Related Manuals for GigaPan Epic - Stylus - Camera
Summary of Contents for GigaPan Epic - Stylus - Camera
- Page 1 EPIC Pro User Guide © 2012 GigaPan Systems GigaPan and the GigaPan logo are registered trademarks of Carnegie Mellon University licensed for use by GigaPan Systems. © 2012 Carnegie Mellon University All rights reserved.
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Page 2: Table Of Contents
Introduction The GigaPan Solution GigaPan EPIC Pro Parts EPIC Pro Special Features Navigate the EPIC Pro Menu Set up the EPIC Pro Quick Menu Electronic Trigger Cable Compatibility Setting up the GigaPan EPIC Pro Get your equipment ready Charge and Install Batteries Mount the EPIC Pro on a tripod Mount your camera and lens Set up your camera... - Page 3 6.7 My panoramas have vignetting 7. Tips and tricks 7.1 Shoot more than you need 7.2 Shooting in different environments 7.3 Night shots 7.4 City scenes 7.5 Create Games: Hide & Seek 7.6 Panoramas in Motion: Capturing a Crowd...
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Page 4: Introduction
1. Introduction 1.1 The GigaPan Solution Capturing stunning gigapixel images is easy with GigaPan - a complete solution with integrated equipment, software and website. The GigaPan EPIC Pro works seamlessly with the GigaPan Stitch software and GigaPan.com to capture, upload and share gigapixel panoramas. - Page 5 GigaPan Pro User Guide Stitch The Gigapan Stitch software assembles, aligns and blends the individual images into one large panorama. The GigaPan Stitch software then uploads your panorama to GigaPan.com to share with friends and the GigaPan community. You also have the ability to em- bed your uploaded panorama on any website.
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Page 6: Gigapan Epic Pro Parts
1.2 GigaPan EPIC Pro Parts... - Page 7 GigaPan Pro User Guide Trigger cable port LCD Display Cancel/X button Directional Keys Power/OK Button Remote trigger port Battery Port Please see Chapter 2: Setting Up the EPIC Pro for more information about how to adjust the EPIC Pro parts to fit your camera and lens. EPIC Pro Body Camera Rail - Holds the camera mounting plate and can be adjusted forward or back to accommodate the size of your camera and lens, or to adjust for parallax issues.
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Page 8: Epic Pro Special Features
Navigation Panel LCD Display - Displays the EPIC Pro Menu. Directional Keys - Press up, down, left or right buttons to select items in the EPIC Pro Menu, or move the camera left to right and up or down to select parameters when shooting a panorama. -
Page 9: Navigate The Epic Pro Menu
GigaPan Pro User Guide 1.4 Navigate the EPIC Pro Menu Turn the EPIC Pro on by pressing the Power/OK button. The first menu option, ‘New Pan- orama’ , will appear. To navigate to other menu options, push the down button. To reach sub- menus within a menu option, push the OK button once you reach the desired main menu option, then the down button to access the submenu choices. -
Page 10: Main Menu
*Note: Some menu items will be available dependent upon other settings. When ‘Shutter Teach’ is set to “On” a small “T” icon will be displayed in the upper right hand corner. The ‘Options’ menu items ‘Time/Exposure’, and ‘Brackets’ will not be displayed as they are not needed when ‘Shutter Teach’... - Page 11 GigaPan Pro User Guide Options Menu Time/Exposure - This was previously named ‘Time per Pic’ in firmware version 128.1 and is the amount of time that the EPIC Pro will wait until it moves the camera to the next position. It is important to allow enough time for the camera to process the current photograph and copy the data from the cameras buffer memory to the flash memory.
- Page 12 Pic Order – Allows for different patterns of capturing the individual photographs such as {column-right, column-left, row – down, row – up}. Timelapse/Series - Used to capture a sequence of panoramas over a period of time. You may use a timer of zero seconds to 99 days or an external trigger to change when each panorama in the sequence is taken.
- Page 13 GigaPan Pro User Guide Pre-trigger Delay {0.0s, 0.5s, 1.0s, 1.5s, 2.0s, 2.5s, 3.0s} This delay is between the EPIC Pro move- ments and the electronic trigger signal to your camera. This allows a lens and camera body to settle after an EPIC Pro movement. This is especially important for large and longer focal length lenses.
