Panoramas
 
 

This is a page of links related to Panoramic Photography.  The links have been listed in good faith and cannot accept any responsibility if they do not perform as expected.  If you feel that a link should not be listed here, please contact me at hugh@hugha.co.uk and I will investigate.

 

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www.360hugh.co.uk  

www.360hugh.co.uk

 

Visit Hugh’s world of panoramas …

A site that is being developed to relate specifically to panoramic photography to show the potential of this media and how it is able to convey much more than words or single images.

If a picture is worth a thousand words then a panorama must be worth ten thousand, especially a 360° (or spherical) panorama where you can look all around and in any direction you wish to.

     
Link to PTGui  

PTGui

PTGui is panoramic stitching software for Windows and Mac OSX. Originally developed as a Graphical User Interface for Panorama Tools (hence the name), PTGui now is a full featured photo stitching application. Use PTGui to stitch any number of photos into a panoramic image.

     
Link to Pano2VR  

Pano2VR is a panorama software to convert panoramic images into the Quicktime VR (QTVR) or Macromedia Flash 8 and 9 format.Pano2VR runs nativly on Microsoft Windows, Mac OS X (Intel/PPC), and Linux.

Pano2QTVR is a panorama software to convert panoramic images and Object Movies into the Quicktime VR (QTVR) or Macromedia Flash 8 format.  Pano2QTVR runs only on Microsoft Windows and it depends on QuickTime.

     
Link to PanoramaStudio  

PanoramaStudio

Creates seamless 360 degree and wide angle panoramas.
Stitches your photos to huge panoramic images within minutes:

     
Taking Panoramas  

Taking Panoramas

If a picture is worth a thousand words then a panorama must be worth ten thousand, especially a 360° interactive panorama where you can look all around, but how are they created?

     
Link to PDF File - Spherical Panoramas for HDS Point Clouds  

Spherical Panoramas for HDS Point Clouds

This presentation has been prepared for the capture of Spherical Panoramas for use with data scanned with Leica Laser Scanners, but the information is also useful to anyone wishing to create Spherical Panoramas in their own right.

To view this file you will require Acrobat Reader.  If you do not already have a copy, visit the Acrobat site to download the version for your operating system.

     
Link to PDF File - iSTAR Panoramas for HDS Point Clouds  

iSTAR Panoramas for HDS Point Clouds

This presentation has been prepared for the capture of iSTAR Panoramas for use with data scanned with Leica Laser Scanners.

To view this file you will require Acrobat Reader.  If you do not already have a copy, visit the Acrobat site to download the version for your operating system.

     
Panoramas for Colouring HDS Point Clouds  

Using Panoramas to add Colour to HDS Point Clouds

The "native" colours for an HDS (High Definition Survey) point cloud are based on the reflectivity of the surface the measurement is made to and are determined by the intensity of the received reflected laser beam.  Whilst this information is useful in its own right it is often desirable to have the points with their “natural” (RGB) colours.  This is an overview on using 360° Panoramas to add natural colour to an HDS Point Cloud.

     
Using Thermal Images to Create Interactive Panorama  

Using Thermal Images to create a 360° (Interactive) Panorama for use with HDS Point Clouds 

 

A report on an investigation into the possibility of using images from a Thermal Imaging Camera to create a 360° (Interactive) Panorama to generate the Cube Images to attach the colours from the thermal images to an HDS (High Definition Survey) Point Cloud.

     
Link to Leica Geosystems High Definition Surveying  

HDS (High Definition Surveying) is the combination of EDM (Electromagnetic Distance Measurement) and electronic Angle measurement to rapidly measure a very large number of 3D points to Surveying and Engineering precision.  Leica Geosystems' product family includes powerful and versatile time-of-flight ranging systems such as the Leica ScanStation C10 and ultra-high-speed, phased-based ranging systems, such as the new Leica HDS6100.  Leica Cyclone and Leica CloudWorx software provide a full set of Leica-quality geo-referencing, surveying, and CAD integrated engineering tools for creating accurate deliverables and managing large scan data sets with unparalleled ease.

     
HDS (High Definition Surveying) Blog  

Welcome to the HDS Blog

This website provides a forum of knowledge and useful information for users of Leica Geosystems High Definition Surveying TM (HDS).Whether you’re designing a modification to a complex refinery piping system, surveying a site or documenting a historic building, you need reliable measurements. High Definition Surveying TM scanning systems and software by Leica Geosystems provide you with precise data of what is there.

     
Keith Prowse - Your Official Hospitality Partner  

Keith Prowse Hospitality

To give their clients the best insight into the majority of events, Keith Prowse have put together Virtual Tours of some of their most popular hospitality venues allowing you to explore the facilities and gain a feel of the service you can expect when you book corporate hospitality with Keith Prowse.

Panoramic Photography by Hugh Anderson ~ www.360hugh.co.uk

     
Link to Lantern House, Ilfracombe  

Lantern House, Ilfracombe, A Regency Retreat by the Sea

A wonderful North Devon holiday home; perfect for families and large groups, comfortably sleeping up to 12 people with ample living space, stunning sea and harbour views, and a delightful enclosed, sheltered garden.

Contains 360° panoramas created with the Sigma 8mm lens and PTGui.

     
Link to the Ancient Technology Centre  

Ancient Technology Centre, Cranborne, Dorset

Panoramic images at the Ancient Technology Centre in Cranborne, Dorset, inside the Earthouse, Roundhouse and Viking Longhouse.

