Panoramic Photography: What You Need & Tips for Shooting Panoramas
Vložit
- čas přidán 24. 07. 2024
- Photographing a Landscape or Nightscape scene in panoramic format isn't Rocket Science, but having an understanding of how to do this will allow you to capture scenes you’d never imagine you’d be able to take. Photographing a scene in panoramic format is also a great way to display the most of the scene that you’re viewing to your audience.
This tutorial is Part 1 of a 3 part series that I’ve created on Panoramic Photography, and in this tutorial I’ll discuss and explain what gear you need and some tips for shooting panoramas.
Part 2 explains how to shoot panoramas and how to maximise you success rate when taking panoramic images.
Part 3 I’ll be using Adobe Lightroom Classic to edit a set of images and then use the following three programs (Lightroom CC, Microsoft I.C.E and PTGui) to show how these programs work in stitching a set of images into a panoramic image.
Video Time-line
00:00 Panoramic Photography: What You Need & Tips for Shooting Panoramas
00:09 Introduction into Panoramic Photography
01:24 Why photograph a scene in panoramic format
04:11 Basic photography gear needed for take panoramas
07:22 Using a Tripod and a L Bracket to take panoramas
14:29 Using a Tripod, L Bracket & a Arca/Swiss extension plate to take panoramas
16:06 Using a Tripod, L Bracket, Arca/Swiss extension plate plus panorama rotator head to take panoramas
18:54 Using a Tripod, panorama rotator head and panorama tripod head to take panoramas
Social media Links!
Facebook: bit.ly/39TcPEO
Gear used during this video:
Nikon D500
Tokina 11-20mm f2.8 lens
Manfrotto 055XPROB Tripod
Vanguard Altra 264AP Tripod
Samsung Galaxy S10
BOYA BY-WM4 Mark II 2.4G Wireless Microphone
Filmic Pro App: bit.ly/3bsKN3i
Editing Software used:
Photo editing: Adobe Lightroom CC Classic
Photo editing for stitching the panoramas: PTGui
Video editing: Cyberlink PowerDirector 18
Brilliant. Well explained Charles. I might look into getting a panoramic rotator.
Thanks Wes, a rotator certainly makes shooting panos much easier.
Mate, thank you for this explanation you have catered for us all and I appreciate the effort taken to allow us who have limited knowledge in this topic to have options for our budgets that we may have to deal with. Take care and keep up the great work
Thank you very much for telling me that you liked my video, I know what's it's like to have to watch what I spend on Photography gear, so this is why I show people the range of products available.
Please subscribe to my channel if you haven't done so yet.
Awesome detailed video!!! thank you very much
Glad you enjoyed it!
SUperb video.. i have been so confused as to what gear yo use,,now I know.... .thank you for taking the time to make this.. very very helpful..
My pleasure and glad it helped you out.
Thanks, my friend Charles, your presentation has been very useful, now we just have to go out into the field and put your recommendations into practice. I appreciate his time and effort in sharing his experience. Greetings from Lima, Perú.
Thank you very much for telling me that you liked my video. Please subscribe to my channel if you haven't done so yet.
You're welcome and thank you very much for telling me that you liked my video and appreciate the time & effort that goes into doing these types of video tutorials.
Please subscribe to my channel if you haven't done so yet.
A very big THANK, to you, sir, for this very good even educational tutorial how to safely set up an excellent panorama set of equipment with the needed right nodal-point and all else! Very good and most help tutorial! Wishing you all the very best, dear, sir! Greetings from Sweden!
You are very welcome, glad it was helpful to you and thank you for letting me know that you appreciated this video tutorial
fantastic tutorial!!! thanks a lot.
Glad you liked it!
Thank you for this video, it is well organized and put together - really helpful!
Thank you so much for your comment, glad that this tutorial was able to help you
@@CharlesNPhotography Would you be so kind and share your opinion whether the panorama tripod head from your presentation is suitable for taking 360 degree virtual reality like panoramas, like in this link bellow pannellum.org/documentation/examples/multiresolution/. If not, what kind of panoramic tripod head would you recommend? Thank you in advance!
