DonationCoder.com Forum
Main Area and Open Discussion => General Software Discussion => Topic started by: Carol Haynes on June 02, 2006, 03:11 PM
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Thought I'd show off a panorama I took the other day. All three images are thumbnails - click on them to see the full image.
This is a picture of Wensleydale looking south (the East end of my village is at the left hand end of the the photo)
To give a bit of background:
12 large/fine JPEG quality photos taken left to right with a Canon EOS Rebel (300D)
Hand held (yes I know ideally I should use a tripod but it was a spare of the moment decision)
I tried three different applications on basic settings (just whacked in the photos and used all the default settings):
This was the best image I got - and I am really quite impressed:
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Note the original image created is 11Mb so this is significantly reduced in size (and it shows a bit). The software I used for this image was PTGui (http://www.ptgui.com/) (latest build) (cost 65 Euros). There is also a very active forum where the author contributes a lot (which is based on the original PanoTools).
Other applications I tried were Panorama Factory (http://www.panoramafactory.com/) (latest version, $70) and PanaVue Image Assembler (http://www.panavue.com/) (version 2.12a - current version is 3, $64-$129) and Autostitch (http://www.cs.ubc.ca/~mbrown/autostitch/autostitch.html) (free beta version - time limited, available in other commercial products at a price).
Panorama Factory had distinct areas of non-alignment (in various places trees on the skyline appeared as elongated blobs because they appeared more than once but not quite in the same place). It produced a file of 24.5Mb. Here is a small version of the output file:
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I haven't upgraded to the latest version of PanaVue Image Assembler because it seems hard to justify the price ($32 for the upgrade) when I originally swapped to Panorama Factory because of marginally better results. Version 2 produced an image with a slight bend, misalignments and some colour banding at overlaps. It produced a file of 20.1Mb. Here is a small version:
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Autostitch ... produced a 24.9Mb file with good alignment. It is hard to tell but I personally think the image is a little more banded at the original pictures overlap areas than in PTGui - but for free it produces a good result - plus it is the easiest to use - you can add any set of photos (in any order) and it sorts out the positions of the all photos even if there are multiple rows and the pics are not straight without any further user input.
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This is a very unscientific test really - one stitching job on default settings is hardly good practice - but then I was really impressed with the accuracy and colour matching of PTGui.
If anyone is interested I could do a little review and try to identify (and zoom in on) some of the problem areas. I could try PanaVue version 3 too (using the demo version).
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This is really interesting, Carol. I'd be interested in seeing a minireview of these apps. You could add Autostitch (http://www.cs.ubc.ca/~mbrown/autostitch/autostitch.html), or one or more of the apps that are based on its code to round out the review...
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panorma app review!
panorma app review!
panorma app review!
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OK I'll get onto it ...
Anyone got other apps for this they would like covered (but only if they have a free or properly working demo version)?
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Added an 'Autostitch' section to the first post.
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http://www.autopano.net/ (http://www.autopano.net/) looks good but the price makes me cringe. It is a licensee of autostitch
I love autostitch :D
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http://www.autopano.net/ (http://www.autopano.net/) looks good but the price makes me cringe. It is a licensee of autostitch
I love autostitch :D
-tsaint
That's what I thought - given that you can download AutoStitch why would anyone pay $100 for AutoPano which is just AutoStitch in a new skin (I presume)? Maybe the SDK from AutoStitch offers a lot of other options that aren't in the beta.
My only criticism of Autostitch is that it isn't perfect at blending colours and getting the match right with the main parts of the pictures so you get a slight banding. It is pretty damn good for a freebie though ...
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Had a look at RealViz Stitcher Express ...
I am using the demo version which I downloaded. By far the biggest package (100Mb).
To be fair to the other software I have not read any instructions (because I didn't for them) and tried to build the same panorama again.
First off I can see no way to get it to automatically put the photos together. Each one has to be placed in approximately the right place and then stitched to the existing panorama before adding the next.
The only trouble is I can't save the project I am working on (presumably a demo restriction) and having spent the best part of 40 minutes trying to do this I get an error every time I try to render the output "Stitcher has run out of memory" - the program then exits without any option to save what you have done.
