36O virtual tours (what camera&equipment)

[v8maxwell]

hi

im looking to get some 360 virtual tours done, would like to do them myself, but not sure what equipment /software
i need.
Any one got any info on this, ive only had a really quick look on google as not had much time to look, it came up with this
http://360dof.com/products/panorama-s

any help or advice would be great

thanks allot

tom

[fergusd]

I have this link in my browser which may be relevant . . .

http://fromparis.com/html/technical.p

Fd

[v8maxwell]

cheers for that fergus, should give me something to go on

tom

[stuthemong]

Hi there,

The panohead company that Eric mentions on his site, 360Precision, is mine

Try

www.panotools.info/mediawiki/index.php?title=Main_Page
www.360precision.com/forum
www.panoguide.com

for info.

My recomendation is to use a 360Precision head (obviously, I designed the thing), and www.ptgui.com for PTgui stitcher. You'll want something like a nikon D70 and 10.5mm fisheye lens (cheap), or canon 5D + 15mm fish or nikon D200+10.5mm for kick ass panos.

Have a look at erics rougier's stuff (posted in previous posters link), and examples on our forum to see the quality producable, some eye candy...

www.360precision.com/360/vr/venice1.cfm
www.360precision.com/360/vr/venice2.cfm
www.360precision.com/360/vr/venice3.cfm
www.360precision.com/360/vr/venice4.cfm
www.360precision.com/360/vr/venice5.cfm

(all shot by us with Fuji S2 pro, 10.5mm fisheye, 360Precision head, PTGui)

Hope this helps and gives you a start at least.

Stu

EDIT: afterthought, if you just have one job to do, and dont want to spend so much, we can rent the whole kit to you also (camera+lens+head+tripod+memory etc. etc. everything you'd need)

>> Edited by stuthemong on Saturday 4th March 19:20

[Andy M]

fergusd said:

I have this link in my browser which may be relevant . . . http://fromparis.com/html/technical.p Fd

Looks excellent

MacUser quoted 'Priced beyond casual hobbyist use' and they weren't wrong. I wouldn't have minded trying/buying one of these, but £525+vat is too steep for me.

[stuthemong]

They also gave it 5/5 and said it was the best panoramic head on the market - you get what you pay for.

What combination are you after Andy, we may have a loaner we could get to you.

Stu

[v8maxwell]

thanks everyone for your help

ive sent you an email this mornin stuart.

chat to you soon

tom

[Andy M]

stuthemong said:

They also gave it 5/5 and said it was the best panoramic head on the market - you get what you pay for. What combination are you after Andy, we may have a loaner we could get to you. Stu

I have no doubt you do get what you pay for - photography never was a cheap hobby.

Thank you for the offer of a loaner, but I don't currently have a tripod, and I know I'd end up buying the head off you if I did have a play

Having said that, if you had a loaner head for a Canon 5D and 17-40L which was well used and was going cheap I may be partial to having a play

[stuthemong]

Why couldn't you have a D70/10.5mm?

We havent made a 5D 17-40 yet, though do have the measurements. If you ever decide you want one, give me a shout, we may be able to do something for you with some pre-used parts to get your cost down slightly if that's the stickler

Stu

[Andy M]

E-mither sent

[Tuna]

You can do 360 views with any camera, and don't need special equipment to get a usable panorama. Go here: www.ptgui.com/ and try out the software which is excellent.

If you have a reasonably good spacial awareness, you can just stand on the spot and rotate around the camera. Using a fairly sturdy tripod improves things, and a pano-head makes for extremely accurate pictures. However, do you need accurate or simply visually good images? If accuracy is not important, you just need a camera that you can lock the exposure and aperture on.

[simpo two]

Tuna said:

You can do 360 views with any camera, and don't need special equipment to get a usable panorama. Go here: www.ptgui.com/ and try out the software which is excellent. If you have a reasonably good spacial awareness, you can just stand on the spot and rotate around the camera. Using a fairly sturdy tripod improves things, and a pano-head makes for extremely accurate pictures. However, do you need accurate or simply visually good images? If accuracy is not important, you just need a camera that you can lock the exposure and aperture on.

See my thread entitled 'Possibly the longest image on PH!'