Narrow banded images on import into PTGui

[Andrzej]

I’ve been importing 12mm canon fisheye DNG images into PTGui for over a year with no problems until now. Suddenly the imported images are only 2/3 the width on import with a black band in the left hand 1/3!. Looking at the imported image closely, it looks as if each one been sliced up into 30 or more strips with every third strip then having been removed before the remaining ones put back together. The resulting image is VERY stepped, banded and only 2/3 the width.

My shooting methods and workflow are all identical but EVERY picture after import from my last shoot has the same problem.

Picture shot before still import fine as DNG files.

As a test I imported a few of these images (which all look normal in Lightroom) into Photoshop and saved them as tiff files, these then import and stitch fine in PTGui!!!

Anyone else had such a problem? Or have an idea on what is the cause?

[Erik Krause]

Am 30.09.2012 20:48, schrieb Andrzej:
> My shooting methods and workflow are all identical but EVERY picture
> after import from my last shoot has the same problem.
>
> Picture shot before still import fine as DNG files.

Could you provide such an image to test?

Please do not add attachments to your posts; instead upload your files
at a file sharing site (for example http://ge.tt/ ) and include a link
in your message.

--
Erik Krause
Herchersgarten 1
79249 Merzhausen

[Andrzej]

I will try and send you an image once i work out how to do this. I am new to groups and also have NEVER used of even seen a file sharing site! And how to add a link to a message on such a site?!

[John Houghton]

On Sep 30, 8:23 pm, Andrzej <andrzej.jablon...@ntlworld.com> wrote:
> I will try and send you an image once i work out how to do this. I am new
> to groups and also have NEVER used of even seen a file sharing site! And
> how to add a link to a message on such a site?!

Just upload an image file to http://ge.tt (no registration required).
A link to the stored file will be displayed, which can be copied and
pasted into a message posted here. The link can then be accessed to
download a copy of the file.

John

[Erik Krause]

Am 30.09.2012 20:48, schrieb Andrzej:

> As a test I imported a few of these images (which all look normal in
> Lightroom) into Photoshop and saved them as tiff files, these then
> import and stitch fine in PTGui!!!

Since you have ACR, why don't you use it? ACR can render a much higher
quality from your raw images than PTGui internal raw converter (which is
dcraw) can. If you import raw images directly into PTGui you spoil
almost all advantages of shooting raw.

Though of course DNG import should work...

--
Erik Krause
http://www.erik-krause.de

[Andrzej]

Here is the link to one of the files: http://ge.tt/8iSB6eO/v/0?c

I normally shoot HDR for stiching and find that importing the DNG files directly into PTGui produces very good results.
If the files DO require extra work first, then i work on them in Lightroom save as TIFF then import into PTGui. I may need to look into using ACR however.

[Andrzej]

Thanks for the information John

[Ken Warner]

As far as I know, there is little to no difference between Lightroom and ACR for raw image file processing.

[PTGui Support]

Hi Andrzej,

I see the problem, I'll look into this.

Joost

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[Erik Krause]

Am 01.10.2012 00:30, schrieb Andrzej:
> Here is the link to one of the files: http://ge.tt/8iSB6eO/v/0?c

IrfanView and Windows Preview say the file dis damaged and won't open
it. Picasa Preview opens it the same way as PTGui. I tried different
paramters in dcraw, all with the same result. So I guess this is either
a dcraw problem or the file is damaged or malformed in some way.

This file is converted from an EOS 5DII CR2 file in lightroom. I wonder
why you do that. PTGui ignores all settings you made in Lightroom. It
would be much better you converted to 16 bit TIFF instead, in order to
apply all corrections.

[UtahBob]

On Monday, October 1, 2012 12:07:15 PM UTC-4, Erik Krause wrote:

IrfanView and Windows Preview say the file dis damaged and won't open
it. Picasa Preview opens it the same way as PTGui. I tried different
paramters in dcraw, all with the same result. So I guess this is either
a dcraw problem or the file is damaged or malformed in some way.