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Page 14: Set Up The Epic Pro Quick Menu
Firmware Version – To see what firmware version is currently installed in EPIC Pro unit. Panorama Memory Menu Previous – Repeat the previous panorama. Your panorama will be lost unless you use the ‘Save Previous’ option before turning the power off. Save Previous –Save the previous panorama settings to the EPIC Pro’s memory, including an approximate reference point that will be used in the future to give the EPIC Pro a point of reference to begin shooting. -
Page 15: Electronic Trigger Cable Compatibility
GigaPan Pro User Guide 1.6 Electronic Trigger Cable Compatibility Your EPIC Pro arrived with seven electronic trigger cables, which cover all currently com- patible cameras: CANON N3, CANON/PENTAX E3, NIKON 10–Pin, MC–DC2, MC–DC1; OLYMPUS RM–UC1 and SONY RM–S1AM. The cable plugs into the camera’s remote shutter port. Examples: Series Required Trigger Cable Connector... -
Page 16: Setting Up The Gigapan Epic Pro
2. Setting up the GigaPan EPIC Pro Carefully follow the steps below to capture the highest quality panoramas. 2.1 Get your equipment ready To start shooting panoramas with the EPIC Pro, you will need: • EPIC Pro battery and power cord (included with the unit) • A tripod, fitted with a standard 1/4-20 or a 3/8-16 tripod screw • Digital camera and lens (see compatble camera list at www.GigaPan.com)Electronic trigger cable (included with the unit) • Camera battery and/or charger • A memory card (at least 4 GB) Make sure you have enough memory on your memory... - Page 17 GigaPan Pro User Guide To charge the battery on its own: 1. To remove the battery from the EPIC Pro , open the battery compartment by flip- ping the latch counter-clockwise. 2. Plug the connector end of the power cord into the battery and then plug the power cord into an AC wall socket. 3.
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Page 18: Mount The Epic Pro On A Tripod
2.3 Mount the EPIC Pro on a tripod To ensure a steady series of images, use the EPIC Pro with a sturdy tripod fitted with a standard 1/4-20 or a 3/8-16 tripod screw. 1. Set up the tripod. Ensure that the legs have a solid footing on the ground and that the tripod is relatively level. -
Page 19: Mount Your Camera And Lens
GigaPan Pro User Guide 2.4 Mount your camera and lens Use these steps below to mount your camera and lens on the EPIC Pro. Refer to the EPIC Pro diagram and part names in Chapter 1.2 as you follow these steps. Turn the EPIC Pro on by pressing and holding the OK button for one to two seconds. -
Page 20: Set Up Your Camera
does not effect the height adjustment, which will be adjusted to the center of the lens or as close as possible. Adjust the rail forward to center the mass over the axis of rotation unless you are very close to your subject. If you are close to your subject you will need to use a lens that allows you to position the camera rail so that the lens is approximately at the optical center or entrance pupil which minimizes parallax error. - Page 21 GigaPan Pro User Guide 2.7 Setting Functions on the EPIC Pro Every time that you change lenses, camera bodies, or zoom focal length, you must perform the ‘Camera setup’ function in order to give the EPIC Pro the angle of view for your lens and camera combination. You must also perform the ‘Camera Setup’ function, if it is the first time you are using the EPIC Pro or you have performed the ‘Factory Reset’ function. From the ‘Main Menu’, select ‘Camera Setup’ and press OK . The first time you select ‘Camera Setup’ you will be asked if you want to set up the field of view. Set your field of view and press OK. (After setting up the field of view the first time, the current field of view will be displayed in step 2 as it is shown in the diagram above as step 7. ) If you have not disabled the ‘Checklist’ function under ‘Options’->’Expert Op- tions’-> ‘Checklist’ by setting it to OFF, you will be prompted to set the camera’s zoom.
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Page 22: Set The Manual Focus Or Auto Focus
2.8 Set manual focus or autofocus Focus is very important when capturing panoramas with the EPIC Pro. By paying close attention to the focus both before and during shooting, you can create panoramas wih ulta high resolition and incredible clarity in their detail. By not paying close attention to focus, the amount of time and effort spent capturing a large 1000 photograph panorama may not generate as good of results as the same panorama using a shorter focal length and 400 photographs. - Page 23 GigaPan Pro User Guide Auto Focus There are situations when auto focus is a better choice, than manual focus for increasing the sharpness of a panorama. One example is a crowd of people or a building that are at an angle and span a large distance. You will not be able to increase the depth of field to cover the entire distance, especially if you are using a longer focal length.
