Pano mode question

[Robert Rose]

Anyone know how to stitch the images in Photoshop sadly I am a filmmaker and use AE and pp but new to photoshop at moment

I am anxious to try this new feature, but I have extensive experience using Photoshop and Lightroom to make panos. Panoramas and HDR | robertrose.photos

It really is very easy. In Photoshop go to File>Automate>Photomerge and follow your nose. After you list the files to be merged just choose the auto layout and see if you like that. You can experiment with the various settings.

In Lightroom it is even easier, but you don't get quite as many options. Select the images you want to merge, right click, and choose Photo Merge>Panorama. Again, just follow your nose.

I use the CC version and have the $10/month plan that gives me both PS and LR. Works fine.

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I tried the Pano mode out today. Mine has three selections: cylindrical, hemispherical, and video. In photo mode the cylindrical setting starts a series of 6 photos and rotates between them. You can vary the angle covered; I need to experiment more with this. Hemispherical takes 11 photos, including downward shots. In video mode you can start and stop a video pan.
Check out sample cylindrical panoramas (stitched with Photoshop) at Willow Tree Lane 1 | robertrose.photos and East Grove 2 | robertrose.photos. Here is one stitched with Lightroom Escondido | robertrose.photos

BTW, if you have a Mac and use Lightroom 5.4 or later you may have a problem importing from cards that have both JPG and MP4 files on them. Try importing the JPG files from the card to a folder on your storage drive, eject the card, then start Lightroom.

 

[PICSPORADIC]

Anyone know how to stitch the images in Photoshop sadly I am a filmmaker and use AE and pp but new to photoshop at moment

I use lightroom 5 it has a great panorama feature - just select the photos, preview the projection mode, and it stiches and blends the images together.

 

[Ryan35]

thank you i shall try that feature

 

[Robert Rose]

I am getting 700 to 800 JPG files when I use Pano. It is as if the GoPro is going to a Burst mode or some time lapse mode. Any idea what is going on?

 

[franknitty69]

I am getting 700 to 800 JPG files when I use Pano. It is as if the GoPro is going to a Burst mode or some time lapse mode. Any idea what is going on?

it seems your gopro is using continuous photo. most likely the gopro default is photo.continuous instead of photo.single or video.

 

[aratson]

I have been using the Pano feature quite a bit. Works ridiculously well with about 20% overlap between shots. It is so good that when I bring the shots into Lightroom and use the Photo Merge feature it nails it perfect automatically with just a bit of minor cropping/content aware fill needed. 3DR really did this feature justice with near IMO.

I have just started playing with making a VR image. Anyone out there with a bit more experience on the process of this? I have been playing with the demo of PT Lens.

If you want to see some examples, I have posted two on my instagram feed at: Alex Ratson (@aratson) • Instagram photos and videos

Cheers,
Alex

 

[Robert Rose]

it seems your gopro is using continuous photo. most likely the gopro default is photo.continuous instead of photo.single or video.

It seems like that would be the problem, but how do you set that? I used the GoPro app to connect to the Hero4 to get access to the settings, and it seems that the defaults are correctly set. (See attached screen shot). Now I am think that it is something in the 3DR app.

 

[Joe Horn]

It seems like that would be the problem, but how do you set that? I used the GoPro app to connect to the Hero4 to get access to the settings, and it seems that the defaults are correctly set. (See attached screen shot). Now I am think that it is something in the 3DR app.

This indicates two possible sources of your trouble. (1) Solo's Pano mode requires the GoPro be in Photograph mode, not Video mode. (2) Solo requires GoPro's wireless feature to be turned off.

EDIT: My (1) above is an overstatement. Video mode is ok ... but only if you're not actually recording when you start the Pano. So (1) above should really say "Pano mode doesn't work correctly if started while recording video." Sorry about that. Thanks to franknitty69 for clarifying this (see his posting below).

 

[franknitty69]

It seems like that would be the problem, but how do you set that? I used the GoPro app to connect to the Hero4 to get access to the settings, and it seems that the defaults are correctly set. (See attached screen shot). Now I am think that it is something in the 3DR app.

your defaults are fine. video/video is what i have mine set to. most likely you were in burst and the pano smart shot is not switching to photo.

fyi pano will switch from video to photo, but only if the gopro is not recording.

 

[Robert Rose]

This indicates two possible sources of your trouble. (1) Solo's Pano mode requires the GoPro be in Photograph mode, not Video mode. (2) Solo requires GoPro's wireless feature to be turned off.

