AlanG Posted April 14, 2009 Share #21 Posted April 14, 2009 Advertisement (gone after registration) It looks like you are getting it all to work pretty well. Autopano takes some getting used to but is pretty incredible. Autopano has a new version coming out soon. I've been using the beta version and some things work a bit smoother. I have a good friend who has been doing a lot of panos using Photomatix Sam Kittner :: Photographer :: Home I too shoot panos for jobs. But for my personal work, I often try to accent the imperfections by shooting in ways so the photos won't stitch correctly. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Advertisement Posted April 14, 2009 Posted April 14, 2009 Hi AlanG, Take a look here The HDR Panorama Thread. I'm sure you'll find what you were looking for!
ljclark Posted April 14, 2009 Share #22 Posted April 14, 2009 Carsten, I'm sorry to say this, but so much looks wrong about those shots. The perspective distortion, the weird tonal qualities - that I associate with HDR. How far you go with the panoramic presentation is an aesthetic choice. I have a Horizon camera that shoots 120-degree slices (28mm lens on 35mm film) and that's about as far as I tend to go anyway. What is fun is to print large, and then set up the print with a curve -- like a flat diorama. When you position your eye correctly, things make more "sense". Regarding HDR -- Almost all that I've seen baffles me. Too much looks like poorly hand-tinted prints. You look at some and the first thing that comes to mind is "Hey! HDR." However, I have seen some folks use it when confronted with really wide exposure ranges. It takes a really light touch, but it can be pretty effective. (On the other hand, I've seen some images worked by PhotoShop mask geniuses to do pretty much the same thing.) So my hat is off to anyone who takes the time to play around with HDR, and then makes some decisions on when it is and isn't suitable. (And if their idea of "suitable" isn't the same as mine -- that's my problem, not theirs. ) Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
c6gowin Posted April 14, 2009 Share #23 Posted April 14, 2009 Hey Carsten, I am glad to see the RRS gear is working for you. The pano stiching looks good and clean, but I am not sure about the HDR. The most bothersome aspect of HDR to me is the way sky to horizon interface looks - kind of a halo / outline effect. Perhaps there is a way to correct that, but I haven't figured it out in the few times I have tried. The panos from your home and of the italian restaurant are my favorites. The other panos are very interesting and probably more technically challenging, but the HDR effect is stronger on those. Mark Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
carstenw Posted April 14, 2009 Author Share #24 Posted April 14, 2009 It is interesting to see which ones people object to, which doesn't necessarily mirror the ones which were processed the most. FTR, the first two trains were the least processed, and the shot from my balcony by far the most. The sky was grey to the eye, with perhaps a light touch of yellow where the sun was. The restaurant was actually processed quite heavily, but with that one I was trying to subjectively match the impression I had when I was there, and since there is no sky, the halo-effect didn't appear. I agree on the halo effect; I don't like it much either. I am not sure how to avoid it while getting a strong HDR effect though. The point of this thread isn't so much the strong HDR effect, by the way. You will notice that in the sequence of steps there are none describing how to process the images. The point is the workflow. I also doubt that I will print any of the images as posted. I was just playing around and wanted to match the HDR effect I have seen so often recently, especially on sites like stuckincustoms.com. These HDR effect shots may not match our desires, but they remain hugely popular, perhaps especially so in asia, where the taste runs to stronger colours in any case. By the way, I forgot to mention a few things: You don't need a panorama kit to do moderate stitches with nothing in the foreground. It suffices to try to rotate around the center of the lens. One trick is to try to keep the center of the lens directly above a point on the ground. Dangling something from the camera could assist in this. Photomatix Basic is freeware and can do exposure blending, and a demo version of Photomatix Pro which applies a watermark is also available. Depending on what you want to do, one of these might suffice. There is a demo version of Autopano Pro. In other words, there is nothing to stop anyone from trying these out, at no extra cost. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bo_Lorentzen Posted April 14, 2009 Share #25 Posted April 14, 2009 Carsten, Tutorial for handheld panorama photography. BoPhoto.com: Handheld Panorama Photography - Made Easy . Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
