Drag to set position!
For the longest time I was a wide angle snob for my landscape and panorama shots. I love the "big sky" look a good wide angle gives (I still do love it).
However, ever since getting my 5D Mark II a little over a year ago, and not having a decent wide angle for it until about 6 months ago, I found myself having to rely on other options for my landscapes and panos.
Enter the 50mm.
Man, have my eyes been opened! I love the fact that, thanks for virtually zero distortion, Photoshop has no problems at all stitching together panos. With wide angles, there are ALWAYS stitching artifacts. Rarely do I get them with the 50. And at f/8, the detail is flat out insane.
The image below was 6 sets of shots (3 across, 2 down). The end result is a more or less "standard" aspect ratio (rather than a traditional pano), but the size and detail just blows my mind. I uploaded a half-size version to Flickr. The final image is better than 10,000 pixels wide. I currently have a 30x40 print hanging on display that has the clarity and detail like looking out of a window.
I still slap the wide angle on from time to time and I can cover a landscape with fewer shots that way, but I find that more often than not these days it's worth the extra time and shots to use the 50.
However, ever since getting my 5D Mark II a little over a year ago, and not having a decent wide angle for it until about 6 months ago, I found myself having to rely on other options for my landscapes and panos.
Enter the 50mm.
Man, have my eyes been opened! I love the fact that, thanks for virtually zero distortion, Photoshop has no problems at all stitching together panos. With wide angles, there are ALWAYS stitching artifacts. Rarely do I get them with the 50. And at f/8, the detail is flat out insane.
The image below was 6 sets of shots (3 across, 2 down). The end result is a more or less "standard" aspect ratio (rather than a traditional pano), but the size and detail just blows my mind. I uploaded a half-size version to Flickr. The final image is better than 10,000 pixels wide. I currently have a 30x40 print hanging on display that has the clarity and detail like looking out of a window.
I still slap the wide angle on from time to time and I can cover a landscape with fewer shots that way, but I find that more often than not these days it's worth the extra time and shots to use the 50.
I most certainly agree! The quality of the shots from my 50mm f/1.4 is insane! I actually sold my zoom 17-50mm lens to get it too, simply because of the sharpness and crazy simplicity. Nearly every panoramic shot I've created has been born of this 50mm lens. While I haven't had the chance to print any of the images yet, they are gigantic - nearly two or three times the standard maximum print size of my camera body. The only down-side I can see is working with these images takes a little longer because of their size.
And Photoshop (CS5)...wow, I could probably go on and on about that dream of an application for days! I could never get the Photo Stitch software included with my camera to run, so until CS5, I've been unable to create panoramic images. Every time I've stitched together something using this software it has come out flawless.
Sure, stitching photos together in Photoshop takes a little longer than it would had I just used a wide angle lens, but that's part of the fun for me! Additionally, since I don't own a wide angle lens I have little choice in the matter anyway.
It is most definitely worth the extra time and effort!
BTW, great photo! Very ghostly lighting!
You've got some really great images on your stream!
And Photoshop (CS5)...wow, I could probably go on and on about that dream of an application for days! I could never get the Photo Stitch software included with my camera to run, so until CS5, I've been unable to create panoramic images. Every time I've stitched together something using this software it has come out flawless.
Sure, stitching photos together in Photoshop takes a little longer than it would had I just used a wide angle lens, but that's part of the fun for me! Additionally, since I don't own a wide angle lens I have little choice in the matter anyway.
It is most definitely worth the extra time and effort!
BTW, great photo! Very ghostly lighting!
You've got some really great images on your stream!