many workers around and I didn't want to get in their way or trip anyone. I did download AutoPano, but had the same results when putting the images together. I intend to go out and do some testing with the 18-200 and my 50 mm to see the differences in the final product when I get a day or two off. I also didn't have my nodal rail with me, so that could also have affected the outcome. Thank you, Asher.