[WGH]

Playing around with a Canon G1. I go for weekly hikes around Tucson, AZ where I live. Once in a while I pack my camera and tripod to an interesting spot and see what happens. Click on the link for the 360 degree panorama.

http://www.wghwoodworking.com/hikes/wilderness_of_rocks.mov



Wayne

[Audiovista]

Love the colors - great job! Lots of details, this picture wants to be larger.

[nathanm]

I immediately thought HDR, but it looks like the highlights are still blown, so maybe USM?  In any case, that landscape, well...rocks. *groan*

[WGH]

I immediately thought HDR, but it looks like the highlights are still blown, so maybe USM?

The shots are resized and sharpened before stitching, I like KPT Equalizer, but don't remember what I used for this one.

I am amazed the panoramas turn out at all. The 360 degree Quicktime movie (url above) is made up of between 60-96 shots stitched together. The Canon G1 is certainly not the best camera for landscapes and I am shooting almost directly into the sun for some of the shots, I am not surprised the highlights get blown. I use a couple free programs: Autostitch program http://www.cs.ubc.ca/%7Embrown/autostitch/autostitch.html and Pano2QTVR http://www.pano2qtvr.com/.

[BradJudy]

These aren't 360 degree pano's, but they are stitched partial panoramas.  Here's one my wife took of Pike's Peak:



Here's one I took of the Austrian Alps:



Here's one I took in Arches NP:

[brj]

What process are you guys using to take the multiple shots and then stitch them together?

Are you just rotating the camera by hand on a sturdy tripod and then letting the software deal with the (possibly variable) image overlap?

[BradJudy]

Mine are all by hand with software auto-stitching.  This leads to more top and bottom cut-off than you would get with a tripod mounted camera.  Some cameras (like my Canons) have a panorama assist mode that can help with handheld shooting.

[jakepunk]

Glen Canyon, southeastern Utah.


Yellowstone National Park, Wyoming.

I use HuginOSX to stitch.  It's painful, but it works.

[WGH]

What process are you guys using to take the multiple shots and then stitch them together?

Are you just rotating the camera by hand on a sturdy tripod and then letting the software deal with the (possibly variable) image overlap?

I use a Bogen/Manfrotto 3021BPRO tripod with a 3437 head. I level the tripod, head and camera and take a shot every 30 degrees, which works out to about a 50% overlap with the Canon Powershot G1. After 12 shots I tilt the camera up 1/2 frame and take 12 more. After I tilt up as far as I need to, I tilt down below the set level point. After about 96 shots I get bored and move on.

Autostitch is completely automatic, it is an amazing program. There is some documentation on the website, but you are pretty much on your own to learn how to use it.

BradJudy and jakepunk - nice photos!

[brj]

Thanks for the comments, guys - nice shots!

I use a Bogen/Manfrotto 3021BPRO tripod with a 3437 head. I level the tripod, head and camera and take a shot every 30 degrees, which works out to about a 50% overlap with the Canon Powershot G1.

I started at looking at lightweight tripods and heads a while ago, and quickly gave up when I saw the prices involved... ouch!  I'm thinking about picking up a Gorillapod, however, as a much more hiking and travel friendly solution.

After 12 shots I tilt the camera up 1/2 frame and take 12 more. After I tilt up as far as I need to, I tilt down below the set level point. After about 96 shots I get bored and move on.

And people thought storing audio files took up a lot of hard drive space...

[BradJudy]

Thanks for the positive comments. 

WGH is doing it the way that gives the best results.  An inexpensive tripod like a Slik or SunPac (under $30) will help a lot.  There are also some very nice (IMO) Bogen/Manfrotto setups for under $200 like this: http://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/221726-REG/Bogen_Manfrotto__3011BN_Tripod_Legs_Black_.html

Things like a Gorillapod or a pocket tripod are great to have in your pack for hiking and travel.  I have something like this: http://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/247932-REG/Sunpak_620202_2002_Pocket_Tripod.html and something like this: http://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/443543-REG/Smith_Victor_700211_PG820MT_Mini_Tripod_with_Mini_Ballhead.html

[WGH]

With the winter rains in the desert the normally dry washes and canyons once again have water. Agua Caliente Canyon is a very strenuous 4 mile hike from the Camino Remuda trailhead. The trail goes up to a ridge then in (and out) of 3 canyons, each one a little deeper than the last until you drop 500' into Agua Caliente Canyon.

Click on the photo for a 360 degree Quicktime movie.

[rajacat]

Mt. Shasta taken during an unusually dry December.  ---- Panasonic FZ20.

[skchow]

Hong Kong skyline from Tsim Sha Tsui.

[skchow]

Oh as for tools, I use the panotools set w/ the hugin frontend.  Open source and free.