Nikon d80 + FC-E9 possible ?
Hi guys,
I just had a look of this website
http://www.360tacticalvr.co.uk/acatalog/starter_kits.html
and it seems to be possible to have an adaptor to put a FC-E9 (the one for the coolpix) on a Nikon D80... it could be an excellent solution for me because I would like to do virtual tour with the fisheye lens (ipix style) when the customers does not have time (and money) and then I can use the same camera with a sigma 8mm or a Nikon 10.5 (for more accurate works).... What do you think about that ?
I really did not know it was possible to do something like that...
Re: Nikon d80 + FC-E9 possible ?
Roberto
Being able to produce 2 levels of virtual images is a good idea, one I intend to maintain after buying the Canon XTi/Sigma 8mm setup I have planned, just by keeping my Coolpix 8700 and the FC-E9 lens.
My reasoning is I'll still be doing Real Estate Virtual Tours where fast turn-around is important and fees are lower, so a camera/lens setup that by nature is faster and simpler to use is important. For higher paying work like the hotel/resort market I've been having some success in, the Canon/Sigma combo would produce the better quality I want and make it more attractive to my potential customers.
If you think this approach would benefit you, 2 separate camera/lens setups would probably make more sense; a Nikon Coolpix 8700/FC-E9 lens as one and the Nikon D80/Sigma 8mm for the other.
The Starter Kit on 360TacticalVR.co.uk for the Coolpix 8700 and a Coolpix 8700 camera might be a good way for you to get started. Theres an 8700 on ebay.co.uk with a Buy-it-Now price of £380 and several on ebay.com with Buy-it-Now prices of US$450-500. That's how I bought my Coolpix 950s, 5400 and 8700. You'd be setup for under £1000
Later you could buy the D80, lens adapter for the FC-E9 and the arm to support the camera and give it a try. Then finally get the Sigma lens and appropriate rotator.
And you'd have a backup camera/lens combo. I always carried both of my Coolpix 950 setups with me to out of town shoots and did break a camera in the middle of one. I just took it back to my hotel room, got the other setup out of the bag and I only lost half a day instead of the rest of the shoot
But what you'll save in equipment, you'll spend part of on software that will stitch 2 fisheyes, if that's what you're after. I've not gotten PTGui to do a good job stitching just 2 fisheyes. The horizon runs up and down like a roller coaster and I haven't worked on straightening it out enough to be satisfied. It does a good job with 3 fisheyes from my FC-E9
Neither of the lower priced RealViz products will stitch just 2 fisheyes. The Stitcher Express 2 (US$119) and 5.5 Pro (US$315) won't even handle images from the FC-E9 and the 5.5 Unlimited (US$455) wiil do 3 fisheyes, but not 2. You'll need the Unlimited DS at US$700-800 to stitch just 2
If you're going to do a lot of work in a market like I do in real estate, the little bit lower quality of the Coolpix/FC-E9 setup is fine but will keep you out of the work that needs the very, very best quality which will take you some time to learn to produce anyway. Also I can give you some pointers on how to use the settings on the Coolpix to get better quality. I've been getting some really nice images out of my 5400 in the last 3 weeks
But the Nikon D80/Sigma 8mm would let you do any type of work after you practice quite a bit.
I've already got 2 FC-E9 lenses and knew there were adapters to use them on some DSLRs and have never really considered the idea.
Like Aldo, I just figured I'd be sacrificing some of the quality I paid for in a camera like the D80 by using a "lens converter" like the FC-E9 on it. In other words, I'd be defeating the purpose of buying the D80 in the first place.
Hope that helps
Douglas Aurand
Albuquerque, NM
Re: Nikon d80 + FC-E9 possible ?
Hey guys!
I am also working on virtual tours. Right now I am using FC-E9 with Nikon Coolpix 5700 (5mpix). I am using PTgui, always making 3 pictures and it stiches them perfect (with smartblend and panotools plugin). For exporting that in wiever I am using 3DVista Show 2.0 (This has nothing to do with MS Vista), supports flash, java, exe, quicktime, activex. Well all my pictures need to be photoshoped. Shadows and highligts, exposure, contrast, colors .... I bet you are doing that as well.
