Pano and HDR?

[DavidsStudio]

I'm headed to the Grand Canyon in about 4 weeks and got the idea that it might be fun to do shots that combined boht panoramas and the high dynamic range (HDR) tchniques I have been looking at in other threads. Anyone have any experience with that combination or any ideas about whether it will work?

David

[TXhummer2]

I've only thought it out, have yet to try. Since my Fuji E550 brackets 3 photos a max of EV+/-1, I'd tripod take each photo bracketed. Stitch the EV0 ones, stitch the EV1 ones, stitch the EV-1 ones, then HDR combine. Only downside is what distortions the stitch does. In that case, your only option would be to HDR each bracketed photo, convert to TIF, stitch. In either case, bracketed photos panned is still the first step.

[DavidsStudio]

Originally Posted by TXhummer2

I've only thought it out, have yet to try. Since my Fuji E550 brackets 3 photos a max of EV+/-1, I'd tripod take each photo bracketed. Stitch the EV0 ones, stitch the EV1 ones, stitch the EV-1 ones, then HDR combine. Only downside is what distortions the stitch does. In that case, your only option would be to HDR each bracketed photo, convert to TIF, stitch. In either case, bracketed photos panned is still the first step.

I was leaning to doing the HDR combine first. Thought that way there would essentially be one set of stitching (1HDR x 1HDR x 1HDR) rather than

1x1x1
1x1x1
1v1v1

and then combine them using HDR. Guess I'll have to try both to see which produces the best results.

[jeffkohn]

I would stitch first but make sure you're using a stitcher than allows you to reuse the control points for each image set so that you get the exact same stitching for all three images. Then you can combine those to an HDR and you hopefully shouldn't have alignment problems.

If you combine to HDR first, you're more likely to have uneven tonality at the stitch seams, especially in skies, because of the way the HDR tone mapping tries to enhance local contrast (especially if using PhotoMatix).

One other word of advice, you'll make things easier for yourself if you stay away from wide-angle lenses for doing HDR panos, because the amount of "warping" needed to correct for geometric and perspective distortions makes it more difficult to get a perfectly seamless stitch, and when you start talking about HDR's that becomes even more true.

[DavidsStudio]

Good points Jeff. This looks like it is going to be as much of a learning exercise as a photo project.

David