Archived posting to the Leica Users Group, 2011/04/19

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Subject: [Leica] OT: Technical Question- Panning vs WA Lens
From: afirkin at afirkin.com (afirkin at afirkin.com)
Date: Tue, 19 Apr 2011 06:20:47 -0400
References: <687547.86382.qm@web82108.mail.mud.yahoo.com> <009d01cbfe02$963b4ed0$c2b1ec70$@earthlink.net> <p06230903c9d28a67d846@[10.0.1.4]> <182666.74713.qm@web82104.mail.mud.yahoo.com>

Bob, I have a fairly light 40mm for the blad: CFE lens I think. Is yours
the 'monster' one? This 40 is smaller than my 50 f2.8

Cheers

Alastair> Thanks to all who have given thought to this question. Sorry to
have been
> missing from the thread; lots of other work this afternoon.
>
> As the Esteemed Dr. Ted would say, and as Henning implies, stop talking
> and go
> shoot! ;-)
>
> So that I will. I will go out this weekend, after I get the rail to adjust
> for
> the nodal point, and take some images panned with the 80 and with the 40.
> Then
> we'll see the differences (I will post).
>
> Also, in answer to Herb's good question, Photoshop and other programs do
> seem to
> accommodate for the lack of perfect flatness.
>
> The Arcatech GP bullheads both (the "s" and non-"s") have a 25lb capacity.
> I
> have no hesitation using it with the Hassy.
>
> So thanks again everyone. I'll share the results.
> Best,
> Bob
>
> PS - My guess is that I'll get up there having tried to plan this whole
> weight/flexibility thing out and, after the first day of hiking with the
> Hassy,
> I'll end up taking only the Lumix with me the rest of the time. I can hear
> Tina
> chortling now...
>
>
>  Bob Adler
> Palo Alto, CA
> http://www.rgaphoto.com
>
>
>
>
> ________________________________
> From: Henning Wulff <henningw at archiphoto.com>
> To: Leica Users Group <lug at leica-users.org>
> Sent: Mon, April 18, 2011 6:17:34 PM
> Subject: Re: [Leica] OT: Technical Question- Panning vs WA Lens
>
> This topic is a lot more complex, the answers are a lot more varied and in
> the
> end, almost everything is possible.
>
> First, you have to determine what type of 'panorama' you want.
>
> You can produce a wide angle photo of basically three types:
>
> Type 1: rectilinear, like a good wideangle lens produces. What your 40
> Distagon
> would produce, or an Xpan produces.
>
> Type 2: cylindrical, like what a Cirkut camera produces or what a Noblex,
> Horizon, Widelux (manufacturer: Panon) or Roundshot produces.
>
> Type 3: Fisheye.
>
> Each has advantages and limitations.
>
> Type 1 cannot have a diagonal angle of view of 180?; in fact, as a one
> shot more
> than 125? is difficult and you need lenses like the Hyergon to achieve
> them.
>
> Type 2 can have any horizontal angle of view you want, including over 360?
> but
> not more than about 110 or 120 vertical.
>
> Type 3 can show over 180? in any direction, and 360? around the
> circumference.
>
> But:
>
> Type 1 starts showing distorted 3-dimensional objects in the corners when
> you
> get over about 70? diagonal, and that gets quite severe when you're over
> 100?
> diagonal.
>
> Type 2 avoids the above, except for 3 dimensional objects close to the
> zenith
> and nadir when the vertical angle is over 70?, and horizontal lines off
> the
> center get bowed.
>
> Type 3 has varying magnification to get it's job done, so rectilinear
> distortion
> is quite severe, and the objects at the images's edges is often too tiny
> to be
> of much use.
>
> You can use Photoshop, or other more sophisticated stitching programs such
> as
> RealViz Stitcher to produce any of the above. You can also stitch multiple
> frames in a pattern like 3 across and 3 down to get hi-res images from
> lo-res
> cameras.
>
> Another topic:
>
> Using a proper pan setup becomes more important, the closer you are to the
> closest part of you scene, and finding the nodal point becomes more
> important
> when there is a large difference in close and far image points, and the
> closer
> you are to the close point.
>
> Finding the correct nodal point is quite simple, and should not be taken
> from
> diagrams or calculations as it's easier and more accurate to do visually.
>
> With an SLR or live view camera, it's easier still.
>
> Set your camera up so that the lens axis is over the rotational axis of
> your pan
> head. Aim your camera at a thin stick that is about 2 feet in front of
> your
> camera, and that has a scene behind it. Rotate your camera so that the
> stick is
> at the left side of your field of view. Note where the stick is in
> relation to
> the background scenery. Now rotate the camera so that the stick is near
> the
> right edge of your field of view. If the vertical rotation axis is through
> the
> nodal point of the lens, the stick will not have shifted with respect to
> the
