Digital Panoramas Books:

1. Stretch – the world of panoramic photography, by Nick Meers, published by RotoVision.

2. 360o Imaging – the photographer’s panoramic virtual reality manual, by Philip Andrews, published by RotoVision.

Websites:
www.panoramafactory.com Highly recommended Panorama Factory software for stitching images together. You can download a 30 day free trial.

www.panoguide.com Guide to how to make panoramas. Reviews of panorama stitching software (37 last time I looked!). Excellent gallery of images.

www.panoramic.net Loads of information, old and new, on how to make panoramas. A big Who’s Who in the world of panoramic images. Helpful links to software, cameras etc.

www.panoramicassociation.org Website of the International Association of Panoramic Photographers. Quality site with some super images and useful information on panoramic cameras. Links to members’ websites.

www.tawbaware.com Max Lyon’s site with lots of software for digital users including PT Assembler for controlling Panorama Tools software. Tutorials, images and more……

www.caldwellphotographic.com Excellent site by Brian Caldwell with links to Panorama Tools plus tutorials and software for making panoramas and correcting distortion and colour fringing. Some interesting lens tests.

www.kaidan.com Specialist tripod heads and accessories.

How to Find the Nodal Point of a Lens:

You will need your camera, a tripod, spirit level and a sliding mounting or focussing rail so you can move the camera and lens relative to the centre of the tripod.

Find somewhere you can observe two vertical edges, one close up and the second further away. I use the edge of a window frame about 3 feet from the camera and an electricity pole about 30 feet further off.

Set up the camera so it is level and with the axis of the lens vertically above where the camera will rotate.
Angle the camera so you can see the two edges close together up against the left side of your viewfinder or on the digital screen.
Rotate the camera (keeping it horizontal) until the edges are up against the right side of the viewfinder. When rotated at the Nodal Point the edges will remain in the same relative positions at both sides of the viewfinder. If they have moved then you need to move the camera backwards or forwards to find the correct point. Record the setting.
The Nodal Point may be different for each camera and lens combination and may change with focal length for a zoom lens.
For an alternative explanation with pictures go to www.kaidan.com/nodalpoint.html

Dave Castle/May 2004