Recommended settings for panoramic photos?

[limvo05]

Hello Experts,

I was wondering if there's such a thing as recommended settings for panoramic photos? By settings I am referring to focal distance, focal length, Tripod, L Bracket, Manual focus, manual settings, etc.?

Lastly, what would be the ideal number of photos needed for an optimal panoramic photo? 3, 5, 7, 9? How much overlapping would you be taking?

Thank you,

LV

[TCampbell]

All good advice on Waddizzle's list.

There is one more thing that *can* be an issue ... especially if you have things in the near-foreground as well as background (some landscapes are mostly just "background" so you don't notice the issue)... it's the issue of "parallax".

The common example is to tell people to hold their thumb up out at arm's length and close one eye and notice the position of your thumb relative to the background... then switch to the other eye and notice your thumb appears to shift (even though you know you didn't move it).

This "parallax" problem occurs becasue your "lens" (in this example it's your eye) moved.

When a camera is on a tripod and you slightly rotate it to get overlapping frames, the lens does move.  But there's a cross-over point in the lens as it focuses the light in to the camera (the image in the camera is always upside & backward).  That cross-over point is called the "nodal point".

You can do a Google or even a YouTube search for landscape photograhy and look for the term "nodal point" or sometimes called "no parallax point" and get lots of good tips on how to find that point.  

If you do not have foreground objects in the image, there's really nothing to appear to "shift" from frame to frame ... but if you do have foregorund objects, they can become problematic if you don't mount the camera in the right position.  

This point will be diffferent for every lens and probably for every focal length (if it's a zoom lens).  Some mounting rails to attach the camera to the tripod have index marks and photographers will note the correct position for each lens they use.  That way when they shoot future panos... they don't have to work out the location of the nodal point, they can just slide the mounting rail to the correct position.

[ebiggs1]

Tim, my man, you have a talent on how to make things more difficult than they are.

[TCampbell]

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@ebiggs1 wrote:

Tim, my man, you have a talent on how to make things more difficult than they are.

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Ernie,

I don't get to write the laws of physics.  I didn't invent the parallax problem.  In many (possibly most) cases, you wont need to worry about it.

It happens when (a) you have some reasonably close forground object and (b) a background (you generally always have a background so it's really whether or not you have a close foreground object) THEN you may have to worry about parallax.

If you do have a close foreground object, then that object will be in a different position (in each fame) relative to the background.  This has some complications because the foreground may be blocking out parts of the background or software can have problems trying to put the pieces together because the frames don't really match up ... sometimes the software tries to make it fit (and it looks like it tried to make it fit) ... but you don't get a nice quality result.

Parallax depends on the relative distance to the objects.  Unless you find the no-parallax-point there's technically always some parallax, but it's really small and not noticeable.  The closer foreground objects are in relation to the background (and the farther away your tripod axis is from the nodal point of your lens) the more parallax you'll observe and the more of a problem it becomes.  At "some point" you decide it's enough that you want to make it go away (by moving the camera forward or backward in the tripod saddle.)

But if this happens... better to know that the solution has already been worked out and there are tutorials in how to solve the problem by finding the nodal point for the lens.

Those making a living selling photography as art and shooting panoramic landscapes use this technique.

Again, just to be clear... I didn't create the parallax problem... nor am I the person who worked out the solution.  I'm just conveying the information.  I'll appreciate it if you don't blame me for complicating anything if you don't like how the universe works.

[ebiggs1]

"In many (possibly most) cases, you wont need to worry about it."

Bingo!  

[Mitsubishiman]

Practice - Practice - Practice

Full Size Download =

 **Link Removed per Forum Guidelines***

[TCampbell]

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@Mitsubishiman wrote:

Practice - Practice - Practice

Full Size Download =

 **Link Removed per Forum Guidelines***

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That... and a bit of time in Photoshop faking in the moon.

You might want to learn a bit of astronomy before trying to fake a photo that includes the moon.

[shutter-bug]

Perfect explanation for the process for perfect panoramas. There is nothing worse than realizing you messed up an amazing shot because you took shortcuts and now your image is distorted or will not stitch together. Your explanation is not difficult if you have more than just a beginner understanding of photography. Keep up the good work. 

[limvo05]

I took this last Saturday at USAFA. Setting f9.0 at 24mm. 8 Frames total.