The Panorama Factory

*Canada_Rockies* · 07-21-2008, 04:29 PM

I downloaded the Panorama Factory when I attempted a panorama with Elements 6, and got a ghastly result that required much reworking to be acceptable. I, of course, did everything wrong except use a tripod. I forgot to turn off AWB, AE and AF, while using the DA 12-24. At least I remembered to use it at 24mm and overlap some.

TPF is shareware, so you can try before buying. The output has a watermark in the center, but is otherwise fully functional. I ran my 12 (count 'em, 12) images covering 360 degrees through TPF in the trial version. The result astounded me so much when it was through that I coughed up the $85 for the full version. I don't do panoramas very often at all, but when I do them, I don't want to spend any time at all fixing my goof ups.

The horizontal piece of wood on the left is the rest of the bench on which my wife is sitting while trying to get a piece of dust out of her eye.

Click on the image to go to the image on my Flickr site. This is the direct output from the Panorama Factory - there are a few doubled areas when you examine the full size image. I wanted to show you what it would do with no user interference, er, help.

sewebster · 07-21-2008, 05:28 PM

Have you tried autostitch?

*Canada_Rockies* · 07-21-2008, 10:22 PM

Originally Posted by sewebster

Have you tried autostitch?

No, the only one I tried was Elements 6, and it would have required an awful lot of modification to the original stitching. It was way off base, and the uneven exposures of the wide angle weren't well done at all. I went onto the web and found the program that appeared (price be d****d) that would do it the easiest for me, and that turned out to be the Panorama Factory. I had to pixel peep to find out where it didn't do the stitching perfectly the first time around, and the exposure adjustments were pretty near perfect.

Do you use a program called autostitch?

Stratman · 07-21-2008, 11:18 PM

I have used auto stitch, and it seems to work well the few times I tried it. Give it a shot, nothing to lose

*Canada_Rockies* · 07-21-2008, 11:27 PM

Originally Posted by Stratman

I have used auto stitch, and it seems to work well the few times I tried it. Give it a shot, nothing to lose

Except that I have already downloaded, tried and paid for the Panorama Factory. I should have asked here first and saved the $$$ - but I am noted for being a little short in the farsighted area. Sigh.

sewebster · 07-22-2008, 12:33 AM

Hehe, yeah, I use and like autostitch, but if you've already got panorama factory working for you, that's cool!

Autostitch is a research-like program developed at my university (University of British Columbia). A basic version is available for free (they license the algorithm to other programs you can buy). There isn't really too much to do to adjust your panos, you just give it the files, and it does its thing. It seems to work really well in this "fully automatic" mode though, that's why I like it.

ghelary · 08-05-2008, 03:17 PM

Hi,

I tried the soft and on the merging part it works great, but I got horrible colors as an output. I think it's somehow related with the profile used, but I can't find where to tune this up.

I tried to keep on adobe RGB (98) profile, as it was it is stated in the TIFF, but no result.

Here one of the original TIFF :

Here the final result :

To me it looks like some uncontrolled sharpening and saturation push, but I can't get back natural colors, even when desaturating the TIFF file.

I took the following steps :
From iPhoto : export Raw (DNG) into TIFF,
From PFactory : open TIFF, merge them (into TIFF)

Check with iPhoto, colors are horrible compared with the original.

*falconeye* · 08-05-2008, 03:37 PM

Originally Posted by Canada_Rockies

At least I remembered to use it at 24mm and overlap some. [...] This is the direct output from the Panorama Factory - there are a few doubled areas when you examine the full size image.

My own experience is that AutoPano Pro and PTgui do the job best. The former is more automatic and fun to use, the latter has some more options. The built-in stitcher in Photoshop CS3 comes next but is limited on options (the CS2 stitcher is useless, though).

With any of these three, I found free-hand pictures shot in quick rotation a breeze. This made shooting a pano a routine task for me. Just go M and press the shutter more than once

IMHO, none of the three would have given such horrible stitching errors as the image you have shown above in your original post.

On another topic. While I like your pano I think it would have been even better if shot at 12mm and with each image being vertical. This provides for a more interesting overall aspect ratio and makes it more feasible to have a large foreground object in the final overall ultra ultra wide angle image

This is an example of a 200° pano made from 7 images taken at 12mm (and all pointing upwards and containing moving elements!):
Innbruck, Austria, Goldenes Dacherl

Click on the image to view it in a larger size

gamgee · 08-07-2008, 04:08 AM

Only PTgui was able to stitch this and only after a LOT of manual adjustment - other programs that lack such level of control just could not do it.
Autopano is second in my opinion.
Panorama Factory is also good.

thomasjmpark · 08-07-2008, 06:05 AM

Ive only ever used Autostitch, like Albert I was impressed with the 1st result so bought the package. I have had very little problem with it so far other than not really knowing what some of the settings actually do. When I crank some of these unknown settings up my computer shudders and splutters and then tells me it cant do it!

troywhite · 08-09-2008, 05:58 PM

Originally Posted by Canada_Rockies

Except that I have already downloaded, tried and paid for the Panorama Factory. I should have asked here first and saved the $$$ - but I am noted for being a little short in the farsighted area. Sigh.

You haven't wasted your dollars at all.

I use Panorama Factory a fair bit. Top program.

nixcamic · 08-17-2008, 02:33 PM

Pretty much any of the non-free panorama programs should work pretty well, and most of the free ones work pretty decently too. Personally I'm very fond of hugin, it's free, and has stitched together several pictures I've taken when I had no idea what I was doing, and that nothing else could stitch together. The worst panorama stitching I've seen so far is probably that included in photoshop, you think adobe would be able to include a decent stitcher with it.

*falconeye* · 08-17-2008, 04:59 PM

Originally Posted by nixcamic

The worst panorama stitching I've seen so far is probably that included in photoshop

As I have written in post #8, this holds true for Photoshop CS2.

The stitcher in PS CS3 is an entirely different story and actually probably one of the three top stitchers out there (lacking important options, though).

nixcamic · 08-17-2008, 09:50 PM

Originally Posted by falconeye

As I have written in post #8, this holds true for Photoshop CS2.

The stitcher in PS CS3 is an entirely different story and actually probably one of the three top stitchers out there (lacking important options, though).

Not on a photoshop bashing tour or anything, it's a great program that doesn't have any real competition in many areas, and may work great for tripod shop panoramas. However, even in CS3, when I try to stitch a handheld panorama with more than 3 shots, I tend to get errors all over the place, and since it isnt really possible to manually tweak stuff around and still maintain automation in other areas and perspective control, I can't seem to fix them. Unless I've just been missing a whole section of the CS3 stitcher dialog (also a possibility)

*falconeye* · 08-18-2008, 03:45 AM

Originally Posted by nixcamic

even in CS3, when I try to stitch a handheld panorama with more than 3 shots, I tend to get errors all over the place

This is an interesting user report. Most users, incl. myself, have reported great results from the CS3 stitcher. Personally, I found the quality for some stitches I tried (about 7-12 images handheld, typically) best of competition. Esp. the removal of objects moving between frames, like pedestrians in cityscapes. So, I wouldn't exactly call it "worst panorama stitching seen so far".

Nevertheless, I don't use it anymore. E.g., I miss the features to do 360° and Mercator projection (the appropriate projection for printing). I am now a happy PTGui user.