Lightroom or Photoshop for Panoramas

Do you generally merge your panoramas in Lightroom or Photoshop?


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Gary
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Yes
I am curious to hear what those of you on the Adobe ecosystem use for stitching panoramas and vertoramas? I have used Lightroom for a while with an occasional use of Photoshop if it will not merge correctly. However, I have now learned how to use the amazing adaptive wide angle filter and particularly the horizontal and vertical line things and it has revolutionised my workflow. I haven't made that many round trips from Lightroom since CS3, but since upgrading to an SSD, it is such a quick process that I now use that workflow rather than relying on the somewhat restrictive panorama function in Lightroom.

Feel free to shoot me down and tell me there is a better way, but I find I get less distorted images using Photoshop!
 
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I am curious to hear what those of you on the Adobe ecosystem use for stitching panoramas and vertoramas? I have used Lightroom for a while with an occasional use of Photoshop if it will not merge correctly. However, I have now learned how to use the amazing adaptive wide angle filter and particularly the horizontal and vertical line things and it has revolutionised my workflow. I haven't made that many round trips from Lightroom since CS3, but since upgrading to an SSD, it is such a quick process that I now use that workflow rather than relying on the somewhat restrictive panorama function in Lightroom.

Feel free to shoot me down and tell me there is a better way, but I find I get less distorted images using Photoshop!


Yes Don't use either Photoshop or light room for pans. they are too restrictive. and uncontrollable.
Use either PTGui or PTAssembler or even Hugin which are designed for the job, and are based On the math of Helmut Dursch in his panotools.
PTGui is the leading software used by a very large majority of professional Panographers and covers every thing from single row pans to 360x180 virtual reality. however it is comparatively expensive.
PTAssembler By Max Lyons is more suitable and targeted at single and multirow pans and especially Gigapixel images using longer focus lenses. And is my program of choice... it also has a much more reasonably priced perpetual licence with free upgrades. it is best used with the built in PTAPicker to select control points and Smart blend as the free blending plugin. this goes a very long way to over coming possible parallax problems when stitching.
Each of these Pan programs, unlike Adobe, have a vast array of projections to choose from for which gives the best chance of distortion controlled output.
 
God, I looked at PTassembler and it was like trying to pilot the space shuttle! Simple and user friendly it is not!
 
God, I looked at PTassembler and it was like trying to pilot the space shuttle! Simple and user friendly it is not!

When you have come to terms with it it is very simple to use. But like all powerful programs it has a steep learning curve.
Photo shop is extremely simple but there are so many things that it can not do.
Once you learn PTAssembler or PTGui they are quicker than photoshop. Simple pans can be done with two clicks. But when pans are impossible on photoshop, they just storm through them. So if you are serious about making pans it is most worthwhile learning how to do it. I am coming up 84 in January and I have had no trouble learning it

If you are in shooting range of saddlewort I could take you through it. It could save a few day sweat.
 
Thanks Terry! Unfortunately, I am saddled with having to go into hospital for an operation this week, so I probably have enough time to learn. Can you recommend any good online tutorials so I can try and do a bit of self learning?
 
Thanks Terry! Unfortunately, I am saddled with having to go into hospital for an operation this week, so I probably have enough time to learn. Can you recommend any good online tutorials so I can try and do a bit of self learning?

Hi if you open the program and go to "Help" it will show you a number of Tutorials etc. and as they cover about everything that the program can do for the "expert" they can be a bit mind blowing... it is worth starting by reading through the one called PTAssembler Tutorial. http://www.tawbaware.com/ptasmblr_tutorial.htm

Then put it out of your mind for a while and watch this youtube demo
View: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-t6xCw6FUoQ


The next stage is to read the Tutorial again and it will make more sense as you will have made a few mental connections. However do not shortcut the process by not reading the Tutorial first time around. or you will still not have made the necessary connections.
The next stage is to make a very simple pan . Just two image NOT MORE. or if things go wrong you will not be able to discover what the problem was.

But first click help then check installation to make sure you have every thing in the way of helper plug ins installed

Mine looks like this....

*** Core Panorama Creation Program Versions ***

1. Optimizer Program:
C:\Program Files (x86)\PTAsmblr\PTAStitcher.exe (x64)

2. Stitcher Program:
C:\Program Files (x86)\PTAsmblr\PTAStitcher.exe (x64)


*** Core Panorama Creation Program File Dates ***

Optimizer: PTAStitcher.exe created on 30/06/2017 15:50:14
Stitcher: PTAStitcher.exe created on 30/06/2017 15:50:14

*** Optional Plugins / Helper Programs ***

NeatImage not installed
GreyCStoration not installed
Autopano not installed
Panomatic (x64) found at E:\PTAssembler programs\Panomatic_64.exe. (04/01/2013 15:45:26)
CPFind not installed
Enfuse not installed
Enblend not installed
Smartblend (x86) found at E:\PTAssembler programs\Smart blend\smartblend.exe. (25/03/2007 12:46:18)
Multiblend not installed

