bill_mussett1

<p>David,<br>

A P.S. to my earlier post: If your client does want a panorama, you will likely be expected to hand them a file ready to be uploaded as a rotating panorama, as I doubt they'd want one long and narrow still photo. I'm not familiar with all the current stitching software, but if any include the ability to create a Flash rotating panorama, that would be the one to buy, otherwise you'll be looking at purchasing additional software.<br>

The only other advise I can give is to encourage you to do several test panoramas; you'll have to calibrate your lens to the panning head (find the nodal point of the lens) and record that setting.<br>

Panoramas can be unique, fun to produce and dramatic but they are work and do take some practice. Good Luck!</p>

<p>It might be best to ask your client for clarification of what they mean by virtual tour. It could mean panoramas (full 360 or partial), a slide show with captions, a gallery with thumbnails opening to a larger photo or something else.<br>

If they do want panoramas you'll need a special pan head and stitching software to do it right. A couple of sources for both are Really Right Stuff <a rel="nofollow" href="http://reallyrightstuff.com/QR/05.html" target="_blank">http://reallyrightstuff.com</a> and Kaidan http://www.kaidan.com/<br>

You may also want to read this post on PNet about panoramas for more info: http://www.photo.net/canon-eos-digital-camera-forum/00PwFG<br>

<br /></p>

<p>Keith,<br>

I'm not an expert on Photomatix but I have used it and the Pro version does have a checkbox in the section Generate HDR - Options called "Attempt to reduce ghosting artifacts". Try that if you haven't already and check Step 3 of their tutorial.<br>

I've processed photos with Photomatix Pro trial version that did have slight movement of a flag, leaves or grasses and that did not prevent alignment. </p>

<p>Like Bill I have a MacBook Pro and love it. All of the major photo software programs will work very well on any recent Mac and all have free trial versions you can download and tryout.<br>

If you'll be printing photos calibration is a must and is difficult on any laptop. Apple recently released a new monitor designed for use only with the MacBook laptops that may be the answer for calibration issues.<br>

If you haven't already check PNet's Wedding Forums and this set of articles regarding the business of wedding photography: http://www.photo.net/learn/wedding/</p>

Dave,

Try Kaidan, http://www.kaidan.com/ for object software. There are undoubtedly other vendors, but this company is a good

starting point.

Unfortunately Apple did not update their QTVR software from OS9 for OS10, along with many other easy to use useful

programs.

If you can, spend the extra $40, get the bundle and take a beginning class in Illustrator. You won't go wrong having an

additional skill-set (Illustrator) on your resume.

Angela,

Try a program called qtpfsgui (version 1.8.12). It's shareware and can be downloaded at: http://qtpfsgui.sourceforge.net/about.php

I'm using a Mac, and that requires another program called Qt to run qtpfsgui. The site above will have a link to Qt.

I've used it and it should give you the effect you're looking for, but it'll take some patient experimenting on your part. I've

used three images, one each at +2 stops from normal exposure, normal and -2 stops from normal and varied the stops

by changing the shutter speed. I've read three and even four stops on either side of normal exposure produces the best

HDR, but it depends upon what you're imaging. Be sure to use a tripod.

In qtpfsgui click Create HDR and basically ignore what you see. If you've used a tripod you won't need to be concerned

with image alignment. Click Tone-mapping and you'll be presented with eight methods, each with its own adjustments to

create your finished image. I'd suggest starting with Fattal and vary the color saturation. Fattal also includes a noise

reduction slider.

I've only played with a few images using qtpfsgui so don't take my quick method as a final how-to lesson. It will take

experimenting to get the final result you want. Fortunately, the program does allow you to save and re-load settings you

want to re-use. Ironically, the tone-mapped image is of course not HDR. You'll have to experiment more on your own,

especially with the Create HDR settings that may allow you to not have to produce a tone-mapped image. Good Luck!

I bought the MacBook Pro and have no problem whatsoever with the screen. Like you and many others I was concerned

about reflections off the screen. The prior glossy screen models did have much greater reflection problems. The LED's are

so bright compared to the LCD that they seem to "overpower" most reflections; and screen brightness is of course still

manually adjustable. When compared to my 5+ year old 17" PowerBook the difference in color quality and resolution is

stunning, i.e. there's no going back!

Here's a link to an older post from the P.Net Wedding Forum asking the same question. Includes some good responses

from several reputable photographers.

http://www.photo.net/wedding-photography-forum/00Eh5S

Looks good to me. There are also several free and shareware programs to do blending. I haven't tried them all, but have

had good luck with ImageFuser, XBlend/XFuse and Bracketeer depending on the images. I've had the best luck fusing to

LDR TIFF's. When I choose HDR the final image is so washed-out it couldn't be called an image.

The most dramatic, and what I'd consider to be true HDR images, have all been taken at night. Check this site for some examples (In The

Night) and a how-to lesson:

http://www.tofahrn-foto.de/index.php?lg=en&pg=tipps.dri

You've developed a technique that works, and works better than the example Adobe includes with PSCS3! Keep fine-tuning

it to taste if you feel that's necessary.

I bought the 15" MBPro and have no regrets. Like you, I was concerned about reflections on the screen, but that has not

been an issue because the LED's are so bright. It's very fast, and the display is razor sharp. You won't go wrong buying the MBPro.