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Page 24: Minimize Parralax Error
Test your set-up You get the best panoramas when two consecutive pictures overlap by about a third. The best way to test whether your setup is all right is to take a 2x2 panorama. Use the in- structions in Chapter 3 to take a panorama, and preview the images in your camera. If you don’t see a good overlap despite following the instructions, go back and adjust your EPIC Pro set-up. - Page 25 GigaPan Pro User Guide Approximate adjustments for minimizing parallax error Adjust the height of the camera by loosening the two platform thumbscrews on the EPIC Pro arms. Move the camera mounting platform up or down until the midpoint of the camera lens is located at the same height as the thumbscrew and the axis of rotation for pitch ( up and down ).
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Page 26: Using The Gigapan Epic Pro
3. Using the GigaPan EPIC Pro To shoot a panorama with the EPIC Pro, you can select ‘New Panorama’, ‘360 panorama’ or select ‘Previous’ under ‘Panorama Memory’ if you have saved a previous set-up. Remember that you will need to repeat the camera set-up instructions in Chapter 2.7 if you change lenses or focal lengths. - Page 27 GigaPan Pro User Guide 3.3 Repeat a previous panorama The EPIC Pro can save the data for your previous panorama, so you can repeat it and correct it if something went wrong with your first try, or if you just want to try the same panorama with a different camera setting.
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Page 28: Epic Pro Additional Instructions And New Features
4. EPIC Pro Additional Instructions and New Features 4.1 Exposure Bracketing to Capture HDR images When your panorama has areas with significantly different amounts of light, such as shad- ows, neutral colored rock, and blue skies, a single exposure will not yield all of the detail that you can see with your own eyes. This is especially true for panoramas that cover a large field of view. You can improve the overall exposure by capturing multiple photographs with different exposures for each position. You do this by using the EPIC Pro ‘Brackets’... - Page 29 GigaPan Pro User Guide Basic Exposure Bracketing Settings In-camera Bracketing for HDR (preferred method) This configuration will have the EPIC Pro fire multiple shots, while the camera adjusts the shutter speed to correctly expose the images pictures. 1. Configure your equipment to do bracketing exposure Configure the EPIC Pro use the following settings: In the Options Menu: • Set Brackets: Set to 1 (Normal) • Set Mult Picture to the number of exposures per position (ie 3,5,7,9) •...
- Page 30 Using the EPIC Pro to Control Bracketing Exposure This configuration will have the EPIC Pro perform the necessary shutter length to correctly expose bracketed pictures. It assumes you know what your center or 0 exposure point is. It will then fire a sequence of shots at 0, -EV stops, and +EV stops in increasing time values. For example it will shoot 0, -2, -1, +1, and +2 when 5 brackets and ±1 EV stops is selected.
- Page 31 GigaPan Pro User Guide Frequently Asked Questions What changes exposure and why should I only vary the shutter speed? When you capture multiple exposure brackets for each position for the purpose of capturing HDR images, you vary the exposure by varying the shutter speed and keep- ing the ISO, and aperture constant. Do not vary the aperture because it will change the depth of field.
- Page 32 Canon 5D Mark II Canon Rebel T1i Nikon D700 Nikon D90 Small WB button Press the set but- There is a dial that Use the Center- on the top right ton in the middle is to the right of the Weighted Area hand side of the of the directional eye piece.
- Page 33 GigaPan Pro User Guide EV Distance from shadows to average exposure using 1/3 EV shutter settings 1”s 0”8 0”6 0”5 0”4 0”3 0 setting 0 EV -1 EV -2 EV Set your camera shutter speed to the brightest 1/160 second meter reading and then change the shutter speed and count how many settings it takes to reach the average 1/4 second meter reading. With default camera settings you will count fourteen shutter dial changes in order to reach 1/4 second.
- Page 34 What is an accurate method of determining the number of brackets and the exposure value separation? When using Gigapan Stitch to align and render your panorama along with exposure bracketing, you will need to use a fuser or tone mapper with batch capability to consis- tently apply the same settings to each set of exposure brackets. The resulting fused or tone mapped images are then stitched by Gigapan Stitch.
