Nikon P5100 plus FC-E8

Hi folks,

Hmmm. Sitting on my desk is a Nikon P5000 with the FC-E8 mounted on a NN2 and it works fine.

Why wouldn't this combination (or the P5100 mentioned above) work on a NN3?

Ed

Ed
The quick release is solving the lens-clearence problem the FC-E8 usually has.

I've wondered if the battery pack I have for my 5400 would provide the clearance I need to use the NN3 with the 5400/FC-E9, but haven't tried because the iPIX Rotator for the 5400 is so simple to use; no adjustments at all and the Nodal point is built-in

Douglas Aurand
Albuquerque, NM

Hi

I'm just catching up with this thread. Yesterday I got all the oieces in place 5100, fc-e8 and agnos head. First attempts aren't looking too good - would appreciate some assistance but prefer to keep it offline rather than cluttering the forums so I could send some samples etc. Any takers?

thanks
David

David
Some one else may have the same trouble you're having and can learn from what you're doing just like you're going to learn from my trial & error.

So lets keep it on the forum ;)

What's not looking good? Do you have a tour online I can look at?

Douglas Aurand
Albuquerque, NM

David
There are other photographers who may benefit from your learning process, so lets keep the discussion on the forum

What's not looking too good? What are you stitching with?

Douglas Aurand
Albuquerque, NM

Hi Doug

thats fair enough just thought it might get too messy, plus I'm not sure whats the best way to
make the files available(?).

David
You can e-mail the 2 fisheye to djaurand at aol dot com

What program are you using to stitch them together?

Douglas Aurand
Albuquerque, NM

Hello :)

Interesting thread !, I work with a p5100 camera + fc-e8 too, but with a 360precision 2 shots rotator.

Don't hesitate to show us your first shots to see where the problem is and help you :)

Thanks and have a good night.

Benjamin.

Thanks Ben,

Doug,

I'll send you some samples

I think my initial issue is 'locking' the exposure on the p5100 - doesn't seem to do it unless you
select their 'panorama assist' setting which is just using the camera as is.

I have attempted PTgui and Realviz and need to get the calibrating right. I have managed an OK sphere
from each but not acceptable to be able to 'sell' the process, I guess that needs practice.

David

Thankd Ed and all for continued assistance,

I'm sending Doug a few files to view and maybe he has somewhere to share them
(I'll be looking at getting hosting organised possibly this week)

Ed/Ben do you have some tours visible somewhere taken with the combination?

I'm seeing the merit of 3 shots also,

I also want to be able to offer printed versions of the images also at decent sizes.

David

David
I did some work with the sets of images you sent.

I'm guessing you have an Agnos MrotatorPM8 for the Coolpix P5000/5100. I looked at it on their website and it looks like it just clamps onto the neck of the lens with nothing under the camera itself.

The problem I think you're having is that the lens is slightly turned from level.

I rotated the 2 shot set 1° Counter Clockwise in Photoshop, then re-stitched them in iPIX Interactive Studio and the alignment of the edges of the door and door molding were much better.

The Agnos MroatorB for the Coolpix 5400, 5700, 8700, etc used to have a bracket that connected the rotator to the base of the camera, leveling it. I don't see them on the website any more. Is there something like that for the MrotatorPM8?

Also when I look at the rotator at the bottom of the stitched image, it looks like the lens is just a little forward fo where it should be because the stitched rotator is oblong, not round.

See if that helps, the alignment

Douglas Aurand
Albuquerque, NM

thanks Doug. is it possible to post your results or send them back to me for comparison?

I actually thought the 2 shot image was OK in term of the matching (compared to 1st attempts) but I do fully accept your voice of experience, therefore How do you determine when/how much to rotate in PS and which commands?

You are right the rotator doesn't have a support and I have been using it in Vertical - I will recheck
the positioning of the lens. Can I also ask what exactly you are looking at regards the 'rotator at the bottom of the image' being oblong rather than round - is it the strip in the jpegs? Should the tripod in the base of the spheres themselves be circular if its right?

