UKC

What's the best programme for stitching together panoramas - i.e. several pictures to create one large picture.

I've heard Paint Shop Pro is quite good.

I have got Photoshop, but I find it so confusing to use, I just give up!

Does anyone have any tips on the best programme to use? or can anyone tell me how I would do this in Photoshop?

Any help / comments welcome,
Thanks!

In reply to rginns:

http://www.cs.ubc.ca/~mbrown/autostitch/autostitch.html

Autostitch

In reply to ebygomm: Thanks!

Has anyone done this with Photoshop?

cheers

In reply to rginns: aye, but unless you're finding the automatic ones not precise enough for you doing it in photoshop takes a lot longer.

In reply to rginns:

Photoshop is probably the best tool - but I guess you need to know what you are doing.

See 'All of Bowden Doors' here for an example of what is fairly easy to achieve:

http://upload.pbase.com/image/86624370/original


Chris

In reply to ebygomm:

WOW!!

Just got 3 pics of the cuillin from glen brittle, all at different angles, put them in, 10 secs later one perfectly seamless image!

In reply to schloosh:

example here

http://i21.tinypic.com/jqnbkh.jpg

In reply to Chris Craggs: that's the ticket! I want to acheive something like that, I'm not a rocket scientist, but have you got any tips?

cheers! I'm pretty new to photoshop you see.....

In reply to rginns:

I use Hugin (google it) - absolutely no complaints - I love it. It manages 16-bit input and output files and is really easy to use. It does a superb job, and best of all its FREE!

In reply to ebygomm: this is excellent!

In reply to rginns:

Pick a day of nice flat light -
Move a bit between each shot -
Learn to use Layer Masks -
Invest a bit of time -


and Bingo!



Chris

In reply to Chris Craggs: cheers Chris

In reply to Chris Craggs & rginns


Photoshop CS3 has an incredible new set of easy to use tools that blows away other stand alone stitching programmes.

It is awesome.

In reply to rginns:

I use Arcsoft Panorama maker, about $20, but dead easy and quick.

In reply to rginns: I used photomerge command in cs3 for the only pana I have made, worked really well, only thing I struggled with at first was making sure the white balance was the same on all images.

In reply to ChrisJD:
Oh to have CS3....

CS2 doesn't have any of the fun stuff (stitching/HDR etc)

You've got to do it manually!

In reply to rginns: I have done this a few times in Photoshop! The problem lies in the way you take the shot in the first Place! To make a true panoramic picture with stitching you need to try to rotate the camera on the sensor! this makes the stitching process much easier! Ya really need a tripod with a specific head to do this! ( expesive! )
As for not doing this and using photoshop, it will allow you to sort these problems out on screen. I will post some details when back from work if you would like?

In reply to rginns: Hugin for me with smartblend plugin......its free and VERY good.

photoshop takes me f**king ages

In reply to hindu: its all there is cs2, i couldn't tell you were or how, but it is as i've done it! think its under image or filter??? but i've got cs3 now, so can't check for you.

for stiching, i think its called real viz sticher, i've not tried it myself, but its meant to be very good.

www.7dayshop.co.uk used to do a cheap pano head, but they stopped doing them before i got round to buying one.

with all these things, ie HDR/stiching, using a tripod when you capture the image will save you ages in photoshop or whatever.

In reply to Snax:

From Photoshop CS onwards -

file > automate > photomerge

CS3 is the best version but all are pretty good

In reply to Henry Iddon: Thats the one!!! cant complain with what photomerge can do! Ya just have to mess on with it to get the different layers to mesh and blend properly! Just have a play around with it, not like ya guna be deleting anything ya aint already got!! ps7, CS2 and CS3 all do it!

In reply to jay666: its called a nodal point compensator, which made me giggle anyway.

In reply to ICE: Thats the one! ya could get one made if you realy wanted to make it that bit easier for ya self!
Just take plate of ali and then ya just need to know the depth of the sensor in comparison to the threaded mounting point on your cameras base. It aint guna be the prettiest thing but rather that then £300 for a manfrotto!

In reply to rginns: I use Picasa (free) - dead easy step by step on-screen instructions, good results.