I have tried doing only a third of the pano (4 pictures) and it does the same.
Given that I have a machine with 1Gb of memory (and well over half of that is not in use) I am not really too impressed with this!
I'll investigate a bit further before I unistall it but so far this looks the least promising (and one of the most expensive) options.
I have also contacted AutoPano (and got an almost instant reply) so I will definitely add that to the review and I have also contacted Serif Panorama Plus (since there is no demo download available).
Anyone got any other programs they would like checking out?
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Hi,
I have tried a number of stitching programs, including a few of the mentionned above, so I'll pitch in.
Some programs can only stitch one row of pictures to create a traditional panorama, such as PanoFactory.
While others can do multiple row stitching (Autostitch, PTGUI, Realviz, AutopanoPro, etc...)
In my experience Autostitch, PTGUI, Autopano do a noticeably better job at automatic stitching than Realviz or PanoFactory, especially in difficult situations.
There is also a substantial difference in functionality between programs such as PTGui/AutopanoPro and Autostitch. With the first two you can choose the projection to be used:
- rectilinear<wideangle lens like - no curved lines->
- cylindrical <panorama>
- spherical
And on top of that you can preview-tune the result before rendering. Autostitch can only do spherical and no preview (and jpeg only, no tiff, no psd, etc..).
AutopanoPro has also the capability to merge 2 different exposures of a same pic to achieve a High Dynamic Range (HDR) photo (haven´t tried it).
And, VERY USEFUL for those that shoot pictures in RAW format is AutopanoPro´s support of RAW as an input format.
I think that Autostitch does the job for the casual panorama while PTgui and Autopano offer far better creative possibilities and control to the enthusiast photographer.
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Thanks I think we are on the same wavelength. I have tried all of these (and also PanaVue ImageAssembler) and think AutoPanoPro and PTGui are coming out tops. There is also Hugin (similar to PTGui but free).
Stay tuned ...
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Carol,
I'm using Panorama Factory which I settled on after a fair amount of testing (a few months ago). Aside from a few panorama sequences, I've been mainly using PF for "over-sized" document archiving (plans, maps, posters, broadsheets etc) and it's been rock solid with excellent rendering quality. The documentation is comprehensive as well. The current version doesn't support mosaics like say "the original and the best" Autostich does, but this is planned for a future release.
As for the other products I looked at, I'll have to look through my notes and report back.
Andre
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Thanks Andre - I like PF too
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Hi. I am new in this area. I would really appreciate if someone of you give me some hints about making a room panorama (in order to make a virtual touring... this is another story :D) TNX!! :Thmbsup:
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Thanks for your thoughts on this (as I'm thinking of diving into a more powerful programme: I'm just using the Canon provided stiching software).
This is not really panorama, but has anyone looked at PhotoSynth? It's not released yet, but the videos (sales pitch) look amazing!
http://labs.live.com/photosynth/ (http://labs.live.com/photosynth/)
- Perry
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AutopanoPro has also the capability to merge 2 different exposures of a same pic to achieve a High Dynamic Range (HDR) photo (haven´t tried it).
-elpresi
I'd be interested in what you thought of this functionality: I've been creating HDR images in PhotoImact quite successfully, but there is no auto-registration which means that the images have to be set up and shot with a tripod (which isn't a huge drama, but does kill the spontaneity)
- Perry
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Here is a cool panorama that has been made with Autopano Pro
http://davemelges.com/panos/silverleafdemoone.htm
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Here is a cool panorama that has been made with Autopano Pro
http://davemelges.com/panos/silverleafdemoone.htm
-oBFusC8r
Excellent image!
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Hey that is a brilliant image ...
Why don't you see if AutoPano want to use it in their gallery ?
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Just to clarify things. I did not shoot that image, a photographer named Dave Melges did. He wrote in a post over at dpreview.com that he used Autopano Pro to make it. Someone posted a link to it on the Autopano forum as well.
I have been playing a bit with Autopano Pro myself lately, processing lots of photos from a vacation to Iceland. Really neat app.
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I have been playing a bit with Autopano Pro myself lately, processing lots of photos from a vacation to Iceland. Really neat app.
