[bbuxton]

You will still need a levelling head, the FLM one is the fastest I've seen (works like a ball head)

If the D40x doesn't auto bracket perhaps worth getting one of Nikon's more sophisticated remote releases???? Seriously though I think you are worrying too much about camera movement. The rigs I've suggested are pretty solid & unless you have mallets for fingers you won't have any problems.

I'm still saving for a shift lens (Nikkor 28mm pc) or an old second hand view camera & good scanner???? not sure.

BTW this looks interesting
http://www.speedgraphic.co.uk/prod.asp? ... ft+Bellows
perhaps with a fairly wide lens - not sure how it will behave with a dx sensor though.

BB

[deadalvs]

i just tried on my crappy 14.99$ tripod ... if i touch it and adjust for bracketing i move the camera up to two pixels ...

i searched a lot for a remote control ... nothing for my cam. just the IR-button that only works in front of the camera ...
but i can the timer for stability though.



man this camera seemed to be so nice ...

i have put together my wish list ... but i'm not sure if i want to invest the money at the moment.

that shift lens looks great ... nicey ! go for it !!

[bbuxton]

Good to know about the lack of bracketing on the D40x as I was an inch away from getting one as a dedicated pano camera freeing my D200 for background plates etc. Will rethink that one!!!

I found shooting panoramas to be good business sense as my work dries up a bit over the summer & it's nice to fill my quiet months with work that takes me outside!!! If you have the same dips in your workload as me, theme parks, hotels & conference venues etc are quite into the novelty of panoramas etc Your investment could quickly pay for itself & the fresh air is always good!!

BB

[deadalvs]

stitcher... does that work automatically finding the right pixels or does each pano shots have to be adjusted ? how long does it take a pro ( like you ) to stitch a pano from three pieces ?

[bbuxton]

The auto stitcher will do a decent job in less than a minute (LDR).

If your shots are a bit off then you may need to place markers manually - normally only 3 or 4. But if you use a stable rig you will very rarely need to do this.

Some file renaming is required for the batch process.
Basically make a folder for each exposure and rename the images so they are the same in each folder ie 1,2,3 or in my case F, L, B, R, U (front left back right & up) Then save out the stitcher RZS file & copy to each folder.

I only do this as it makes cloning out the tripod a bit easier, you may find it easier to stitch hdr directly.

Do you have a demo of Stitcher Unlimited?
Let me know if you need any fisheye shots to practice on.

Believe me - it's far easier than anything you may try in 3D or Maxwell.

If you are using Photomatix pro and bracketing manually shoot raw (NEF) and space your exposures at 2 stops (5 exposures = 10 EV will be more than enough for a decent HDR).

Finally if you have Nikon Capture NX run your images through it to get rid of colour fringing (no other adjustments).

[deadalvs]

do the bracketed shots need to have a constant stepping ?

six shots:
1) -5EV, -3EV, -1EV, 1EV, 3EV, 5EV (6 exposures)

would that work too (?):
2) -5EV, -1EV, 0EV, 1EV, 5EV (5 exposures)

as far i've seen the d40x has only stepping of 1/3. (-5 to 5)...

* * *

thanks ! i guess i'll try the stitcher demo soon ! i'll let ya know...

* * *

an other interesting question:

an ordinary 32-bit .hdr should capture the actual realworld scene lighting. so why does hdr lighting not cast the same «real» shadows like in the real world and just gives a totally diffuse lighting scheme?

i mean the full 32 bit depth can store a LOT of brightness values from black shadows to the brightest sun... but that should show in the renderings !
technical answer, please...

[bbuxton]

Use regular stops.
e.g. f1/8 @ 2000th, 500th, 125th, 30th etc

The blurryness of the shadows is to do with sampling. A very high resolution HDR and lots & lots of samples will render sharper shadows & also take forever & contain lots of noise!!

Not all renderers handle hdr lighting the same - some give more defined shadows than others. Given the premiss that Maxwell is an unbiased renderer I'm surprised that it doesn't necessarily produce the cleanest shadows.

http://www.hdrlabs.com/sibl/index.html
This site has an interesting approach. I have not tried this with maxwell yet....