wlaidlaw Posted April 14, 2009 Share #26 Posted April 14, 2009 Carsten, Well done! I am not sure why so many people are sniffy about HDR. Photos can be fun, loud and funky. Not everybody has to take photos of down and outs in gloomy black and white and call it 'art'. I can feel the desire coming over me to try it out myself. I have a heavy duty three way head for my "built like a tank" Manfrotto 190NAT, which has a degree scale on it, so that should work. Wilson Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
carstenw Posted April 14, 2009 Author Share #27 Posted April 14, 2009 Advertisement (gone after registration) Yes, although there will be a minor offset to each photo, as you rotate about the centre of the camera rather than the centre of the lens (entrance pupil, actually). Be sure not to place the tripod too close to the ground, or put anything in the foreground. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
scott kirkpatrick Posted April 15, 2009 Share #28 Posted April 15, 2009 Carsten, I think these are fun, too. But don't enter them in any Danish photojournalism contests. (See TOP for the discussion.) scott Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
carstenw Posted April 15, 2009 Author Share #29 Posted April 15, 2009 Hehe, yeah, I'll be sure not to do that I also read TOP daily, so I have been following that. I am still not sure which side I am on, since the photographer makes some good points, but in the end I think he went too far. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
carstenw Posted April 15, 2009 Author Share #30 Posted April 15, 2009 It looks like you are getting it all to work pretty well. Autopano takes some getting used to but is pretty incredible. Autopano has a new version coming out soon. I've been using the beta version and some things work a bit smoother. That sounds promising. I am really not keen on the interfaces of APP and Photomatix. I too shoot panos for jobs. But for my personal work, I often try to accent the imperfections by shooting in ways so the photos won't stitch correctly. Well, that's a pretty funky way to work Care to post an example? Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
carstenw Posted April 15, 2009 Author Share #31 Posted April 15, 2009 I have reworked this to eliminate the halo, while retaining the highlight compression, but I have lost the lighter shadows. The slider which is to blame for the halos is the one labelled "Strength". I need to find another way to make the shadows lighter without making the photo flat. This version actually looks quite a lot like reality at this point, although I could see more in the shadows with the bare eye than is visible here. First version: Welcome, dear visitor! As registered member you'd see an image here… Simply register for free here – We are always happy to welcome new members! New version: Link to post Share on other sites Simply register for free here – We are always happy to welcome new members! New version: ' data-webShareUrl='https://www.l-camera-forum.com/topic/82128-the-hdr-panorama-thread/?do=findComment&comment=872505'>More sharing options...
arthury Posted April 16, 2009 Share #32 Posted April 16, 2009 I have got almost the same set up, except, I am using PS/CS4 and my D3 and the new 21mm Distagon ZF Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
AlanG Posted April 16, 2009 Share #33 Posted April 16, 2009 Well, that's a pretty funky way to work Care to post an example? By the way, for anyone who wants to shoot panos and doesn't want to invest in a pano head. You can buy a simple sliding rail and plate from Manfrotto and others. Then you can slide the camera so that the rotation point of your tripod is over the lens' exit pupil and simply rotate the tripod head. Of course this is for the camera in a horizontal position only. The top one is of the National Gallery of Art East Wing. I intentionally moved so the images wouldn't stitch properly. The lower picture at the Kennedy Center was shot in such a way that the images themselves formed the shape. (I did not cut it out.) It took three trips before I got it right. So now you know that I am actually working (Autopano rendering of large files) while I am writing post on forums. I shoot these hand held. The "Fine Art Photos" on my website have a number of others that were made from panos. So maybe try to find your own personal "funky" style and please don't emulate mine. Like them or not I have a lot of time invested trying to come up with something different. And I'm hoping they'll be marketable. Welcome, dear visitor! As registered member you'd see an image here… Simply register for free here – We are always happy to welcome new members! Link to post Share on other sites Simply register for free here – We are always happy to welcome new members! ' data-webShareUrl='https://www.l-camera-forum.com/topic/82128-the-hdr-panorama-thread/?do=findComment&comment=872707'>More sharing options...