> background. If it has shifted, move the lens backward or forward over the
> rotation axis until the image does not shift with respect to the
> background.
> That's it. Note the numbers, or make a scratch, or whatever as that
> position for
> the lens is the correct one. Calibrate the setup for each lens you will
> want to
> use. If you insist on using a zoom lens, calibrate at each focal length
> you want
> to use, as the nodal point will shift, often drastically.
>
>
> As you might guess, I'm very interested in this and have, besides my 8
> lenses
> for Leica that are 21mm and wider, the Xpan with 30mm, Horizon 202, Noblex
> 150U,
> Roundshot 220/28, a lot of shift lenses and fishey lenses, Hasselblad SWC,
> a
> couple of CamboWide cameras and quite a number of large format lenses that
> cover
> between 100 and 125?.
>
> In any case, Bob, you can use whatever lens you want to stitch. If you
> want a
> given angle of view, using longer lenses will mean more exposures to
> capture
> every part of the solid angle, will mean more chances of mistakes (like
> forgetting a certain part of the mosaic), more chance that something in
> the
> scene will change while you do your series and will give you a larger file
> in
> the end with more detail. For your purposes, I'd suggest you go for 3-5
> shot
> panoramics if you are going to stitch them all horizontally, and go for a
> 'flat'
> stitching or 'cylindrical', and go for a 2x2 or max 3x3 if you are going
> to
> stitch them in multiple rows and colums, and do all of this with the
> widest lens
> you are taking. And practice beforehand. :-)
>
>
>
>
>
> At 12:55 PM -0700 4/18/11, Red735i wrote:
>> The problem is that you will be pointing the lens in different direction
>> with Panning.... which means that the image perspective is different for
>> each frame....
>> Perspective is always dependent on distance to the subject, but too, in
>> that
>> definition is that the subject is always in the same relative angle to
>> the
>> camera.  When you pan, this breaks the rules...perspective changes.
>>
>> Do you remember the old Circuit cameras that made images from a moving
>> lens?
>> ( More modern examples are the Panon and Widelux Cameras...).....
>> The particular perspective could not be copied compared to stitching....
>> because at each and every image location ( think in terms of a swinging
>> lens
>> that moves in precise increments) is perpendicular to the lens....
>> Whereas
>> in WA lenses, the extreme right and left of the image is actually quite
>> an
>> angle from the optical axis of the lens....
>>
>> The results are different....  ( not better, not worse, just
>> different)....
>>
>> The most interesting thing about this topic is that the swinging camera
>> approach is most close to what your brain actually sees through your
>> eyes...
>> you usually pan your head when you look at a scene...  rarely do you use
>> peripheral vision, which is more like a WA lens .....
>>
>> OTOH, 99.99999999999% of the population would never know the
>> difference....
>> and of those that do, 99.9999999% would not care.
>>
>> But don't let an architect catch you......
>>
>>
>> Frank Filippone
>> Red735i at earthlink.net
>>
>>
>>
>>
>> I am trying to understand if I can take a wide angle photo using
>> panning/stitching with a normal lens that would look like it was taken
>> with
>> a WA lens. My specific question is if I can get the same coverage and
>> perspective using an 80mm Hassy lens and panning/stitching 3 or 4
>> overlapping shot as I could with the 40mm Hassy.
>>
>> If so how would this best be accomplished? Standing back further with
>> the 80
>> than with the 40 or just at the same spot with the panning. Would the
>> image's perspective be the same?
>>
>>
>>
>>
>> _______________________________________________
>> Leica Users Group.
>> See http://leica-users.org/mailman/listinfo/lug for more information
>
> --
>       Henning J. Wulff
> Wulff Photography & Design
> mailto:henningw at archiphoto.com
>   http://www.archiphoto.com
>
> _______________________________________________
> Leica Users Group.
> See http://leica-users.org/mailman/listinfo/lug for more information
>
> _______________________________________________
> Leica Users Group.
> See http://leica-users.org/mailman/listinfo/lug for more information
>




Replies: Reply from rgacpa at yahoo.com (Bob Adler) ([Leica] OT: Technical Question- Panning vs WA Lens)
In reply to: Message from rgacpa at yahoo.com (Bob Adler) ([Leica] OT: Technical Question- Panning vs WA Lens)
Message from red735i at earthlink.net (Red735i) ([Leica] OT: Technical Question- Panning vs WA Lens)
Message from henningw at archiphoto.com (Henning Wulff) ([Leica] OT: Technical Question- Panning vs WA Lens)
Message from rgacpa at yahoo.com (Bob Adler) ([Leica] OT: Technical Question- Panning vs WA Lens)