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08-10-2013, 04:22 PM | #16 |
I have some limited experience with the Gigapan Epic Pro. There are some things to be aware of when using one. Firstly, I suggest you have a good computer, with plenty of cache and hard drive space. I don't use mine currently and won't again until I have replaced my computer as it's now no longer able to process the very large files. I would also recommend some research to check out the detail in the images posted on the Gigpan website: GigaPan | High-Resolution Images | Panoramic Photography | GigaPixel Images The stitching software is good, it's easy to use and generally accurate. It isn't perfect though. so be prepared for some of the misalignment problems that aren't always apparent until you zoom in. If they're not too bad some careful cloning should fix that problem. Some other issues to be aware of with the Epic Pro. It's bulky and awkward to carry. I fixed that by picking up a Thinktank Retrospective 30 bag (not a cheap option but a great bag). It's still a bit awkward with a backpack, tripod and the second bag. Maybe a better solution if you're keen on the Epic Pro is to look at getting the dedicated backpack that Gigapan sell as this will reduce the load to the backpack and tripod. The camera and lens can be set up in the cradle and carried in the backpack. It will wobble a bit if it's windy, amplifying wind vibration into a shake. This may limit your places to set up from time to time, but little else. If you don't bump the unit whilst it's doing it's thing it's stable, so this is not a show stopper but something to remember before you get home with hundreds of blurry photos. The instructions were downloadable and necessary when I first picked up the Epic Pro. There's several menu layers so you need to be familiar with these so you can do adjustments quickly once on location. This is important if you're working in changing light conditions. For example. If you are capturing a landscape/cityscape etc at sunrise and your 120 image will take 15 minutes to capture all the frames, the intensity of light will alter from one end of the frame to the other whilst the images are being captured. You might go from underexposure to overexposure and maybe unusable photos as you need to set focus aperture and shutter before you start To use auto settings means you will have changes with the images and make it unusable. Resetting the exposure in the camera has to be matched on the Epic Pro and you need to be able to do this quickly, which it can be when you know how. I've tried a range of different lenses. The best ones I've used are the FA50 and the DA70. When stopped down they are sharp across the frame and do not vignette badly if at all. I've played with some of the Zeiss lenses to trial them with open apertures of f2, but the vignetting can be quite pronounced making them less useful. Maybe some judicious dodging/burning could fix this, but getting the right lens is simpler and easier. I've used the DA*300, and whilst this is brilliant, particularly for zooming in, it adds to the time it takes to get your images due to the small field of view compared to the 50 & 70. This means I recommend you pick up a second battery if you go with a Gigapan, and focus on what the light is doing so you don't get caught out when you're halfway through 200 frames. An important step when setting up any panorama system is to deal with the Parallax Error of not having the lens rotating around a single point. This will create problems for you that you may not be able to remedy in post processing. But no problemo, here's a great guide: FINDING THE NO-PARALLAX POINT that details the problem and how to fix it. I built the sight example shown on the webpage and was able to identify and record the correct mounting positions for the lenses I would typically use with the Epic Pro. This is part of that prior preparation thing to do before leaving, as well as setting the field of view dimensions to ensure correct overlap of each frame. So the unit has some quirks to work through to get the best use out of it, but there's something special about joining hundreds of photos and creating an image that can be printed at 300dpi and is 10m long. Not that I intend to do that, but you could if you wanted to. Don't forget there's other less expensive panorama options too, so you don't have to go with a Gigapan. I like it and can't wait to start using it again. It's a single solution to panoramas for me and whilst I can recommend them I do suggest you research all the panorama mounts available and see what's out there. My efforts with the Gigapan have been quite modest so far, you will find some of them here: Gigapan - a set on Flickr Most of these images were taken with the 50 & 70, though the Byron Bay Lighthouse is taken with the 300. The other lens used was an example of trying a Zeiss with an open aperture of F2 and getting more of a medium format look to the image. You will notice some things with these images. The two images of the Brisbane Town Hall