carstenw Posted April 16, 2009 Author Share #34 Posted April 16, 2009 That's very neat, but don't worry, it is not the direction I am taking. I hope that others respect that too. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
carstenw Posted August 17, 2009 Author Share #35 Posted August 17, 2009 A new result, this time pretty close to what the eye saw. I am cheating though, this time it was not 7 shots or whatever with the M8 and the WATE, but 3 shots with the Contax 645 and 80mm f/2. It is interesting that after a process like this, there is hardly any visible difference between the two. In a single shot, the difference is pretty easy to spot. Perhaps with the M9 I will no longer feel compelled to carry around the Contax for shots like this. Welcome, dear visitor! As registered member you'd see an image here… Simply register for free here – We are always happy to welcome new members! Link to post Share on other sites Simply register for free here – We are always happy to welcome new members! ' data-webShareUrl='https://www.l-camera-forum.com/topic/82128-the-hdr-panorama-thread/?do=findComment&comment=996748'>More sharing options...
vanhulsenbeek Posted August 17, 2009 Share #36 Posted August 17, 2009 A new result, this time pretty close to what the eye saw. I am cheating though, this time it was not 7 shots or whatever with the M8 and the WATE, but 3 shots with the Contax 645 and 80mm f/2. It is interesting that after a process like this, there is hardly any visible difference between the two. In a single shot, the difference is pretty easy to spot. Perhaps with the M9 I will no longer feel compelled to carry around the Contax for shots like this. [ATTACH]157359[/ATTACH] Carsten, have you tried converting your HDR pictures to B&W? See a result in this thread: http://www.l-camera-forum.com/leica-forum/landscape-travel/85236-scotland-b-w-hdr-view-loch.html#post892786. There is more in that Forum, but I cannot find it now. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
carstenw Posted August 18, 2009 Author Share #37 Posted August 18, 2009 Not yet, although I have thought about it. I am still in the experimental phase, to be honest, learning the workflow and figuring out how to get the best results. I have just restarted my learning curve with MF digital. At some point, I will feel comfortable with it all, and then I will spend more time figuring out what I want to do with it, and whether I go LDR, HDR and/or B&W. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
gearoido Posted August 18, 2009 Share #38 Posted August 18, 2009 No problem, keep the criticism coming. I can take it. Anyway, yeah, the M8 is not that great a camera for doing exposure bracketing, but I typically just pick it up, set it to A, and point it around the scene to see what kind of latitude I am dealing with. then I figure out if I need a +/-2 or +/-3 bracket, and choose the range. Then I just shoot -X, 0, +X for each position, and keep moving. Pretty easy, if somewhat tedious. I haven't yet figured out how to deal with walking people, but I suppose something with layers and Photoshop should work. I have an idea for software to make this easy, but I am too lazy to write it so far There is HDR software from PhotoAcute that claims to eliminate moving objects from multiple exposures. Don't know if it works. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
carstenw Posted August 18, 2009 Author Share #39 Posted August 18, 2009 Come to think of it, I think Photomatix Pro does too. I just didn't activate it. I'll have to try again. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
ChrisC Posted August 20, 2009 Share #40 Posted August 20, 2009 ..... National Gallery of Art East Wing. I intentionally moved so the images wouldn't stitch properly........ I am actually working (Autopano rendering of large files) while I am writing post on forums. I shoot these hand held. The "Fine Art Photos".......... please don't emulate ....... Alan - I enjoy the image, and whilst I can't imagine your individualism being emulated successfully, I too have forsaken a heavy 'nodal rig' for a more mobile way of shooting joined images during the Summer. I now have a levelling base underneath my geared head, and with a quick release plate the 'wrong' way around the 'nodal point' of the lens is fairly near the centre column's mid point when the camera is level. I have been shooting multi-row landscapes for hand stitching [also moving my position with some of the hand-held panoramas]; very labour intensive, and the down side is the images have to be stitched in order to find out whether they are worth stitching. But your [i.e. Alan] post confuses me. I automatically assumed you are hand stitching, and rotating individual layers as required [which is what I do] but maybe I assumed wrongly? Are you in fact joining your files in Autopano and it rotates each file for you? [it seems too 'magical' a thing to expect from software; to be able to read both convergence, and non-horizontality]. ................ Chris Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
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