MS Image Composite Editor - Anafi path while taking 360 Panaromas

[Spectre]

I've used MS ICE to stitch together 360 pictures for a couple of years.

Today (March 14th) when I was trying to stitch together a few 360 panoramas I took over the last couple weeks I found that MS ICE would sometimes fail to stitch together the 42 images taken, and at other times MS ICE would only successfully stitch together a subset of the 42 photos.
(e.g. 31 of 42 images, with a Vertical coverage of 141 degrees instead of 180 degrees.

In efforts to use the 42 images, I have been trying to determine the correct 'Structured panorama' settings within MS Image Composite Editor.

Important parameters being:
a) Image order Serpentine or Zigzag (seems to be Serpentine)
b) Number of Rows and Columns (seems to be either 7 Rows & 6 Columns, or 6 Rows & 7 Columns)
c) Overlaps, including Horizontal, Vertical, 360 degree seam, Search Radius (no clue as to these)

Reviewing recent photos It seems that my Anafi is starting its' path from straight down, and then next picture straight up, then next picture a bit down, then a bit more down, until straight down, rotate, repeat..

This seems to be different from previous 42 set panoramas I've taken before the 'increase speed of panoramas' update.

Now to the questions:
1) Has anyone determined the route/path the Anafi follows when taking the 42 pictures for a 360 panorama?
2) Has anyone determined the other parameters that result in the best 360 panorama using MS ICE?

Any help greatly appreciated.

Bonne journée! = Have a great day!

 

[ROBANAFI]

Cant you just use the Freeflight app? It always works for me ?

 

[Spectre]

Yes, but:
1) It's quicker to transfer the photos and videos directly from the SD card to a computer hard-drive (~1/10th the time)
2) You can light adjust, colour adjust, sharpen, ... the pictures before you stitch.
3) MS ICE works faster than Freeflight app.
4) It doesn't take any Anafi battery life to transfer/process the photos on the computer.
5) I can more easily post process (e.g. animate, photo meta-data) photos when I have them on the computer.
6) No need to transfer photos from phone to computer, or cloud photo service.

I've also had some stitching failures in FF6, that I was able to salvage in MS ICE.

As an aside, with MS ICE I can make panoramas from videos.
A feature that I'd like to try out would take a 360 Video, but this may drain the batteries to much.
Something like 4 to 6 rotations with with camera pointing at different degrees from 0 to 180.

I had MS ICE working before.. I just need to figure out what may have changed in the Panorama optimisation update.

 

[Jagerbomb52]

I tried ICE before and never had good results from it. Sometimes it worked but most times it just messed up. I find the App does a much better job but that depends on your phone\tablets performance. I have been using PanoramaStudio 3 Pro for a few years now and to me it works perfectly either on the first pass or if it gives me a error I ask it to try again and it finishes the pano. One thing does make the program work harder is if the Pano was tried on a windy day. I sometimes have to fix horizon lines in Photoshop using the content aware tool.
Like I siad never liked ICE. Anything free from Microsoft is hit or miss in my opinion

 

[Ana789]

To find out the path, start a screen recorder on your device and do a pano

I experience the same, sometimes, the upper row of the sky, mostly if there are no clouds in it, are "gone"
Just I have an older prog, I can switch to, kolor auto pano giga.
There I can sort myself.

But mostly I can live with less sky. I am lazy
It is more difficult, if it is the ground with empty slots, over water perhaps.

 

[Gipsz Jakab]

I use the Ptgui panorama maker. I found a portable version of it and it does not have to be installed and is free.

 

[dashSolo]

I've always done it through FF6, then into LR or ACR with little effort.

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[Ana789]

Show off! (Nice pictures, all of them ;-)

Just some of your pictures are also a little bit distorted, in the top/sky area
Which should not happen, on a 360x180 picture, the Anafi can deliver.
The App is doing a good job, but even knowing (made for) the sequence of the sphere series, it has to follow an algorythm.
As I wrote, I'm lazy and ICE mostly is doing a good (enough) job.

Just on some pictures, to put some time into it and sort and spin the pictures yourself, with above mentioned progs, is getting a better to perfect result

I haven't used the app much, to create pictures.
Perhaps I should do some spheres and check the outcome between app/ICE/Kolor autopano
mmmhhh, .....
?

 

[dashSolo]

Thanks Ana789.

I noticed when I send them to LR or ACR for enhancement the sky does distort as you stated. If I could shoot in raw I think it would fix a lot of the problems.

