Table of Contents. 1 Autopano Pro - Installation and registration INSTALLATION REGISTRATION...1

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2 Table of Contents 1 Autopano Pro - Installation and registration INSTALLATION REGISTRATION Autopano Pro - Supported file format in input SUPPORTED FILE FORMATS EXIF DATA Autopano Pro - External plugins PICASA PLUGIN Autopano Pro - Main Window Autopano Pro - Main Window - Toolbar Browse folder Autopano Pro - Main Window - Groups Window GROUP INTERFACE ALL GROUPS Autopano Pro - Main Window - Group Settings DETECTION TAB OPTIMIZATION TAB PANORAMA TAB RENDER TAB Autopano Pro - Main Window - Image Properties IMAGE TAB CIRCULAR CROP TAB Autopano Pro - Main Window - Panoramas Window PANORAMA INTERFACE ALL PANORAMAS Autopano Pro - Preferences Autopano Pro - Preferences... - General Autopano Pro - Preferences... - Images Autopano Pro - Preferences... - Detection Autopano Pro - Preferences... - Optimization Autopano Pro - Preferences... - Panorama Autopano Pro - Preferences... - Render Autopano Pro - Import Autopano Pro - Import... - Panotools Autopano Pro - Import... - Gigapan GENERAL SHOOT LAYOUT SHOOT SETUP STACK DETECTION OPTIONS Autopano Pro - Import... - Papywizard GENERAL SHOOT SETUP STACK DETECTION OPTIONS HEADER DETAILS Autopano Pro - Panoramas Editor PANORAMA EDITOR INTERFACE Toolbar INFORMATION WINDOW Autopano Pro - Panoramas Editor - Geometry Correction PROJECTION ROTATION POINT OF VIEW, HORIZON AND VERTICAL LINES FRAMING Autopano Pro - Panoramas Editor - Color Correction CORRECTION MODES CORRECTION ANCHORS LEVELS...48 i

3 Table of Contents 24 Autopano Pro - Panoramas Editor - Selecting and moving images SELECTING IMAGES MOVING IMAGES Autopano Pro - Panoramas Editor - Control Points Editor PRINCIPLE PRESENTATION OF THE INTERFACE PANORAMA EDITOR WINDOW CONTROL POINTS EDITOR WINDOW Autopano Pro - Panoramas Editor - Layers Editor PRINCIPLE INTEREST INTERFACE Autopano Pro - Render OUTPUT SIZE INTERPOLATOR BLENDING SETTINGS FORMAT EXPORTED DATA OUTPUT Autopano Pro - Batch Rendering PRINCIPLE INTERFACE Autopano Pro - Glossary KRO Format...70 ii

4 1 Autopano Pro - Installation and registration 1.1 INSTALLATION 1. If you have already downloaded the software corresponding to your operating system, go directly to step Go to the link below to download the version corresponding to your operating system: Download Autopano Pro 3. Installation: Installation on Windows Open the downloaded file (file.exe) and launch the installation. Installation on Mac Open the downloaded file (.dmg file), a virtual disk is displayed and shows a.mpkg format file. Double click this file and follow the steps through the installation wizard. Installation on Linux Open the downloaded file (file.deb or.tar.gz) and launch the installation. 4. External plugins : During installation, the Setup Type step defines the items to be installed. By default the Autopano Pro application is defined as a component to install. The items list also proposes to install external plugins. Their installation is enabled by default, after the automatic detection of corresponding software on your computer: Picasa plugin : Google Picasa 3, Windows/Mac Bridge plugin (Autopano Giga only) Lightroom plugin (Autopano Giga only) Aperture plugin (Autopano Giga only) At this point, the installed version is the trial version of the software. This version is not limited in time and all its main features are available. However, the created panoramas will contain a watermark. 1.2 REGISTRATION You can only register your license if you have already purchased the software. If you want to buy a Kolor software go to our online store. After the purchase of a Kolor software, you will receive an confirmation with your invoice in PDF format. This invoice contains your license (username and registration key). These 2 elements are needed to register your software and to unlock the complete version: 1. Launch your software. 2. A welcome window containing information relating to the trial version appears. 3. Click on Register and a new window opens. 4. Enter your username and registration key in the required fields. You will find this information on your invoice or client account. 5. Click on OK, a message will warn you that your registration was successful. Technical Support / Autopano Pro Documentation 1