@@icsiszer I can take 360 degrees panoramas, but not like you want. That being said, some people use a 180 degree fish-eye lens to capture panos like that, so with a fish-eye lens and a pano rotator you could do it.
@@CharlesNPhotography Thank you for your asnwer!
@@icsiszer You're welcome, hope it was of help to you
great job Charles...........thanks
Very welcome, and thanks for letting me know
Very in depth explanation, excellent? 👍👍
Glad it was helpful! IF you haven't watched this video yet, it will help you ever more. czcams.com/video/v6OWmsp6jIs/video.html
This was refreshingly clear and to the point. I am so glad to have found this video. Thank you!
Glad it was helpful!
Thank you by the explanation. I take a lot of panoramas here in Brazil, and I just buy a PH25 Promaster head an I am looking the tutorial.
Nice here you! Have a new member now!
Ricardo Beccari
Thank you so much for your comment and letting me know that you like my videos
So very helpful!
Glad it was helpful!
Thanks this help me out a lot thanks again
Glad it helped and thank you for letting me know
Charles this was an awesome video and i really learned a lot. You are an excellent teacher. Thank you so much.
Thank you very much Ken. for your comments and for subscribing to my channel. It's very much appreciated.
Great explanation. Thank you. Really helpful to see the different gear.
You're welcome and thank you very much for telling me that you liked my video and the way I explain things. Please subscribe to my channel if you haven't done so yet.
GREAT VIDEO :) THANKS !
Glad you liked it!
Thank you.👍🏼
You are welcome!
Thanks you for great video
My pleasure!
You are a very good instructor of Panoramas. You have given a fabulous commentary that is so clear and understandable that I cannot wait to follow up on your instructions!! Question: One of the other Pano tutorial channels suggests the use of a fluid head. Can you comment on what advantages and cons photographers need to be aware of if thinking of going to that fluid head suggestion?
I've never used a Fluid Head as A Panorama Rotator allows you to set the precise increments between each photo.
I am going to be doing a Tutorial in the very near future on using a Syrp Genie head and a Rotator.
I am very excited about seeing your upcoming tutorial on the Syrp head and rotator!!!! Another question for you, can you suggest what gear i could use in-order to start taking panoramas with my I-Phone mated on a tripod. How can i deal with centering the I-Phone lens and finding the nodal point?? Of course i would want to use the phone in portrait mode. Thanks for any and all your helpful suggestions.
I found in my gear what I think is the perfect pano setup. I have the 58mm f/0.95 Noct Nikkor which I use on a z6II body. First this lens allows me to rotate the camera around the lens center point so there is no need to compensate for offset when I go vertical. Secondly the tripod mounting hole on the lens is positioned right over or at least very close to the nodal point so there is no parallax without having to do any shifting. Finally my Sirui pan/tilt head has pano at the base and at the camera mount so I don't have to level the tripod if I'm on an uneven surface. I just have to level the camera mount which correlates perfectly with the levelling indicators on the z6II. Now for the problem. A horizontal line across a significant portion of the frame in either the upper or lower third of the frame bends. I think it's because as I pan, I am aiming at that line from different angles and I am getting perspective distortion. Can anything be done about this?
I'm a bit confused about how you're setting up your gear?
"I don't have to level the tripod if I'm on an uneven surface. I just have to level the camera mount which correlates perfectly with the levelling indicators on the z6II. "
A level tripod is just about a must if your shooting a wide panorama.
"Now for the problem. A horizontal line across a significant portion of the frame in either the upper or lower third of the frame bends. I think it's because as I pan, I am aiming at that line from different angles and I am getting perspective distortion. Can anything be done about this?"
This is most likely happening because the tripod isn't level!
I level my tripod and make sure that the X and Y axis are level. side to side and front to back.
If I add a ball-head on top of my tripod I also make sure that the X and Y axis are level as well, or what you are describing will happen!
I also cannot understand how you could get Perspective Distortion using a 58mm lens.
You normally get Perspective Distortion when using Wide-Angle Lenses.
I am thinking that the surface on which the camera is panning must be absolutely level. My tripod head has two panning rings: one at the base of the head which is directly mounted to the tripod platform. the second at the Arca mounting bracket right under the camera and this panning ring can be leveled independently from the base panning ring. I used this head to replace my RRS B-55 ball head because of the two independently leveled panning rings feature of the Sirui head.