Contains 360° panoramas created with the Sigma 8mm lens and PTGui.

     
Create your own Panoramas  

Create your own Panoramas

Panoramas are straightforward to create from images from just about any camera, with the help of low cost software.  This page is intended to encourage you to create your own Panoramas.

     
nctech - the iSTAR® is a precision engineered panoramic camera like no other camera  

nctech

The iSTAR® is precision engineered like no other camera and its construction pushes the very limits of today's manufacturing and lens technology.

Fully automatic, instant, 360 degree panoramic camera delivering high resolution spherical images in seconds!

     
Link to Nodal Ninja  

Nodal Ninja

Nodal Ninja is a specially designed spherical tripod head allowing the photographer to adjust a camera and lens so the “entrance pupil” (front nodal point) is exactly over its correct rotational axis. Their web site states "The lightest smallest panoramic tripod head on the market today. Nodal Ninja is a solution for both amateurs and professionals alike that seek precision, portability, reliability as well as top notch support."

     
360Precision - Precision Panoramic Heads  

360Precision

 

Precision Panoramic Heads - Panoramic heads and software for Virtual Tours, Landscape Photography, 3D, Computer Generated Imagery, High Dynamic Range Imaging and Gigapixels.

     
Red Door VR Limited   Red Door VR Limited UK are UK stockists and Business to Business distributors of Nodal Ninja, Giottos, Panosaurus, Promote® Control, VR panoramic photographic hardware, equipment and software, and adapters for use with Leica HDS Scanners.

Red Door VR Limited are an exclusively a Mail Order supplier based in the UK (Leeds and Lancaster), and their website is their  virtual showroom.  They are a small specialist company, who pride themselves on their level of product knowledge and customer satisfaction.

     
Determining the Nodal Point of a Lens   Determining the Nodal Point of a Lens

For a lens to be used effectively for Photographic Intersection the location of the Front Nodal Point must be accurately determined.

     
Making use of the Nodal Point of a Lens   Making use of the Nodal Point of a Lens

Comments on making use of the knowledge of the behaviour and location of the Nodal point of a lens for various Panorama and Photographic Intersection applications.

     
The case for the Nodal Point  

The Nodal Point

The case for the Nodal Point and usage of the term..

     
Investigating Different Lenses for 360° Panoramas  

An Investigation into the use of different Lenses for 360° Panoramas

A comparison of fisheye and rectilinear lenses for producing 360° Panoramas and importing the Cube Images into Leica Cyclone.

     
Focus and Exposure   Focus and Exposure

Comments on getting the correct Focus and Exposure for making Panoramas.

     
Lens Angle of View   Lens Angle of View

The Angle of View of a lens, or what the lens "sees", is useful for calculating the number of shots and their orientation for 360° panoramic photography.

     
Using a Normal Lens for Spherical Panoramas  

Spherical Panoramas with a Normal Lens

Using a normal (rectilinear) lens for Spherical (360°) Panoramas.

     
Pano Pro Panoramic Optic  

pano pro lens

Largest, therefore sharpest, panoramic mirror lens available today.  Retractable mirror for protection and portability.  Full glass patented profile shaped mirror, built to aerospace and laser standards, with a full glass central flat optic.  There has to be no compromise of quality at any stage in the design process.  Suitable for both static and motion (video) VR.

     
Link to SpheroCam HDR   SpheroCam HDR

Spheron’s SpheroCam HDR camera has re-defined full spherical photography and the term (HDR) High Dynamic Range imaging. It’s able to capture 360º panoramic 50 mega pixel images within a single scan operation, and is the first camera able to measure real world luminosity values, from the darkest shadows to the brightest sunlight.  

     
Link to PT4Pano  

PT4Pano

A new site (January 2010) in English and German offering tools and information relating to Spherical Panoramic Photography.

     
Link to Panosaurus  

The Panosaurus

The Affordable, fully spherical, Panoramic Tripod Head.

     
Link to Manfrotto  

Manfrotto

The Manfrotto pan head permits the photographer to take sequential constant-angle shots around a single axis with his or her camera either in portrait or landscape position, and with the nodal point of the camera lens in line with the centre of panoramic rotation to ensure that parallax effects do not cause problems during image stitching.

     
Manual for External Camera Workflow  

Manual for External Camera WorkflowManual for External Camera Workflow

After scanning with HDS, a camera, fitted to a special bracket, replaces the scanner. The bracket is placed on the same tribrach the scanner used. A fish eye lens mounted on the camera is positioned on the bracket so that the focal centre of the lens matches the optical centre of the scanner.

     
Getting Started Guide for PTGui  

Getting Started Guide for PTGui

PTGui is a flexible and comprehensive software with excellent Tutorials on their web site, but I found that some users have found that this guide useful.

To view this file you will require Acrobat Reader.  If you do not already have a copy, visit the Acrobat site to download the version for your operating system.

     
Creating a "Tripod Cap" for a 360° Panorama  

Creating a "Tripod Cap" for a 360° Panorama

There are excellent 360° panoramas where the camera appears have been suspended in space, but I found it easier and much less time consuming to use a "tripod cap" to mask out the tripod at the nadir of the panorama, but found little help on the Internet as how to do this, so created this guide.

To view this file you will require Acrobat Reader.  If you do not already have a copy, visit the Acrobat site to download the version for your operating system.

     
   
     
  Nodal Ninja Panoheads
     

360 Precision - UK Supplier of Panorama related Hardware and Software

     

Red Door VR Limited - UK Supplier of Panorama related Hardware and Software