Forum

Topic: Web Site and Forum / Google Earth Layer

Props to 661 for setting up the surfing page, even though it’s been a while since the page was up. It’s the first time I’ve seen it.

As for GS layer for GE, I don’t have the details on when and how, but I know that it won’t be long before it’s available again.

Topic: Web Site and Forum / 'Galleries' in 'Groups' do not allow adding Gigapans

Thanks for that clarification post jason. The Galeries will be getting some love I can tell you that! :)

Topic: Web Site and Forum / Can't access profile and other observations

Regarding private gigapans, yes, they are private in the scope of public searches on this website. Since they don’t appear in public searches, they also aren’t available to search engine bots that are looking through gigapan.com or gigapan.org. However, as Jason pointed it out, once a private gigapan’s URL is posted on another website, search engines may find it there.

Topic: Web Site and Forum / Can't access profile and other observations

William, the Plus membership requires at least one public gigapan. So, in order to upgrade your membership from Free to Plus, your uploaded gigapan has to be Public. Other then that, your member profile page should show ‘plus’ as your membership subscription level. Please let me know if your are still experiencing this issue.

Topic: General Gigapanning / Tripod Poll

If you can find a used wooden tripod on eBay, they’re cheap and very sturdy. Here are some ideas for homemade mounts:
http://tnphoto.com/giga/
You might be especially interested in the triangle mount. Most of my vacation panos are done with it.

Topic: Embedding / Limit to number of embeds?

Hi John, there is no limit to the number of embeddable gigapans. The language dealing with limits will be removed shortly.

Topic: General Gigapanning / Godzilla size gigapixel

To add to Phil’s posting, when you save the pano in RAW, Stitcher puts the size of the image in pixels as part of the filename (“sample10345x54321.raw”). Make a note of it. Use Photoshop to open the file. You will need to enter the width and height in pixels, that it has 3 channels and no header. The image will be huge and it will slow down your system, but Photoshop will let you edit it. Layers, cloning and tonal controls all work. When you’re done, flatten all layers and re-save the image. It will take several minutes to save. You cannot open the RAW image in Stitch but the free Gigapan Upload <http://gigapan.org/cms/create-upload> will do it. There is no limit on the size of RAW image you can upload.

Topic: General Gigapanning / estimate number of photo

Francesco,
After you have made a few panoramas you can compute the size of the pano based on the number of images. You can also compute the number of images necessary to make a pano of a given size. Just divide the size of each pano (in gigapixels) by the number of pictures. For instance, my 14-megapixel Canon G10 stitches to about .00765 GPx for each picture. Thus, to make a 1 GPx pano, I must shoot approximately 130 images. This isn’t exactly the question you asked but may be useful.

Topic: Web Site and Forum / Bug: Can't add/remove featured gigapans/members to group

Roger, just to clarify, are you trying to add gigapans from a featured groups page (http://www.gigapan.com/groups/landing_page) to your group’s gallery?

Topic: Web Site and Forum / Fewer people viewing Gigapans

Yes, the most recent GigaPans should be more visible, and more easily accessible. A fix is in the works.

Topic: Digital Cameras on Gigapan / Epic 100 remote port with Nikon DSLRs?

Quick update on this —

Unfortunately, there’s a more fundamental problem with using the Nikon D5100 with the Epic 100; the diameter of the lens I’m using is too wide and it’s not possible to align the sensor with the the main rotation axis.

Said another way, the D5100 doesn’t fit on the Epic 100 :(

So, I’m returning the D5100 for a Panasonic Lumix G3 and going to try to follow the instructions here to create a usable remote shutter connector: http://forum.getdpi.com/forum/showthread.php?t=…

— Joe

Topic: Web Site and Forum / Cancel & remove membership

What is the process to cancel my membership and remove my account information?

Topic: General Gigapanning / Godzilla size gigapixel

Danny. You can shoot in RAW on the camera but before putting the pics into the stitcher you have to save each one as a jpg or tiff.
Once stitched use the “export to…RAW” option in the stitcher menu (File→Export To→ RAW)

The scratch disk is where Photoshop puts all its temp files while working with an image. I have had some images with over 100GB of temp files which have filled up my c:\ drive (assuming you are using a PC). This causes Photoshop to not be able to process the file any further and you lose all your edits. This is a major annoyance. If you are using Photoshop for windows click on either file or edit go down to preferences and I believe the setting is listed under performance or something like that. My Photoshop computer is not here right now so I am sort of guessing. You can get a cheapish 1TB external drive for about $100.00

The final file is HUGE !! some of mine have been in the 50GB range.