Finally before spending lots of cash on panoramic gear why not just use regular photos bracketed to create HDR???

http://www.evermotion.org:8080/exclusiv ... tue/15.jpg

BB

[deadalvs]

hehe... yep... first things first...

i just bought that dvd here:

http://www.thegnomonworkshop.com/dvds/gdo01.html

i`ll watch it carefully before doing any investment.

you know ... i have these *phases* where i want to buy ALL ! hehe...

* * *

that sibl site looks interesting ! thanks for that link. i will stay on this too !

* * *

it just seems i have less and less time since my school takes so much time ! sometimes i stayed working until 6, 7 once even 10am working ...

but it`s all so fun...

so i`m not sure when i even can actually make my own hdr that i need for my school project soon...

[deadalvs]

hey man !

i'll send you a PM. i have a demo of stitcher so i'd be happy to get a demo-pano to stich ... you certainly can also add watermarks or whatever needed...

thank you so much !

i'll report also if that gnomon dvd is good...

[deadalvs]

hmm... just searching some more info on that topic... maybe even to work with my 10-20 mm wide angle lens.

the levelinghead you mentioned is certainly great... i` just have to order in the UK. ( http://www.speedgraphic.co.uk/prod.asp? ... lling+Base )

what about this here: should be okay too, right ?
http://www.helixphoto.com/tripods/manfr ... 86rc2.html


what about this:
http://www.nodalninja.com/used_equipment.html

[bbuxton]

Your 10-20mm will be great. You will need to shoot 6 at +30deg & 6 at -30deg. Also Nikon's 10.5mm fisheye has fallen in price a lot & may be worth considering.

The FLM FB60 is the best leveler I've seen.
The ball head is nice but really you want something a bit more robust. FLM also do some nice & reasonably priced ball heads.

Definitely go for the Nodal Ninja!!

BB

[deadalvs]

just ordered the FLM FB60 (from england) and the nodal ninja 3 MKII set (a new one)

i'll wait to see if i really need a different tripod. if though, i guess i'll go for a manfrotto too. sounds professional. me likes !

[deadalvs]

BB, you mentioned «skyshots»... half-sphere images straight up.

how's lighting with this simple setup ?

i mean for most hdr-lighting setups, half a sphere is already good enough...

what do you think about this ?

greets !


*lalaaa*
--> http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-JpJjsHgYHA

[deadalvs]

oh... just remembered that the sigma 8mm doesn't shoot fully circular ... so i could not create one-shot skies.

by the way... what's the basic difference between the sigm 8mm and the nikon 10.5 mm lens you mentioned ?

which one is better ?

* * *

so far the sigma 4.5 mm looks best for my needs. i don't need ultra-hires panos, but i'd really like to have fully spherical single-shots (circular) of a sky for the mentioned skydome-lighting.

[bbuxton]

All three lenses are very good.

The sigma 8mm can do a pano in 4 shots but I usually add a 5th pointing straight up to avoid distortion. You can try it with the fisheyes that I sent you, just load images a - d and stitch it will work fine. The fifth shot just gives me a bit more to play with and can save the day if the pano is hard to stitch.

The 10.5mm has a little less coverage and must have the zenith/sky shot. I think it is a little sharper than the Sigma & also it is easier to correct chromatic aberrations with either DXO tools or nikon Capture NX (no templates for the sigma yet)

The Sigma 4.5 will do the one shot skies (pointing straight up) with no need for stitching just the Photoshop polar-coordinates filter. Outside of this it is the least satisfactory of the lenses.

If you want a similar effect, you can use the sigma 8mm and shoot the sky with 2 shots (pointing straight up & rotating the camera 90deg) You then just bring the two shots into photoshop, make the canvas square & paste one shot over the other. Use the polar-coordinates filter as before - no need for stitching.

Over all I think the 8mm is the most versatile, and gives the best results.

If you do decide to go for the sigma 4.5 then check this out.....
http://threesixtyprecision.cachefly.net ... p_main.jpg

http://www.360precision.com

BB