A very nice UWA for UV (humor alert!)

[ecliptique]

Hello !

 

I find a very fine Ultra Wide Angle with very good UV capability. Very sharp, no geometric distorsion.

 

 

On these second picture, there is few IR leak because I don't put any protection on my camera (it's only a test for Ultraviolet Photography).

 

 

And you can see here a 100% crop :

 

 

 

Not too bad, isn'it ?

 

:-)

[nfoto]

Care to disclose more details on this lens? Information on the camera and filtration would also be welcomed.

[moggafogga]

Seems to be very interesting, but as Bjørn mentioned before some details on this lens would be nice :)

Regards, Martin

[ecliptique]

Ok. Theses pictures was taken with a Nikon D800 broadband and Noflexar 35mm f/3.5 + Baader U filter.

 

But the result is the same as 14mm. Why ?

 

The idea is to mount camera on a panoramic head.

 

Then, shoot 4 pictures at +30° tilt and each 30° horizontal. Same thing at 0° and -30° tilt.

 

You obtain that :

 

After RAW-> TIFF conversion, you assemble pictures with a dedicated software like Autopano

 

Crop picture as you want : pictures on the first post are like 14mm and this one look like SWC Hasselblad (90x90°). Modify assembly result with photoshop.

 

The idea is to have 20 or 30% overlap between each picture : Autopano calculate exact geometric distorsion and release all vignetting effect. It keep only the best of each frame: the center.

 

The result is a big picture of 23 000 x 23 0000 pixels.

 

Simple, no ?

[enricosavazzi]

The technique is nice and the results remarkable, at least with static subjects (moving clouds would be a problem, as well as any passing cars or people not entirely contained in a single frame). The title of the post is somewhat misleading though, as the first excited replies suggest. An ultra-wide angle lens good in UV (and preferably reasonably priced) is a holy grail for many UV photographers, but we are not there yet.

[ecliptique]

The title of the post is somewhat misleading though, as the first excited replies suggest.

 

I know that ! :) I hope that nobody is annoyed...

 

I work with many pictures assembly systems since 1999 and it's very natural for me to use a panoramic head (see here and here...)

 

This post is just to give you a affordable idea to replace the holy grail UWA for UV pictures...

 

For Enrico, about static subjects : sometimes, it's possible to take panoramic picture with subjects movements ! :D Ok, it's not possible with a Baader U filter and long time exposure...

 

Laurent

[Andrea B.]

Very interesting to me to see the set of frames used to make such a pano. And to see the Autopano diagram.

 

You most likely have gotten a better and certainly more detailed result than if you had used an actual very wide-angle lens because combining frames like this gives you a very large megapixel resullt. :D

[ecliptique]

Yes Andrea,

the other avantage is to choose the exacts angles (horizontal or vertical) and crop after shooting ! Look here (sorry, it's not UV picture).

 

 

But only a big experience can determinate the good shoot order (R to L or L to R, top -> bottom or inverse, depend of sun position, clouds, wind, subject..) to minimize movements artefacts and light variation...

[Alex H]

The title was promising, the answer was disappointing.

Some of us spent a lot of time and money trying to find UV-capable ultra wide angle lens. There are good reasons why stitching can not replace proper UWA lens.

[nfoto]

Perhaps not 'disappointing', merely 'unsurprising'. Like a catchy title of a song that you tend to forget even before it has played through.

 

Stitching has been done for a long time, also in UV.

[Cadmium]

Sometimes by stitching together multispectral images you can create interesting effects.

360 degree view, Merlin-Papywizard panoramic head, Olympus C-2020Z (stock), Wratten 87 gel filter:

 

[ecliptique]

Great !

 

And here are good reasons why proper UWA lens can not replace stitching . :)

 

Look here.

 

It was made with Nikon D3 + 28mm ais + 720nm + Manfrotto panoramic head.

[Alex H]

And here are good reasons why proper UWA lens can not replace stitching . :)

 

Look here.

 

It was made with Nikon D3 + 28mm ais + 720nm + Manfrotto panoramic head.

 

I am sorry, but the picture itself does not attract me at all. Number of megapixels/resolution is the last thing I care about when it comes to photography.

[Andrea B.]

Well photography is always a matter of taste. And all techniques have their place. So lighten up everyone. Let Ecliptique have his little joke and present his technique. It is interesting to some of us. Me for example.

 

Stitching can be both creative and useful. The fellow in Tasmania who works so hard to save the forests there developed a multi-stitched pano method to make gazillion-megapixel photos to display on entire walls. They were stunning in detail and effect. And helped the effort.

 

Cadmium, that is indeed an interesting combo of UV/Vis/IR. (Or is it Vis/IR??) I've never seen that done quite like that. What software did you use?

[Andrea B.]

I.want.a.pano.head.

[colinbm]

That is unreal Steve B) :P

[Cadmium]

Thanks Andrea and Colin. I think it was either Autopano or Hugin.

The effect was totally random, these are identical pan sets, visual and IR (no UV shots), they were both loaded into the pan software as if they were only one pan set,

and the program just decided which to use, creating that mixed effect. It worked that time anyway, and I am sure there are other ways to achieve such effects.

The C-2020Z doesn't have RAW files or custom white balance, just JPG files of the camera, thus the pinkish color of the IR shots.

 

Laurent, I like the 360 degree IR shot on your link. When I use the arrows to turn around in the scene it shows a rather nice ancient structure. Also a patient model in the scene.

 

A photon checks into a hotel.

The clerk asks if he needs help with his luggage.

The Photon replies, "I don't have any luggage, I'm traveling light."

 

;-)

[Andy Perrin]

Very interesting to me to see the set of frames used to make such a pano. And to see the Autopano diagram.

 

You most likely have gotten a better and certainly more detailed result than if you had used an actual very wide-angle lens because combining frames like this gives you a very large megapixel resullt. :D

Wouldn't you also avoid the distortion at the edges of the frame that you get with a real lens?

[nfoto]

The "distortion" is a result of [rectilinear] projection, not the lens as such. If you stitch many frames taken with a long focal length to make a picture with a large field of view, you get "distortion" as well.

[colinbm]

"I'm traveling light"....................that is light years ahead of the rest B)