Very Confused Linux User

    Here's what I'm trying to do:
    - I'm going to take a set of pictures of my living room as my first sample project to get this working
    - I want to put them through the panorama picture maker
    - I want to load that panoramic picture into a webpage so people can rotate it and look around as if they were standing there

    Okay so I downloaded all the free versions of the software for Linux and I have everything unzipped, where do I go from here? What do I do first? Once I take all my pictures, what do I do with them? Basically I have no idea where to start here. Thanks!

    DeX - Please tell us what software have you downloaded? I am assuming you have downloaded "krpanotools"

    These are the steps to create and display panorama:

    1. Take a set of overlapping pictures of the scene (best to use tripod & pano head)
    2. Stitch the set of images to create one spherical image of your scene (need to use stitching software such as ptgui or autopano ...)
    3. Then you use the the krpanotools software that you downloaded to create a package that contains the viewer for your scene. The package will contain an html file plus other supporting files.
    4. Then you upload the package created by panotools to your webserver.
    Quote from fl360

    DeX - Please tell us what software have you downloaded? I am assuming you have downloaded "krpanotools"

    These are the steps to create and display panorama:

    1. Take a set of overlapping pictures of the scene (best to use tripod & pano head)
    2. Stitch the set of images to create one spherical image of your scene (need to use stitching software such as ptgui or autopano ...)
    3. Then you use the the krpanotools software that you downloaded to create a package that contains the viewer for your scene. The package will contain an html file plus other supporting files.
    4. Then you upload the package created by panotools to your webserver.

    Thank you for replying.

    1. I downloaded all the free software as I'm not quite sure what each one does yet, I'm just trying to create the simplest example right now. But yes, I did download krpanotools for Linux.
    2. Okay this is where I'm stuck, is this software included in what I downloaded or do I have to find some separate third part software to do this for me? I was assuming it was included.
    3. I guess I'll ask more questions at this point once I get here. I need to get the spherical image first.

    Hi,

    the linux tools are mainly thought for server usage, so the linux download packages don't contain all config, template and skin files,
    but you can download either the windows or mac tools package, extract it and copy the linux binaries into that tools folder,

    the droplets from the windows and mac versions are simple batch/script files that were calling the "kmakemultires" tools, but with different .config files,

    e.g.
    the MAKE PANO (MULTIRES) - uses the "kmakemultires.config" file (this file also contains the documentation about the .config files),
    the MAKE PANO (NORMAL) - uses the "templates/normal.config" file,
    and MAKE PANO (SINGLESWF) - uses the "templates/singleswf.config" file,
    and so on...

    when you have a pano image then call the kmakemutlires tool in that way on linux:

    Code
    /--path-to-the-krpanotools/kmakemultires ./panoimage.jpg


    or for using the normal.config file:

    Code
    /--path-to-the-krpanotools/kmakemultires -config=templates/normal.config ./panoimage.jpg
    Quote from DeX

    I need to get the spherical image first.

    right, krpano itself is a viewer, that means you need to have the pano image itself first,

    best regards,
    Klaus

    Okay, I followed your instructions, here's what I did:

    1. Downloaded krpanotools for Linux
    2. Downloaded krpanotools for Windows
    3. Moved the Windows templates folder into the Linux krpanotools folder
    4. Renamed the Linux krpanotools folder to krpano so it's easier to work with on the command line
    5. Downloaded this panoramic image: http://queensbayshoppingmall.com/wp-content/upl…_panoramic1.jpg
    6. Copied that panoramic image into the Linux krpano folder
    7. Ran this command:

    Code
    /home/deemar/Desktop/krpano/kmakemultires  /home/deemar/Desktop/krpano/pan.jpg

    8. Got this output:

    Code
    deemar@Chugger:~$ /home/deemar/Desktop/krpano/kmakemultires  /home/deemar/Desktop/krpano/pan.jpgWARNING: loading config from "/home/deemar/Desktop/krpano/kmakemultires.config" failed, using defaults!
kmakemultires 1.0.8.12 - 64bit (build 2010-11-24)
WARNING: "pan.jpg" is not a 360x180 panorama image! (7200x2263)
is it a partial panorama? (y/n): ywhat type of partial panorama? (1=flat, 2=spherical, 3=cylindrical): what type of partial panorama? (1=flat, 2=spherical, 3=cylindrical): 3horizontal field of view? (0-360): 120
processing - pan (CYLINDER)inputfile:   image: pan.jpg (7200x2263)outputfiles:     xml: pan.xml    html: pan.html preview: pan.tiles/preview.jpg   tiles: pan.tiles/l%Al[_c]_%Av_%Ah.jpgparameters: -xmltemplate=panoonly.xml -htmltemplate=swfkrpano.html -tilesize=900 (automatic) -levels=2 - 7200x2263, 3600x1132
generate:making preview...                 making tiles: l2_%0v_%0h.jpg - 8x3 (24) tilesmaking tiles: l1_%0v_%0h.jpg - 4x2 (8) tilesERROR: unable to copy file "/home/deemar/Desktop/krpano/krpano.swf" to "/home/deemar/Desktop/krpano/krpano.swf"!done.


krpanotools - unregistered version...  ...for unrestricted usage buy a license on:                         http://krpano.com/buy/
thanks.                     deemar@Chugger:~$

    9. I loaded the pan.html page and it's just a black page that does nothing. Just imagine your browser window is completely black. I have Flash 10 installed, I can watch Flash videos on http://www.cinemassacre.com no problem and any other Flash based video site.

