[Djlem]

I need help for a school assignment i was asked to create an image using the panorama tech however i'm having trouble can anyone help me by giving me information that would be helpful ........like should i use a tripod ,how many photos should i use.....help

[Sore Feet]

Yes, absolutely use a tripod. Stitching the pictures together if they are taken hand held is very difficult. Also, be sure NOT to change the camera settings when you're taking the pictures, or else the final image may have spots with the wrong exposure. Assuming you're using a digital camera to do this, just be sure you've got at least 1/4 of the frame overlapping from the previous frame. The number of pictures you take is totally up to you. The more you take, the wider the panorama. I'd recommend taking the pictures at the widest zoom possible, that way you have to take less picture to see more of what you're photographing.

[Djlem]

Thank you sooo much for your help you anwsered all my questions to the fullest .I'm more confident about starting this assg, thanks

[MooseAndSquirrel]

A tripod is best but if one is careful panoramas can be done successfully handholding-just try to keep the camera fairly level from shot to shot as you rotate around. Just takes some practice. Some digicams have poorly designed tripod mounts that are at one end of the body and could put a lot of stress on the plastic camera bodies. My Olympus camera's software has a good and simple panorama stitching feature that can automatically stitch together the frames and frankly for most people would be easier to use than manually stitching. Ditto Sorefeet's advice: overlap each picture 20-30% (most cameras have a panoramic framing guide in the viewfinder to help you too). On my Oly once you set the exposure and autofocus by pressing the shutter button halfway & then take a shot, that setting is locked and used for the rest of the panorama shots. I think with mine you can take up to 9 shots per panorama- I usually don't take more than 4-5 or else the picture will be too small for web viewing. It's best to do a panorama on a subject that is evenly-lit, like when the sun is at your back as you face the subject, or else you might have an uneven exposure. But experiment!

[Hugh Mantripod]

I shoot all my panoramas hand held and they ususally turn out fine.

[touron]

Does it matter whose hand you are holding when you snap the photo? Thanks.

[Djlem]

I took some shots today and well i was positioning each shot i felt that each shot was all at different length. i felt as if they might not fit together how can i avoid this should i use a tripod all the time. And how can i keep them perfect as i turn by head around for the next shot. Is this something that will just take experience.

[MooseAndSquirrel]

[Djlem]

Well my camera is a manual nikon its kind of an older one. I read the manual and it gives no information on panorma.

[MooseAndSquirrel]

Ok, that's important info- sounds like you have a manual film camera- not digital, so I figure the camera will not have a panorama capability built in to it like many digital ones. Ditto on stitching software, though I would imagine if you really want to go thru the time and trouble you could digitize your film images and there are software programs out there that could probably stitch those together. But digicam stitching software is so ridiculously easier to use. Good luck.