5 2.1 SUPPORTED FILE FORMATS Autopano supports most image file formats: 2 Autopano Pro - Supported file format in input JPEG : No particular comment on this file format. TIFF : 8 or 16bits. PNG : 8 or 16bits. RAW : The generic term RAW refers to "raw sensor" image formats of each brand of camera devices (or models of a brand) eg NEF for Nikon, CRW or CR2 for Canon... etc. Note : Autopano is able to decode the RAW format. However, the different RAW formats evolve over time, depending on brands and camera models. It is therefore possible that Autopano can't decode some RAW files, simply because the database is not updated. This usually happens when a new camera model is released, containing a new coding of its RAW format and which is not included in Autopano. The temporary solution here is to decode this new RAW format in.tiff 16 bits format, which is the equivalent of what Autopano do during the decoding. We update our decoding database following this evolving, it takes some time, so there is a lag between the release of a camera and the update of a new version of Autopano that support this new encoding format. DNG : The Digital Negative format from Adobe allowing to store any raw file in a unified RAW format. HDR : The Radiance format is supported and allows you to stitch HDR panoramas from HDR source images. Complete list of supported file formats 2.2 EXIF DATA The "EXIF data" correspond to the shooting settings. Autopano uses these data to find several information: The lens focal length used This important setting allows to speed up the stitching process. If the images don't contain the EXIF data, Autopano uses default values??corresponding to a "standard" lens (50mm in 24x36 format). Autopano bases all his calculations a 35mm equivalent. To calculate the 35mm equivalent (focal length stored in the EXIF data), it is necessary to know the ratio between the sensor's size used and the 35mm sized sensor. Autopano therefore contains a database (cameras.txt file) including the ratios of each camera model to obtain the Camera sensor scalling to calculate the 35mm equivalent. Shutter speed and aperture used These two bits of information are mandatory to create HDR panoramas. If the images don't contain these data, the HDR color correction can't be enabled in the panorama editor. Further information are used as the shooting date and time to sort the source images in groups, or as the ISO value (even if it is not used yet, it is an interesting information). All this information are visible in the Shooting information of each image group created in Autopano. If Autopano doesn't find the EXIF data while these information exist in the image file; that means that the camera model is not yet included in the cameras.txt database. In this case, keep us informed of this lack to update the database and allow the support of your camera in the software. Technical Support / Autopano Pro Documentation 2

6 3 Autopano Pro - External plugins If you have installed external plugins during the Autopano Giga installation, it is now possible to import photos from the corresponding software to Autopano. The concept is that modifications provided for each image are keeping from these image processing software to Autopano Giga. 3.1 PICASA PLUGIN This module allows you to export your photos from Picasa to Autopano. You can process your photos from your Picasa library and send them directly in Autopano Pro, it will create a corresponding group of images Configuration Before using this plugin, you must prior enabling it in Picasa via the main menu: Tools/Configure buttons... A window opens to configure the Picasa interface, to make the tools available in the lower part of the interface. Autopano Pro is available but not yet defined. To activate it, simply click onadd. Autopano then moves through the list of the current buttons. It is also displayed and available in the lower part of the interface Export to Autopano After you select your photos (2 minimum), click on the Autopano Pro button in the lower part of the interface to send your selection directly in Autopano Pro. 3

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8 4 Autopano Pro - Main Window The Autopano interface is divided into 3 areas: The Toolbar groups the essential features of Autopano. The Groups window manages the images imported into Autopano before generating one or more panoramas. The Panoramas window groups the created or imported panoramas and lets you edit or render them. Technical Support / Autopano Pro Documentation 5

9 5 Autopano Pro - Main Window - Toolbar 5.1 Browse folder This icon allows you to browse a folder and extract all the images before sorting them in groups Principle During a shooting, the camera attributes the EXIF data to each picture. This data contains information such as the focal length, aperture, the date and time of shooting, the brand and model of the camera, etc. Generally, there is a time span of a few seconds between the pictures and composition of a panorama. A picture isolated in time does not belong to a panorama. Autopano will therefore combine images based on the date and time of shooting in using the moments when there are no pictures as a delimiter between two groups Operation When you start analyzing a folder, Autopano gathers all the images in it, recognizes the images belonging to the same panorama and groups them Interface Button "..." Lets you select the file that you want to analyze. Recurse into subfolders If this box is clicked, Autopano will analyze all of the folders contained in the selected folder beforehand. Images contained in different folders are placed in different groups. Auto detection Automatically starts the detection of panoramas and displays the previews for all groups created. Average number of images This value influences the number of pictures present in a group. This is by no means a limit and you can always create new groups, add and move images between the groups from the group window. Maximum time lapse The pictures are examined in the order of shots; for a picture to be placed in the same group as the previous picture, the time interval between shots needs to be less than this maximum time lapse. Don't mix landscape and portrait Group by focal If you click this box, the groups cannot contain images in portrait and landscape mode at the same time. If you click this box, the groups will only contain images with the same focal length Creation of groups The groups are created based on 2 values: Average number of images and Maximum time lapse Autopano considers that all the selected file images form one group. The images are classified by shooting date (the EXIF shooting date) in ascending order. The algorithm then searches for the largest time gap between 2 consecutive images. If this gap is already lower than the 'Maximum time lapse, the algorithm stops because it means that all images were each taken with a gap lower than the Maximum time lapse. If this gap exceeds our Maximum time lapse limit, it divides this group into 2. The algorithm continues to divide the groups until the image number limit reaches the Average number of images. Examples of use: 6

