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Forum: Post Your Photos!
07-08-2011, 06:41 PM
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I have someone interested in a 60' x 9' single print. While I can do 44" x 9 foot panels can anyone recommend a company inside the US that is able to do quality prints this size in one piece?
thx
Bill
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Forum: Post Your Photos!
07-02-2011, 07:11 PM
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It really showcases the Pentax - I did same with D3X and no comparison.
thx
Bill
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Forum: Post Your Photos!
07-01-2011, 10:15 AM
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Your absolutely right - although the 300mm is sharpest at this focal length there is still DOF issues beyond this. I preferred having the sharpness inside f/9 depth of field rather than moving to f11 or smaller.
thx
Bill
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Forum: Post Your Photos!
06-29-2011, 04:57 PM
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Forum: Post Your Photos!
06-25-2011, 06:47 PM
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almost 300 snapshots - folks are finding all sorts of things :-)
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Forum: Post Your Photos!
06-22-2011, 06:26 PM
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Testiment of the quality of the camera and lens.
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Forum: Post Your Photos!
06-21-2011, 07:04 PM
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While this isn't a 3D image if you happen to have a pair of the red blue glasses around try them on and view this image - it does take on somewhat of a 3D appearance - at least for me 8-)
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Forum: Post Your Photos!
06-13-2011, 05:29 PM
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Currently working the Portugal stuff. I'm close to 10,000 shutter actuation's in less than 60 days which is a worry given the 50K expected life of the shutter - plus I've done heaps of non-gigapixel stuff. This is a real workhorse of a camera that seems to be holding it's own very well. I have learned of others doing this work with other than Pentax medium format cameras and this club is not as small as one would think albeit more widely popular with DSLR and yes compact camera crowds.
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Forum: Post Your Photos!
06-12-2011, 01:07 PM
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has anyone else tried doing a gigapixel image with their 645D?
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Forum: Post Your Photos!
05-20-2011, 02:32 PM
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We always wish for that perfect weather - on the positive side the winds made from some very clear distant viewing - normally smog haze is an issue. thx
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Forum: Post Your Photos!
05-19-2011, 08:30 PM
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the beauty here is YOU show the details (need to join to add snapshots) - I on the other hand MUST show some discretion being married and all :-)
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Forum: Post Your Photos!
05-19-2011, 08:27 PM
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tell a friend - this type of photography - reachable by anyone with any camera - is not only fun but cool :-)
thx Bill
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Forum: Post Your Photos!
05-19-2011, 08:24 PM
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that's the beauty of gigapixel imagry :-)
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Forum: Post Your Photos!
05-18-2011, 08:17 AM
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Seems the more you do the more work is required on following shots. Nothing worse than putting time and energy into a shoot only to loose it due to small stupid mistake like forgetting to clean your sensor - one spec of dust can turn into 100's.
thx
Bill
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Forum: Post Your Photos!
05-18-2011, 08:14 AM
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thx K-9 - this type work can be done using any camera
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Forum: Post Your Photos!
05-15-2011, 02:58 PM
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A lot of planning goes into these shoots (at least for me). Developing a workflow is always a custom process which would vary from person to person.
Post production:- Monitor weather
- Do simulations in Google Earth
- Calibrate robotics
- Clean camera sensor and lens
- Run multiple test shots using camera and lens.
- Develop and test backup plans
- Coordinate airfare, hotel, car rental etc.
- Estimate time = 20hrs
Production:- Clean camera sensor and lens.
- Setup equipment ASAP.
- Calibrate the FOV and set robotics up to run at given focal length.
- Test exposures and focus.
- Run partial 10-50 image test shots for viewing what end result would be.
- Run shoot (1st run) takes 2-8hrs
- Run as many shoots as time allows.
- Each succeeding shoot vary f stop double check focus test before run.
- Continual backup of memory cards on external HD.
- Keep back up batteries fully charged.
- Estimate time = 20hrs per day x 2 days = 40hrs of shooting (some runs will happen while sleeping)
Post Production:- Back up data.
- Batch convert RAW to TIFF.
- Run software to stitch images (dedicated PC needed).
- Test output files.
- Publish to internet.
- Estimate time 2-4 weeks
There is more involved than the above bullet points and the cost of doing this is high. Rooms of this caliber can run $1700 for 2 nights. Add in airfare, food, and other expenses and the shoot can easily cost $3000-4000 (have to add in a show or 2).
This is specialized panoramic photography that isn't everyone's cup of tea. But it is fun to do on smaller scales and much lesser expensive. You don't need special robotics but you do need a panoramic tripod head so as to eliminate parallax between images.There are only a hand full of pano heads on the market that will handle gear like this including our very own Nodal Ninja's (sorry for plug but I do sell them for a living). Once you start doing this it can easily get addictive.
We have a trip coming up to Portugal in a couple of weeks and already been preparing. Each of our rooms will have terraces for window free shooting. :)
Bill
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Forum: Post Your Photos!
05-14-2011, 02:45 PM
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This was shot with the 300mm f/4 lens - actual focal length closer to 225mm on 645D. The detail at this focal length on the 645D is truly testament to the quality of the camera and Pentax optics.
Bill
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Forum: Post Your Photos!
05-14-2011, 02:42 PM
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Hi Norm,
I enjoy pushing the limits - anyone can do simple mosaics consisting of 2 -4 or dozens of shots and combining into one for higher resolution but like you said I became possessed (actually obsessed) with going bigger and bigger. I've done 3,000 and 4,000 shot mosaics and this is just a smaller one. But it's easy to tell the difference in resolution and tonal quality.
Also apparently images like this draw crowds. In only one week the panorama has received over unique 11,000 hits.
