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My 360 Photography Workflow
I use a Nikon D610 and a Nodal Ninja panohead

Saturday, October 10th 2020

360 Photography Workflow

This project initially began on Saturday, June 22nd 2019

Software Updates and a look to the future as of October 2020 (ongoing)

I had my computer crash about six months ago and lost my copy of Adobe Photoshop Elements. I adopted the software Affinity photo in its place. The new software has been great for editing 360s and for working with the nadir portion of the image. This software has replaced my need for Touch Retouch on my phone, however, I often am unable to edit the photos as well as I can on the mobile app of Touch Retouch. I have learned a few new techniques from YouTube videos, which should make my PC edits just as good if not better than those done on the Touch Retouch app. Looking to the future of my photography I will be looking into purchasing a wide-angle lens for better real-estate photos. I will also be looking for a fisheye lens (around 12mm) that will maximize my full sensor of my Nikon D610. I am also looking into a getting certified to fly drones and get photos from that avenue. I am not yet prepared to invest $750+ to get into this area, but it is something I am interested in. I think flying a drone would be really fun and enjoyable.

360° Photo in 4 minutes with an Android Phone (June 10th 2020)

<iframe width="560" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/mezdJWdv3hI" frameborder="0" allow="accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture" allowfullscreen></iframe>

Current Equipment from August - October 2019 (ongoing)

I am currently using a Nikon D610 with Sigma 8mm fisheye, Nodal Ninja R1, and EZ Leveler II. I shoot with 3.0 bracketing and RAW HDR. I process HDR in Photomatix and then stitch with PTGui. My post production processing is done in Adobe Photoshop Elements 13 for mostly color correction. I create virtual tours using Panotour Pro. I also have a 3D printed panohead for my GoPro Hero 3 that does great in tight quarters and small spaces. It is also the equipment I travel with regularly. I also have a MacBook Pro that I can use for processing photos while traveling. I prefer to use my custom built PC with video card. I don't plan to use my cell-phone for 360 photos, but do use the TouchRetouch application for editing out the tripod and unwanted shadows. The app is superior to every software have found so far on my PC. I use the Google Street app on my phone for updating Google Streets and Maps.

Current Equipment from June - August 2019

I am currently using my OnePlus 7 Pro, Google Camera application, and the Google street view mobile application to take these photos. I started by using the philopod technique with a durable nylon braided string connected to a heavy carabiner. I have recently advanced to a tripod, phone holder, and a 360 Degree Panoramic Base.

This tripod setup cost about $60.

Workflow (June - August 2019)

  1. Survey the area requiring 360 photography
  2. Setup Tripod and adapters
  3. Ensure all bubble levels are calibrated correctly
  4. Open Google Camera application on OnePlus 7 Pro
  5. Click more
  6. Click Photo Sphere
  7. Shoot the horizontal plane
  8. Shoot the downward horizontal plane
  9. Flip my phone over and shoot the upward horizontal plane
  10. Flip the phone completely 90 degrees to shoot the uppermost angles of the zenith
  11. Flip the phone back to the horizontal plane.
  12. Shoot the lowermost angled photographs
  13. Flip the phone completely 90 degrees to shoot the lowermost angles of the nadir
  14. Repeat steps 2-13 as required for each hotspot
  15. Edit the photos in Snapseed, apply HDR effects and selective brightness
  16. Edit the photos in Retouch to remove unwanted stitching errors and tripod legs
  17. Load into Street View app
  18. Select location and edit GPS coordinates for accuracy
  19. Connect points after publishing
  20. Load photos to PC for publishing to veer.tv (if required)
  21. Create interactive experience (if required)
  22. Share links and iframe embed code

DSLR Panohead Equipment (June - August 2019)

I currently own a Nikon D70s with several standard lenses. I may consider purchasing a Neewer Pano Gimbal Mount in order to begin using this camera for 360 photography. The upfront cost for this workflow will be $60 for the new pano head and $146 for the PTGui stitching software.

GoPro Hero 3 & 3D Printed Panohead

I have tested my GoPro Hero 3 with my phone holder and 360 Degree Panoramic Base. I used PTGui to stitch and there were minor stitching errors due to parallax.

Thingiverse also has some very cool 3D printed mounts for projects like this one.

Oct 19th 2019 Update:

I ended up 3D printing the updated version of the above and it stitches with "very good" results in PTGui. The bottom mount doesn't fit perfectly, but the small form factor is nearly perfect for my use-case, which is for light-weight travel. So far I have shot several photos with it and I am very impressed with the results. I would like to design a new 3D printed panohead that would support the GoPro Hero 8, which supports RAW and HDR photography. The results from the newest camera would be incredible!

Examples of my photos taken from the Hero 3 and 3D printed Panohead:

https://goo.gl/maps/Rn83Yz62MSTqetto7 https://goo.gl/maps/dDvNf2KbG2fBYdHG7

Future 360 Camera Equipment (June - August 2019)

I may consider an external camera in the future.

I am considering this new camera, which would require a $9.99 monthly subscription to Photoshop Lightroom for photo stitching and editing. As an alternative I could consider another software called PTGui , which currently runs $146 for the one-time personal license.

My current potential purchase list is as follows:

This equals an upfront cost of around $1200.

DSLR 360 Camera Equipment

I am also considering equipment to supplement my Nikon D70s. This DSLR option would require purchasing a panohead ($60), fisheye lens ($280), and PTGui software ($146). That is starting cost of $486. I may also consider 3D printing my own panohead.

3D Print on Thingiverse

I have been testing my camera with the philopod technique and the trial version of PTGui. The results have been very good with mostly minor stitching errors. There are significant errors in the entire picture with very small stitching errors around corners and lines. I think this would be corrected with a decent panohead.

Comparing the costs for DSLR, Prosumer 360 Camera, and Consumer 360 Camera

Pro 360 Camera (Theta Z1) = $1200

Pro:

  • Excellent photo quality
  • Quick workflow
  • Size

Con:

  • Price

DSLR (D70S) = $486

Pro:

  • Excellent photo quality
  • Price
  • Easy to upgrade parts if needed
  • Useful for regular photos as well

Con:

  • Size
  • Workflow

Prosumer 360 Camera (Insta360 One X) = $455

Pro:

  • Size
  • Price

Con:

  • Photo quality

Link to my Street View Trusted Page

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