10 Average number of images = 1 and Maximum time lapse = 10 The groups that do not have images will be separated by a maximum of 10 seconds. Groups with one picture can exist. Average number of images = 1000 and Maximum time lapse = 10 Groups may have approximately 1000 pictures each but the time gap between the images is not guaranteed to be 10 seconds for each group Select images This icon allows you to import images into Autopano by directly clicking them. The selected images will be placed in the same group Import from... Click on this button to open the Import Wizard. This module is also accessible via the menu (File/Import...) Batch Renderer This icon opens the Batch Rendering menu Contextual help Click on this icon to activate this tool. Then click on the icon of your choice to view information about its use. Technical Support / Autopano Pro Documentation 7

11 6 Autopano Pro - Main Window - Groups Window The group window is the workspace for grouping and sorting images. A panorama detection can then be launched on each group independently. The detected panoramas will display in the Panorama window. The bottom of the group window contains features that are relative to all common groups. 6.1 GROUP INTERFACE The group interface allows to show all group content, shooting information and to adjust the panorama detection settings Toolbar The toolbar gives access to the parameters for the group only Detect / Stop detection This launches the panorama detection for the current group. Press again to stop the detection Group settings Contains many settings for the panorama detection and the processing of group images. For more information, consult the page dedicated to Group settings Image properties This contains various information and settings of the image?s EXIF data and their interpretation by Autopano. For more information, consult the page dedicated to Image properties Add images Opening a file browser allows you to click pictures you want to add to the current group. 8

12 Close Closes the current group Image display area Each group's image is represented by a thumbnail (default display mode). Right click on this area to open the contextual menu. The options available in the contextual menu apply to selected items or all elements if an element is not selected. All selected elements are highlighted. You can select multiple items at once by drawing a selection rectangle by holding down the Shift key or using the ctrl (Windows) / cmd (Mac) key Contextual menu (right click) Open containing folder... Opens a file browser window where your images are found. View image... Displays the selected image in Autopano's viewer. You can open as many viewers as you want. View The display icon is the default display mode; each image is represented by a thumbnail with its name. The Details display presents the images as a list and it also shows additional information. Reload pictures This refreshes the images stored in temporary folders. This is useful if you change an image after adding it to a group and avoids the creation of a new group. The new version of this image will replace the old. Add images... By opening a file browser you can select pictures to be added in the current group. Copy/Paste images Copies the selected image or glues the images in the current group. 9

13 Remove images Deletes the selected images. Copy images to a new group Creates a new group that contains a copy of the selected images. Move images to a new group Creates a new group and moves the selected images. They will no longer be available in their original group. Group selection into stack Groups the selected images. They appear as a single thumbnail with a small symbol. This function is useful when shooting with manual bracketing. It groups the different bracket levels belonging to the same shoot. Create stack by N Groups the group images by their specific name. If you bracket shoot with three different levels of exposure, type 3 to automatically group all identical views. Unstack This is opposite from?stack?, it breaks up the pile so that each image is displayed independently Shooting information This frame displays information about the shooting corresponding to a group. Number of images in the group. Focal length of lens used. Shutter speed used. Aperture used. Shooting date. Time interval needed for the shooting. 6.2 ALL GROUPS The toolbar in the lower part of the group window contains the functions relative to all common groups Detect / Stop everything The detection on all of the common groups will be launched when this button is pushed. If the button is pressed again during the detection, the detection will stop New group This button creates an empty group in which you can add pictures Close all groups This button closes all running groups Thumbnail size Use this slider to adjust the sizes of the thumbnails found in the groups. 10

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15 7 Autopano Pro - Main Window - Group Settings The settings changed in the Group settings are only valid for the current group. These settings are not saved for other groups; each group can be configured independently. 7.1 DETECTION TAB These options affect the way in which the pictures will be linked to each other. The detection step corresponds to when Autopano analyzes the images and assigns links to them with the use of significant points called control points. If you make a mistake, you can use the "Restore defaults" button. Detection quality Low: Good compromise between the quality of the control points and the detection speed. Standard: (default) Increases the density of the points at the expense of the detection speed. High: Useful if one, several or all images are ignored. Very slow, reserved for desperate cases. Number of points / Image pair Affects the number of control points exported to Panotools as well as on the detection quality. 50 (default value) seems to be the best choice in the majority of cases. Links Layout: Free: (default) Autopano calculates all the possibility of links between the images. This does not exclude the false links that could be created if your images contain many similarities (images linked by their similarities but in reality are not close to each other). Single row or column: This can be used if the images were taken consecutively and on a single row. This method avoids the false links caused by the similarities of images. Force every images to be in one panorama: All the group images will appear in the panorama. This option is useful when one or more pictures are ignored in certain panoramas. This will not improve the quality of detection but will force the image(s) to be reflected in the resulting panorama even if these images have no connection with the images of the panorama. Detect links in: One stack level: (default) Looks for all the possibilities of links between the images with the same bracket level. All stack levels: Looks for all possibilities of links between the images. For a stack: Use hard links: Lets you precisely superimpose the different images of the same stack without assigning control points to them. Detect control points: This uses the control points as a reference to superimpose the different images in the same stack. Project Folder: The... button lets you select the directory of your choice. Filename: Name of project file (.pano). Click on the icon for a description of the symbols that make up the models (syntax) of the file name. Use relative path for image location in project: This is useful if you want to transfer the completed project to a third support (USB key, hard disk, CD, etc.) so that it can be opened on another machine. Automate Auto crop: automatically frames the panorama. Auto color correction: (default) Automatically standardizes the panorama?s colorimetry. 12