I'll be doing more again soon - stay tuned :-)
thx
Bill
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Forum: Post Your Photos!
05-13-2011, 06:35 AM
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Prints this large would typically be printed in multiple sheets with overlap as if to paste onto a wall. A more practical solution would be to do multiple smaller sized "framed" prints and hang side by side to fit an area. The beauty of these super sized prints is you can reduce to fit while maintaining quality with the incredible resolution.
Bill
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Forum: Post Your Photos!
05-12-2011, 03:45 PM
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Hey Bob - I can relate :o
Images like this really captivate an audience. Like looking at a city through high power binoculars. Just in 4 days the image has seen over 5,000 views. Another testament to the quality of the Pentax 645D - it lures folks in. And now with over 150 snapshots you can really see Las Vegas in a different light - literally without having to try and find stuff yourself.
Bill
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Forum: Post Your Photos!
05-11-2011, 11:16 AM
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thx Dave - this will be a real test to Pentax as well to see how long the shutter will really last before needing replacement. Curious what the tell tail signs would be has it nears the end.
Bill
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Forum: Post Your Photos!
05-11-2011, 07:22 AM
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thx guys - a LOT of work goes into this in all phases - pre-production, production and post production. Then you have to hold your fingers crossed for good weather. Here the winds preventing me from making this image as large as I would have liked but we'll keep trying. With 4,000 images shot to pull this one off it won't be log before I have testing the 50,000 shutter limit of 645D.
After moving from the D3X to 645D I am amazed at the difference in quality and especially the overall tonal quality including the extremely low CA. There was a small amount of vignetting however on the lens (hence the banding) so next time I'll know to provide for more overlap.
thx
Bill
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Forum: Post Your Photos!
05-11-2011, 06:50 AM
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I posted this in another thread and someone suggested I post a dedicated thread on this image so here it is.
At 10.02GB this is the worlds largest multi-image composite to date taken using the Pentax 645D.
Pixel Dimension (1"= 72dpi): 218,944 x 45,776 pixels
Print size approx: 253 feet x 53 feet = 13,409 sq feet (77 meters x 16 meters = 1,232 sq meters)
Equivalent to 6,390 8x10 prints.
The image is comprised of 616 separate RAW images (44 columns by 14 rows) with 25% overlap between images.
The lens used was the Pentax 300mm prime f/4.
ISO: 800
Exposure: 1/250
F-stop: f/9.5 (the sharpest f-stop with this lens).
The images were shot from the 61st floor of the Cosmopolitan Hotel and Casino in Las Vegas. Winds were heavy (est 20-30mph with gusts to 45mph) hence the high ISO to get a bit faster shutter speed.
I did several mosaics over the weekends shoot totaling close to 4,000 images. Due to the winds the mosaics shot at longer focal lengths were unacceptable giving us excuse to return again in the future - 3 times the charm :D.
The above thumbnail image is approx 05% the size of the original. To enjoy the full detail and of this super high resolution gigapixel image please click image or link below:
>>>World's Largest Photo of Las Vegas taken using Pentax 645D from the Cosmopolitan Vegas<<<
I used a Nikon D3x 400mm focal length lens on previous gigapixel images shot from this location. The tonal qualities of the 645D combined with the optics of the lens is far superior. The image almost has a 3 dimensional look to it.
I want to thank the management of the beautiful Cosmopolitan Hotel & Casino in Las Vegas, with a special thanks to Kristina Kolk, for helping us to organize and make this happen on such a busy Spring Break weekend. They truly went out of their way to accommodate us.
Enjoy -
Bill Bailey
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Forum: Pentax Medium Format
05-09-2011, 04:32 PM
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At 10.02GB this is the worlds largest multi-image composite to date taken using the Pentax 645D.
Pixel Dimension (1"= 72dpi): 218,944 x 45,776 pixels
Print size approx: 253 feet x 53 feet = 13,409 sq feet (77 meters x 16 meters = 1,232 sq meters)
Equivalent to 6,390 8x10 prints.
The image is comprised of 616 separate RAW images (44 columns by 14 rows) with 25% overlap between images.
The lens used was the Pentax 300mm prime f/4.
ISO: 800
Exposure: 1/250
F-stop: f/9.5 (the sharpest f-stop with this lens).
The images were shot from the 61st floor of the Cosmopolitan Hotel and Casino in Las Vegas. Winds were heavy (est 20-30mph with gusts to 45mph) hence the high ISO to get a bit faster shutter speed.
I did several mosaics over the weekends shoot totaling close to 4,000 images. Due to the winds the mosaics shot at longer focal lengths were unacceptable giving us excuse to return again in the future - 3 times the charm :D.
The above thumbnail image is approx 05% the size of the original. To enjoy the full detail and of this super high resolution gigapixel image please visit:
Bill Bailey's Las Vegas Town from the Cosmopolitan
I used a Nikon D3x 400mm focal length lens on previous gigapixel images shot from this location. The tonal qualities of the 645D combined with the optics of the lens is far superior. The image almost has a 3 dimensional look to it.
I want to thank the management of the beautiful Cosmopolitan Hotel & Casino in Las Vegas, with a special thanks to Kristina Kolk, for helping us to organize and make this happen on such a busy Spring Break weekend. They truly went out of their way to accommodate us.
Enjoy -
Bill Bailey
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Forum: Pentax Medium Format
04-26-2011, 12:33 PM
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Another side note - oddly the camera only acted up outdoors and not indoors. Of course I didn't run as many tests indoors. The outside temp was approx 90 degrees F shooting in the shade. The camera was never hot but was warm as were the SD cards.
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