So if the tripod is on an uneven surface, I don't need to level the tripod platform by manipulating the legs or using a levelling head. I just need to level the camera using the xy tilt controls and then pan from the upper panning ring which is perfectly level. If I want to tilt the camera up or down like you do when you compose, then the upper pan ring must be tilted and so in this case, I will have no choice but to level the tripod platform and pan using the base panning ring since the upper panning ring surface is tilted. I have done both and they work fine. except for the slight bend I get in horizontal lines. I need to work on that. I really enjoyed your three pan videos. Your explication of nodal point location made me think of the 58mm lens which I otherwise would never have thought of for panoramas. Just by luck (I think), the nodal point sits above the lens tripod mounting hole! Thanks for the quick reply.
Here are two test pics. The first with a level camera and panning using the upper ring with no attempt to level the tripod. The second with the camera tilted down and panning using the base ring with the tripod platform perfectly level. Both have some horizontal curvature.
www.flickr.com/photos/194240747@N06/53372357507/in/dateposted-public/, www.flickr.com/photos/194240747@N06/53373283861/in/dateposted-public/@@CharlesNPhotography
Good video...explains many questions i had. You need to add links for equipment featured.
Ok will do
Thank you Charles, very informative.
Thank you very much Steve
Thank you so much for sharing all this information. It has been a great help for me. Following your instructions I purchased A NEWEER Arca Swiss adaptor, a NEWEER slider and an L-Bracket. This should be good for starters. What are the brand names of the pano rig and rotator you are using in your videos and where can I find them?
Thank you and good luck in your panorama photography
Great video mate, what is optimum focal length for pano’s, what would you recommend?
That all depends on what you're you're trying to capture. If I'm taking a pano of the Milky Way I shoot as wide as I can so between 11>20mm on a crop-sensor or 14>35mm on a full-frame camera. But if it's a landscape pano then I try to limit the focal length to what is intertesting in front of me, so between 18>35mm on a crop-sensor or 24>50mm on a full-frame camera.
Thank You Charles for this very informative video. Just starting in Panorama photography
Thank you for the compliment, and I'm grateful that this tutorial has been helpful to you.
Great video, finally someone explained all this gear properly!
Thanks for the comment Mike, I try to explain things in as simply as possible and not use to much camera jargon which at times can confuse people new to photography.
Thanks for this excellent explanation !
I am starting with panoramic photos. This is a big help.
Glad it was helpful!
Thank you so much. Your video has helped me to clear my confusion about panorama head setup.
Good to hear that, and thanks for commenting, much appreciated
Thanks!
No problem!
I can watch it the whole day of tutorial. Very good at explanation in details!
Awesome, thank you!🙏😉
Thank you for the very good presentation. Can u advise a reliable make / model for the pano head also where canon buy the rig. On amazon most are not currently available. Thanks.
www.ebay.com.au/itm/142638732166
www.amazon.com.au/HAWEEL-Degree-Panoramic-Aluminum-Release/dp/B0821GHVQ6
@@CharlesNPhotography Hi Charles thank you very much for the leads. I will certainly look these up. Do you have any experience with the Nodal Ninja, Benro or Neweer systems.
Hi Charles. Just found your videos on pano photos and love them. I purchased a rail, L bracket and a rotator that looks identical to the one in the video. When you attach the rail to the rotator, it looks like you are sliding the rail into a arca Swiss connection. My rotator does not have that arca Swiss connection. Did you add something to accept the rail? Thanks
My rotator came with the arca/swiss clamp. Some don't. But you can get them on eBay or Amazon
Great video thanks. What's the brand and model of the indexed rotator that you use?
This is very similar to what I have. www.ebay.com.au/itm/124290507871
Very informative
Thank you very much and glad it was helpful!
thank you mister
Thank you for commenting, much appreciated
Thanks, Charles, nice video tutorial, one question I like to work with 24-70 /2.8 on my Nikon Z6 with what setup I must work on... ? can you help me ... I have Rollei panoramic head and a tripod.