16 Auto color histogram: Automatically applies a color level. Auto render: Automatically launches the rendering. Auto save: Automatically saves the project (.pano). Auto close: This automatically closes the project window. We recommend that you check?automatic save? when using this option. 7.2 OPTIMIZATION TAB During the optimization step, the images are positioned based on their control points that are calculated during the detection. Autopano offers 4 optimization presets adapted to your needs without having to change them yourself. Autopano works perfectly with default settings and the hazardous changes of these options may damage the operation of Autopano. If you make a mistake, you can use the "Restore defaults" button. Optimization presets These presets correspond to the pre-configurations of different optimization stages that can be viewed in?advanced settings?. By default, the most appropriate profile is automatically selected depending on the content of the group of images. Quick: Simple optimization. The result may be disappointing if the panorama contains a lot of images or bad links. Strong: (default) This is the best choice in the majority of assemblies. It has a good calculation time/assembly quality compromise. Gigapixel: Suitable if your panorama contains a large number of images (more than 100 images). Fisheye: Select this profile if your image was taken with a fisheye lens. Custom: This is enabled when you manually change the parameters and they no longer correspond to a profile. Lens distortion correction Enabled : Turns distortion correction to be applied to each photo of the panorama. Focal calculation : Sets the method for calculating the focal length. Automatic : (default) Autopano decides by itself what kind of focal calculation to apply, depending on the content of the group of images. Force different : Allows to force a different focal length for each photo of the panorama. Useful if the panorama contains photos with different focal length, or if the focusing has moved. Force identic : Allows to force an identical focal length for each photo of the panorama. Distortion calculation : Sets the method for calculating the distortion of the lenses. Automatic : (default) Autopano decides by itself what kind of distortion calculation to apply, depending on the content of the group of images. Force different : Allows to force a different distortion calculation for each photo of the panorama. Use in case you change your lens during the shot (if the group contains photos taken with different lenses). Force identic : Allows to force an identical distortion value for each photo of the panorama. Use when shooting was made with the same lens. Distortion model : Sets the distortion model of the lens(es). Automatique : (default) Autopano decides by itself what kind of calculation to apply, depending on the content of the group of images. 1st order : commom distortion, Barrel distorsion or Pincushion distortion 2nd order : more complex distortion, Barrel distorsion, Pincushion distortion or mix of Barrel/Pincushion (mustache). 3rd order : Further complex distortion. Few lenses still get this type of distortion (not very useful in practice). 1st order + optical axis : commom distortion, Barrel distorsion or Pincushion distortion + calculation of the optical axis (the difference between the center of the lens and the center of the sensor). 2nd order + optical axis : more complex distortion, Barrel distorsion, Pincushion distortion or mix of Barrel/Pincushion (mustache) + calculation of the optical axis (the difference between the center of the lens and the center of the sensor). 3rd order + optical axis : Further complex distortion. Few lenses still get this type of distortion (not very useful in practice) + calculation of the optical axis Options (Advanced settings) Use grid position: This is only available if you have imported pictures taken with the help of a pan head via a Clauss or Papywizard import plug-in. This option re-uses the 13

17 coordinates provided to pre-position the images. Assume row/column shooting: Active for panoramas coming from a Gigapan head. This method requires high precision in the shooting matrix. Optimization stages (Advanced settings) 1) Local approach: Lets you pre-position the images locally. Strong algorithm: Intelligently validates the local approach calculations. This changes in the assembly if the calculations seem wrong (false links). 2) First optimization: Looks for the ideal position of each image simultaneously. 3) First lens distortion correction: Corrects lens distortion (very useful for short and medium focal lengths). 4) Clean up control points or links: Keep only control points below this error (RMS): Useful in cases where quality counts. Keep only the N best control points: Useful in cases where only the number of control points per image count. Remove links below this error (RMS): Useful in cases where the quality of the links counts. 5) Final optimization: This is the same main optimizer as in step 2 that is retrieved (if it has not already been) or retrieved again (to account for deletions of step 3). 6) Final Lens distortion correction: Corrects lens distortions again if Step 4 was performed (cleaning links/control points). 7.3 PANORAMA TAB These properties are applied to the panorama just after the assembly. If you make a mistake, you can use the "Reset default values" button. Panorama layout: Preferred projection: Lets you select the default type of projection. Automatic: Automatically chooses the most suitable projection based on the panorama?s FOV. Spherical: Forces the spherical projection. Cylinder: Forces the cylindrical projection. Planar: Forces the rectilinear projection. Mercator: Forces the Mercator projection. Preferred extend: Lets you select the default size of the panorama. Clamp to panorama content: The panorama will have a size that corresponds to the span of the area where the pixels are actually found. Maximum projection range: The panorama will have a size that corresponds to the projection range. For example, this option is useful to generate 360 x180 as well as partial panoramas that do not cover the whole span. Color correction: Lets you choose the default type of color correction when the auto color correction option is activated. Color correction by layer: This limits the color correction to each group of images within the panorama. What should be corrected: Gamma: Only corrects the gamma. Exposure: (default) only corrects the exposure. Gamma and exposure: Corrects the gamma and exposure. Gamma and color tone: Corrects the gamma and tones. Exposure and color tone: Corrects the exposure and tones. Gamma, exposure and color tone: Corrects the gamma, exposure and tones. 14