As a whole I find I am less anal on the 360's to post, the average viewer doesn't notice the faults WE do.

 

[Ana789]

I mostly do 16/9 with 'em, little planet style.
My avatar is usually a 16/9 little planet, so imagine a bit more blue on the left and right.
Works mostly , in case people like to watch.
Not many wanna bother and scroll around in a 360.
Even with linking 'em the vr-player in playstore ;-)

 

[Dart67_SWE]

For me ICE works "out of the box" as per automatic.
Since alla panoramas are made in 1:2 ratio (10000x5000, 16000x8000 etc) there is not to hard to edit a "wronglooking" picture, adding i.e. "the blue sky" to full height of picture.
(which often are an issue due to non existing visual references to stitch to, getting the 1:2 aspect ratio)
If not making the ratio 1:2, the picture will get unpropotional when looking at it.

 

[Spectre]

Beautiful pictures dashSolo.

I'll give Ptgui a try. Thanks Gipsz Jakab.

And maybe give kolor auto pano giga, and pano a try. Thanks Ana789.

Also, I'm going to try transferring the 42 pictures from my computer into my phone or tablet to process with FF6, in hopes of avoiding the time required for the Anafi to be attached to my phone or tablet, but not flying. Thanks Dart67_SWE, Augustine, and Robanafi.

I tried a panorama at about 5 m (~15 feet) but didn't see the straight down picture that seems to now (maybe always?) start the 42, before the next being straight up. Seems to be something like:
1) Straight down, take photo then
2) Straight up, take photo then
3) Down 36 degrees, take photo
4) Down 36 degrees, take photo
5) Down 36 degrees, take photo
6) Down 36 degrees, take photo
7) Rotate Right 52 degrees, take photo
8) Straight up, take photo, then
9) Down 36 degrees, take photo
10) Down 36 degrees, take photo
11) Down 36 degrees, take photo
12) Down 36 degrees, take photo,
13) Rotate Right 52 degrees, take photo
14) Straight up, take photo
15) ...

A vertical Zig Zag, but Horizontal Serpentin, which is not an option in the structured part of ICE. :-(

Thanks to everyone, and have a great day!

 

[Spectre]

I think I got the path down.

1st picture = Straight down
2nd picture = Straight up

These first two pictures are not a part of the path.

For the next 40 pictures it seems to be:

1) Take another picture straight up, or rotate ~40 degrees, then take a picture?
2) down ~45 degrees, take picture
3) down ~45 degrees, take picture
4) down ~45 degrees, take picture

5) Rotate ~ 40 degrees, take picture
6) up ~45 degrees, take picture
7) up ~45 degrees, take picture
8) up ~45 degrees, take picture

9) Rotate ~ 40 degrees, take picture
10) down ~45 degrees, take picture
11) down ~45 degrees, take picture
12) down ~45 degrees, take picture

13) Rotate ~40 degrees, take picture
14) up ~45 degrees, take picture
15) ...

What mixed me (and I think MS ICE) up was the first two pictures, not fitting into the path.

After kicking out the first two pictures (I rename them to <name>.bkp) these MS ICE settings are working for me.


I downloaded and installed Hugin, and I may try to use Hugin to stitch in the straight up and straight down pics.

Have a great day!

 

[Ana789]

Interesting findings, just I have no success switching to structured.
The automode "simple" gets me mostly "just" some missing pictures, almost always sky, but your methode gets me a "cutted" picture, no 360.

Ok, I have just tested with a Pano I captured today, yet.
I will check with others, of course
Just one question: How much is missing, without 1 and 2?
I have never really checked, if / how much the others cover the ground under the bird.

 

[Spectre]

I haven't noticed any difference with pictures 1 & 2 missing.

As you have experienced, mostly the auto mode misses the sky, and maybe the first 2.

For the panorama I've been experimenting with, the auto mode tells me that it processes 30 of 42 pictures, which I assume is everything but the sky plus the the first 2 pictures.

There must be another setting that I've switched to get MS ICE to process all 40 of 40 pictures. I'll dig in a bit, as I have been flipping settings everywhere within MS ICE to try to get it to process more than 30 of 42.

Flights under bridges and sometimes near structures have proven to be the most difficult to stitch.

Have a great day!

 

[S.C.C.]

I noticed serious problems with ICE when the next picture is not only shifted/rotated parallel to one side of the previous photo, but also offsetted. At best it's fine on one side of the "panorama", but the offset is reported on the other side, and often also in some areas inside the group of photos, no matter if obvious lines like roads are part of it, they are broken !