Hello all,
I just have two quick questions. Is the Sigma 10mm F2.8 Fisheye lens good enough for panorama shots?
Does a fisheye lens have any quality advantages over a wide angel lens when it comes to creating panoramas?
Best regards,
-Henrik
Investing in a useful lens
If you are looking for "good enough" panorama lens on a budget, I think the Zenitar 16mm Fisheye lens works great. Sure it's a manual focus & manual f-stop, but it does focus to infinity.
I use that lens with the panosaurus, and have gotten excellent results. The best part is, it's only around $150!
I use that lens with the panosaurus, and have gotten excellent results. The best part is, it's only around $150!
- castillonis
- Posts: 39
- Joined: Wed May 28, 2008 9:53 pm
- Location: Portland, Oregon
I use the sigma 10mm f2.8 fisheye on a canon 40D. It has a 167 degree FOV on Canon and a 180 degree FOV on Nikon cameras with a APS-C size sensor. The Nikon APS-C sensor is slightly larger. I almost always manually focus. The lens gives me very good results, though I have to take more shots due to the 167 degree FOV. The lens is the the most important piece. A better camera sensor will just make it more evident and reveal any flaws in your lens.
If you you have not bought a camera body yet, I would seriously consider the new Nikon D700 which has a 36 x 23.9 mm CMOS full frame sensor with 14 bit A/D conversion. The key is that it has 2 to 9 exposure bracketing with {1/3, 1/2, 2/3, 1} EV stops. It also has sensor shake dust reduction. If you shoot scenes with a huge amount of contrast such interiors of churches, mountians with snow, etc. This allows you to quickly get the shots without having to use a computer or TOUCH the camera. I always use a wireless shutter release and mirror flipup (unless very bright) in an attempt to reduce any misalignment between exposures. I am going to be considering a move to the D700. Yeah, I will just take my laptop with me up Mt Rainier and shade the screen while I am in my crampons tied off from a picket Don't think so.
Also, dont' rely on photomatix to blend your different exposures. It is quick, but there are still significant isssues in producing clean images without a haze. Reducing the blending point -2 will help reduce haze. Using masks in photoshop gives the best results, but you need to learn your tools well so that you don't become frustrated. It can take a lot of work
If you you have not bought a camera body yet, I would seriously consider the new Nikon D700 which has a 36 x 23.9 mm CMOS full frame sensor with 14 bit A/D conversion. The key is that it has 2 to 9 exposure bracketing with {1/3, 1/2, 2/3, 1} EV stops. It also has sensor shake dust reduction. If you shoot scenes with a huge amount of contrast such interiors of churches, mountians with snow, etc. This allows you to quickly get the shots without having to use a computer or TOUCH the camera. I always use a wireless shutter release and mirror flipup (unless very bright) in an attempt to reduce any misalignment between exposures. I am going to be considering a move to the D700. Yeah, I will just take my laptop with me up Mt Rainier and shade the screen while I am in my crampons tied off from a picket Don't think so.
Also, dont' rely on photomatix to blend your different exposures. It is quick, but there are still significant isssues in producing clean images without a haze. Reducing the blending point -2 will help reduce haze. Using masks in photoshop gives the best results, but you need to learn your tools well so that you don't become frustrated. It can take a lot of work