What goes in - goes out. I want to make even better pictures. I even tried FCe9 lens and held it manualy on CANON S2 IS (5mpix) and pictures were better - there is ~5year difference between camera releases.I would like to try FCe9 on some newer cameras - not 5400/5700/8700.... Wich are the cameras I could put the FCe9 on? And wich adapters do I need?
>>>> Also I can give you some pointers on how to use the settings on the Coolpix to get better quality. I've been getting some really nice images out of my 5400 in the last 3 weeks<<<<
I know it wasnt inteded for me... but I would love to hear them!
Thank you!
Best regards!
Matic Kocevar
Re: Nikon d80 + FC-E9 possible ?
MAtic
I'm not clear, do you have a 5400 or a 5700.
I have a 5400 and can give you first hand suggestions for optimizing the settings since thats what I use.
Douglas Aurand
Albuquerque, NM
Re: Nikon d80 + FC-E9 possible ?
Hey Douglas!
I have 5700 but I am sure the menues and settings are very simmilar, if not the same!
Thank you!
Matic
Re: Nikon d80 + FC-E9 possible ?
Matic
You're right, the 5400/5700/8700/8400 Coolpixes are simialr
Here are camera setting suggextions I made to a Coolpix 8400 user in another thread on IVRPA.org
These could be adapted to a lot of cameras.
In Manual Mode;
White Balance: I've gotten mixed results from pre-setting it with an ExpoDisc. Sometimes just using a piece of white card stock works better. Sometimes I just aim at a white wall.
Image Adjustment (Contrast): I've been setting it to +1
Image Quality: Fine (best quality JPEG)
Image Size: Largest
Image File Type: I'd stick with JPEG on the Coolpix. I've tried TIFF and the record time is so long (60 seconds) on my 5400 that clouds moved between shots and had to be touched up by hand
Sensitivity: Set at ISO 100 or 200, or whichever is the lowest on your camera
Image Sharpening: I've been playing with this, but Normal seems to work well
Noise Reduction: On
Saturation: If I'm going to use Photomatix Pro to composite a set of shots into one image, I set this at +1/Enhanced. I use a different compositing function in Photomatix for still images and leave the Saturation at 0/Normal for them or they get over Saturated
Fisheye Mode: On my 5400 I've been turning off the Fisheye Mode and zooming to get the circle to just touch the top & bottom of the frame. The larger circle has more pixels to work with and actually seems to be a little sharper focus that the default, non- zoomed position
Aperature: The smallest that's pratical to use. The smallest setting with the fisheye zoomed is 7.2 on my 5400. Since we're using tripods, long exposures aren't a problem as long as nothing is moving in the room. I say "practical" because when I'm bracketing, my 2 steps over exposed images are sometimes 4 second exposures. My 5400 only goes to 8 seconds, so if I had a f11 setting, I couldn't shoot slow enough to use it.
Camera/Tripod Stabilization: With those long exposures, you don't want the tripod to move at all while braketing, or to move the nodal point when rotating. I hang a 10 lbs barbell from the tripod with a chain and hook. It makes a big difference on carpet with a thick pad. Also I use the wired Remote Control from Nikon to shoot, so my hand isn't on the camera when I release the shutter for a 4 second exposure. It works great when I'm bracketing, with the shutter release in my left hand and using my right to change the shutter speed.
I hope those suggestions help
Douglas Aurand
Albuquerque, NM
Re: Nikon d80 + FC-E9 possible ?
Thank you ultra very much. I will try your settings on monday and report back.
Best regards!
Matic K
Re: Nikon d80 + FC-E9 possible ?
It seems they're reselling this adapter:
http://www.agnos.com/catalogo.htm?v_lingua=ENG&v_iss_web=000000000000006...
You will still need a suitable lens on your D80 (apart from the FC-E9).
Note that the quality of photos taken with an add-on lens are generally regarded as lower quality than equivalent shots with a single lens; with two lenses you have the artifacts of two lenses, plus artifacts because the connection between the two lenses.