Topic: Photo Stitching

[GregJ]

This morning we had a brief clearing between storms and the horizon lit up with a beautiful sunrise.  I thought this would make a beautiful panorama. 

This is where I share my challenged photographic skills….      Each image looked similar as far as exposure, but when I stitched them together, the image on the right went dark.  I am using an old version of Photoshop Elements (7.0).  Sometimes it does a great job…..  Sometimes not so much…..

This is what I got....  http://skunkbayweather.com/Sunrise.jpg

So, I thought I would share my bad job of stitching and offer it out there for anybody that would like to make a decent panoramic image and share how they did it and what software you use….  I'm just curious and I am sure others would like to learn from the experts here....   

The images are at:
Cam1:   http://skunkbayweather.com/Cam1.jpg
Cam2:   http://skunkbayweather.com/Cam2.jpg
Cam3:   http://skunkbayweather.com/Cam3.jpg

Greg

[Bushman]

Other than the colour issues, nice stiching.  My son uses Lightroom - makes amazing panoramas.  Tutorial here:  https://photographylife.com/how-to-create-a-panorama-in-lightroom

[GregJ]

Thanks Bushman....  One of the things I want to learn from this thread is "how many moths I am going to have to let out of my wallet" to get some software that will do a good job... .  A quick perusal of Lightroom is pretty impressive...

Greg

[GregJ]

I thought I would add a panorama time lapse as an example of the challenges of aligning 3 independent cameras.  The light level can be totally different on each cam at times as evident in the video....  A real challenge for stitching software....  I wish I could find a batch processor that could stitch these images before I render the time lapses....  But the again I wish I could win the Lotto....   



Greg

[Bushman]

Have you looked at PTGui or Easypano?  they batch process. They are not freeware but I am sure you could find an equivalent. BTW, my kid ONLY uses RAW for stitching; something no typical IP camera supports AFAIK.  He claims it makes for much better panos.

[GregJ]

Thanks for the batch processing tips...  Actually, my cams are not IP....   They are a digital camera, but old enough that they don't support RAW.  Plus, they take 3,500 images each every day.....  In RAW format, I don't think I could buy a hard drive big enough to support that....   

Greg

[Randall Kayfes]

Greg,

Try this one as it has lots of extras, also works with videos and it is free.

http://research.microsoft.com/en-us/um/redmond/projects/ice/

Randall

[SLOweather]

I run into the uneven exposure problem even with the same PTZ camera and a script to move it and grab each image. Of all the things that Panasonic allows control of in the that camera, exposure isn't one.

I thought I would add a panorama time lapse as an example of the challenges of aligning 3 independent cameras.  The light level can be totally different on each cam at times as evident in the video....  A real challenge for stitching software....  I wish I could find a batch processor that could stitch these images before I render the time lapses....  But the again I wish I could win the Lotto....   



Greg

[broadstairs]

I use Hugin see http://hugin.sourceforge.net/ which is free and very good. It is available for Windows, Mac and Linux. Well worth a try and may cope with some differences in exposure.

Stuart

[yahtah]

Very nice, Greg! I'm always amazed at the breadth of your view, and that certainly would pose some special needs for balancing the exposure across the view. I'm also amazed at how well synchronized your timelapse videos are. That must also be quite the feat!

Stuart, thanks for the tip on Hugin, especially knowing it runs on Macs. (I am Mac based.) I am currently using a 5 year old Photoshop I was able to get at a deep discount because I worked at a college at the time. I'm now considering my options as I contemplate getting a new machine.

Greg, you may look into taking a class locally which might qualify you to purchase P$ pretty cheaply. I bought my package which included InDesign and Illustrator (which I never use), or even get a killer deal on Lightroom. IFIRC, I spent under $200 for everything.

[GregJ]

Thank you all for your comments.  I really appreciate it.  Sorry I have been off-line for a bit.... I am retiring at the end of this year and have a couple of projects I HAVE to finish.  In other words, I have not had a lot of spare time.  Fortunately, one of my projects is a complete "reinstall and upgrade" of the weather stations, cams and weather websites at 3 of our stores...  A ton of work, but a ton of fun too....  Then I'm back into heavy duty Power Pivot SQL SharePoint MDX Analysis Services...etc....and training my replacement....  In other words... I only have to be smart for another 30 work days...  

I am really looking forward to looking into all these great suggestions....

Thank you all....

Greg