18 Panorama layers: This lets you chose how to group the images in the layer editor of the panorama editor. You can rearrange them later if needed. 7.4 RENDER TAB The?Render? tab is in all respects identical to the one found in the general settings or in the editing window. It is a default parameter for the rendering options that will also be visible and modifiable at the time of the final rendering. If you make a mistake, you can use the "Restore defaults" button. Size This lets you adjust the panorama?s export size in percentage of the maximum size. Interpolator The interpolator is used to project the pixels of the source image on the panorama. Its quality often depends on the sharpness of the panorama. Nearest Neighbour: Reserved for testing, because of the numerous and very visible artifacts created. In return, this is the fastest. Bilinear: This is a correct quality/speed ratio choice. Bicubic: (default) Use it if you do not know. The difference with the bilinear is almost imperceptible to the naked eye but can be seen in the lines with strong contrasts. Its default use is recommended. Bicubic sharper: This is the same thing as the bicubic but it is stronger (the fortification level corresponds to the same settings as in Photoshop when changing the size of an image). Bicubic smoother: This is the same thing as the bicubic but it is softer (the softening level corresponds to the same settings as in Photoshop when changing the size of an image). Spline36: This powerful method of interpolation is to be used when extreme or high post-rendering is necessary. The difference with the bicubic mode is not noticeable to the naked eye. Spline64: Works in the same way as the Spline36, but stronger, slower and usually better (expirment to sample resutls). Blending settings The purpose of the blender is to combine the overlapping zones without it being noticeable, to obtain a perfect stiching of the panorama's images. Autopano offers 4 optimization presets adapted to your needs without having to change them yourself. These profiles correspond to the pre-configurations that can be seen in the?advanced settings?.. 15

19 Simple: This is fast but it is possible that defects are seen where the areas overlap. Anti-ghost: Conserve the image's strong characteristics (stops, lines, curves) when mixing while automatically removing objects that have moved. Exposure Fusion: To be used if the panorama was created with a bracket shot. Keeps the best of different exposures. HDR output: To be used by users who wish to create a.hdr format file in order to create post-production or special effects. Custom: This is enabled when you manually change the parameters and they no longer correspond to a preset. Advanced settings Blending: None: For each position, the algorithm uses the pixel with the greatest importance according to the required weight. Linear: The rendered pixels are the result of a weighted average of input pixels. Multi-band: Lets you mix the average value (color trend) of the images while maintaining their details. Multi-band level: Lets you adjust the influence zone for each input pixel. Each pixel will double its influence zone for each supplemental level. For example, at level 2, each pixel acts on a span of 2 pixels in the final rendering, 4 pixels at level 3, 8 pixels at level 4... Level 0 represents the maximal influence zone (depending on the size of the input images). The negative levels let you reduce this area based on the maximum area. -4, the default value, seems to be the best choice in the majority of cases, if the color correction is enabled. Diamond weighting: The pixels in the centre of the images are more important than the pixels on the edges of the images. Remove ghosts: Avoid mixing the superimposed pixels that do not have the same information (moving object). This algorithm is applied to each layer independently. Exposure fusion: Weights each pixel according to its exposure. Lets you mix different superimposed images excluding under-exposed or over-exposed areas. Remove HDR ghosts: Avoid mixing the superimposed pixels that do not have the same information and that come from different levels (moving object on the same bracketed image). At least 3 different data (layers) is needed to determine the data to exclude. It is advisable to get more for a greater reliability of matches (warning, a layer that is entirely over-exposed or under-exposed can not be used). Format Lets you choose the output format, encoding, compression quality and resolution. Exported data Lets you define how and what data needs to be exported: Data: Panorama: Lets you export the panorama. Layers: Lets you export the image groups. Images: Lets you export the images used to create the panorama. Options: Embed all outputs: Incorporates all the data in the same file. Remove Alpha channel: Deletes the alpha channel of the exported files. Output Folder: Lets you specify the file in which the image will be saved. Filename: Default syntax of the file name. Click on the icon for a description of the symbols that make up the models (syntax) of the file name. Render done sound Lets you specify a sound that signals the end of the rendering. Technical Support / Autopano Pro Documentation 16

