Interior Photography - Pano's?

[Andy M]

My wife and I have recently finished a full renovation of our new apartment and I'm looking to take some shots before it gets more of that 'lived in' look. I had a very brief attempt at shooting our kitchen and bathroom, but I'm far from happy with the results.

Excuse the sloppy processing (I went a bit OTT with the old vibrance and saturation on the kitchen photo  ).



Any advice would be gratefully received

[Panopeeper]

What you see here (apart from the overexposure) is known as parallax error, caused by the fact that as you rotated the camera, the posotion of the entrance pupil (which is the projected location of the aperture) changed. Therefor the scenery has been captured from slightly different angles, causing the relative position of objects change in the frames.

If you make a search for parallax, you find all possible information and more, even on this forum.

If you see nodal point, then you are on the right place. That is the incorrect but widely used term for the ominous point (the correct one being entrance pupil).

[brianchapman]

Sometimes you can do better with other software such as Hugin but all software will likely struggle with the parallax issues and especially with interiors.  At a minimum get a bubble level for your flash shoe and make sure the camera is perfectly level for each shot.  While it won't let you rotate around the "nodal point" the way a panoramic tripod head would it may get you better results...not sure about interiors though...

[Panopeeper]

At a minimum get a bubble level for your flash shoe and make sure the camera is perfectly level for each shot

That has nothing to do with the problem. There is no need to shoot level, you can shoot in 45° as well. Shooting level is only to ensure, that you don't have to crop away much of the pano.

[bill t.]

Even when the camera rotations in the right place, monolothic interior surfaces are always a PITA.  And you're using a very wide lens in cramped quarters, every panomakers worst nightmare.

Best practice is to take more control points where there are problems, possibly reduce the number of control points where there aren't.  One trick I have used in smooth interiors like bathrooms is to put colored Avery Label sticky dots on surfaces lacking detail, this can speed up control point selection later on.  When you put the labels on sort of pinch and twist up one side so there's a unattached flap available for easy removal.  Rubber stamp 'em out when you're stitched.  4 or 5 dots across the front part of the bathtub would be very helpful.

Also be sure to check out the various projections your stitcher program offers, although most look very similar some will stretch the vertical dimension more than others.

[BernardLanguillier]

Even when the camera rotations in the right place, monolothic interior surfaces are always a PITA.  And you're using a very wide lens in cramped quarters, every panomakers worst nightmare.

Yes, but any decent stitcher (PTgui or Autopano Pro) would able to stitch these scenes without any problem if the camera had been positioned on top of its entrance pupil point. These are really easy cases.

Cheers,
Bernard

[haefnerphoto]

Andy, I happen to have a Panoscan camera for sale that would make this a snap!  Unfortunately, it's pretty expensive (around $24,000.00).  Why don't you use an extremely wide lens and take one exposure.  Attached is an example, taken with the 28mm Mamiya.   Jim

[attachment=10300:kitchen_1_078_dc3.jpg]

[haefnerphoto]

Andy, I happen to have a Panoscan camera for sale that would make this a snap!  Unfortunately, it's pretty expensive (around $24,000.00).  Why don't you use an extremely wide lens and take one exposure.  Attached is an example, taken with the 28mm Mamiya.   Jim

[attachment=10300:kitchen_1_078_dc3.jpg]

[Hoang]

Andy, I happen to have a Panoscan camera for sale that would make this a snap!  Unfortunately, it's pretty expensive (around $24,000.00).  Why don't you use an extremely wide lens and take one exposure.  Attached is an example, taken with the 28mm Mamiya.   Jim

Yeah, I think the second shot looks really good, except that I'm not a big fan of the odd distortions in the panorama.

[Panopeeper]

I'm not a big fan of the odd distortions in the panorama.

It is a rectilinear projection of a wide angle view. There is no distortion whatsoever in that shot; perhaps the lack of distortion appears unnatural.

[Dave Gurtcheff]

I have had good luck with outdoor panos using a Canon 24mm Tilt/Shift lens. I shoot one left, one center, and one right, camera does not move, only the lens elements are shifted then stitched together. May not be wide enough for what you want. If you do not own one, you could rent one.
Good luck
Dave G in NJ
BTW---beautiful remodelling jobs!  