have lots of errors in them. This I believe is due to not setting the lens correctly in the cradle so that it would rotate centrally around the entrance pupil. You will also notice what happens when people and the Gigapan come together. I will point out that the Lighthouse image is only a small portion of the full frame. This was again before I was mounting the camera and lens correctly for parallax error so there were many issues with misalignment between frames, most noticeable in the foreground. Mind you, alignment of frames is always going to be an issue with waves. So I extracted the centre portion which is probably only 8 frames by 12 frames to get this image. Some other points. The proximity of objects will also decide whether you may need to address misalignment's in post. Again, most of these issues were before I was setting the camera & lens up to counter parallax error. A rush job in fixing a misalignment can be seen on the Shorncliffe jetty image. Now, the reason I'm writing this post is because I believe I have an example of what you're looking for to answer your question as to whether the Gigapan can give you what you want. Amongst my shots in the Flickr set linked above, is a Gigapan image of the Woody Point Jetty taken just after sunset. Compare it with this one of the same jetty taken from the same position a few minutes earlier using a wide angle lens at 11mm: Woody Point Jetty with an ND400 | Flickr - Photo Sharing! I like the wide angle field of view, but the large file size captured with the Gigapan and Limited lens is great to zoom into and leaves the detail captured in the wide angle for dead. And for me that's what the Gigapan is about, so for all the work they can be in getting it right, it's worth it in the end. Apologies for the novel, but I hope it answers at least one of your questions. | |
08-10-2013, 09:03 PM | #17 |
Hey guys, wow, thanks for all the replies What great advice everyone gave. I'm glad I asked the question before wasting my time and money on something that didn't address my concerns. Thanks for sharing your experiences as well. Now, the reason I'm writing this post is because I believe I have an example of what you're looking for to answer your question as to whether the Gigapan can give you what you want. Amongst my shots in the Flickr set linked above, is a Gigapan image of the Woody Point Jetty taken just after sunset. Compare it with this one of the same jetty taken from the same position a few minutes earlier using a wide angle lens at 11mm: Woody Point Jetty with an ND400 | Flickr - Photo Sharing! Btw, would the Epic 100 work for the K-5 with a small lens, like a 50mm? The Epic Pro is so much more expensive, and the K-01 is not that much smaller than a K-5? | |
08-11-2013, 12:44 AM | #18 |
I don't know mate, I assume the reason Gigapan steers people with DSLR's to the Epic Pro is due to weight & size. A quick scan in the FAQ section of the Gigapan webpage only references the following: There are two general requirements for a camera to work with the EPIC:
There are alternatives to a Gigapan robotic panorama mount though. The link here: Heads - PanoTools.org Wiki lists heaps of options, and is a good start point. Sorry I can't be of more help than that, but best of luck with whatever direction you take. Hooroo mate | |
08-11-2013, 06:29 AM | #19 |
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08-11-2013, 08:36 AM | #20 |
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Good Morning, There are quite a few approaches you can follow towards achieving your goal. Back in 2005, I took a trip up to Alaska and had a small point and shoot that I stitched (by hand) extensively with. I did come away with some great results. This pretty much pushed me to a dSLR and here I am. I was having a discussion last week with a friend over lunch - who just happens to have a 6x6 view camera. His opinion is that for fine photography, you still can not beat film (one of his scanned images consumes 2GB). But as I told hm, size and price wise - my K5 is the most I can afford - both in dollar$ and especially in size and weight. Just how much are you going to carry - really. I started down the wide angle lens route - 10-17FE, 16-45, 12-24 along with the 8-16. Each for specific reasons. Each lens is excellent in its own right, and has specific reasons to be used in their own unique way. One of the best reasons for ultra wide angle (UWA) lenses, is for consistency across the final image. If the sun is setting - most times it is difficult to capture the entire stitched set together with consistent lighting across the captured result.
There really is no easy, simple, inexpensive solution to high resolution, sharp images of large objects or vistas. Last edited by interested_observer; 08-11-2013 at 08:56 AM. |
08-11-2013, 06:55 PM | #21 |
Thanks so much for your sharing It's good to know there are so many options out there. We went to Taroko National Park in Taiwan. I wish we knew about the whole pano thing back then! | |
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