Las Vegas and panorama shots

Zaf

Zaf

Zaf

Soldato
Joined
16 Jan 2003
Posts
7,093
Location
Derbyshire
Hi Guys,

Sorry no pics.... yet :D

So I'm going to Vegas on Sunday (so can't wait!!!)

Unfortunately though I've not been able to find a Wide angle lens before I go :mad:

Do you think I would be better off with my 18-55 Kit lens or using my 28-75? I'm trying to keep the kit i'm taking to a minimum

Also worth mentioning I'm only taking a SLR Gorrila Tripod haven't got room for a full size

Any thoughts on this? What the best technique for Handheld panorama shots? I've not tried one before so hopefully get a chance before I go just been to busy last month so bit dissapointed in myself in that respect
 
Zaf said:
Hi Guys,

Sorry no pics.... yet :D

So I'm going to Vegas on Sunday (so can't wait!!!)

Unfortunately though I've not been able to find a Wide angle lens before I go :mad:

Do you think I would be better off with my 18-55 Kit lens or using my 28-75? I'm trying to keep the kit i'm taking to a minimum

Also worth mentioning I'm only taking a SLR Gorrila Tripod haven't got room for a full size

Any thoughts on this? What the best technique for Handheld panorama shots? I've not tried one before so hopefully get a chance before I go just been to busy last month so bit dissapointed in myself in that respect
Click to expand...

haha I'm off to Vegas on Saturday!

I'm taking my 18-270 for general use, and my prime 50mm f1.8 for wondering round in the evening

I considered a wide angle for the canyon, I'm on a helicopter out to the canyon nxt tuesday :D

In the end I decided not to spend the money, and just take a number of tripoded shots from my current lenses which can be stitched together in Photoshop. my plan for technique was fixed tripod position and just rotate. I was then going to stitch on a large canvas in photoshop and warp the image back to straight, then heal/clone stamp the edges to box it out and crop for the finished article ... not sure how it will turn out tho.

I also bought a hoya circular polariser .. mainly for the chopper flight to shot the sights through the glass but also for the canyon, haze and sky colour. I took the poloriser out for a test run at the weekend and I'm really pleased with it.

Anyway look forward to seeing your photos when u get back
 
Random-Rabbit said:
In the end I decided not to spend the money, and just take a number of tripoded shots from my current lenses which can be stitched together in Photoshop. my plan for technique was fixed tripod position and just rotate. I was then going to stitch on a large canvas in photoshop and warp the image back to straight, then heal/clone stamp the edges to box it out and crop for the finished article ... not sure how it will turn out tho.
Click to expand...

If you're just shooting stuff that's far away it'll come together easily, if you're including foreground then you'll need to be careful of parallax error, which will make stitching it together very hard work. You ideally want to rotate about the entrance pupil of the lens, which if you just plonk your camera on the tripod tends to be fairly far forward of the rotational axis.

Beware of using the circular polariser when taking shots to stitch later, it may screw up your sky. Better to bracket the shutter speed in this case to apply HDR to each shot increment later.
 
Random-Rabbit said:
haha I'm off to Vegas on Saturday!

I'm taking my 18-270 for general use, and my prime 50mm f1.8 for wondering round in the evening

I considered a wide angle for the canyon, I'm on a helicopter out to the canyon nxt tuesday :D

In the end I decided not to spend the money, and just take a number of tripoded shots from my current lenses which can be stitched together in Photoshop. my plan for technique was fixed tripod position and just rotate. I was then going to stitch on a large canvas in photoshop and warp the image back to straight, then heal/clone stamp the edges to box it out and crop for the finished article ... not sure how it will turn out tho.

I also bought a hoya circular polariser .. mainly for the chopper flight to shot the sights through the glass but also for the canyon, haze and sky colour. I took the poloriser out for a test run at the weekend and I'm really pleased with it.

Anyway look forward to seeing your photos when u get back
Click to expand...

what have you done about insurance?

Also is it really worth me taking my fifty nifty if my 28-75 is 2.8?

Really wish I had room for Tripod :(
 
hhmm I'm sure your 28-75 is fast so probably be fine, my tamron 18-270 is an amazing all rounder but its a slow glass so its not going to get good strip shots (As in the road :P) hence the nifty fifty as you say :D

I'm chucking my tripod in my suitcutcase but I'm sure you could use a gorilla pod or hand held to get the panaromas .. it may be a little bit more tricky stitch but as It's a bright high shutter shot it should be sharp and clear and therefore fairly easy to match features to stitch.

I may not even use the tripod for the canyon .. it's mainly for the night shots as I'm staying in the stratosphere :D

As for insurance I check my annual holiday insurance and it only covered individual items up to £300 which even if I split my kit apart will still leave me outta pocket if I had to claim ...

so I got an annual photography policy, covers me at home in the Uk and ont he occasional shots I do + 30 days travel a year abroad.

You insure the individual items in the kit with serial numbers so everything is covered ..

company I used was www.photoguard.co.uk

also check this site for recommendations ..

http://www.amateurphotographer.co.uk/shop/Insurance_4714.html

my policy ended up at £80 a year or £6 a month which I opted for ... wanted to max my vegas cash so opted for the cheap monthly option :D
 
Random-Rabbit said:
pleasure ... never know I may end up sitting at a blackjack table with you :P

enjoy .. look forward to seeing your shots
Click to expand...

Yours to matey :)

More of a poker man myself but no doubt i'll be dabling on everything :D

edit\ Sorry Mud cheers for your input too :)
 
Found some time to get on the internet with my phone, Hopefully I've managed to get some good shots. Day time around the strip I used the nifty fifty as it would fit in the misses bag quite enjoyed coming up with shots with the fixed focal length. Grand Canyon was today used my widest lens which was kit lens didn't get chance to do any panorama as was a helicopter ride through the canyon to a ranch, tonight going to fermont street so taking 28-75 2.8

Hopefully get a set up at the weekend :)
 
I think you'll find the kit lens is pretty much hopeless along the Strip if you want panoramas.

Funnily enough I'm staying in the Bellagio tonight and will try and pop down to best buy to get some better glass tomorrow. The best I could muster up:

IMG_0237.jpg
 
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