You don't need anything more, you have a good combination of gear to use to get great panoramas. Have you watched this video on how to shoot panoramas. This part of the video shows how to use gear just like what you have. czcams.com/video/v6OWmsp6jIs/video.html
Great video. Thank you for that. A couple of questions...
1. Could you link some examples of the hardware you would suggest? I have been looking at the fanotec NN6 with rotator system but it is pricy.
2. Are there any websites that give the nodal point on lenses? Had a search and couldn't find any. I shoot with full frame e mount.
I'll try and look for links, I know there's websites that lists the Nodal point for most common lenses
dr-clauss.de/en/applications/nodalpoint-lenstypes
or type this into Google "lens nodal point database"
This is my setup when I shot panoramas, PH-720A Panoramic Ball Head
(a) With "weird" optical designs to get rid of optical flaws or bend the laws of physics, the question is if a lens's nodal point is a constant, or it might change when you focus or zoom. It could be in front of your lens, even, not "in" it.
- Now let's find the nodal point empirically.
(b) use a tripod with head and nodal slide. If you only shoot single row panorama's, you do not need the complicated 3D (multi row) head from the video. I have a 3D head, but generally only take a modified ballhead and nodal slide with me. All "mounts" I have are Arca compatible quick release (QR). My ballhead is a relatively cheap magnesium (very light considering its size) and very stable Manfrotto (MF). This MF head has a panorama base, but we need the panorama on top. And the MF head has a MF QR, not Arca. I replaced the complete MF QR by an Arca compatible pan disc from Sunwayfoto that came with a screw that fits the MF stud on the head's ball. So now I can level with the light ballhead and pan in a level plane. And with the Arca L-bracket, I can easily swap portrait and landscape. You get the point. Alternatively, you can buy a "leveling base" that is mounted between tripod and ball head. Or inverted ball heads, or, or. We need level panning.
The moment you want a vertical single row panorama, you only have to tilt the pan plate 90 degrees and you're all set. But go multi-row and you have to get the lens (camera) in the nodal point in both rotation planes.
- The DIY in (b) was because of "investments" already made.
(c) focal point is easy to find. Take two thin sticks, thick enough to remain visible in your viewfinder and stick one in the ground, vertically, at a bit farther than the camera's minimum focusing distance. Then place the second stick farther away, in line with the first and the camera, so it is not visible because it is behind the first one. Now rotate the camera on the pan base (that remains level) and you may notice that the second stick becomes visible. This means you are not in the nodal point. On the nodal slide, move the camera forward or backward and repeat this from larger to smaller increments until the second stick is invisible in all rotation angles of the camera/lens. Record lens settings (zoom, distance), the position in which the camera is mounted and note the nodal slide markings front and back.
Blooming brilliant. I wanna tru my old kit. What's your view on the Bogan Manfrotto 3514 QVT R w/ 3088 L bracket & leveling plate? Whay is the ideal closest I xan be? I wanna do architectural interior panoramic If so. Nikon D3S w/ Nikkor 35/f2D
What's your view on the Bogan Manfrotto 3514 QVT R w/ 3088 L bracket & leveling plate? I can't find any information on this gear, could you send me a link?
What is the ideal closest I can be? I wanna do architectural interior panoramic If so. Nikon D3S w/ Nikkor 35/f2D?
In my view 35mm is a bit restrictive for interior architectural panoramas, 20mm would be a much better choice, unless you're going to be taking multi-row panoramas.
@@CharlesNPhotography my bad. It’s a Bogen Manfrotto 3415. It’s old from the late 80s at least but I do have the box & manual somewhere. I’ll follow up.
I do have the 20/f2.8D.
Great video, Charles. Very clear explanation of how to do it. You've encouraged me to buy a nodal rail and give it a go. Recently, a couple of UK CZcamsrs have made videos saying that they're not that necessary, don't waste your money and that you can get great results even handheld. Strangely enough, they were both in the mountains where parallax is less of an issue. I won't be in the mountains much and realise that in cityscapes or similar, it could be more of a problem. These CZcamsrs have now lost a lot of credibility with me.
I'm picking up my nodal rail tomorrow and just settling down to watch the rest of your excellent videos on the subject.
