leveling and panning a tripod & ball head question

[humminboid]

Darren: Nothing wrong with that panorama you posted!

Don't let equipment get in the way of a good photographic experience. Simple is best. Steady stance, smooth rotation of the adonis-like bod, don't press the presser like you were killing a particularly ugly bug, and overlap sufficiently. Follow through, no contortions, and use enough shutter speed.

Voila! Success!

Microsoft has a free download of a program that will do great panos, not that you need anything else.

I did a vertical pano of a totem pole, and even with the converging verticals, all was matched very well.

[Angelo]

Darren, I'm researching the panorama options to see what equipment is best without the heavy costs. I see that you had the same questions that I'm struggling with at the moment.
Were you able to work out your dilemma without spending too much money?

[groovyone]

Hand held.



handheld, but you can see some curvature:

[venchka]

Damn it. Lost a post. Make do with the links. Get a level and level the column. Keep it Simple!

Greg Miller Photography

Originally Posted by Greg Miller

Photoshop CS3's photomerge function is very capable (I could not say that for earlier version) for stitching. If you have CS3 it is free and it is simple to use and understand.

For landscapes and nature, I find parallax to be pretty much a non-factor. All of the panoramas in the panorama section of my web site were taken with a normal setup (just a tripod with a normal ball head) and no effort spent finding nodal points of the lens. The images were 100% assembled manually in Photoshop or by using photomerge. (yes, I have done multi row, multi column panos manually).

I also have a photo book being published later this year that is primarily panoramas. None of those images required any special gear either. The only extra piece of gear I use is a leveling head. This is not a requirement but certainly makes things easier.

If I really need to worry about parallax, I use a simple Wimberly plate that is long and has an Arca-Swiss clamp on it. This plate allows me to move the camera/lens forward and backward within my primarily clamp. BY looking thought the viewfinder while panning it is pretty easy to find the nodal point where parallax is eliminated.

Stitching digital images - Large Format Photography Forum

Have fun!

EDIT: Some of what I lost. Ball heads and 3-way heads are complimentary. One of each is probably the best solution.

[venchka]

Stanley lighted level. Works great in dim churches, early & late outdoors. I think I got mine at Lowe's.

[tuttlejr]

I just posted info regarding a camera level. Check it out.