OT - Panoramas

Phil Cook said:

Chris Gilbert said:

Phil Cook wrote

Quoted message said:

It's not very rigid especially on a lightweight tripod.

I usually have a mid-range tripod with me. If only because
of wind. It should lend stability.

If I specifically plan to take panos then I'll carry a more sturdy tripod
for that purpose.

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

slow shutter speeds I need to use mirror lock up.

De rigeur on landscapes for me.

Same here, whenever I use a tripod. Not so useful for hand held shots
though!

Quoted message said:

Yes, it's just a shame Canon make it so awkward to use!

Yes, particularly when you switch from tripod to hand held, I've missed a
few opportunity shots for that very reason.

And it always seems to be set the way I don't want it! Typically I'll take
handheld snaps during a walk, then end the day with some serious tripod
shots at twilight, so the mirror lock is always on when I next want to take
a hand held shot.

Or the reverse, starting the day with some serious sunrise shots and ending
with a walk.

Paul
--
http://www.wilderness-wales.co.uk/

Mike said:

Heres a good one from Colin Prior that I dont think would have worked in
landscape format.

Yes, that's good vertically, as the clouds are really the main part.
--
Peter.
You don't understand Newton's Third Law of Motion?
It's not rocket science, you know.

Paul Saunders said:

Jim Ford said:

I've created 'bubble' panoramas with a fisheye lens:

http://tinyurl.com/b24ju

How many shots?

Three, with the 180 degree fisheye. In theory two is enough, but three
is required for overlapping. It was taken with a Nikon Coolpix 995.

Jim Ford

Paul Saunders said:

Phil Cook said:

Chris Gilbert said:

Phil Cook wrote

> It's not very rigid especially on a lightweight tripod.

I usually have a mid-range tripod with me. If only because
of wind. It should lend stability.

If I specifically plan to take panos then I'll carry a more sturdy tripod
for that purpose.

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

> slow shutter speeds I need to use mirror lock up.

De rigeur on landscapes for me.

Same here, whenever I use a tripod. Not so useful for hand held shots
though!

Quoted message said:

Yes, it's just a shame Canon make it so awkward to use!

Yes, particularly when you switch from tripod to hand held, I've missed a
few opportunity shots for that very reason.

And it always seems to be set the way I don't want it! Typically I'll take
handheld snaps during a walk, then end the day with some serious tripod
shots at twilight, so the mirror lock is always on when I next want to take
a hand held shot.

Or the reverse, starting the day with some serious sunrise shots and ending
with a walk.

It's a bit like that with the focus and IS switches too, they are
always the wrong way. What would be really good would be a switch in
the tripod socket that switched the camera to tripod mode (MLU MF and
no IS) but that would be kyboshed if you had a mounting plate on the
camera :-(

Perhaps a better solution would be for the camera to go into tripod
mode when you inserted the remote release.

I think you just have to get into the habit of pressing all the
buttons to return the camera to hand-held mode when you take it off
the tripod. That's four button presses to change the mirror setting
and two switches to check each time.
--
Phil Cook, last hill: Angletarn Pikes via Beda Fell.
http://www.p-t-cook.freeserve.co.uk/May07/martin9.htm

Phil Cook wrote

Quoted message said:

I think you just have to get into the habit of pressing all the
buttons to return the camera to hand-held mode when you take it off
the tripod. That's four button presses to change the mirror setting
and two switches to check each time.

I think the answer is actually 2 cameras (!!) I'm hoping that when
I get the new kit sorted out I'll actually be able to hold onto the
30D, which will remain setup in walkaround mode with a longish
lens on while 5D will remain in landscape mode.

Chris

Paul Saunders said:

Phil Cook said:

I can't remember the name of mine, hang on while I find it so I can
google it...

Nodal Ninja. http://www.red-door.co.uk/pages/heads.html

Jeez! You paid £180 for that?

No I paid rather less for the old model. :-)

You could DIY. I was thinking about that but couldn't source the
screws and sockets I needed for the tripod mount without paying silly
money to have them shipped from the US and it is rather smaller than
the wooden version.

http://gizmodo.com/gadgets/digital-cameras/diy-10-panoramic-tripod-head-193456.php

Quoted message said:

I'll just carry on using the same technique I'm using now then, namely to
choose a flat foreground clear of foliage and suchlike that are bound to
cause parallax problems. I don't take that many panos anyway, and for the
kind that I take, PTGUI is excellent at warping small parallax errors to get
a perfect fit. I can't recommend PTGUI highly enough, it's made perfect
joins on older panos that I could never get to fit with any other software.

Yes, I'm using PTGUI too.

I have been having a play with full 180x360 degree panoramas. Using my
10-22 on the 400D I have to take four shots to cover the zenith where
the latest model Ninja I would only need one, but that is no great
hardship, I just chuck the images in PTGUI and voila!

Click and drag to have a look around my spare room <yikes>
http://www.p-t-cook.freeserve.co.uk/pans/bedpan2.htm

Quoted message said:

How fiddly is it to set up? I presume you've still got the hassle of
levelling the tripod perfectly? I suppose I might buy one if I ever have the
money to spare and nothing better to spend it on (that'll be the day!)

It's not fiddly at all. Using a ball-head on the tripod you just set
the bubble in the level to the centre and that's it leveled. For the
nth degree of accuracy you can use a level on the camera. As I said, I
keep it set up so that I don't have to assemble it each time and it
has click stops so I don't have to look through the viewfinder
worrying about the overlaps once I have it set up.

I have some spare money that keeps asking to be spent on a HP B9180
but I feel there are rainy days ahead :-\