I'm already thinking of projects and I also have a 24mm tilt/shift lens. Now, that could be interesting.
Thank you so much for your reply, I really appreciate it. Yes, you can shoot hand-held in certain situations, but using a nodal rail to make sure that there's no parallax error is very important for cityscapes. This is a great tutorial on shooting panoramic cityscapes.
Panorama Cityscape Tips and Tricks - czcams.com/video/XE9WCXUs4Tc/video.html
Hello Charles I'm very interested in land scape panoramas. I'm a bit confused to whch panoramic tripod head to purchased. There are so many to choose from. I have a Nikon D850 with 24mm - 70mm. I like the height with the one you have in the video however I can't find it on line. Could you please provide the model number. Thank you
Yes, absolutely amzn.to/3gkrGxa
Can you please tell us exactly what equipment I would need to shoot a panoramic I have a Benro Mach3 TMA38CL which takes 16kg /35.3Ibs. I am at that age where I can get quite confused I’m wanting to do the top click middle click down click / move to the left or right and take shots again this time bottom middle top them move again etc I know I Ned a rail I am wanting the Manfrotto 500AH self levelling fluid head and a thing that goes click exactly where I want to over shoot 1/3rd or so for each frame but after watching utube you can get very confused and no one is telling you what you need the filming doesn’t get close enough to write down the equipment. I didn’t mean to go on but clearly I know what I want I just don’t know how it all goes together and whether I’ve missed anything out.
I hope you can help I’m not one for doing things on the cheap if that’s what it cost then that’s what it cost for the better photo my plan is to surprise my son I’ve always talked about photography which I used to do when there was 35mm film I had an Olympus OM10 camera with only 3 lenses 28 50 and 70-200mm … back in the day if you had a camera with 3 lenses you were rich lol
I hope you can help not sure how I could private message you all the best Steve UK
You would need a setup similar to this one, which is very similar to what I use when I do multi-row panoramas. This way all your photos wile match up perfectly.
This video shows you how I use a Panorama rig to shoot multi-row panoramas czcams.com/video/v6OWmsp6jIs/video.html
Thanks for the very nice explanation. I still have a question: Couldn't you just use the nodal slide with the ball head for the multi-row pano? Because, essentially, you are not even using the ballheads movement with the setup explained here (for multi-row panos). My idea would be to mount the camera (using a large L bracket) vertically on the nodal slide and by changing the ball head's angle I would then adjust the angle for the multiple rows. wouldn't that also work?
Many thanks!
Not really, has the reason for using the Pano rig is so that the the lens isn't tilted in different directions, which could lead to distortion differences between rows of images, and you would still need a index rotator to make sure all the rows line up perfectly
@@CharlesNPhotography but the lens *is* tilted in different directions when doing multirow, once up, once horizontal and once down. And tilting it around the nodal point using a ballhead would give the exact same result as using a pano rig? (of course, you'd have to make sure that your camera is level and turns around the central axis of the tripod) or what am I missing?
@@Nicolas-eo7lo Yes, the lens is tilted in 3 different directions, but the nodal point doesn't change. also because the pano rig has a index rotator all three sets of images will line up perfectly.
@@Nicolas-eo7lo I also made a video tutorial on how to shoot panoramas, and I demonstrate why we don't tilt the ball head when taking panoramas.
Here is the link to the help you understand why we don't do this.
czcams.com/video/v6OWmsp6jIs/video.html
what is the make or company that makes that last panorama gear in your video
720 Degree Panoramic Head Max Load Capacity 10kg amzn.to/3gkrGxa
This video shows you all the gear I use when taking panoramas czcams.com/video/0KXFAZg4pWo/video.html
What is the degree on the l side of the bracket used for compared to other bracket that does not rotate
It shows the amount of tilt in degrees 0>90 left or right
Can anyone recommend a good panning head- one that clicks? I bought one but it wasn't good- could barely hear or feel the clicks. My FLM CB32F ballhead pans but I think the head directly under the camera works better??? I'm still new so any tips are appreciated. I also use an L-bracket.
Try this two.
