wwp@yahoogroups.com:
Re: about my equipment !
Roger Howard 2006-Jan-03 17:41:00
On Jan 3, 2006, at 3:01 AM, yilmaztufan wrote:
> I am newbie for Panoramic photography.
> I have a web site www.360Tr.com ( about Istanbul panorama )and i
> wnat to
> improve it for new spherical panorama.
>
> Cause of then i decided to buy new camera equipment.
>
> Canon 350D with 18-55 mm f/3,5-5,6 Lens (Black Body) : 900 $
> Sigma 8mm F/4.0 EX Circular Fisheye Lens for canon Slr ( is it
> competiable
> for D-Slr Canon ? ) : 450 $
>
> Is it good chooise or should i change something for more quality ?
This is a great choice for the money; the Sigma 8mm is very popular
and works quite well on all Canon DSLRs - though it is a full-frame
spherical fisheye, one side of the image circle will be cropped due to
the small sensor (compared to 35mm film size) but this is no problem
for most people.
> I can spend average 1300 ~ 1500 $ .
>
> In this equipment how many shot should i take for qubic ( spherical )
> panorama. 4+2 or 6+2
I typically shoot 6+1, though on occassion have shot fewer (6 around,
tilted slightly up). You typically don't need the straight down shot
(nadir) as it's almost covered by the 6+1 and what's missing is
generally easy to clone in using Photoshop - unless you're shooting
something where the floor has important detail.
> Should i buy Manfrotto 303 sph or can i buy cheap solusion for
> example
> Panosaurus(http://gregwired.com/pano/Pano.htm)
The Manfrotto 303SPH is nice enough, but you can certainly get away
cheaper by building your own; a cheaper head like the Panosaurus is
also an option, though I have mixed feelings - the price is right, they
are generally nice and light, but they might prove to be a little more
flexible than you would hope... then again, the 303SPH has some flex to
it to! If you have the money, consider a "pro" panohead - typically
$500 to $1000 - otherwise, you can certainly make do with a ~$100
panohead in most situations.
FYI, that 18-55mm is a cheap lens, but I've actually been quite happy
using it for non-360 panoramas... it's got nice saturation, and is
small/light. It's certainly not a pro lens, but for the money you might
actually get some good use out of it!
-R