-oBFusC8r
I'd be interested in what you thought of the HDR stiching. Does it auto-register the images (like it does for other stiching)?
- Perry
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HDR is something I have yet to explore, though the tests I have made indicate that Autopano registers and aligns the images automatically. Check out the Autopano online wiki documentation, it has a HDR tutorial.
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there is another one here:
ArcSoft Panorama Maker (http://www.snapfiles.com/reviews/ArcSoft-Panorama-Maker/arcpanorama.html)
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ArcSoft Panorama Maker (http://www.snapfiles.com/reviews/ArcSoft-Panorama-Maker/arcpanorama.html)-kimmchii
this is quite good, i got mine via a freebie cd with the purchase of my Canon scanner. ArcSoft (http://www.arcsoft.com/products/panoramamaker/) also have a sister-app that can be useful for documents. It's called Scan-n-Stitch (http://www.arcsoft.com/products/scannstitch/).
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Thanks for the suggestions I have emailed ArcSoft - but I think I will look at Panorama Maker only as Scan-n-stitch is not really designed for panorama making (though it may do that).
Sorry guys I haven't forgotten about this but I have been away and am snowed under with work (and vistors) at the moment as well as a few other commitments. It will get done (honest) it is just taking a while to get to it.
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WB Carol, haven't seen your posts for a while - starting to worry.
Here's another panorama maker, recently mentioned at snapfiles
(http://www.snapfiles.com/reviews/zoner-panorama-maker/zonerpanorama.html)
Its Zoner Panorama Maker for $9.99, website http://www.zoner.com/
Haven't tried it, I'm messing about with a hdr app instead
tony
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Thanks Tony - yes I have already requested a review copy.
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Here's another panorama maker, recently mentioned at snapfiles
(http://www.snapfiles.com/reviews/zoner-panorama-maker/zonerpanorama.html)
Its Zoner Panorama Maker for $9.99, website http://www.zoner.com/
-tsaint
I don't know if this is needly reviving an old thread, but GiveAwayOfTheDay (http://www.giveawayoftheday.com/) is giving Zoner (http://www.zoner.com/panorama-maker) away for free (for the next 19 hours anyway...)
I have not tried it either, and am probably unlikely to at this stage, but for anyone else who'd like to try, it's there...
- Perry
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Sorry everyone - I really haven't forgotten about this but I have had numerous problems (including a period of illness and depression - now hopefully sorted) which have meant it got left on the back burner.
Not least death of my previous computer - and numerous problems with my new system (mobo died and had to be replaced twice!!) and a graphics card hard to be RMAed because the fan went within 2 months. All in all it has been a bit of a nightmare and now for some reason my system is running strangely. All this got rather tangled up with Christmas and the New Year and has only really been fully resolved in the last couple of weeks. Now I just have to work out how to get my system running properly again without having to do another reinstall!
... I did actually start writing some stuff at one point and spent some time with at least 4 of the applications I have review copies of.
I haven't got around to reinstalling all the panorama apps - and at the moment I am not sure I want to.
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Glad to have you back on the topic again... I know that I really enjoyed reading what you've posted previously, and it almost resulted in a purchase; but there was a little too much competition for the $$$ at that stage. ...so thanks!! :Thmbsup:
I know my back burner gets pretty expansive at times: I have to keep reminding myself that the computer was bought for me, not the other way around ;)
- Perry
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I lately found this project hugin at http://hugin.sourceforge.net/, an open source project.
Although it is still in beta version, lots of features are worth trying.
It is based on pano-tools. Here is one picture I made with it.
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Nice find demonstrate :up:
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Hugin is quite impressive, tinjaw would agree as it helped him to solve his problem in this thread here (https://www.donationcoder.com/forum/index.php?topic=7935.msg56175#msg56175).. :)
• https://www.donationcoder.com/forum/index.php?topic=7935.msg56175#msg56175
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Carol, what about uploading the 12 pics, so we can compare?
Edit: Ohh, I didn't notice from the beginning how OLD this thread is...
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Sorry, I have been meaning to get back to this for sometime - unfortunately the versions of software I was supplied with are quite old now and I can't quite face going back to the companies. Manybe what I need to do is to write up something for each product and then send the companies a copy and if they want me to update the comments in light of the latest builds they can send me a copy.