My PTGui opens it and shows the problem but an import into aperture happens just fine and I can output a tiff in 16 bit.  The file dimensions look ok to me and so does the image.  I'm not familiar with these full fisheye images so I must be missing something here?  PTGui seems to take the tiff image with no problems showing.

Here is the tiff  http://ge.tt/4Lvz6hO/v/0?c

Bob

[Erik Krause]

Am 01.10.2012 19:15, schrieb UtahBob:
> My PTGui opens it and shows the problem but an import into aperture
> happens just fine and I can output a tiff in 16 bit.

Sorry, I forgot to mention (but Andrzej did already) that the image
opens fine in ACR (photoshop). But after all this is (almost) the
application which created the file, it should know how to open it.

[tracy....@comcast.net]

I have tutorials but, as usual, you ladies and gentlemen are probably more expert.

 

1) Do I convert my Raw images to Tiff for importing into PtGui?

2) Should I change the width and height or leave as default?

3) Should I change to 16 bit compression or leave at 8?

 

I know these have been covered ad nasuem but I'm pretty new.

 

Thanks!

Tracy R. Willis

[Geoff - Spherical Visions]

Convert from RAW to 16bit TIFF files, leave sizing alone, just correct any global settings across the images like white balance.
Process them in PTGui as needed, then I normally output as 16 bit TIFF and do any post processing work required, again I output where possible as 16 bit TIFF.
Final stage for me is using Pano2VR to add Nadir Logo and output a TIFF again as my "master" and finally create several different output formats, this is where I output the final size and file format required depending on purpose.

[Erik Krause]

Am 01.10.2012 18:06, schrieb Erik Krause:
> I tried different
> paramters in dcraw, all with the same result. So I guess this is either
> a dcraw problem or the file is damaged or malformed in some way.

It is a dcraw problem: My first tries where with dcraw 9.05 which
happened to sit on my PATH, respectively with 9.11 which is shipped with
PTGui. I tried with 9.16 now and it opens the file ok.

If you are on windows you best get a recent dcraw version f.e. from
http://www.insflug.org/raw/ for your system and place it in the dcraw
subfolder of the PTGui program folder. Rename the original dcraw.exe
instead of overwriting it in case the new dcraw doesn't work.

Joost, PTGui should auto-update dcraw, like many other programs do...

Or, better, remove raw support from PTGui ;-)

[Robert C. Fisher]

On Oct 1, 2012, at 12:30 PM, tracy....@comcast.net wrote:

I have tutorials but, as usual, you ladies and gentlemen are probably more expert.

 

1) Do I convert my Raw images to Tiff for importing into PtGui?

I have been converting to tiff for years and have few issues. When converting you can also deal with color temp issues, chromatic abborations and making sure your colors aren't clipped so you have the full range in your images.

2) Should I change the width and height or leave as default?

what ever the actual image size is of the file with no reduction or expansion.

3) Should I change to 16 bit compression or leave at 8?

Depends, if you have the storage and speed with your workstation 16bit would be better but it doubles the size of your files. Try a pano both ways and see what works for you. I experiment a lot with new apps or cameras before I settle on a workflow for me. You have to test ad see what works for you. There is no stock solution for everyone, so many variables!

 

I know these have been covered ad nasuem but I'm pretty new.

 

Thanks!

Tracy R. Willis

Cheers

Robert C. Fisher

VR Photography / Cinematography

rcf...@pacbell.net

[tracy....@comcast.net]

One more.  Where do you all host the final products.  I use Photobiz for my website and there's an issue getting them onto the website.  Any ideas?  iCloud?

 

Thanks!

Tracy R. Willis

[Erik Krause]

Am 01.10.2012 21:30, schrieb tracy....@comcast.net:

> Should I change the width and height or leave as default?

One important thing: If you ever change size of your source images, do
it for all that are used for a particular panorama exactly the same!
PTGui can deal with images with different size, but this is pretty
advanced stuff. If you need any cropping, exclusion of areas etc. use
the mask tool (provided you have PTGui pro). If you don't have Pro, add
alpha channels to your TIFFs and edit those, this has the same effect.

[Robert C. Fisher]

I have a hosting account where all of my panos are hosted. I have better luck than with a common image host of freebee host.