*** PTAssembler components ***

PTAssembler (x86) found at C:\Program Files (x86)\PTAsmblr\ptasmblr.exe. (30/06/2017 15:27:02)
ptastitcher.exe (x64) found at C:\Program Files (x86)\PTAsmblr\ptastitcher.exe. (30/06/2017 15:50:14)
ptassembler.dll found at C:\Program Files (x86)\PTAsmblr\ptassembler.dll. (30/06/2017 15:50:14)
imgformt.exe (x64) found at C:\Program Files (x86)\PTAsmblr\imgformt.exe. (27/08/2012 22:41:04)
tufuse.exe (x64) found at C:\Program Files (x86)\PTAsmblr\tufuse.exe. (27/08/2012 22:41:02)
ptapicker.exe (x64) found at C:\Program Files (x86)\PTAsmblr\ptapicker.exe. (30/06/2017 15:38:38)
sbwrapper.exe (x64) found at C:\Program Files (x86)\PTAsmblr\sbwrapper.exe. (10/08/2012 18:08:22)
sbiterator.exe not installed
tiffcrop.exe (x64) found at C:\Program Files (x86)\PTAsmblr\tiffcrop.exe. (10/08/2012 18:08:22)
tiffconform.exe (x64) found at C:\Program Files (x86)\PTAsmblr\tiffconform.exe. (10/08/2012 18:08:22)
tiffxfer.exe (x64) found at C:\Program Files (x86)\PTAsmblr\tiffxfer.exe. (10/08/2012 18:08:24)
ptaexec.exe (x64) found at C:\Program Files (x86)\PTAsmblr\ptaexec.exe. (30/06/2017 15:38:12)
ptacopy.exe (x64) found at C:\Program Files (x86)\PTAsmblr\ptacopy.exe. (30/06/2017 15:38:22)
ptadel.exe (x64) found at C:\Program Files (x86)\PTAsmblr\ptadel.exe. (30/06/2017 15:38:20)
ptarecycle.exe (x64) found at C:\Program Files (x86)\PTAsmblr\ptarecycle.exe. (30/06/2017 15:38:14)
shutdown.exe (x64) found at C:\Program Files (x86)\PTAsmblr\shutdown.exe. (10/08/2012 18:08:20)
msgbox.exe (x64) found at C:\Program Files (x86)\PTAsmblr\msgbox.exe. (30/06/2017 15:38:10)


You need Panomatic and Smartblend , make sure you have down loaded them

Go to Files---Preferences... plugins ... you may need to configure them (ie tell the program where they are) so press the appropriate configure buttions and make sure they are found.

Next step.
Choose PTAPicker and smart blend by clicking them then click OK
You now know your set up is fine.

Now try a pan

Open PTAssembler
Drag your two files on to it click Auto create
All sorts of data will then run on the screen
till it asks, do you want to see a preview or final image . so click on preview.
and in a short while after more processing a preview will appear.

On the right hand side of the screen you will see various options and it is worth trying out various "Projections" from the drop down list. click on any one then click on redraw to see what it looks like, some will look much the same, as you only have two images. but they can make a massive difference to distortions on more complex pans

Before you output the image , choose output File format. (step 5 Tab)
Choose blended tiff

next click CREATE to make final image DONE

Hope this helps.

You should now have your first PAN.
 
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Okay, so quick update. I had a play around with PTassembler and got it working semi tolerably. However, from reading elsewhere, I also had a look at a free piece of software from Microsoft Research called ICE - Image Composite Editor. I am absolutely blown away by it - it's a free piece of software that is quite simply brilliant. Simple enough for ludites like me to use, yet extremely powerful with multiple different panoramic projections. This software really is what lightroom and photoshop should be - every panorama and vertorama I have thrown at it has been stitched and stitched well. No disrespect to PTassembler, but I think I have found my new panorama stitching software.

The only slight issue is that it won't work with Raw files, so you need to get your white balance sorted before exporting to it as a TIFF. I generally export to it from Lr, and then have to reimport the image once I have saved it in ICE by using the syncronise folder option.

https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/res...tography-applications/image-composite-editor/
 
Okay, so quick update. I had a play around with PTassembler and got it working semi tolerably. However, from reading elsewhere, I also had a look at a free piece of software from Microsoft Research called ICE - Image Composite Editor. I am absolutely blown away by it - it's a free piece of software that is quite simply brilliant. Simple enough for ludites like me to use, yet extremely powerful with multiple different panoramic projections. This software really is what lightroom and photoshop should be - every panorama and vertorama I have thrown at it has been stitched and stitched well. No disrespect to PTassembler, but I think I have found my new panorama stitching software.

The only slight issue is that it won't work with Raw files, so you need to get your white balance sorted before exporting to it as a TIFF. I generally export to it from Lr, and then have to reimport the image once I have saved it in ICE by using the syncronise folder option.

https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/res...tography-applications/image-composite-editor/

ICE is a nice easy working automatic stitching program that goes a lot further than Photoshop version. However it does not let you get into the nitty gritty of doing difficult panoramas like PTAssembler or PTGui do. So if if it has a problem, or makes a poor stitch, there is nothing you can do about it. (Much like photoshop. Nor does it have built in focus or exposure fusion, though like all stitchers it does have exposure blending between images. Nor does it have my favourite projection "recti perspective that renders all radial and vertical lines straight. which is extremely useful for Architectural and "perspective" images.
The blender I listed in Add ons For PTA... Smartblend has the ability to overcome Parallax problems fully automatically. and PTA itself can choose between which parts of an overlap to use by masking so if a person appears twice in an pan you can often remove the second image.

Some pans do not have enough detail for AUTO programs to place control points and / or the place them on water or sky, which is an instant fail... see this thread https://www.talkphotography.co.uk/threads/help-please-pano-experts.687830/#post-8308036 which is a case in point. but I was easily able to do it in PTA where ICE and Photoshop and other programs failed. I was able to do it by only using four manual control points on the small piece of linking bridges and manually correcting the verticals and horizon... none of these options are available in ICE.

To keep it simple Automatic stitchers remove all the necessary advanced, and more complex, controls. that make the difficult doable.
 
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