It is fun to do so is worth the effort

Topic: Stitch / Purchased Used EPIC Series

Is the license transferable. I have the software on two computers but I plan to replace one of them. Am I able to deactiveate the software from one computer and activate it on another (similar to photoshop etc). If not could this be a future enhancement ?

Topic: Digital Cameras on Gigapan / Epic 100 remote port with Nikon DSLRs?

I know the manual for the Epic 100 says it’s only compatible with the Canon E3 connector. However, is there an adapter that will allow it to work with Nikon devices?

The goal is to hook up a Nikon D5100 via the Remote Port on an Epic 100.

Is this possible or will I have to hook up the mechanical button pusher?

Thanks!

— Joe

Topic: Stitch / Editing in Stitch

Can I crop within the stitch app or do I have to export, crop then upload?

Topic: Gigapan Mechanism / Epic 100 Arm Scale

New to Gigapan hardware but been a fan for years. I just received my Epic 100 and have done a few test pans with my D90 and 18-70 kit lens. I’m not that clear on the arm scale and D90 positioning though. I see several black scales that converge on the mounting hole but I also see radial red lines too. Since there are two planes of movement (horizontal and circular), I’m not sure exactly where to lock it down. WIth the D90 the extender plate is all the way to the rear. The test pans look ok, but I’m assuming the alignment was sheer luck. I’d like to understand it a little better before I go out and do some larger pans. Thanks and Happy Holidays! -Tim

Topic: General Gigapanning / Tripod Poll

I’m in the market for a good, sturdy tripod to mount my Epic 100 and D90 on. I’ve been “window shopping” past week or so and my head is pinning with so many options including Manfrotto, Dolica, Slik, etc. I’d like to hear from anyone with similar setups and what kind of experiences you’re having. I don’t think I need a fancy head and would probably be satisfied even with a simple plate to mount the Epic 100 on…and level it with the leg adjustments. Thanks!

Topic: Web Site and Forum / Total Views

Although count increments are not instant, the views are counted, and updated periodically.

Topic: Web Site and Forum / Bug: Snapshot Links Don't Work

dave, ‘tag’ searches/filtering is being worked on as well, and should be in testing soon. thank you.

Topic: Web Site and Forum / Bug: Snapshot Links Don't Work

661, a fix to take care of the link issue you described is in que for testing. thank you!

Topic: Embedding / Limit to number of embeds?

The Gigapan site shows that we are only allowed to embed 5 gigapans as PLUS members- Is this right?
I have several people interested in using me to shoot for them but they would all want to be able to embed the shots in their sites.
Is there a way to change the limit?

Topic: Low-light Gigapanning / Motion Blur

John,
There could be several causes for blurry photos:

The moving platform might not have “settled” before the picture is taken.
a. To get around this, turn on your camera´s Self-timer function and set it to 2 seconds.(Several cameras have a 2-sec Self-timer built in).
The button-pusher might not be holding down the camera button long enough.
a. Navigate to Options > Expert Options > Button Hold in the GigaPan Menu.
b. Use the directional keys to increase the time that the button-pusher will hold the camera button down.
The platform might be moving before your camera has taken and stored the picture.
a. Navigate to Options > Time Per Pic in the GigaPan Menu.
b. Use the directional keys to increase the time that the GigaPan will wait before moving. This is especially useful for night-time panoramas.

Topic: General Gigapanning / estimate number of photo

Tom,
To do a simple pano on the GigaPan don’t use the up or down buttons, just the left and right to set the left and right perameters for the image. You can also select a 360 in the main menu and when it asks you to move the camera to the top of the panorama just click “ok”, do the same for setting the bottom (don’t move it up or down) and then it will shoot a single row 360.

Topic: General Gigapanning / estimate number of photo

Francesco,
The GigaPan determines how many pictures are required based on 30% overlap and which focal length you’re using. Since the GigaPan does not know what lens you’re using you need to set the vertical FOV under Camera Set Up. Once this is set up the imager will know what focal length you’re using based on the vertical FOV. When you set the upper left corner and the lower right corner the imager will determine how many pictures are required to fill that area. Just remember that the longer your focal length the more pictures are required to fill that pano, and usually a higher quality image.