Panoramic images

[Chasing Ghosts]

Anyone out there doing 360 degree panoramas?

I'm starting a local project here in Suffolk, VA to map the lakes in my area.

I'll start at the ramp and cover the lakes moving from location to location shooting panoramas. From the ramp you will see "hotspots" in the ramp image... click a hotspot to jump to that location.

I'll move in a logical progression and cover areas near the banks and the center of the lake.... near bank... center... far bank... move farther up or down the lake to shoot the next series.

I have a few test panos online without hotspots, as I have yet started working on the water.

These will be "virtual tours" of the lakes as it were.

Here's a test sample of what I am doing.

>>> Sample Panoramas <<<

Cheers
Doug

[Corker]

What kind of special software is needed to assemble the end product?

[Chasing Ghosts]

Here's my process.

I use a Fuji Finepix (model escapes me at the moment) and a tripod that allows portrait setting of the camera (vertical as opposed to horizontal).
I have my zoom as wide as possible without going into macro mode and flash is off.
I usually am set up in portrait mode (camera flipped up on it's side) to allow for as much vertical view in one shot as possible.
I make sure the tripod is in level and the camera is in level as much as possible.
It is ideal to have the lens plane centered over the point of rotations to get the cleanest stitched (all the images combined) image for the panorama. (I don't have the gear for it yet but still get great images).
Multiple SD Cards for this as it takes 8-12 images per location (I have 1 in the camera and 5 more in the bag).
Extra batteries (just a suggestion... but that's me).

Best to do outdoors around noon to get an over all even (as possible) lighting as you are shooting multiple images in succession in a circle.
You are going to shoot overlapping images (25 percent overlap) I cheat and look for landmarks/structures etc that I use for making the next image... I pick something on the right of the image and make sure it is not right at the edge...the next image has this same structure on the left (again not right at the edge)
This allows you to use common points of reference when setting up the stitching.

Before you move the camera for the next shot you look at the landmarks/structures on the right and then rotate the camera so the structure is in frame on the left. You repeat this process until you have shot a complete series of images in a 360 degree or better rotation. I allow for overlapping the first image to close the panorama.

The next step is putting it all together..... stitching the image. For this I use Free software (gotta love freeware) called >>> Huggin <<< .

Huggin takes all those images (from the one location) and blends them all into one long photo that when played on a panorama viewer, lets you look at the locations if you are standing and turning in a circle.

Here's a example of what is happening.


3 images.. the first, second and last in the series I shot. The first and second (center and right) show the overlap I eyeballed in the camera in green.... the last and first (left and center) show the overlap in red.
The black arrows are corresponding points of reference used to stitch the images.

More to follow.... including a video tutorial.

Cheers
Doug

[saltyDawg88]

I have been doing the 360 pics with my iPhone.

Texas, United States, Jul 15 2012 by Zachary Buchhorn

and another

Texas, United States, Jun 26 2013 by Zachary Buchhorn

And just a standard one panoramic pic.

[buffalo13]

Here's one I took with my Galaxy Nexus phone. This is Emerald Lake, in the Yukon Territory. Took it last week.

[ifish]

Nice Dean. What you doin up there?

[buffalo13]

Went on an Alaskan Cruise. Took a train ride up into the Yukon.