I'm still a bit concerned about the slightly different exposures registering between the shots giving 'shadowing'. I have played abit with the settings but mainly have been on Aperature priority (highest) and daylight WB with room lights on.

Finally, what about glare / washout from windows?

I'll retry some shots tomorrow.
There seem to be a growth in the numbers doing tours here now but many are 1 shot systems so I'm keen to get good quality. Not sure yet if the market is getting it yet though. I haven't tried out my D200/10-20mm combination yet - one learning curve at a time!

thanks again

David

David
Here's a link to some stitched images

http://media.homestore.com/HH72JVAC.htm

The first image is the 2 fisheyes you sent stitched with iPIX Interactive Studio. You can see the misalignment at the top and bottom of the door and door frame.

The second is the same set of images rotated 1° Counter Clockwise then stitched with IIS. You can see the alignment is better.

The third image is the QuickTime VR you sent me that you stitched with RealViz coverted to the iPIX format for compatison.

The fourth image is one I just delivered as part of a real estate tour, although I restitched it without a tripod cap so you could see what I was talking about regarding the shape of the rotator when I get a good alignment. The source images were composited from 4-5 images using Enfuse to get something like High Dynamic Range/Tone Mapped images

After I looked closer, you did get a good alignment with Realviz, but had a "color shift" at the seam. This is usually caused by one or a combination of the following;

1. You had the camera in Auto for the exposure and it used different settings; f-Stop, shutter speed or white balance for the 2 fisheyes. Realviz should be able to compensate for some of this when you "Equalize Images" but may have a limit how far off they can be, especially if you had noticeably different exposure settings.

2. Related to the first item, two fisheye photo capture is usually done by aligning the seam to pass through the light source. You had 2 light sources in the "office" scene so I would have used the "meter" on tour Coolpix to "balance the light." In Manual Mode, you would set the f-stop to as close to 8 as possible (my 5400 will only go to f/7.9), then adjust the shutter speed until the indicator is on the center of the scale on the screen. Then rotate and see if the other side has the same lighting. You adjust the position of the camera until they are the same on both sides.

3. Its possible the White balance was left at Auto and the camera "read" the light on the 2 sides a little differently. In that room I would have set White Balance to Incandesent or Tungsten, depending on what the P5100 calls regular light bulbs. Using one of the White Bance Presets or setting a custom white balance is necessary to the exposure is the same on both fisheyes

As far as leveling the camera, you can shoot 2 fisheye captures with the camera in lanscape position, I'm not sure how you would do that. In this link to a set of photos of the 360Precision rotator for the Coolpix P5100/FC-E8 you can see the tab where the camera rests instead of just being held around the lens neck

http://www.360precision.com/360/index.cfm?precision=popup.p5000&galleryS...

My several iPIX Rotators work the same way, there's a "base" for the camera to set on and therefore make it level and a cradle for the lens neck to "aim" it. iPIX used to make a "universal" rotator that just clamped around the neck of the FC-E8 and I always wondered how the user would get the camera precisely level.

I hope this helps

Douglas Aurand
Albuquerque, NM

Hi Doug et al,

apologies I was unable to follow before now but online time has been scarce.

Thanks Doug for the response. It is correct that there is tab for resting the camera - it may be to allow
for portrait use. Either way I reverted to landscape use and re checked alignments etc. There wasn't anything
obvious out of place but some practise tour afterwards were improved (I feel). I also had decided to alter the f-stop and
try to match shutter speeds instead - there is still some shadowing but not too pronounced. Please look at
www.shoot.jimdo.com and let me know - this is the nearest I've got to hosting them at present but will tackle
that shortly.

One still had a problem and got poor matching status in PTgui - I didn't manage to get it corrected and I'm
wondering what are the options in this case. Doug can you elaborate on how you 'tilted' the image in PS i.e how do
you determine where and how to tilt?

I will take on board the point re light source and seam also - I attempted an outdoor shot with 2 shots and it is
very pronounced. It is on the site above also (disregard the tripod shadow)

I am interested on hearing more feedback and especially seeing comparisons with 'same kit' tours. Doug kindly shared
some.

