How about some more ... ed-ja-macation

[sparkie1263]

Don you project looks great.

Frank

[DonSchap]

Thanks, Frank.

Unfortunately, the "Martian Man-killer Project" is currently on hold, as the fantasy realm is being precluded a little bit by reality. They want real actors for these few initial courses and I may not be getting to the advanced stuff with the current curriculum I am enrolled in.

I will be only taking three courses, this upcoming summer session ...

• Digital Photographic Production
• Database Management and Web Preparation
• Editorial Photography

instead of the four I had originally scheduled. I dropped off the "Gen Ed" course ... leaving it for the winter time. I can hardly believe I nearly have seven down ... 20 more to go!

Speaking of which, I have to shoot an eight-panel panorama, with good beginning and end points ... plus including two foreground object, to create depth in the overall image, tomorrow morning or Wednesday afternoon, for "Digital Darkroom."

I was considering the lower east side (see red dot) of one of our busiest intersections (IL-72 & Elmhurst Rd) ... and with the TAMRON SP AF 14mm f/2.8, in "portrait orientation" (making it effectively a 21mm shot), try to capture eight section shots of traffic standing still, at the stop lights. Yeah, the right-hand side of Higgins (Touhy) is nine lanes across! Hell, I may need to pull out a telephoto lens to get across it! I mean, that's a long distance phone call, in some countries.

Then, I can merge them all together. Talk about foreground objects, eh? The feeling of utter panoramic terror!

Another, perhaps safer location (it is debatable, believe me), about four miles away from that first location is the Des Plaines Traffic Circle at (from the top and going counterclockwise) N. Wolf Rd.; State Street; South Wolf Rd; N. Broadway Street and East Golf Rd.



Yeah, five heavily trafficked streets all meeting in one counterclockwise spiral of potential death and mayhem. Unlike the traffic light-controlled order the upper intersection offered, this one is only the five stop signs on these streets and half the time (and that's on a good day) the good drivers who travel these streets ... ignore them, in a perpetual "challenge of a roadway stars."

Who says panoramas are of scenic areas? C'mon ... let's see some action! Skeeech! Honk Honk! Crash!

[sparkie1263]

Good luck with the shoot.

Frank

[DonSchap]

Thanks ... it was mostly overcast, today, but the sun comes out, tomorrow ... and I'm leaving class early to shoot that traffic circle around noontime. I will then return to the school to process and post the shots and resulting the panorama on the notorious "drop-off drive."

Then, I will be hauling in the strobes and hot lights for use in the school's photography studio, for an evening shoot. I need a bent wood chair ... and still wonder where I can find one.

Photography makes for a big day, tomorrow. The SONY Full Frame is the real star. I just drive.

EDIT: Wednesday afternoon ... the SIGMA AF 12-24mm f/4-5.6 DG EX HSM arrived just minutes ago ... so it is going, too. I get a chance to actually and actively compare the TAMRON SP AF 14mm f/2.8 IF against it. Very cool.

[DonSchap]

Okay ... I am doing this in stages, so bear with me.

First, let me say I simply shot this the way the instructor suggested. I was in one heck of a hurry, the one to two o'clock traffic at the circle was "nutz", as usual ... and well, here we go ...

. . . . . N. Wolf Rd . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . E. Golf Rd . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Broadway St . . . . . . . . . . . . .S. Wolf Rd. . . . . . . . . . . . . . State Street



TAMRON SP AF 14mm f/2.8 IF @ f/5.6 - 1/800 sec (1/640 sec & 1/320 sec). - ISO-200 - Ap Mode - No AEL (I think this was a major mistake, but then again, I'm not in charge)

I'll be honest, I never like letting the camera make the choice ... and this is a pretty good example of why.

[DWessel]

My class is also doing a panorama assignment. I did a couple of HDR panoramas. Right now though, I'm in between computers and cannot convert the PS doc into a JPEG for posting, but will do so in a couple of days.

I found that manual mode with an aperature between f11 to f/16 and manual focus that gets the majority of the scene in sharp tends to work best in post processing.

[Peekayoh]

You're right, (A)Mode = big mistake.
Also wide angle + f5.6 = too much vignetting
The tutor should put you in charge.

[DonSchap]

If I do it it THEIR way and produce the result ... and then I go and do the "right way", I can get the improved grade.
I have "proof of concept" on my side.

If anything, these "school experiences" have taught me that fighting city hall gets you a lower grade. They are using the
method they (whomever) know ... not what what actually works. Coming for the field, where we figured it out ... makes for
an interesting "clash."

BTW: I tried putting together the 12-24 version, but am having some issues with it not matching up, more than like due to
the edge distortion

Wide angle lenses focus to infinity, in this situation, and offer a tremendous DOF:
(using the on-line DOF Master)

Settings:

• 14mm (Focal Length)
• f/5.6 (Aperture)
• 10 feet or more (Distance to subject)
• Camera Sony A850

Generates:

Depth of field
Near limit . . . 2.76 ft
Far limit . . . . Infinity
Total . . . . . . Infinite

In front of subject . . . 7.2 ft
Behind subject . . . . . . Infinite


Obviously, exposure is the real art. In this case, it only makes sense that for a smoother continuous frame:

• MANUAL
• AE Lock
• Wide angle lenses focus to infinity, in this situation, and offer a tremendous DOF and some vignette clipping

Informing the Instructor that he/she is WRONG, without having "proof in hand" is the best way to
get yourself shut out for the rest of the class.

Anyway ... I will go back and reshoot it the RIGHT WAY later on ... make it so. I have to say, it was a relatively rough shoot and
experiencing the circle, as a 'pedestrian', is its own adventure. Driving around it, in a car, is a challenge ... and kind of reminds
me of navigating a rapids, without the canoe or raft hitting the rocks.


Just for a little comparison of a zoom to a prime, here are the 100% center crops ...

SIGMA AF 12-24mm f/4-5.6 DG EX HSM @ 12mm . . . . . . . . . . . TAMRON SP AF 14mm f/2.8 IF


from these two originals ...



Although the 12mm shot is a little more ... "fuzzy" ... I have to say, that "out of the box", this is astoundingly a much better result
than I ever anticipated. Is the lens capable of more? I really cannot say, but for a zoom ... I can live with it. While there is a lot
more "testing" to be done, it is a good start.


Thanks for your comments.

[DWessel]

Don,

The other thing to keep in mind is that with CS4 and higher, there needs to be at least 20% overlap between shots for solid panorama merging. Earlier versions used to get a decent merge with less, but Adobe decided it could achieve better merges with at least 20% overlap. Of course, they didn't bother to make it obvious that your merges would not turn out quite so great if you didn't have at least that amount of overlap.

[DonSchap]

Aside from going "ALL MANUAL" (oh, I hear the shuddering ... hey, be brave, right? It's digital), I may cut down
the increment between frames. We have a full eight shots available to do whatever pan we decide on. I got
six out of the 14mm ... and down to five with the 12-24mm @ 12mm.

If I relax it back to an eight image composition ... I may be able to better manage the vignette effect and still
get the entire 360.

The first shoot always is "the test." It points out the shortfalls and you can plan the next one, a little better.

I may even try using the SIGMA AF 20mm f/1.8 DG EX for this, just to see if I can stretch it around the circle.