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17th April 2011

Nothing Beats The Simplicity of In-Camera Panoramas

 

When you want to take it all in, a panorama is a fun way to recreate a memorable view.

Most panoramas are made by taking multiple photos and painstakingly stitching them together with specialized computer software.

Over the years I’ve put together many such panoramas. Since I’ve made so many, I know the routine by heart. I usually build a panorama from six to ten separate images.

First I set the camera shutter speed and aperture manually so that the lighting remains constant throughout all of the images. Since altering the focus point between shots makes it almost impossible to later stitch the photos together, I also set the focus to manual and choose a focus distance for the most important part of the scene. To make sure that the horizon remains level in all of the exposures, I use a tripod and bubble level. To keep track of the images in a set, I place my hand over the lens and shoot to indicate that the next photo is the start of a panorama. After each exposure, I rotate the tripod head so that the next exposure overlaps the previous one by about 30%.

In the computer, the separate images are then assembled into a panorama using one of the popular stitching programs. I’ve used PhotoStitch for several years with good results. If you’ve overlapped your separate exposures by 30% or more, PhotoStitch should have little problem finding the correct place to make the stitch. When PhotoStitch has difficulty, you can use the tools to manually make the stitch.


That was the old way of making a panorama.

For the last few months, I’ve been shooting panoramas with the Sony Alpha S55. Among its many innovative features is its sweep panorama mode.

It’s simple to use. Just turn the mode dial to the panorama setting and you’re ready to shoot.

Inside the viewfinder you’ll see an arrow and a message prompting you to hold the shutter down while panning the camera (in a sweeping motion) in the direction of the arrow. The shutter will stop after reaching the end of its sweep. After a few seconds (as the A55 processes the images), the completed panorama is displayed in the viewfinder and/or LCD. Nothing could be simpler.

The A55 has several panorama options. Horizontal: standard panorama (8192 x 1856 pixels) or wide panorama (12416 x 1856 wide). Vertical: standard panorama (3872 x 2160 pixels) or wide panorama (5536 x 2160 pixels).

Below are two panoramas that are representative of what you can expect from using the A55’s sweep panorama. NOTE: You can click on either image to view the full-size panorama – you may have to wait a few seconds until the image is ready to view.


Here’s a panorama in which the most important part of the scene were the faces sitting around the outdoor fireplace. We were all sitting about 20 feet apart. You can see that all of the faces are in focus. The panorama covers about 150 degrees.

 


In this panorama the most important part of the scene were very distant from the camera. Before depressing the shutter, I focused on a point about 30 feet away before starting to pan the camera. The A55 handles the exposure automatically making it very easy to capture the scene.

 


 

I’ve had a lot of fun making these and many other in-camera panoramas. I understand that sweep panorama is also a feature found in two other Sony cameras – the Alpha A33 and TX1 point-and-shoot.

I’m sure we’ll see other cameras with a similar feature soon. It’s so simple to use and produces impressive results.

 

To find out more about the Alpha A55, visit the Sony website.

 

Please note that Stay Focused has no connection to Sony.

 

Written by Arnie Lee

 


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