20 8 Autopano Pro - Main Window - Image Properties This window verifies all image parameters. This information comes from the EXIF data recorded by your digital camera in each image. 8.1 IMAGE TAB Focal length Defines the focal length used during the shooting Camera sensor scalling Defined by your camera brand and model by a database in the software. Lets you verify that the software has recognized the camera and to correct this parameter if it is wrong. Conversion factor If you use an optical accessory, its value must be defined in the?optical accessory? field. Generally, the digital camera does not recognize the information coming from the optical accessory and does not add it to the EXIF information incorporated in the images. Focal (35mm eq.) Indicates the focal length equivalent to a 35 mm lens. Lens type Lets you verify what type of lens was used: Standard or Fisheye. You can change this parameter if the software has not correctly recognized the type of lens. 8.2 CIRCULAR CROP TAB Since the group of images contains one or more fisheye type pictures, a second?circular crop? tab appears. This tab lets you adjust the Fisheye parameters and delineate the visual area to be kept. 17

21 Circular crop This space lets you delimit the fisheye area to keep. Use the selection circle (drag, enlarge, reduce). To expand or reduce from the centre, hold the Ctrl key while dragging the mouse (left click). Set full frame: Automatically defines the area of the circle in full frame. Technical Support / Autopano Pro Documentation 18

22 9 Autopano Pro - Main Window - Panoramas Window The panorama window groups all detected panoramas starting from the group of images. It includes a preview of the panorama and related technical specifications. It is also possible to edit or render the panorama. The bottom of the panorama window contains functions that are relative to all common panoramas. 9.1 PANORAMA INTERFACE The panorama interface shows the panorama and assembly information, and allows you to access the panorama editor Toolbar The toolbar provides access to the functions that apply to the current panorama Panorama editor Open the panorama editor in order to work on the current panorama. This lets you make corrections on the shape, color or lets you crop your panorama, etc. For more information, consult the page dedicated to the panoramas editor Rendering the panorama This button opens the Rendering launcher window in order to export your panorama. From here, choose the output parameters of your panorama. For more information, consult the Render page Save the project The panorama project files have a?.pano? extension. Access to the following choices is given by clicking on the small arrow to the right of the icon: Save Save the project to the same location as the last backup. If this is the first time it is saved, Autopano executes?save as??. 19

23 Save as... Open a file browser so that you can indicate where to save the project. Save as extended... This is the same as?save as...". Autopano also creates a file with the same name as the project and places all the images needed to create the project in this file. This is useful if you want to transfer the completed project to a third support (USB key, hard disk, CD, etc.) so that it can be opened on another machine. Export to Panotools... Open a file browser so that you can indicate where to save the project. This button lets you to export your project in a format that can be read by the Panotools Preview Shows a preview of the panorama in its current state. All changes applied to the panorama will be immediately shown in the preview Panorama information This frame shows you the panorama?s technical information. Number of images making up the panorama. Panorama size expressed in pixels (width x height). Panorama's field of view expressed in degrees (horizontal x vertical). Average RMS quality factors of each of the panorama?s links. Lens type used. Projection mode used. Type of color correction used. 9.2 ALL PANORAMAS The toolbar in the panorama window groups the functions applied to all current panoramas Rendering all panoramas Opens a Render window for each of the current panoramas Save all panoramas This proposes the same options as the?save the project? button but it is consecutively applied to all opened panoramas Close all panoramas This button closes all current panoramas. 20

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25 10 Autopano Pro - Preferences... Changes to the general settings are applied by default to all newly created image groups. The general settings window is found under the Editor/Preferences/ menu in Windows and Linux systems. For Mac users, go to the Autopano/Preferences/? menu. This window is divided into 6 tabs: The General tab contains the settings related to the use of the system resources by Autopano. The Images tab contains options that affect the properties of the imported images. The 4 following tabs, detection, optimization, panorama and rendering launcher are equally accessible in the Group Settings menu of the group window. The changes to the group parameters are only applied to the current group. The Detection tab groups the settings relative to the detection of the panoramas. During this step, Autopano calculates the links between the images and places the control points. The Optimization tab contains the parameters connected to the optimization step. This step corresponds to the arrangement of images relative to each other based on control points found during the detection. The Panorama tab lets you chose the type of projection and the colorimetry. The Render tab lets you change the default rendering parameters. Technical Support / Autopano Pro Documentation 22

26 11 Autopano Pro - Preferences... - General Temporary folders Determines the folder in which Autopano saves the temporary files. You can add as many temporary files as you want. Memory used The amount of RAM allocated will be partial for a 32-byte system or total for a 64-byte system (based on the amount of free RAM detected). The slider lets you adjust the amount of RAM used (based on the amount allocated) so that the rendering calculations can be accelerated. The information fields let you know: How many images on one line Autopano can assemble without using the memory disk. Beyond that, Autopano will have to use the memory disk and the calculations will be longer. The amount of RAM detected and the fee amount of RAM detected. Language Lets you force another language into the software to replace the system?s language. Number of CPU Defines the computers used (default). These parameters can be changed. GPU processing Lets you work in the panorama editor in real-time. Technical Support / Autopano Pro Documentation 23

