Batch Processing: "the Golden Workflow" Who's the fastest ? PTgui ? StitcherUnlimited?

Hello Dana

Thanks for sharing the experience.
I've settled for ptgui pro.
For two reasons:
1. I took a shot inside a wc (rest-room) the smallest i could find, with an ugly flowery wallpaper covering the entire cubicle - perfect for checking stitches!
Ptgui did a great job. i throw the pano at it, and that was it. only 4 shots, tilted 10 degr up.
2. with that bit of good news, i took an old file of 4 shots x 9 bracketings, and throw the entire folder into ptgui.
All i did is to crop-calibrate my lens, then pressed the button.
and it did the job.
More importantly, the result looked natural.
I will retest the hdr feature on different exposures, but I'm pretty the feature not only works, but it is FAST and SIMPLE.

I did try Stitcher Unlimited, but the result wasn't as good as PtGui. I only tested twice, so that doesn't mean Stitcher is no good. I think the price difference, and the hdr made me decide for ptGui
I've had good photographers commenting to me that Stitcher was great. I think also for those who need to build hotspots on the fly, Stitcher has the advantage too.

I have Photomatix, fabulous application for creative photography and b&w, i've done some house using it all the way, but:

• I don't have the post-processing budget to go fiddle with the settings. (did you notice each image needs different tweak?)
• There is a lot of noise added.
• And i think the resulting images are too far from their original pixels, and color. The interpolation is extreme, and i land up with mutant "Frankenstein" photos in the end - because that's just what is is.

Off-topic - New businesss starters-up

I'm on the same boat too, but in old Europe's France.
I've been over 10 month hiring developers trying to build a site, and a tour that covers everything a realtor would need:

• Still Photography
• QTVRs
• Floor-Plans Measuring & Drawing
• House Data Collection - Features, Fixtures & Fittings
• Translation both in English and French
• googlemaps showing neighbourhood amenities.

Transport is a major expense in France - traffic+petrol cost+labor all add-up.
For every trade going to visit a property, 30 to 60% of the cost is actually in transport.
If you offer a FULL package to realtors, with a ready-made presentation that covers ALL medias, not just VR, so they have nothing, i mean NOTHING to do, then, IMHO, i have a Unique Selling Proposition.

But there are several limitations with most "virtual tours" packages:

Some like Tourweaver only cater for VR (understandingly!) but then again, for me, you want ONE interface presenting ONE Virtual Tour, and a virtual tour is NOT just VR. If you were a skilled writer, you could describe a mind boggling Virtual Tour.
You can be a still photographer and present a superb Virtual Tour.
You can be a Videographer and make an eye watering movie.

It's the overall Presentation - and the quality of your work -that matters, the blending, integration of ALL the elements we can provide to the visitor, that will trigger the mental stimuli "VR effect", the imagery of your property.

The Ready-made interactive-floorplan tours i seee are now too narrow. They are still on 800px wide, when you need at least 1024 to present a descent jpg or VR next to your floorplan.
I'd rather use this type of presentation, well, limited to 1024, then get all VRs, still jps and video poping up through a lightbox effect. That's what i'm thinking about now.

My site is not finished yet - far from it - i might even scrap it and start again - i only wish there could be a holy grail workflow AND ready made proper Virtual Tour !