wwp@yahoogroups.com:
Software/Hardware suggestions-one-shot options?
Rick Drew 2006-Oct-19 21:31:00
I have used a couple different oneshots. The quality is nowhere near that
of a traditional lens. The focus is very soft, and the detail is poor. If
the goal is printing, forget it. For web use, it's OK, but the quality is
pretty poor.
You're going through a lens, then off a plastic mirror. The outer borders
of the image are usually useless (too distorted.)
The oneshot image is also called a doughnut image - the reason is obvious.
After the image is unwrapped, you have a TIF or JPG file that can be edited
in any image editor. I did a site a couple of years ago that used a lot on
oneshots.
http://www.add360.com/oak_lawn_fest/default.htm
Some are stitched wide angle images, most are oneshots. The best of the
oneshots, and pretty much the best quality you can expect is:
http://www.add360.com/oak_lawn_fest/13.htm
The resulting images are NOT equirectangular. I believe Tourweaver needs
equi images for the tour panos.
Take a look in the WIKI - there are reviews listing what software can use
oneshot images in the tours.
http://wiki.panotools.org/Windows_software
I still use it when I have no other option (on a moving chair lift, for
example) - but as I shoot more and more panos, I'm getting pickier.
Consider the resolution - the doughnut image uses about 40% of the image
frame - the rest is inner and outer border, and a small portion on the
images fringes that can't be used. If you're shooting an 8 mp image, the
oneshot image is actually around 3.5 mp. With a stitched image and the
appropriate overlap, a similar shoot would have around 14 images, each 8 mp.
So you'd have an 80 mp image vs a 3.5 mp image.
That said, in areas with a lot of movement (people, vehicles, etc.) or when
you are moving, the one shot is often the only answer. I've used it
shooting out a car sunroof while doing 55mph, moving ski-lift, on a boat and
the like.
Some people movement can be corrected with layer editing - I prefer that
method to the one shot when possible. Although I have missed a third leg or
extra head occasionally......
Rick Drew