    I tried this on my Dell Studio 15 laptop and also my quad core desktop, same result on both. What am I doing wrong?

    Looking at your error it says it did not copy krpano.swf to the proper location. Find that in the package and put it in the same location as the other files.

    Looking at your code, it should probably be here.

    /home/deemar/Desktop/krpano/

    but without seeing all of the files, I can't be certain.

    Woohoo, it worked, thank you! It wasn't just the .swf file, I copied everything from the Windows folder into the Linux folder and that did it.

    Okay so I have a spinning view of a single viewpoint in my living room, how do I step it up to making a walk through where you can click to move ahead to the next spot?

    Edit the XML and add hotspots. You can keep each scene in separate XMLs or combine them into scenes. Take a look at the example folder of the viewer package for hotspot examples.

    Okay creating the walkthrough from the panoramic image has been pretty easy but it seems I'm having a lot of trouble creating the panoramic image. Should it be this hard? I have a tripod and a camera, I get 100 - 150 pictures working in a circular motion, all at different angles so that I can put together a spherical panoramic image but anything too close (like the ground) doesn't connect with control points very well. And if I'm trying to do it inside my house, forget it. Sometimes it'll create the panoramic image but it'll leave out an entire angle of images for some reason. Or I'll try and merge 2 and it'll give me the only piece that doesn't line up between them instead of giving me the larger piece that does connect together. It's weird. I'm using Hugin to create the panoramic image, is there anything else that works in Linux? Should it be this hard? Do I just have to take A LOT more pictures when things are close up?

    It's especially difficult when the camera is pointing straight down and I'm rotating it on the tripod. In one shot the tripod leg will be pointing 45 degrees in a northeast direction and then I turn the camera to take the next shot and the leg will be pointing 45 degrees in a northwest direction. Since it's such a drastic change between the 2 pictures it seems to have a problem merging them....understandably. But the only thing I can think of is moving it only about 10 degrees and continuously taking pictures every 10 degrees. I don't think that would help.

    you will definitely want to get a proper panoramic tripod head like from nodal ninja, or build your own if you are a DIY type

    http://www.nodalninja.com/

    http://www.google.com/search?q=homemade+pano+head

    properly setting the no parallax point (nodal point) for your camera/lens combo is critical for good results

    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1jAhwFLimM0

    also see this tutorial on basic pano shooting technique

    http://www.rosaurophotography.com/html/technical0.html

    sam

    Wow, thank you. This is getting expensive fast, I was hoping to keep it pretty much free until it started generating some income for me. I guess I can't really do anything until I get a setup that gives me the nodal point of my camera though. And I'd probably have to start using a better camera than my $100 Nikon L22. I'm going to talk to a welder and see what he can make me for an interim piece until I make enough to buy one of the proper ones. Making what's in that link looks very confusing.

    the nikon L22 will prob not be ideal for shooting panos as it has no manual exposure mode, you need to lock aperture, shutter speed, white balance, iso etc for shooting these images, and as wide a lens as possible, wider compacts go out to about 24mm and some have fisheye adaptors, you should be able to find a suitable compact for around $300 or so, last gen canon or panasonic etc

    or ideally, upgrade to a cheap DSLR from nikon or canon w samyang 8mm fisheye

    a nodal ninja 3 is only around $200, this will work for any compact camera and all but the larger DSLRs

    but yes, this is an expensive and time consuming hobby, if you are looking at this as a money making opportunity you may be disappointed, but if you are a photographer or computer geek looking to learn something new you probably wont end up unhappy :)

    sam

    This is a video with my $10 tripod and my Nikon L22 I just made. Sorry it's a little dark here, I can do another in the morning if you like. The important part is the camera is very small so the lens sits pretty much right above the rotation point. I set up 2 Coke cans and you can see they stay in line with one another as I rotate the camera on the tripod. Also the vertical parts of my coffee table don't move in relation to one another. Is this okay for an amateur panoramic? Will this work or is it still not exact enough?

    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v9cB3jVdsok

    i would say 1st can about 2 or 3 feet from the camera is ok, and about 10 feet or more between the cans, probably better to use a door frame & window frame or something like that

    but

    nikon L22 lacks manual focus, focus must be locked along w exposure & white balance etc to get anything close to good results, lens refocusing on every shot will change your nodal point, etc...

    sam

    Lock the focus? What if you're doing a room that's 10 feet wide but 20 feet long? It'll be out of focus on the far walls and in focus on the near walls. Right? I can understand locking shutter speed, aperture, ISO and white balance though.

    Using smaller apertures and hyperfocal focus selected.
    You can not stitch photos that change focus with any kind of precision "easily".
    Using a suitably small aperture on a very small camera should increase your shooting time by a lot..
    These problems aren't something that a couple thousand dollars in new equipment can't solve.

    I just ordered the panoramic head from Nodal Ninja, thanks for posting the link. $40 shipping though, damn. I'll post back when I receive it and try it out.

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