Olympus-OM
[Top] [All Lists]

Re: [OM] Shift Lens Panoramic?

Subject: Re: [OM] Shift Lens Panoramic?
From: "John A. Lind" <jlind@xxxxxxxxxxx>
Date: Sun, 11 Jul 1999 09:43:50 +0000
At 22:44 7/10/99 , Denton Taylor wrote:

>Have you thought of doing this in software? There are a lot of
>panorama/stitcher software packages that will do this easily and without the
>use of a shift lens.

I hit a couple of "pano" sites and read about how it is done using a
leveled pano-head rotating around the lens node.  It seems the current
method is to scan the reversals or negatives and then "stitch" them
together with software, sometimes in 360 degree panoramics.  There wasn't
too much about making an actual print, but presume this must be done in
very high resolution and then printed on a hi-res photo printer.  I may
ultimately take the path you're suggesting, and will get a picture CD done
with the film developing so the images can also be manipulated digitally.
A couple of programs found on the pano sites hit seemed quite pricey.
Don't have a scanner or photo printer (this could eventually become the
excuse^H^H^H^H^H^Hjustification).  Looked at some of the long ones on your
site (360 immersion:  spinning around in them is cool!) and know now I will
have to continue researching the hardware and software.

Something came to mind looking at the smaller panoramics earlier using some
of the OM gear already on hand if it would work (35mm shift, standard
tripod and possibly the 2x teleconverter [no 1.4x . . . yet]):  cutting
three prints and physically grafting them together instead of "stitching"
scanned images.

At 01:24 7/11/99 , Acer Victoria wrote:
>In fact, I think you can do a panorama sans special software--just use any
>photo editing utility, copy and past using a grid, and then airbrush
>slightly if there's a definitive edge visible.

This poses a problem of what to do with the seams even if the prints can be
lined up perfectly (Acer mentions the digital equivalent).  I have seen
panoramic paintings using three canvases in three frames hung side by side
using a wider middle and narrower side canvases.  It gives the impression
of a window frame if they're hung correctly, but I've never seen this done
with photographs, only with paintings.  The brain correlates the three
canvases nicely.

I have made custom frames from scratch in the past.  A single "window" type
frame with three "panes" and modest depth could cover the graft lines with
a center and two sides.  It would have to be done using a narrow frame
face, doesn't take attention attention away from the image, seam coverage
is unobtrusive, and still gives the impression of a wide window with three
panes yielding a 5x12, 5x15 or perhaps a 5x17.  The question with the shift
is whether things will line up well enough to keep seam coverage as minimal
as possible:  horizontal lines and foreground against background (will it
shift slightly with the lens node?).

At 11:12 1/2/97 , Ross Waite wrote:
>Kodak, in their Workshop Series Book "Lenses for 35 mm Cameras", endorse 
>the use of a shift lens for composite panoramic shots.  They actually 
>classify this use as one of the three major applications of a shift lens.

Saw this book on the rack; looks like there will be a trip this morning to
the store.  A roll of Royal Gold 100 and its processing to 5x7 is
inexpensive and its a beautiful morning; time to try it and see what happens.

Thanks for all of the replies!

-- John

< This message was delivered via the Olympus Mailing List >
< For questions, mailto:owner-olympus@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx >
< Web Page: http://Zuiko.sls.bc.ca/swright/olympuslist.html >


<Prev in Thread] Current Thread [Next in Thread>
Sponsored by Tako
Impressum | Datenschutz