Beginner Help! (Choosing photosphere equipment)

[CameraNoob]

Hey there guys!

I'm thinking about making some of my own photospheres at home (360 x 180) but I'm a complete rookie when it comes to photography and DSLR/HDR camera equipment, I enjoy taking photos on my smartphone but that's as far as my knowledge stretches when it comes to photography.

I've been doing a lot of research on the internet and I'd just like to ask you guys about some of the things I couldn't find on the net - especially where equipment is concerned! I understand I need a 180 degree wide-angle fisheye lens as well as an appropriate tripod/panoramic tripod head, I'm just unsure about compatibility and actually setting all of it up, I have no idea if any of the equipment I've been considering is compatible or how I'd go about setting it all up etc...

Here's the full list of equipment I've been considering so far for the photospheres:

Camera:

Nikon D7000 Digital SLR Camera Body Only (16.2MP) 3 Inch LCD: (does 'body only' mean I can add my own lens straight out the box?)

Free Delivery Buy Nikon D7000 Body from Expeditelectronics

Lens:

Samyang 8mm f3.5 Aspherical IF MC Fisheye CS Lens - Nikon AE Fit

Tripod:

Pro Weifeng WF-6662A Tripod For Nikon D7000 Df D7100 D100 D70s D70 D80 Camera:

Tripod Head:

Nodal Ninja 3 MKII Starter Package (F3500):

Would all the above parts be suitable for making photospheres? Or am I missing a few things? Also how would I know if the tripod head was compatible with the tripod above? Is there a universal industry standard when it comes to camera and tripod compatibility? Or do I need to check each item is compatible with one another before purchasing?

Also, what angular distance would you recommend in between taking photo's with a 180 degree fisheye lens? I've heard some sources say 60 degrees and others recommending slightly higher so I'm not entirely sure, is it easier to Photoshop any black circles on the north and south poles of the photosphere? Or is it better to take individual photos of the ceiling and floor and then stitch them to the rest of the photosphere so there aren't any circles on the Nodal points?

Any help would be greatly appreciated!

Thanks guys!

[markkuk]

I understand I need a 180 degree wide-angle fisheye lens

No, you don't need a fisheye lens. You can take 360x180 panoramas with any lens, but the number of photos you need to shoot and the resolution of the final stitched image changes depending on your lens choice. A fisheye allows covering the full sphere with least shots but gives the least resolution.

Nikon D7000 Digital SLR Camera Body Only (16.2MP) 3 Inch LCD: (does 'body only' mean I can add my own lens straight out the box?)

"Body only" means you must add your own lens before you can take any images.

Pro Weifeng WF-6662A Tripod For Nikon D7000 Df D7100 D100 D70s D70 D80 Camera:

Looks like it's much too small and flimsy. I use a Manfrotto 055 tripod for my setup and wouldn't really recommend anything less sturdy.

Also how would I know if the tripod head was compatible with the tripod above? Is there a universal industry standard when it comes to camera and tripod compatibility?

Yes, a 1/4 inch screw for attaching the camera to the tripod and 3/8 inch for attaching the head to the tripod legs.

Also, what angular distance would you recommend in between taking photo's with a 180 degree fisheye lens?

6 shots around (60 degree intervals) is good for the Samyang fisheye on a body with 1.5 crop factor (like Nikon or Pentax). You should take nadir and zenith (straight down/up) shots.

[Hugh]

I endorse Markkuk's comments and also use a Manfrotto 055 with a Nikon APS-C body and Samyang 8mm lens and an NN3, although I use 8 shots round rather than 6 as this gives more overlap for editing out movement between shots and using the Mask option in PTGui.

You might find information on http://hugha.co.uk/Panoramas/PanoramaLinks.htm helpful.

[CameraNoob]

Thanks a bunch guys!

So just to clarify, the following equipment and setup should be OK for the Photospheres I need?

Nikon D7000 (Body only - APS-C sensor size 23.6mm x 15.6mm) ✓

Manfrotto 055 Tripod ✓

Samyang 8mm lens ✓

Nodal Ninja III Tripod head ✓

Is there anything else I've missed out or should that all be good to go?

Thanks again guys

[Hugh]

Your good to go with this hardware set up.
You might think about a remote release in the future.
Once you have recorded your images you will need software to create the Equirectangular image then the spherical panoramas.
Two suggestions are PTGui and Pano2VR combination or products from Kolor.
If you need any help just drop me a line (see my profile).
Where in England are you, I am in Dorset.

[CameraNoob]

Thanks a lot Hugh, greatly appreciated!

I plan on using PTgui or Hugin to stitch my images together - Hugin is an open source Panorama maker which looks pretty cool and doesn't cost anything: URL http://hugin.sourceforge.net/

To convert the images into cube faces I'll use Krpano tools (which does require a license): URL Krpano.com/tools

For anything else I'll just use Photoshop to make any improvements. Would you recommend always taking the Nadir/Zenith shots instead of using Photoshop? Or does it depend on the ceiling and floor types?

I'll definitely consider a remote release in the near future but for now I'm just gonna have to hide behind the camera as best as possible and hope I don't appear in the Photosphere :P

I'm currently based in Wolverhampton at the minute - I've just graduated and I'm looking to try and master the art of the Photosphere! I'll buy the hardware soon and see if I can set it all up without any problems *fingers crossed*

I'll be in touch if I have any problems - thanks again for helping a noob out Hugh!

[Hugh]

The choice of which software you use is really down to your personal preference.
Hugin, PTGUi , Autopano, Panotour and Pano2VR all do an excellent job and are continually being developed and evolving.
All have a trial version (usually with a watermark) so you can experiment and see which you prefer and which has the tools you wish to use.
I started with PTGui and Pano2VR so have stayed with them, but my Son-in-Law uses Panotour to build tours from my panos.

When it comes to shooting patterns, again you need to experiment and see what suits you best.
Surfing the net I get the feeling that the perceived method for a Samyang 8mm, Sigma 8mm or Nikon 10.5mm is 6 shots round plus Nadir and Zenith shots, but my take is that with digital there is no real overhead with taking a lot more shots so I use the 8 stop detent ring in the NN3 and take 8 shots round with the camera slightly depressed at -10° then 4 shots round with the camera at +30° (sometimes 4 shots round at +45° if I am I a room with very little detail in the ceiling) as this gives me lots of overlap for Control Points and for using PTGui’s Mask tool to deal with movement between shots.
I then take a hand held Nadir shot and use PTGui’s Viewpoint Correction to patch it into the panorama [http://www.ptgui.com/examples/vptutorial.html], but this does require a flat floor.
I often also use HDR such as for the seating view panoramas at Wimbledon and Twickenham where there is a huge difference between the lighting on the court and the back of the stands [http://www.keithprowse.co.uk/virtual...xp/index.html] and for these used 7 shots at one stop intervals for each image without a Nadir shot = 84 shots per panorama.

If you are ever in the vicinity of North Dorset do get in touch.