It all went a bit pear shaped when my previous system bombed and I had to build a new system. A combination of duff graphic cards and a duff new mobo prolonged the agony and I had a long period of illness, really debilitating depression and insomnia, to cope with (which now seems to be a lot better).
Maybe it is time to have another go!
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Please forgive me for playing some home version kind of a net doctor, but I know from my many years of depression that the best medicine is sun, sun and sun (the sun works a lot better at the beach than everywhere else), and exercise - and some social stuff I still need to practice a lot more. Today I also know that rejection, lack of acceptance, and lack of forgiveness, can cause depression. Depression can of course be amplified by illness, but depression can itself cause illness, and long time depression will even damage the brains. I truly hope you'll find your way out of this situation, Carol; "you're worth it!"
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As for the companies; I would think it okay to tell that the previous test results were lost together with the PC, before/without being published, so if you please could have another test trial? That is, if you really care to take on this big task again?
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Hang in there Carol! :Thmbsup:
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Thanks Curt + Mouser - actually I got therapy-type help from my local doctor (I don't like pills) with the sleep problems and that has (at least partially) sorted out the depression stuff. Also in the last month or so I have started getting out and about again getting some exercise (sailing, hillwalking and horse riding) and it really does make a difference. The quality of sleep when you are physically tired is completely different to 'couch potato' tired.
I think the biggest problem I have is that I really don't meet that many people these days - and so when I do go out I am feel bit isolated and unable to join in like I used to. I am sure this is just a mind set or learned behaviour but it is really hard to break. I am beginning to feel sympathy for agoraphobics! Trouble is without social contacts I find it hard to get motivated to do anything - I procrastinate too much whereas in the past I was always one of those people that was endlessly busy and willing to take on more.
Maybe it has something to do with the bigh 5 birthday coming up next year!
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To quote my favourite author (and character):
"Life, don't talk to me about life"
Marvin, H2G2, DNA
Thanks for the comments Curt - unfortunately the RDF approach is what I have adopted to religious belief precisely because I have been there, done that and worn the Christian T-Shirt and found it really doesn't fit with me. I have no particular problems with the Bertrand Russell assertion "When I die I rot" its my relationship with myself that is probably the biggest issue ;)
Anyway enough of my problems - this thread is supposed to be about panoramas!
Whether it will lead anywhere or not I am not sure but I have reinstalled all the pano apps I can find (except Hugin for the moment - it is a goodie but it appears to have been updated but the the download page is still not up to date). All the other apps I had seem to install OK - and some have been updated to latest versions with the serial numbers I was given.
I lately found this project hugin at http://hugin.sourceforge.net/ (http://hugin.sourceforge.net/), an open source project.-demonstrate
I think Hugin was mentioned earlier in the thread. I have had v. 0.5 for some time but the website now says that version 0.7 is available. However the download page still talks about 0.5. When you downloaded it what version did you get? Could you list the version numbers of the extras too.
This is the list of stuff I downloaded ages ago:[attachimg #1][/attachimg]
and is one of the reasons I don't really like Hugin - you have to go searching for all the other bits.
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I just downloaded hugin yesterday and enblend and panotools are included. I didn't find autopano though...
I am very impressed by the quality and sophistication of hugin/panotools, but I think I will run my panoramas through autostitch first, because it is sooooo easy!
Kevin
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Hugin is very impressive for a freebie but as I understand it Hugin is basically a front end for panotools and the other addins. Most of those addins long ago ceased development (especially panotools which is not open source - though some people have started to reverse engineer it to add a few features). PTGui took the same approach initially but is now a complete self contained pano app - you can still use pano tools, enblend etc. in PTGui but it also has its own rendering engine which is probably a bit better.
Autostitch is very easy to use but is really a pretty limited demo. Serif Panorama 2 is based on the autostitcher code and is very simple to use (even easier than Stitcher!) but doesn't have the limitations in terms of output etc.