27 12 Autopano Pro - Preferences... - Images These options affect the image?s EXIF data. The EXIF data of the original images will not be modified by these options. Exif Use the following value if no Exif data is found: The value of the focal length and the lens model should be applied only on the images without Exif. Always force the following Exif value: The value of the focal length and the lens model should be applied to all the images without any exceptions (images with or without Exif). Stack Don't create stack: Forces Autopano to not group the images in stacks. Use bracketing to create stack: (default) The bracketed images (issued from a shooting in auto bracket) are displayed in the group like a single image; the thumbnail is represented with a small BKT icon. Always create stacks with N images: Forces Autopano to group the images in N image stacks. Technical Support / Autopano Pro Documentation 24

28 13 Autopano Pro - Preferences... - Detection Changes to the Preferences in the detection settings will be applied by default to the entire new image group created. These options affect the way in which the pictures will be connected to each other. The detection step corresponds to when Autopano analyzes the images and assigns links to them with the use of significant points called control points. If you make a mistake, you can use the "Reset default values" button. Detection quality Low: Good compromise between the quality of the control points and the detection speed. Standard: (default) Increases the density of the points at the expense of the detection speed. High: Useful if one, several or all images are ignored. Very slow, reserved for desperate cases. Number of points/ Image pair Affects the number of control points exported to Panotools as well as on the detection quality. 50 (default value) seems to be the best choice in the majority of cases. Links Layout: Free: (default) Autopano calculates all the possibility of links between the images. This does not exclude the false links that could be created if your images contain many similarities (images linked by their similarities but in reality are not close to each other). Single row or column: This can be used if the images were taken consecutively and on a single row. This method avoids the false links caused by the similarities of images. Force every images to be in one panorama: All the group images will appear in the panorama. This option is useful when one or more pictures are ignored in certain panoramas. This will not improve the quality of detection but will force the image(s) to be reflected in the resulting panorama even if these images have no connection with the images of the panorama. Detect links in: One stack level: (default) Looks for all the possibilities of links between the images with the same bracket level. All stack levels: Looks for all possibilities of links between the images. For a stack: Use hard links: Lets you precisely superimpose the different images of the same stack without assigning control points to them. Detect control points: This uses the control points as a reference to superimpose the different images in the same stack. Project Folder: The... button lets you select the directory of your choice. Filename: Name of project file (.pano). Click on the icon for a description of the symbols that make up the models (syntax) of the file name. Use relative path for image location in project: This is useful if you want to transfer the completed project to a third support (USB key, hard disk, CD, etc.) so that it can be opened on another machine. Automate Auto crop: automatically frames the panorama. Auto color correction: (default) Automatically standardizes the panorama?s colorimetry. Auto color histogram: Automatically applies a color level. Auto render: Automatically launches the rendering. Auto save: Automatically saves the project (.pano). Auto close: This automatically closes the project window. We recommend that you check?automatic save? when using this option. 25

29 Technical Support / Autopano Pro Documentation 26

30 14 Autopano Pro - Preferences... - Optimization Changes to the Preference settings in the optimization will be applied by default to the entire new image group created. During the optimization step, the images are positioned based on their control points that are calculated during the detection. Autopano offers 4 optimization profiles adapted to your needs without having to change them yourself. Autopano works perfectly with default settings and the hazardous changes of these options may damage the operation of Autopano. If you make a mistake, you can use the "Reset default values" button. Optimization presets These presets correspond to the pre-configurations of different optimization stages that can be viewed in?advanced settings?. By default, the most appropriate profile is automatically selected depending on the content of the group of images. Quick: Simple optimization. The result may be disappointing if the panorama contains a lot of images or bad links. Strong: (default) This is the best choice in the majority of assemblies. It has a good calculation time/assembly quality compromise. Gigapixel: Suitable if your panorama contains a large number of images (more than 100 images). Fisheye: Select this profile if your image was taken with a fisheye lens. Custom: This is enabled when you manually change the parameters and they no longer correspond to a profile. Lens distortion correction Enabled : Turns distortion correction to be applied to each photo of the panorama. Focal calculation : Sets the method for calculating the focal length. Automatic : (default) Autopano decides by itself what kind of focal calculation to apply, depending on the content of the group of images. Force different : Allows to force a different focal length for each photo of the panorama. Useful if the panorama contains photos with different focal length, or if the focusing has moved. Force identic : Allows to force an identical focal length for each photo of the panorama. Distortion calculation : Sets the method for calculating the distortion of the lenses. Automatic : (default) Autopano decides by itself what kind of distortion calculation to apply, depending on the content of the group of images. Force different : Allows to force a different distortion calculation for each photo of the panorama. Use in case you change your lens during the shot (if the group contains photos taken with different lenses). Force identic : Allows to force an identical distortion value for each photo of the panorama. Use when shooting was made with the same lens. Distortion model : Sets the distortion model of the lens(es). Automatique : (default) Autopano decides by itself what kind of calculation to apply, depending on the content of the group of images. 1st order : commom distortion, Barrel distorsion or Pincushion distortion 2nd order : more complex distortion, Barrel distorsion, Pincushion distortion or mix of Barrel/Pincushion (mustache). 3rd order : Further complex distortion. Few lenses still get this type of distortion (not very useful in practice). 1st order + optical axis : commom distortion, Barrel distorsion or Pincushion distortion + calculation of the optical axis (the difference between the center of the lens and the center of the sensor). 2nd order + optical axis : more complex distortion, Barrel distorsion, Pincushion distortion or mix of Barrel/Pincushion (mustache) + calculation of the optical axis (the difference between the center of the lens and the center of the sensor). 3rd order + optical axis : Further complex distortion. Few lenses 27

