New Panorama photo software source

[Mike Price]

After trying everything I could think of to find a source for the Sony software, PictureGear, and/or the Ulead software Cool 360, which I have used to generate the panoramas I have posted, I about gave up. However, I finally discovered that ArcSoft makes Panorama Maker 5, for about $80. I downloaded the trial and spent half of today installing and running the software on the 2009 NOG photos I took.

http://www.arcsoft.com/estore/software_tit...uctCode=PMK5PRO

I ran it successfully on my W2K Internet machine, Sandy's old XP Laptop, our Casita Vista laptop, and Sandy's new VAIO embroidery machine Windows 7 laptop. Works very well, has some neat features, such as if you click on any of the panorama photos, it instantly selects the rest of the photos, even if they are out of order. The software can output the panoramas as *.mov, flash, .tif, .jpg, .tga and PT Viewer (whatever that is).

I plan to purchase one copy, even though I already have the old programs that do the same basic job.

You can download the trial version, and it will build a high-quality "flat" panorama in high resolution....but it will only SAVE in low resolution. The flat panoramas are beautiful! Also, the software has several tips for getting good photos for good panoramas.

Enjoy,

Mike

[Mike Price]

CAUTION! CAUTION!

The software I recommended is fine, but be careful not to allow it to also install several additional "trial" or "preview" programs or sub-routines. Thought I had cancelled them all out before loading the Panorama Maker, but apparently missed doing so on my W2K machine only. It took some time to uninstall them, because you have to start at the bottom of the list where the "subroutines" (for the lack of a better word) are, and delete each in turn before you can delete the "parent" program. It was my own fault, as the install routine asks if you want to install these extra items, and I must have inadvertently not deleted them before the install.

HTH,

Mike

[Ron Stewart]

Some nice panoramic NOG samples would be nice, Mike.

[Pat And Arleen]

You can do the same with CorelDraw or Adobe.

Some nice panoramic NOG samples would be nice, Mike.

[Carol Ann in TO]

This software comes included with many new photo printers. I just got it included with an Epson Artisan.
Printer and software for $150.

[Donna D.]

You can do the same with CorelDraw or Adobe.

Adobe is a company, not an application. Which app would you suggest? Photoshop or PDF or ?

[Jim Bennett]

Photoshop has a great stitching feature with it. The detail you can get into a photo by merging multiple images is incredible.

Here is a pano of the Painted Hills in Oregon. I have a real nice sunset one I am working on too. LINK
Here is the full-sized image of the same pano. It is fairly large so you might have to wait a bit. Scroll around to see the detail you get doing a pno of multiple images. LINK

Here is a pano of Horseshoe Canyon here in Alberta LINK
Original LINK

[Pat And Arleen]

Donna if you have Adobe Photoshop you would use it. PDF is a document not a application, and to edit it you would need the Adobe Acrobat application. (not the reader you download).

Adobe is a company, not an application. Which app would you suggest? Photoshop or PDF or ?

[Mike Price]

Photoshop has a great stitching feature with it. The detail you can get into a photo by merging multiple images is incredible.

Here is a pano of the Painted Hills in Oregon. I have a real nice sunset one I am working on too. LINK
Here is the full-sized image of the same pano. It is fairly large so you might have to wait a bit. Scroll around to see the detail you get doing a pno of multiple images. LINK

Here is a pano of Horseshoe Canyon here in Alberta LINK
Original LINK

All of these links show "flat" (and partial) panoramas, while the software I am suggesting creates a "closed" panorama. The difference is that the closed panorama can only be created if you take overlapping photos in a full 360 degree sweep. The closed panorama can then be viewed as a *.mov (Quicktime) or similar video player. I suggest you search on the last post on the last page of [b]Northern Oregon Gathering - Spring Event 2009!, April 24-26, 2009 to see the difference between a flat pano and a closed pano. Click on either of these:

2009_Spring_NOG_Pan_1.MOV

2009_Spring_NOG_pan_2.MOV

A quickTime viewer will open up, and you can "Play" the panorama by clicking and holding the left button and moving it left or right to move the picture horizontally in either direction. The resolution has been severly downgraded in order to get the pano file size down within the forum limit.

If you click and hold the mouse button and move it right or left, the farther right or left the mouse moves, the faster the panorama rotates, and it will continue rotating the full 360 degrees time after time, because it is a closed panorama.

Note the many times the restroom building goes by. Each time you see it, you have gone clear around 360 degrees.

As far as I know, those other image softwares cannot create a *.mov file.

HTH,

Mike

[Donna D.]

Donna if you have Adobe Photoshop you would use it. PDF is a document not a application, and to edit it you would need the Adobe Acrobat application. (not the reader you download).

oh boy too much turkey! You were thinking Photoshop when you typed Adobe and I was thinking Acrobat when I typed PDF. D'oh!

Thanks for the clarification.

[Bill K]

You have to be careful with that turkey Donna.

Bill K

oh boy too much turkey!
Thanks for the clarification.

[Ray N]

You don't need the full Adobe Photoshop (very expensive), to do panoramas, Adobe Photoshop Elements will do a nice job with panoramas. Elements only costs about $80 and even comes free with some scanners.

The attachment was made with my wife's simple little point and shoot digital which didn't have a very wide lens, so I took three or four shots and combined them.

[Ray N]

Mike, that ability to continue on in the picture beyond the first 360 degrees is very cool!