G9 Panoramas

As you may know, I have been working to improve my panorama photo taking. This is the only way I know to really get the sense of space I sometimes see in the outdoors, and I suppose indoors too, though I have not ventured there yet. In France last fall, I really had the chance to work on some of these big shots, and the G9 is designrd to make the picture taking easy. While the lens is only a 35mm equivalent of 35mm, by using the panorama toolsfrom Canon e can make thi work quite well for big landscapes, with some effort. So voila, I have finally made the panos. I used Photostitch software from Canon.

In one, I merged 15 photos to show the sky over the Atlantic in Bretagne. The outcome was satisfactory. I remembered to take more shots than I thought I would need, and indeed did find that two were redundant so not used. In fact, when they were in the mix they made the program go a bit bonkers, and it could not figure out what the heck I was asking it to do. But the remaining 15 stitched up to make a pretty cohesive image. It is easy to see why the pros use a good tripod with a panoramic head though- my sea seems to have some rather choppy sections. And those I shot from a boat! They could make you reach for the scopalomine! In others, I was reminded how hard it is to ensure I have taken photos with sufficient overlap- sometimes I have a section that is truncated, like the Saveteurs boat house in the harbor at Trevignon. This is harder than it seems when you are out there, "on location" as the photographers say, and your points of reference get confused. This is the part that will take practice- a skill.

New Album 12/1/08 9:33 PM

You can see some results by clicking on the album above. I am happy with this little camera, and would not trade it for the new G10- I like the reach at the long end of the zoom.

More Panoramas with the Canon G9

Today was a great day of weather out on the Strait. Robert called last night to suggest we get out and catch some more salmon. The local outdoor columnist put out a column that said the salmon were in Sieku in big numbers, so it seemed like a great opportunity to get some salmon in the freezer and more practice with the G9.

Well, lets just focus on the camera, shall we? I took several photos, and 3 sets of panos. More learning on the process building good panoramas. I remembered to use a middle length lens setting, and to take shots in the portrait orientation. I also tried to take a lot of pictures for each pano. On this score I didn't do so well.

The G9 has a setting that is supposed to help you get all the photos you need, lined up with a good amount of overlap. The LCD screen shows the last picture you have taken, and as you compose the next one, you can see the overlap. All well and good, if you can see the LCD well enough. On the water, in the sun, I found this difficult, and as a result my overlap was not as good as it should have been. The results are that some overlaps don't quite line up.

I forgot to manually gain up the LCD to a brighter level. I really need to do some basic exercises to get this skill developed. Nonetheless, I have put a couple up a Picasa web. There are two views of the same panorama, one done in HP Photosmart Stitch and the other in Canon Photostitch.

The process of building a pano was easier and faster in the HP program. It does not allow any manipulation, it does all the thinking for the photographer. When it can't make an edge of one photo meet the next one, it does some algorythmic blending that is OK. Overall, this program gives good results, if the photographer does his or her job.

In the Canon program, things go much slower. I like the ability to make edges match up for yourself, you can beat the program in many cases. None of the individual photos in this series mated all that well, and Canon lets you see that.

Overall, the HP program to me is better for these kind of "grab shots" that I have done here. The results using a tripod, and some careful framing may be different, we shall see. Of course, shooting photos to be stitched together from the deck of a pitching boat underway is not the way its done. But it is the way these were done.

Clicking on the photo below will take you to my album, where you can see the comparison.

Photography

Canon G9 and Autostitch

I have been familiarizing myself with a new camera, the Canon G9. It is a good piece of kit as they say (the Brits), and I like it. One of the things Canon is known for is the Photostitch software that comes with their cameras. I have been using a similar utility from HP that came with the printer, and it gives good results. But apparently Canon is the state of the art. I have read that in their big displays at the annual photo shows they have wall size posters made of photos stitched together.

I am hoping that the Photostitch utility will let me shoot the great landscape photos that a lense just can't capture. Or at least a lense that isn't a true wide angle. It is one of the things you learn when you try to do landscapes- getting close is not an issue, getting it all in is the challenge. And since the G9 is not a superzoom, the lense is only a 35mm equivalent at its widest, being able to get a wide shot requires some software magic.

So, first attempt and I am already learning! There was a real, honest to goodness thunderstorm this afternoon, a rare event here. It is amazing, but the lightening was kinda scary. Apparently after a few years away from the midwest we revert to primal fear of thunder. Anyway. I took a set of photos using black and white, so I could better see what is going on with the photo. I used the function on the camera that is set up just for making panaramas using Photostitch. It was easy. Four shots covered the area I wanted. Then I used the software, again easy and intuitive to put them together. The result is seen in my new album on Picasaweb. Or you can click on the thumbnail of the photo below to go to the same place. Belt and suspenders.

Photography

So, what have we learned today? First, be more careful of exposure. Make sure you expose the first shot in the series the way you want the rest of the shots to appear. Use the exposure lock for this. Second, and most apparent, extend the lense to about 100mm equivalent, so you can avoid the kind of distortion you see in the fence.

For next time, try holding the camera vertically, so there is more resolution, and more photos in the series. Keep at it, till technique is mastered, then I can see how the software does its job.