I've manage to line up a potential source of tours in the next few weeks so next issue is to opt for a full s/w version
and understand how best to present the files and images for the web developers - again any pointers / clarity is
welcomed.

regards
David
Need a VT or Panorama shot in Ireland - get in touch

David
If I understood your post, you're saying there is a tab on the rotator you have to rest the camera body on in landsacpe position, but you're not using it and have the camera in portrait position.

I'm not aware of any benefit in shooting with a >180° circular fisheye in portrait position, so I'm not sure why you're doing it. You get a full circular image in either postion and if there is a tab to "align" the camera horizontally, why wouldn't you do it?

I was able to estimate I needed to rotate the images 1° from the misalinment I could see in the iPIX Interactive Studio preview and from practice leveling regular still images. Getting the camera & lens exactly level horiontally or perfectly straight up-and-down vertically in the rotator is essnetial.

The best 2 fisheye example I can think of to explain the problem is if the camera & lens is turned 2° clockwise in the rotator, the horizon on the left side of both images will be 2° high and 2° low on the right side, for a misalignment of 4° when they are stitched. This is also what is probably causing your alignment problem in your results from 3 fisheyes

PTGui can fix this, though I'm not good enoungh with it to tell you how.

The normal way to shoot is to the f-stop around 5.6 to 8, my Coolpix has a maximum of f/7.2 using a little bit of zoom to get a bigger circle. For a 2 fisheye shoot, position the camera & lens so the seam between the 2 hemispheres "splits the light source." Then look at the exposure scale reading on the cameras for one side, rotate and see if its the same on the other. If not, rotate the tripod until the 2 hemispheres have the same exposure on the metering scale.

Set the white balance to the appropriate setting if the light source/type is obvious, like Sunlight, Incandesant, Fluoresent, etc, or you can Preset the White Balance according to the procedure for you camera. My Coolpix 5400 & 8700 can preset the white balance with a piece of white card stock, so I assume the P5100 is similar.

If you're doing a 2 fisheye capture, I have to be honest, PTGui is not the easiest stitching program to use. After many attempts, I've never gotten a usable stitched image with it from just 2 fisheyes. I have gotten great stitches with PTGui from 3 fisheyes though. So I can't help much with that. I get invisible seams with iPIX Interactive Studio and RealViz Stither Unlimited DS

If your rotator has something to set the camera on in landscape postion, I'd use it and make your life simpler. Better aligned source images, will produce better stitched images

Douglas Aurand
Albuquerque, NM

Hi Doug,

just to clarify it doesn't have a tab to support the camera unlike the 360 rotator. I have in fact reverted to landscape mode as mentioned and results are improving. I will continue to practise 'splitting' the light source although shooting 3 shots this might be a little more difficult?

thanks for your help and suggestions
David
Need a VT or Panorama shot in Ireland - get in touch

David
Without a "base" that sets the camera level, using a landscape position should be easier to level the camera. Does the P5100 have a flash shoe? If so you might try one of the Manfrotto "shoe levels"

What I found worked best for "splitting the light source" when shooting 3 fisheyes, was to setup the "back shot," aiming away from from the light source, then turn the rotator 120° clockwise for the "left shot," set up the aperature, shutter speed and white balance based on this light and shoot it, then turn 120° clockwise for the the "right shot" and finally another 120° and shoot the "back shot," using the aperature, shutter speed and white balance used for the "left shot" on the other 2 shots.

Hope that helps a little

Douglas Aurand
Albuquerque, NM

Hi Rave,

one thing that may help you get better stitching and more consistent results is,

ALWAYS keep Aperture the same for all shots in a given pano

Dennis M. Carbo

Thanks for all the comments and I've tried to put some of them in practise. I've pieced together the following mockup
www.myhomeforview.com although I still have other things to tryout and test. I've managed to get a nadir/tripod cover into the flat images which reassembles fine in Tourweaver but wondering how this is achieve if just wanting to use the QT .mov file?

David
Need a VT or Panorama shot in Ireland - get in touch