Advice on Virtual / 360 kit and where to learn

[mikeyw]

Hi,

I've been deliberating for some time now about giving 360degree photography a go and have decided to go for it. I have a D7100 which i'm sure will handle the task as a body and a reasonable tripod so just need a lens and 360 bracket.

I was going to go nodal ninja but hadnt appreciated how pricey they are - would this do the trick to get me started ?

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Pro-360-S...357242?hash=item4d20f435ba:g:F6IAAOSwX6VTyj5b

As for lens id like to got for the Nikon 10.5mm but it's pretty pricey so may end up opting for the Samyang 8mm - would this give acceptable results ?

Ideally i'd like to try offering this service to companies but for now just wish to learn the ropes - what a the best learning tools ?...any advice on good technique and best practice. Probably getting ahead of myself but would like to learn about the process whilst sourcing the lens and pano bracket.

Many thanks in advance,
Mike.

 

[mikeyw]

Anyone able to offer anything even another forum who might specialise in this area ?

 

[sk66]

That head would work... actually, just a long lens plate on a standard head can work for an in-line 360 pano.

Persoanlly, I would consider a 0-360 lens and do it with one image (unless you particularly need a very high res virtual tour)... I see them come up used fairly regularly on Ebay.

 

[Nod]

ISTR the chap who sold me my Sigma 8mm fisheye used his (the one he sold me was a spare, in case the first was a bad 'un!) to create 360° images. IIRC, he used 5 shots (N, S, E,W and up) then combined them. Very effective for landscapes and interiors (cars and rooms). I'm afraid I can't remember either his name nor the software he uses.

 

[Johnytuono]

PTGui seems to be the software of choice for ease of use on the stitching side.............haven't took any 360's for quite a while so I'm a little rusty. I used the Nodal Ninja M1 with a 16mm Nikon fisheye and I think it was 5 or 6 images around (depending on the overlap you wanted) and a Nadir (ground) and Zenith (sky,ceiling) shot. Shooting the Nadir is so that you can 'remove' the tripod (that's a subject on it's own). It's all about practice with 360's and REALLY learning the software.
I hope I'm not breaking any rules by linking to another site but I found this one very useful regarding the lenses http://www.vrwave.com/
Hope this helps a little.
JohnyT