[UtahBob]

On Monday, October 1, 2012 3:50:38 PM UTC-4, Erik Krause wrote:

Am 01.10.2012 18:06, schrieb Erik Krause:

PTGui. I tried with 9.16 now and it opens the file ok.

If you are on windows you best get a recent dcraw version f.e. from
http://www.insflug.org/raw/ for your system and place it in the dcraw
subfolder of the PTGui program folder. Rename the original dcraw.exe
instead of overwriting it in case the new dcraw doesn't work.

 

Nice find Erik ... I replace my windows current exe with 9.16 and I still get a "dcraw error:Cannot decode file" as I did previously.  It works fine with my Raw files just not that dng from Andrzej.  From the command prompt I see I have the right version. Strange that the Win 7 and Mac PTGui behave differently with regards to the dng.   I guess for me it's not a problem - now anyway. 

 

I'm beginning to see why you like to lobby for the removal of raw support :-)  Bob

 

 

[Andrzej]

Thanks for all the advice in this and your following posts. From what you are saying the problem looks to be in the cdraw problem.
As I'm using a Mac running mountain lion OS i don't know if i will have the option to update the cdraw for Mac but will have a look for an update. There is NO full Mac update at the moment
for PTGui but perhaps cdraw can be updated itself.

As for your second point, i use Lightroom as my master sorting and RAW converting tool from ALL CR2 or NEF files and convert to DNG with no corrections. I then run the DNG files through PTGui Pro to get an idea of how
the stiched images will look which is a easy way to get an overview. As you know stiching even my HDR fisheye shots can take some time but 3 rows x 16 images per row x 3 for HDR can take a VERY VERY LONG time!!!
I go away and let the computer get on with it.
On panoramas that have worked that but that need extra work, I do corrections on the files in both Lightroom and Photoshop then save as 16 bit tiff and import into PTGui.

So importing DNG files directly into PTGui is a real time saver and for web use is all i often need to do.

Thanks

[Ken Warner]

Is there a reason why you don't do the HDR tonemapping in another application and then use PTGui only for the stitching and blending on the resulting 16 bit tiffs?

[Andrzej]

Not really, I just find that PTGui does the whole job very well. I'm always open to looking at a different worflow if it would give me better results.
As an asside, i DO like the idea of being able adding a Nadir Logo etc so have downloaded a trial copy of Pano2VR. Now i just need to find out how it works!?

[Geoff - Spherical Visions]

I host my own website on my own servers and also publish on 360Cities.

[tracy....@comcast.net]

Tracy R. Willis

---

From: "Robert C. Fisher" <rcf...@pacbell.net>
To: pt...@googlegroups.com
Sent: Monday, October 1, 2012 3:51:30 PM
Subject: Re: [PTGui] Rookie Questions

 

Depends, if you have the storage and speed with your workstation 16bit would be better but it doubles the size of your files. Try a pano both ways and see what works for you. I experiment a lot with new apps or cameras before I settle on a workflow for me. You have to test ad see what works for you. There is no stock solution for everyone, so many variables!

 

No truer words......!

 

[tracy....@comcast.net]

Thanks!  You actually answered another question that I was going to submit.  I was wondering if everyone edited the final pano or edited the individual images before converting.  Makes since to do it afterwards to me, as you suggested.  I like to use Lightroom because it's easier to get the blacks and saturation where I want them.

Tracy R. Willis

[Erik Krause]

Am 01.10.2012 23:01, schrieb UtahBob:
> Nice find Erik ... I replace my windows current exe with 9.16 and I
> still get a "dcraw error:Cannot decode file" as I did previously.

Perhaps you have the wrong dcraw variant. You need the "New dcraw build
for W7 32/64 bits" for Windows 7. Others might not work.

[Joergen Geerds]

On Monday, October 1, 2012 3:50:38 PM UTC-4, Erik Krause wrote:

Joost, PTGui should auto-update dcraw, like many other programs do...

+1 

Or, better, remove raw support from PTGui ;-)

++10

[Ken Warner]

I don't mind having raw support in PTGui -- but I NEVER use it.