My favourite application is Autopano Pro (http://www.autopano.net/). It isn't free but it is really easy to use but if you want more advanced tweaking it has all the features you could want unless you are high end professional user - in which case I am not sure what the limitations are. The original Autopano was based on autostitcher too (and I think that is what the autopano plugin does in Hugin) but now it has dropped the autostitcher code in favour of its own code base. The really nice feature is that you can right click on a folder full of photos and it finds all the possible panoramas all by itself - you can't get simpler than that!
I am beginning to get a bit inspired again - I will try to get going on the review! (Famous last words)
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I tried Hugin and i was very surprised.
It's pretty good, i had never tried this kind of software and thought this kind of stuff was hard to do, but i was able to come up with something pretty decent!
Here's a panorama photo of the landscape out of the window of the hotel where i'm staying right now:
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FREE Panorama Viewer (updated today):
Details:
http://www.wpanorama.com/exescreenshots.php
from Snapfiles:
[ You are not allowed to view attachments ] (http://www.snapfiles.com/get/wpanorama.html)
from Homepage:
[ You are not allowed to view attachments ] (http://www.wpanorama.com/wpanorama.php?r=1187045004)
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I tried Hugin and i was very surprised.
It's pretty good, i had never tried this kind of software and thought this kind of stuff was hard to do, but i was able to come up with something pretty decent!
Here's a panorama photo of the landscape out of the window of the hotel where i'm staying right now:-jgpaiva
looks good jgpaiva, the join looks good
unfortunately it has a darker patch of sky nearer the join.
I think there was another tool that could correct that a bit more but cant remember offhand.
It's one of the major problems with joining photos...
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FREE Panorama Viewer (updated today):
-Curt
Looks neat - and there are some nice panoramic photos on the site too.
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unfortunately it has a darker patch of sky nearer the join.
-tomos
Interesting.. I hadn't noticed that.
The problem was that that photo resulted from the join of 8 photos, and the two in the middle got darker than the other 6... Would there by any reason for that? (other than that fact that i totaly lack photographic skills? :) )
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How did you shoot your photos? Did you use manual exposure and ensure you used the same setting for all the 8 photos? If not they will have different exposures and then the pano app may attempt to colour correct assuming they should all have the same setting.
Actually it looks like a blending problem to me.
Can you zip up the photos and put the zip file on an FTP site somewhere and I will have a go at combining them using various apps to compare?
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Carol: i usually don't change any settings, just use the camera in automatic :)
But i can see what you mean, next time i make such photo, i'll remember to do that. Thanks! :D
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my 2 cents:
The absolute best (and most flexible) pano stitchter I've found is AutoPano (http://www.autopano.net). You guys should check it out!
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I tried creating panoramas using Microsoft Image Composite Editor 1.2 recently. See below how it sliced objects:
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When I tried the AutoStitch v2.2 demo, using the same set of pictures, I got this:
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Does anyone else use the Microsoft program and have this happen to them also? I am going to use AutoStitch for any future panoramas. If you can't see the difference and can't download the attached panoramas, let me know and I will try to provide downloadable pictures.
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Microsoft ICE was a minor part of some other, bigger project, and has not been updated for more than a year. Might never be.
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For creating panoramas I'd recommend either Hugin (http://hugin.sourceforge.net/), which is free, or AutoPano (http://www.autopano.net/en/), which isn't free (99 Euro).
Both allow fine control over syncing of points between images, with hugin being a lot easier in this regard, which IIRC you can't do under AutoStitch.
hugin also has options to input the camera lens specifications to fine tune the correction a bit more - if you know them or they're in the EXIF data.
The panoramas in this post (https://www.donationcoder.com/forum/index.php?topic=16945.msg150065#msg150065) I made were created with AutoPano 1.40, (images 2, 5, 11, 12 are only single photos - everything else is a panoramic composition).
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FWIW, Autopano Pro uses Autostitch's technology under license.
We are happy to hear from companies interested in developing products using AutoStitch™.
Commercial licensing is managed by the UBC Industry Liason Office. Please contact Matthew Brown (mbrown[at]cs.ubc.ca) for details.
AutoStitch is now available in the following commercial products:
* Autopano Pro www.autopano.net (Windows, Mac, Linux)
* Serif PanoramaPlus www.serif.com (Windows)
* Calico www.kekus.com (Mac)
The University of British Columbia has also granted a commercial license to Industrial Light & Magic (ILM) www.ilm.com, a Lucasfilm Ltd. company, to use AutoStitch software to produce panoramas for film production.