EDIT: My (1) above is an overstatement. Video mode is ok ... but only if you're not actually recording when you start the Pano. So (1) above should really say "Pano mode doesn't work correctly if started while recording video." Sorry about that. Thanks to franknitty69 for clarifying this (see his posting below).

I am beginning to think it might also have something to do with the Record During Shots setting in the app. I also sent an email to 3DR support. I have triple checked that WiFi is off on the GoPro, and will try again tomorrow being sure not to have video recording while entering the shot. Thank you for the ideas.

 

[Robert Rose]

I am beginning to think it might also have something to do with the Record During Shots setting in the app. I also sent an email to 3DR support. I have triple checked that WiFi is off on the GoPro, and will try again tomorrow being sure not to have video recording while entering the shot. Thank you for the ideas.

I have solved the problem. Turning off the "Record During Shots" was what was needed. It gave me 6 pictures, and Lightroom easily stitched them. See attached at 250ft.

 

[Robert Rose]

To collect the recommended Cylindrical Pano settings:

Overall tip: I find that I am looking at the screen more than usual, so a Visual Observer/Spotter/Friend is helpful to let you know if you are drifting into danger. When I am by myself I like to go to a higher altitude (>200 ft) so I feel more comfortable. You need to change the altitude geofence in the app once it has connected to Solo (from app start page>settings>Solo Settings>Altitude limit)

1. Turn off "Record During Shots" in the app
2. Be sure video recording is off before entering Pano Smart Shot.
3. Yaw the Solo (aim it) to where you want the center of the pano. The program yaws to the right to start the shot, then progressively yaws to the left.
4. Open the Pano Smart Shot (tap the green clap board icon in lower left of screen, then choose Pano>Cylindrical)
5. Start with defaults, but you can adjust the Width of the pano in degrees and set the FOV for the lens/picture setting using the "More" sub-menu. This calculates the angle between shots and the total number of shots.
6. Tap the Right Arrow "Play" button to begin capture. The Solo yaws to the right, then the screen goes dark and is replaced by a reporting legend "Taking 1 of 6 photos", etc.
7. Tap Fly to regain control of the Solo after the Pano is finished.
8. Tap RTH twice to return home and land (first tap sets the Rewind function; second tap sets Return to Home).

You can use any stitching program to make the Panorama. Lightroom does a great job with a really simple interface. The more industrial programs (PTGUI for example) also do a nice job, with a vast array of settings.

For the size of the individual pictures, I have found 12mb/Wide files work well in Lightroom. You will see the props in the input files before stitching, but Lightroom takes these out. Lightroom doesn't seem to have a problem with the field curvature of the GoPro wide angle. 12mb/Wide files are each 4000x3000 and 6 stitch to around 5800x2600 after cropping. The 7mb/Medium files are 3000x2250 each and stitch to around 5200x1900

To see my growing collection of panoramas visit: Panoramas | Barking Deer℠ Photography

 

[SkyDoctor]

So this isn't a 360 pano like Dronepan?

 

[Robert Rose]

Sorry, I am not familiar with Dronepan. There are two types of Solo panorama smart shots, cylindrical and spherical. My steps are applicable to Cylindrical. They may also be important for Spherical; I don't know. In Cylindrical you can set the amount of the rotation; maybe that will give you what you need. Or, choose Spherical and don't use the "down" shot. From my limited use of the Spherical shot it is more "hemi-spherical"; e.g., takes shots 360 degrees in one row plus a down shot.

Also, you can easily takes the shots needed for a 360 panorama just by flying, and taking shots during a 360 yaw. Using the smart shot is not mandatory.

 

[franknitty69]

So this isn't a 360 pano like Dronepan?

the pano smart shot in hemisphere mode is just like dronepan. and i just found out that when you are linear mode, the settings you adjust affect hemisphere mode. so hemisphere mode is adjustable.

 

[SkyDoctor]

Thanks for the information.

 

[BrianAPM]

the pano smart shot in hemisphere mode is just like dronepan. and i just found out that when you are linear mode, the settings you adjust affect hemisphere mode. so hemisphere mode is adjustable.

 

[BrianAPM]

So can you make a full 360 Panorama?

 

[PdxSteve]

So can you make a full 360 Panorama?

No, because there is no way to aim the camera "up", so it will miss the sky directly overhead. Photoshop using the "content aware" feature and it can fill in the missing sky pretty decently most of the time.

 

[BrianAPM]

So how do you put into hemisphere mode? I can't find it in the program.
Thanks