Shoot Panoramas with Nikon D7000

Just got a Nikon D7000. I want to shoot panoramas with it. Where in the Menu do I go to start? That is all I need to know.

I would use a tripod, shoot in M mode and stitch the photos in post. Please look here for more details:

Panorama Photography | How to Take Panoramic Photos | Nikon from Nikon

There is no in-camera panoramic mode, if that's what you're asking. You have to take multiple images and use stitching software to combine them.

I have shot/stitched (software, afterwards) many panorama's with D200/D300 and (for example) a 50/1.8 ..most often hand-held.

Photoshop has a fine stitching routine (Automate>Merge). There are lots of other graphics apps to do the same.

 

Here is a panorama of Mycenae done many years after the two pictures were taken using a Nikkormat EL. I've not cropped the combined file here:

 

You don't really need a tripod and panorama head unless you're very picky and want maximum coverage...

Thank you all so very much. Everything is now clear. I'll stick to my quirky Fuji X-E1 and X-E2 with Metabonces Speed Booster for Nikon when doing panoramas. I should use a tripod, setting the camera on manual and learn to stitch. I'll certainly think about it. Thanks again.

 

I like the D7000 a lot. It is lighter than my D700.

If you are willing to convert your files to JPG, there is a pretty decent free Microsoft program called ICE that will stitch panoramas of any size from multiple shots with some overlap. I've done a fair number of freehand pans, which work out all right if you shoot at a wide enough angle to discard the ragged edges. If you're reasonably careful with horizons, set manual exposure, and don't have foreground objects requiring nodal point precision, it works pretty well. The advantage of a post processing panorama is that it can be very big and detailed, with many more pixels than the sensor can hold.

Ancient solutions to modern problems!

The basic rules for stitched panoramas:

1. The axis of rotation must be vertical. Level the base of the tripod head by adjusting the legs or using a ball joint leveling device.
   
2. For best results, the camera base must also be level. However if step one is observed you can tilt the camera up or down for better composition, at the expense of losing more of the image through cropping
   
3. Once the head is level, you must level the camera at least side to side, and fore and aft if you want the horizon in the center.
   
4. To avoid parallax between near and far objects, rotation must occur about the optical center of the lens. Use a long rail for the camera, and move it fore and aft until rotation does not cause parallax.
   
5. You don't need to use a calibrated base. You need about 25% overlap between frames, which you can determine using markings in the viewfinder v conspicuous landmarks in the image.
   
6. While you can stitch the results using Photoshop, a dedicated program like PtGUI makes it simpler, and offers many options for straightening and rendering the results.
   
7. You can use rectilinear projection if the total angle of view is 120 degrees or less (180 is the absolute limit). This will keep straight lines, like roads or fences, straight. Objects near the ends will appear larger than normal.
   
8. You can use cylindrical projection for most landscapes, if fences and roads are not prominent and nearby. Images undergo much less stretching than for rectilinear projections.
   
9. You can do 2D panoramas if you have two axes of rotation - vertical and horizontal. This is very tedious by hand, but there are inexpensive machines which handle the details.
   

I use an ordinary tripod with a leveling head instead of a column, and a ball head with a panning base. A 2-way bubble level in the flash shoe (or built into many cameras) levels the camera for and aft, side to side. I have also taken panoramas by hand, but you lose a lot when cropping the results due to variations in orientation and level.

 

Glacier Bay (Vatnajogul), Iceland

Sony A7Rii + 24-70/2.8

The image above was rendered in cylindrical projection, which tends to look more natural for landscapes. Rectilinear projection is required for interiors (unless you want goofy results). Like a wide angle lens, rectilinear projection will stretch heads at the corners, or distort any 3D objects that should be round or square. Vertical perspective will be exaggerated. The rendering software was PtGUI, directly from RAW to TIFF format in this instance. You can start with any format. There are size limits, but very large - at least 2 GB.

 

My viewfinder has rule-of-thirds grid markings. i find some feature near one line in the direction of travel, then turn the camera until it falls on the opposite line. Voila! Ample overlap.

Ed's way is for those who want really optimum and superior results,

 

but I find I can just take the pictures-to-be-merged hand held and rotating the torso as I shoot ['good enough for gumm'int work']. The software takes care of the rest.

 

Here is a six-image merge of Karnak taken by that method and merged in Photoshop.

You obviously need a fair amount of overlap for this to work...

 

I do have one of those Nikon panorama heads, but have used it once, perhaps.

Here are the original instructions:

Edited January 27, 2018 by JDMvW

Sandy and JDM beat me in posting about the Nikon panorama head.

But surely there must be a cheaper device of similar design available these days?

 

For example: Anyone tried an 'automatic' pano-gizmo like this.

Whoa! Cheapest AP-2 out there right now is better than $65 U.S. delivered. Who knew!

You lose about 1/3rd of the picture height through cropping the edges straight by shooting hand-held. You can do it, but leave ample space for things you want in the frame. It's not much better if you use a tripod but fail to level things properly in the horizontal direction. Sometimes you can't fool with a tripod and get the shot you're after (e.g., on a bus tour). Then too, you can get lucky. The rules I transcribed above let you know what is required. You can try to emulate the process as best you can, completely by hand (and torso).

 

I purchased a pano head for a Rolleiflex years ago. It was that time in my life I couldn't afford what I wanted, so I wanted what I could afford ) In retrospect it might have worked had I known about distorting each frame into cylindrical perspective so that the edges (and straight lines) would line up. Even with proper software, click stops don't work well with lenses of different focal lengths, much less zoom lenses. My panning base is actually marked in degrees (x 5 deg), but I never use it. Estimating the correct overlap in the viewfinder works every time, regardless of the lens or camera.

 

Parallax compensation is only necessary if you have a prominent object in the composition closer than 75 feet or so, falling on a frame boundary. In the frame or further away, it doesn't matter. With that in mind, you can skip that step. You only need automation for virtual reality or Gigapixel creations

 

One thing is certain. You can use nearly any camera and produce a good panorama, even a cell phone or P&S.

Whoa! Cheapest AP-2 out there right now is better than $65 U.S. delivered. Who knew!

 

For sure.

I found out when I actually bought one some time back.

Most old time accessories for old cameras are cheap, but when you get into Leica, and sometimes Nikon, it's another story. Also, prices reflect the more general utility for some items like this one.

 

I have found KEH to be a good source for some of these things. Their website is hard to navigate, so such items don't sell out quickly; and their prices are often much less than on eBay.

I found out when I actually bought one some time back.

Was in the wayback machine -- but think I paid $30 for mine - used, in repaired box with instructions. Haven't used it out here where it really makes sense - when the weather moderates!

I bought a Feisol panning base for use with an iOptron Skytracker (much easier to set azimuth than turning the tripod). It is very well made, tight and smooth in operation, and relatively inexpensive. If you have a head without a panning base, this would do the trick. It also comes in a larter (90 mm) size.

 

FEISOL PB-70 Panning Base PB-70 B&H Photo Video

I looked at the Feisol PB70 linked to above, but does it have a level in it?

 

The Velbon Panamatic 360º Camera Indexer & Level

has a level and is cheaper.

Feisol pan bases do not have levels, I rely on the one in the leveling head. Leveling the camera is a separate issue. Using an RRS ball head, there is a level in the clamp, I have 2-way levels which can be inserted in the flash shoe, an the Sony A7 has a built-in level in the viewfinder, as does my Nikon D3. If you level the base, the horizon remains constant as you pan (except for topography).

 

You don't need a panning base with a 3-way head, or if your ball head has one. Nor do you need an indexer. Furthermore, an indexer is useless unless it matches the field of view of your lens.