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Microsoft ICE was a minor part of some other, bigger project, and has not been updated for more than a year. Might never be.
I wanted to warn people about the problem so that they could avoid the time and effort of installing and uninstalling it.
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Microsoft ICE was a minor part of some other, bigger project, and has not been updated for more than a year. Might never be.
I wanted to warn people about the problem so that they could avoid the time and effort of installing and uninstalling it.
-Arizona Hot
thanks Arizona,
any chance you could reduce the images to thumbnail view in your previous post ?
- instead of [attachimg=#], use [attachthumb=#] - listed as "inline thumb attachment" in the dropdown box - thanks!
Would make it easier to get an overview ;)
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I got 2 panoramas of the South Pole station made in 2008 before the Dome was dismantled. Both are 360 degree *.swf files, one is spherical. You scan them by moving the mouse's cursor in the picture. Here is a link to them:Panorama Adventure Antarctica (http://www.adventure-antarctica.de/tag/panorama/). Thank you Tomos for that help, I will edit that post.
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That's just showing off ...
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Nice scene though!
I felt colder than I already was -- and it wasn't particularly warm before I started :)
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This is still free from Curt's post.
Updated this year.
http://www.wpanorama.com/wpanorama.php?r=1262473544
Serif has a free version on it's Panorama.
http://www.freeserifsoftware.com/software/panoramaplus/panoramaplus-se.asp
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This is still free from Curt's post.
Updated this year.
-cmpm
New (apparently stable) beta version for Windows 10:
WPanorama version 10.1.2 beta available since August 14, 2015: http://www.wpanorama.com/beta.php
With WPanorama you can display panoramic pictures by letting them scroll horizontally or vertically on the screen. You can use this software to view the gorgeous 360° swiss panorama included with the program, the 3'474 panoramas available on this site (http://www.wpanorama.com/panoramas.php?rnd=100) or your own pictures in .jpg or .bmp format.-WPanorama
Normal homepage: http://www.wpanorama.com/wpanorama.php
Revision history: http://www.wpanorama.com/download/beta_version/history.txt
Details of some WPanorama settings and features: http://www.wpanorama.com/exescreenshots.php#FreqSet
The package includes a viewer and a screen saver
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Before updating from a version 7 or older to a version 8 or newer, it is strongly advised to uninstall the old version, as the files are not installed in the same folders. After the new version is installed, you should move your data files (images and ".wpa" configuration files) from the "C:\Program files\WPanorama\" folder to the "WPanorama" folder located in your personal folder ("My documents" or "Documents").
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WPanorama is distributed as a freeware. This means you don't have to pay for it, it has no functionality limitations and you can use it for as long as you want. However, if you really like it and wish to make a donation to its author, you can do it by using "this" link
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A lot has happened since 2009. This is a screenshot of the version information of the current version of Microsoft ICE.
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free and really fine panorama viewer: http://www.wpanorama.com/ (http://www.wpanorama.com/)
a new version of WPanorama is finally available.
The main differences with the previous version are:
- WPanorama can check at startup if a new version is available and, if it is the case, gives the possibility to connect to the site in order to download it.
- The software now uses your current web browser to display the map showing the panorama location. This has been made in order to solve a compatibility issue between Google Maps and wpanorama web browser. The advantage is that the map can now be displayed in a larger size.
- Miscellaneous improvements in the menus and the help.
- Correction of a few bugs, one of them which could, under certain circumstances, disable the current screensaver.
You will get more details by using the "Help - Version history..." function of the new version of WPanorama.
As usual, WPanorama can be downloaded either by using the "Help - Check Web for update" function of your actual version, or from http://www.wpanorama.com/ homepage, thanks to the "Download WPanorama" link.
In the future, you will not receive this type of message anymore, as WPanorama is now able to notify you when new versions are available.
Don't forget to visit WPanorama website once in a while, as many new panoramas are regularly added.
With my best regards
Pierre-Alain Bovard-WPanorama 11.0.1
WPanorama, always recommended, but maybe the GUI suffers from French thinking.