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Page 35: Mirror Lock-Up
GigaPan Pro User Guide 4.2 Mirror Lock-up The ‘Mirror Lock-up’ function is used to flip the mirror up and wait a programmable delay that is independent of the ‘Time/Exposure’ delay before actuating the shutter. ‘Mirror Lock-up’ is especially important for longer focal length lenses that are larger and heavier. The longer focal length indirectly means that the magnification is greater and that any lens movement is magnified more, and more likely to cause blurry photographs. Select the ‘Options’ submenu from the EPIC Pro ‘Main Menu’. Select the ‘Mirror Lock-up’ menu item and press OK. Select the value ‘ON’ and press OK. The menu item ‘Lock-up Time’ will appear once you have enabled ‘Mirror Lock-up’. Select ‘Lock-up Time’ and press OK. Choose a value that is appropriate for the stability of your lens size and mass, and press OK. A larger and heavier lens will require more time to settle. Choosing too long of a lock-up time will increase your capture time. -
Page 36: Shutter Teach
4.3 Shutter Teach The ‘Shutter Teach’ function is an alternative method of setting the timing for exposure bracketing or multiple pictures. The EPIC Pro enters a teaching mode where you press the left directional button at each point in time you want the it to take a photograph. Basic Settings First, configure your camera with the bracketing or multiple exposure mode you wish for your panorama. Next, select the ‘Options’ submenu from the EPIC Pro ‘Main Menu’ and press OK. -
Page 37: Timelapse/Series
GigaPan Pro User Guide 4.4 Timelapse/Series You can use the ‘Timelapse/Series’ function to take a series of panoramas over a period of time. You can use either the external trigger and a remote, or a timer to tell the EPIC Pro when to start each successive panorama. Basic Settings Select the ‘Options’ submenu from the EPIC Pro ‘Main Menu’. Select the ‘Timelapse/Series’ menu item. Select either ‘Timer’ or ‘Ext trigger’ and press OK. If you chose ‘Timer’ then you will need to set the amount of time that elapses between the start of each panorama. Use the left and right buttons to switch between day, hour, minutes, and seconds. -
Page 38: Save/Load Config
Additional information Some things to consider before starting a time lapse series: • If you are mounting the EPIC Pro on a structure or a pole, is it secure? Will it present a danger to any people in the area if it falls? Safety first. • How are you going to power the EPIC Pro and the camera body? • How are you going to store all of the images? •... -
Page 39: Shutter Feedback
GigaPan Pro User Guide 4.7 Shutter Feedback The ‘Shutter Feedback’ function tells the EPIC Pro whether the shutter was triggered by using the strobe signal from the PC connector or hotshoe. When ‘Shutter Feed- back’ is set to ‘ON’ and a cable is connected along with a shutter speed that is less than 1/250s the camera will attempt to take a photograph the number of times set in the ‘Shutter Retries’ function. From the EPIC Pro ‘Main Menu’, select the ‘Options’ sub menu and press OK. From the ‘Options’ submenu select the ‘Expert Options’ sub menu and press OK. Select the ‘Shutter Feedback’ menu item and press OK. Select the ‘ON’ setting and press OK. The ‘Shutter Retries’ menu item will now appear in the menu since ‘Shutter Feed- back’ is set to ‘ON’. Select the ‘Shutter Retries’ menu item and press OK. Select the number of times that you want the EPIC Pro to retry triggering the shutter and press OK. -
Page 40: View And Share
5.1 View and Share At GigaPan.com, you can: • Explore thousands of GigaPans from around the world, take snapshots, comment and share. • Discover amazing ways GigaPans are being used to communicate, promote, document and provide an amazing new vision. •... -
Page 41: Embed Your Panorama
GigaPan Pro User Guide 5.2 Embed your panorama You can easily embed your panoramas on another website with all the functionality of the GigaPan Viewer to pan and zoom. Log in to GigaPan.com, and select ‘My Home’ then ‘My GigaPans’ to view your panorama. Choose a panorama, and click on the ‘Embed’ link below it to access the Embedding Wizard. Copy the HTML code paste it into your website or blog. NOTE: To embed a panorama owned by someone else, please contact the author for per- mission and a copy of the embed code. Click on the author’s name to view his or her profile, and select ‘Send a message’. You must be logged in to your GigaPan.com account to send... -
Page 42: Place Your Panorama On Google Earth
5.3 Place your panorama on Google Earth Share your panoramas with the world in Google Earth. There is a GigaPan layer where you can explore GigaPan panoramas from around the world. Recording your panorama’s location using GPS will make it easier. You’ll need Google Earth 4.2 or higher to share your panoramas. You can download Google Earth from http://earth. google.com. - Page 43 GigaPan Pro User Guide There are three ways for you to specify the location of your panorama: a. If you recorded your coordinates using a GPS receiver, enter them in the text boxes below “Location”. There are two systems of notating latitude and longitude: Degrees Minutes Seconds (DMS), and decimal notation (DD).
- Page 44 You will be prompted to download a file. (Some browsers will download this file automatically) Save the kml file to your hard disk. 10. Open the downloaded KML file in Google Earth. You will most likely see your GigaPan hover in mid air. To appropriately position your panorama go back to step 6., but before saving go ahead and modify the positioning values such as Heading or Elevation. As you are making the changes, you will be able to preview them on the Google Earth plugin that is a part of the placement page. Once you are satis- fied with the positioning, save your changes, and continue to the next step.