Try the trial version of Phase One's Capture One. I would place it between DPP and Aperture/Lightroom in functions, and

at less cost than either. I don't use PS, so I cannot speak to transfers into PS from Capture One. I tried both Aperture &

Lightroom and stayed with C1.

http://www.phaseone.com/Content/Software.aspx

I got my mine about two months ago for my 30D after scorning flash for decades. It's an amazing piece of equipment. I had

mine for about 45 minutes before using it to photograph a home interior; it was flawless. It's really a computer with a light

on top. Have fun and experiment!

If you need portability, go with a MacBook Pro. The display is razor sharp and it's a fast machine. I was using a 17"

PowerBook and making any comparison between the two would be a waste of time. I was concerned about the loss of

display area on the 17" vs 15", but the quality of the Pro's display alone has made that a non-issue. I was also concerned

about reflection on the glass display, but again its not been an issue.

Pim, I just upgraded my 5+ year old PowerBook (1 GHz processor,1 GB RAM and 16 MB video) to a new MacBook Pro. I was also

concerned about future compatibility, because I've read Aperture and some Adobe programs will begin to use the graphics card for

processing; and I don't want to have to consider a new computer in 2 years. That said, the only program that would not work on my

PowerBook was Aperture. My suggestion would be go for the CPU speed and upgrade the RAM as needed. And yes, the new laptops are

built like a tank and have a beautiful display.

Jeff is correct. I have a 17" Mac PowerBook. It's native display is 1440x900. The screen (actual image display) is

14.4"x9.0", therefore at its native resolution it's displaying 100 pixels per inch. To display at 72ppi, I'd have to change the

display to 1024x640.

I'll have to take back some of what I said about the abilities of Keynote, which is an application in a suite of programs in

Apples iWork and not included with your Mac; you'd have to purchase it separately.

As I've learned in the last few hours, Keynote does save slides with an HTML index file, however all the slides are saved

as either JPG or PNG; they are simply images of the slides created in Keynote. Any links, slideshows, videos do not

work once uploaded; with-out additional coding they never will. I thought Keynote would preserve my links, etc that

worked in the Keynote program but it does not.

If you already own Dreamweaver give it a try or find someone (local college student?) to create an initial site for you and

learn from the code written for your site.

I've been working on something similar and was pleasantly surprised to find that using Keynote in my two year old copy of

iWork 06 (version 3.0.2) has been able to (so far) do what I need. I'm also an HTML newbie and was surprised again when I

realized Keynote will convert all the slides into HTML. I also tried using Final Cut Express - no thumbnails though, and a

commercially available program named Soundslides Plus - generally good and easy to use but again no thumbnails and

unless you can embed it into a Keynote slide, which I haven't tried yet, you'll need to know HTML to give the page it plays-

on a design. I also suggest getting a good book on HTML and CSS so you do have a basic understanding of what is going-

on behind the scenes and be able to do any fine-tuning if necessary.

I'll venture a guess that the current 5D will be remembered as a classic. Not perfect by any means, but a workhorse

camera. Other than the Digic IV processor, too many bells and whistles on the 5DMII; the pixel-count race reminds me of

the gigahertz race with computers not too long ago. I'll be looking for the (hopefully) next rebate on the 5D to get one before

they're gone.

I use the 10-22 on my 30D for landscapes and night photos. My copy though suffers from back-focus and is somewhat soft

compared to my 24-70L, but with an aperture in the 8 to 11 range for landscapes it does a good job. Spend a few extra

dollars for the lens hood.

Edward & Giampi, Thanks for your comments on VRAM. I've read many opinions on the subject and never gotten a

straight answer until now. I don't use an external monitor, but I'd rather pay to have the necessary VRAM now rather

than have to buy another computer or add-ons to use one.

John, Since the additional cost of the hi-rez screen is marginal versus the total cost of the computer it seems worthwhile

and your comments confirm its usefulness. I've read the rumors of new models soon and was thinking Apple might add

hi-rez as an option on the 15". I do have a 17" now and though it's heavy I'd hate to give-up so much screen real estate

just to save money on a 15".

Thanks to all for your very helpful responses!

My five year old PowerBook G4 is slowly dying so I've begun considering various models of the MBP as a replacement. Does anyone have

experience with the high resolution screen? I've seen it at the local Apple Store and honestly did not notice any difference when compared

side by side with the standard screen, other than smaller typeface. Another consideration is the amount of video RAM, 256 or 512? I don't

play games so that is not a factor, but I know Aperture and possibly other Apple programs do take advantage of the VRAM. I don't use

Aperture or PS now, but could in the future. I've gotten five years of use out of my G4, and I want to make a purchase that will hopefully

take me another five.

Baivab, Regarding your question about the Chrominance and Luminance settings for applying NR (noise reduction), check

this older posting on Photo.net:

http://www.photo.net/canon-eos-digital-camera-forum/00NXt9

As a longtime Mac user I strongly second the excellent advise given by Charles and Puppy and would add that if you travel

often or need portability consider a Mac laptop. There are 17" models available with glossy high definition screens. Check

the Refurbished section of the Mac online store for some decent deals on all Macs.

Download a trial version of various programs with-in your budget. The best value will likely

be Adobe's Photoshop Elements, though I'm not familiar with all it's features and don't know

if it will handle everything you want to do, especially the HDR.