How to avoid parallax and/or tilted horizons in photomerge Panoramas?

[paullgj]

I was looking at the panorama thread and saw lots of great images.  My own attempts haven't been too successful - I usually end up with some kind of tiled ocean horizon after photomerge in Photoshop.  I'm using a Manfrotto ballhead with D700 shot in portrait mode - maybe 7-10 images stitched.  Any suggestions as to where I'm going wrong?  Tripod head?  I am swiveling the tripod head around the nodal point.  Thanks.

Gene

[Merco_61]

Is your tripod set up so the base for the head is absolutely horizontal in both axis'? You can avoid that problem by getting a swivel-plate to put between the head and the camera. You can then use the head to set up the horizontal plane needed.

Parallax can be because of two problems. Either you are only close to the nodal point or you are using the nodal point and have set the photomerge to compensate for the parallax you have already removed mechanically. This latter case can do some really screwy things to the final panorama.

[Frank Fremerey]

https://www.google.de/search?q=360+precision+head&safe=off&client=firefox-b&prmd=ivns&tbm=isch&tbo=u&source=univ&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwjW8YW6gN3SAhVEBSwKHWlrDWQQsAQIHA#spf=1



I bought a 360 precision head a while ago which was IMO the best head on the market. Before that I had a  custom built head of my own design I called Panokardan. I tried a Nodal Ninja which was not for me because it is more for Fishexe shots and I use 24mm and a very good Novoflex VR head which I still own.

The 360precision website is currently down. Are they still in business?

At kolor.com you can also find some interesting hardware and software. I use the software for many years now. But. The current photoshop panorama function works so well that Auto Pano Giga does not get mich use.

[richardHaw]

yes, get the nodal point, this was very important for me when I was still working doing this kind of things

also, be sure that there is nothing in your immediate foreground, around 20m >, that will show parallax. for what I do its OK since I am always shooting cityscapes for clients

[Erik Lund]

As a basis starting point your horizon must be set absolutely level for the ball hear or panorama clamp, so the axis you rotate the lens/camera around will be absolutely vertical.

Then set/check the nodal point for the, focal length for zoom, and focus distance of the chosen lens.

I would recommend the program PTgui, simple and precise to work with.

[Frank Fremerey]

Exactly speaking you have to rotate the lens-camera-system around the entrance pupil of you lens.

BUT: The margin of error is big if your subject is far away like a mountain ridge.

What I did most of the time is the opposite. I took and take photos of Interieurs where a lot of fine details and overlapping objects are in the near field.

In this case the entrance pupil should not be missed by more that a millimetre.

[richardHaw]

I am not sure if people know this but some Nikkors have the gold ring situated conveniently where that is supposed to be  if I am not mistaken, the 10.5/2.8 is one of those