Haoge PA-64T or Fotga DH-55D
@@CharlesNPhotography Thanks but a big NO on the DH-55D. That is the one I am returning. It is not good at all. There is almost zero audible click and you cannot feel when it is at a stop. I've since read this is a common complaint and not just me. The PA64-T looks interesting. Do you have it- can you HEAR and FEEL the clicks? There isn't much info. available about it online. To be safe I could go with RRS but it's $$$.
Very helpful explanation. Thank you.
Glad it was helpful!🙏
Do we have a panorama mode in dslr or we just shoot in manual and stitches them together ?
Nikon DSLR's don't have a panorama mode, you have to shoot in Manual or Aperture Priority Mode.
tx. great detail explanation!
Glad it was helpful!
Charles, what size node rail do you suggest - they have 100mm, 150mm, 200mm (I have a 24-70 lens)
I think a 150mm is a good size, but saying that I have just bought a Newer 200mm rail for AU$22 of ebay and it's very well made.
By the way I should add that I have just finished making 2 new videos on Panorama Photography, one shows how I capture panoramic images of cityscapes and the other is an updated video of how to eliminate Parallax Error when shooting panoramas. These videos will be published very soon.
Do you have any brand recommendation for panaramic rotator ?
This is very similar to the one I used before buying my Panorama rig www.ebay.com.au/itm/174336145797
Which one is better for easy access ?
Which ones are you wanting me to compare?
Very informative. However some of the best panoramas seem to be hand handheld with telephoto lenses and no attention to parallax (look at Alexandre Deschaumes page on Vast Photos website).
Then he would be well versed in shooting panoramas, has shooting a pano hand-held with a telephoto lens isn't the easiest thing to do.
Wieso hast du eine Nikon Kamera mit dem Griff an der linken Seite? gibt es das ? Oder fotografierst du in einen Spiegel seitenverkehrt also
Yes, when this video was recorded I was using my mobile phone and it would flip the screen. That's why it looks different 😔
What brand is the Panoramic Head? Thanks
This is what I have. PH-720A Panoramic Ballhead
Hi my panoramic rotator is not fitting on my vanguard tripod? It’s loose.
IS the clamp on the tripod a Arca/Swiss clamp?
@@CharlesNPhotography Hi I took off my ball head and screwed the rotator thing in ty. :)
Why don’t the lens makers put the Nodal Point on the lens in the manufacturing process?
If it's a zoom lens, the focal point moves depending on the focal length that you use.
I know about zoom lenses. What I mean is there are several pieces of glass in lenses. Which piece of glass is the nodal point. I know it is where the top of the subject crosses through that piece of glass and hits the bottom of the sensor. As does the bottom of the subject crosses going to the top of the sensor.
This is brilliant, we’ll done
Thank you very much 🙏
why don't you use a GoPro or Insta360?
The resolution from either a GoPro or Insta360 is much lower than most dslr's or mirrorless cameras
Charles shouldn't you be showing people how to actually set the nodal point using two objects (vertical poles) and adjusting on the nodal rail until the background pole disappears/
I have already done a video on this topic and plan to update the information in the next month.
Panoramic Photography: What is Parallax Error czcams.com/video/Wqrgplwv6V8/video.html
@@CharlesNPhotography My apologies Charles I responded hastily. I have seen many explanations of parallax and yours is so easy to understand. You are indeed a gifted communicator! One question - a ball head better than a fluid head? I would like to explore panoramas but don’t want to spend too much on equipment. Do I need the type of setup you have or is there an easier way to do this? Again, thank you for such a clear explanation.
Aargh ... 'Nodal point' ...
Yes, once you understand the Nodal Point, everything else is easy.
@@CharlesNPhotographyBut which 'Nodal Point'? There are two of them ... ;)
@@garyrowe58 There's only 1 nodal point of the lens. If the lens is a zoom then the nodal point does more slightly. So for example if you take pano with your lens at 18mm, 40mm and 80mm, then you have to work out where the nodal point is for these three focal lengths.
@@CharlesNPhotography There are 2 Nodal points in a lens, the front and rear nodal points. The part of a lens that you want to pivot around, to avoid parallax, is the 'Entrance pupil'. Yes, this is usually (and wrongly) called 'the nodal point' in photography, so much so that the term has stuck ... but that doesn't alter the facts ;)