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Page 45: Troubleshooting
GigaPan Pro User Guide 6. Troubleshooting Read on to find out how to fix common problems with the GigaPan EPIC Pro. If you don’t find your solution here, contact technical support at GigaPanSystems.com. 6.1 My photos are blurry There could be several causes for blurry photos: The EPIC Pro might be moving before your camera has captured the photograph. -
Page 46: My Photos Have A Narrow Depth Of Field
6.2 My photos have a narrow depth of field There are several factors that affect the depth of field. You can increase the depth of field on your camera by: • increasing the aperture value • decreasing the focal length • increasing the distance to your subject • using a smaller size image sensor • using auto focus to shift the critical focus if appropriate You can also consult a depth of field chart provided by your lens manufacturer. There is a point at which you will experience diminishing returns in image quality while increasing the aperture value to maximize the depth of field. The image will begin to be degraded by diffraction losses if you use to high of an aperture value such as f/22 versus f/8, f/11 or f/16. -
Page 47: The Electronic Trigger Cable Is Not Actuating The Camera Shutter
GigaPan Pro User Guide 6.4 The electronic trigger cable is not actuating the camera shutter There are a few common reasons why the electronic trigger cable might not be actuating the camera shutter. Ensure that the electronic trigger cable is connected to the camera body and to the EPIC Pro on the left of the LCD display. -
Page 48: My Panoramas Are Distorted Or Misaligned
6.6 My panoramas are distorted or misaligned There could be several causes for distorted or misaligned panoramas: Check your setup for errors. a. Go through the Set-up steps in Chapter 2. Note: Remember that you must repeat this every time you change the camera, lens or focal length. b. -
Page 49: My Panoramas Have Vignetting
GigaPan Pro User Guide 6.7 My panoramas have vignetting Vignetting is the result of less light reaching the edges and corners of a photo than the center of a photo. Vignetting manifests itself as a pattern of stripes in a panorama. You can adjust camera settings to minimize vignetting and you can reduce vignetting using an image editor before stitching the photos together. -
Page 50: Tips And Tricks
7. Tips and tricks Here are some tips and tricks to make the most of your panoramas. Also, check out the creative ideas and advanced tips to go beyond the basics with your shots. 7.1 Shoot more than you need Always take a larger panorama than you need to. -
Page 51: Shooting In Different Environments
GigaPan Pro User Guide 7.2 Shooting in different environments Outdoors Try these tips settings for photographing huge vistas: 1. Examine the scene to identify what will make your panorama interesting and aesthetically pleasing, such as framing, colors, symmetry, perspective, textures, etc. Take a few individual photographs to assess exposure and contemplate the rectangular boundaries of what you want to capture. - Page 52 Indoors Try these tips settings for shooting indoors: Examine what you are photograping to determine the framing, symmetry, color, perspective and texture that will give you an aesthetically pleasing or interesting panorama. Take a few photographs to help you evaluate exposure. It is important to determine the most important elements of the panorama so that you can make good choices before you concentrate on the details necessary for a successful capture.
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Page 53: Night Shots
GigaPan Pro User Guide 7.3 Night shots Here are a few tips for shooting panoramas at night. The key is to Increase the exposure time for each photo and make sure that the EPIC Pro and your camera are free from vibrations. If your camera body or lens has image stabilization, turn the feature off. -
Page 54: City Scenes
7.4 City scenes In cities, you need to be more aware of objects in motion—specifically vehicles and people. You may also find that buildings can get distorted when you stitch your panorama. To avoiding moving objects, watch for people or street traffic that might get in the way of your shots - pause the panorama before they do and resume the panorama after they have left the frame, or pause go back and resume where you left off. -
Page 55: Create Games: Hide & Seek
GigaPan Pro User Guide 7.5 Create Games: Hide & Seek Make your panorama fun to explore by hiding interesting objects, and create a list of these things for your friends to find. You can either hide items in your scene before shooting the panorama, or insert images into your panorama using image editing software. -
Page 56: Panoramas In Motion: Capturing A Crowd
7.6 Panoramas in Motion: Capturing a Crowd Sporting events, races or crowds of people are great opportunities to take an epic shot that captures every detail of the moment. You’ll be sure to capture every face in the crowd. When shooting a panorama of a sporting event that has a lot of motion, capture the whole scene and crowd, and then re-shoot the areas in motion individually.