[Panopeeper]

I have had good luck with outdoor panos using a Canon 24mm Tilt/Shift lens. I shoot one left, one center, and one right, camera does not move, only the lens elements are shifted then stitched together. May not be wide enough for what you want. If you do not own one, you could rent one.

Outdoor panos are in most cases much easier than indoors due to the larger distances.

I am not sure of this, but I guestimate (based on their appearance), that the entrance pupils of the Canon T/S lenses are at the front of the tilt/shift adjustment points. If so, then it is not of use against parallax error.

[Hoang]

It is a rectilinear projection of a wide angle view. There is no distortion whatsoever in that shot; perhaps the lack of distortion appears unnatural.

It is just too wide, with the horizontal surfaces becoming curved, but thats just what I think.

[Andy M]

Thanks for the advice offered

As I mentioned, these were just quick and sloppy shots (each given the exact same PP settings, hence the overexposure). I think going the single shot route is probably the way to go. I will also look into borrowing/renting a 24mm TS-E.

Andy, I happen to have a Panoscan camera for sale that would make this a snap!  Unfortunately, it's pretty expensive (around $24,000.00).  Why don't you use an extremely wide lens and take one exposure.  Attached is an example, taken with the 28mm Mamiya.   Jim

[attachment=10300:kitchen_1_078_dc3.jpg]

Thanks Jim, but $24k may be just a little OTT for my 'quick snaps'

Love your shot by the way!

[Jonathan H]

If you're going to rent, might as well just go for a 14L instead of stitching multiple exposures with the 24 TSE.  For your purposes (family shots of your home, albeit of higher desired quality than the typical post-remodeling "snaps").  The 14L is WIIIIIIDE.

The camera was maybe 18-20 feet from the climbers for this particular shot.

[BernardLanguillier]

Outdoor panos are in most cases much easier than indoors due to the larger distances.

I am not sure of this, but I guestimate (based on their appearance), that the entrance pupils of the Canon T/S lenses are at the front of the tilt/shift adjustment points. If so, then it is not of use against parallax error.

I guess that the idea here is to keep the lens at exactly the location, the shift results in the body/sensor being moved. There is no parallax in this case.

With a D3, this is an easy way to get a 20MP square image with very little post-processing needed. There is no value in terms of shooting time/iage quality compared to cylindrical panos, but you don't need a pano head which can be valuable at times.

Cheers,
Bernard

[Panopeeper]

I guess that the idea here is to keep the lens at exactly the location, the shift results in the body/sensor being moved. There is no parallax in this case

This would be a great solution, if there was a collar on the lens. However, the images do not show any possibility to mount a collar on these lenses.

[Kirk Gittings]

Outdoor panos are in most cases much easier than indoors due to the larger distances.

I am not sure of this, but I guestimate (based on their appearance), that the entrance pupils of the Canon T/S lenses are at the front of the tilt/shift adjustment points. If so, then it is not of use against parallax error.

Not sure what you are getting at with this statement. I make my living largely with this lens shooting exteriors and interiors. I extensively do shift stitching with both. It makes stitching exceedingly easy because there is no parallax error when the shift is used by itself to create the tiles.

[Panopeeper]

I extensively do shift stitching with both. It makes stitching exceedingly easy because there is no parallax error when the shift is used by itself to create the tiles

I asked someone to verifiy this (actually, with an 80mm MC Arsat TS lens): the entrance pupil is between the tilt/shift location and the body, i.e. my guestimation was wrong (if the Canon lenses have like design).

The consequence is, that the entrance pupil location remains unchanged if the camera is mounted on the tripod and the front part of the lens is moved by shifting, thus the parallax problem is completely avoided.

My post was intended to Bernard, who suggested that the shift results in the body/sensor being moved. This is not so, and in fact if it were so, then the parallax error would come back (i.e. if one could mount a collar on the lens front part and fasten that on a tripod).

[BernardLanguillier]

This would be a great solution, if there was a collar on the lens. However, the images do not show any possibility to mount a collar on these lenses.

The well know best practise here is to use a L bracket, with marks Y mm left and right of the center point, Y mm being the exact shift amount you dial on the lens.

Cheers,
Bernard