31 still get this type of distortion (not very useful in practice) + calculation of the optical axis Options (Advanced settings) Use grid position: This is only available if you have imported pictures taken with the help of a pan head via a Clauss or Papywizard import plug-in. This option re-uses the coordinates provided to pre-position the images. Assume row/column shooting: Active for panoramas coming from a Gigapan head. This method requires high precision in the shooting matrix. Optimization stages (Advanced settings) 1) Local approach: Lets you pre-position the images locally. Strong algorithm: Intelligently validates the local approach calculations. This changes in the assembly if the calculations seem wrong (false links). 2) First optimization: Looks for the ideal position of each image simultaneously. 3) First lens distortion correction: Corrects lens distortion (very useful for short and medium focal lengths). 4) Clean up control points or links: Keep only control points below this error (RMS): Useful in cases where quality counts. Keep only the N best control points: Useful in cases where only the number of control points per image count. Remove links below this error (RMS): Useful in cases where the quality of the links counts. 5) Final optimization: This is the same main optimizer as in step 2 that is retrieved (if it has not already been) or retrieved again (to account for deletions of step 3). 6) Final Lens distortion correction: Corrects lens distortions again if Step 4 was performed (cleaning links/control points). Technical Support / Autopano Pro Documentation 28

32 15 Autopano Pro - Preferences... - Panorama Changes to the Preference settings in the panorama will be applied by default to the entire new image group created. These properties are applied to the panorama just after the assembly phase. If you make a mistake, you can use the "Reset default values" button. Panorama layout Preferred projection: Lets you select the default type of projection. Automatic: Automatically chooses the most suitable projection based on the panorama?s FOV. Spherical: Forces the spherical projection. Cylinder: Forces the cylindrical projection. Planar: Forces the rectilinear projection. Mercator: Forces the Mercator projection. Preferred extend: Lets you select the default size of the panorama. Clamp to panorama content: The panorama will have a size that corresponds to the span of the area where the pixels are actually found. Maximum projection range: The panorama will have a size that corresponds to the projection range. For example, this option is useful to generate 360 x180 as well as partial panoramas that do not cover the whole span. Color correction Lets you choose the default type of color correction when the auto color correction option is activated. Color correction by layer: This limits the color correction to each group of images within the panorama. What should be corrected: Gamma: Only corrects the gamma. Exposure: (default) only corrects the exposure. Gamma and exposure: Corrects the gamma and exposure. Gamma and color tone: Corrects the gamma and tones. Exposure and color tone: Corrects the exposure and tones. Gamma, exposure and color tone: Corrects the gamma, exposure and tones. Panorama layers This lets you chose how to group the images in the layer editor of the panorama editor. You can rearrange them later if needed. Technical Support / Autopano Pro Documentation 29

33 16 Autopano Pro - Preferences... - Render Changes to the Preference settings in the renderer will be applied by default to the entire new image group created. The Render tab is in all respects identical to the one found in the general settings or in the editing window. It is a default parameter for the rendering options that will also be visible and modifiable at the time of the final rendering. If you make a mistake, you can use the "Restore defaults" button. Size This lets you adjust the panorama?s export size in percentage of the maximum size. Interpolator The interpolator is used to project the pixels of the source image on the panorama. Its quality often depends on the sharpness of the panorama. Nearest Neighbour: Reserved for testing, because of the numerous and very visible artifacts created. In return, this is the fastest. Bilinear: This is a correct quality/speed ratio choice. Bicubic: (default) Use it if you do not know. The difference with the bilinear is almost imperceptible to the naked eye but can be seen in the lines with strong contrasts. Its default use is recommended. Bicubic sharper: This is the same thing as the bicubic but it is stronger (the fortification level corresponds to the same settings as in Photoshop when changing the size of an image). Bicubic smoother: This is the same thing as the bicubic but it is softer (the softening level corresponds to the same settings as in Photoshop when changing the size of an image). Spline36: This powerful method of interpolation is to be used when extreme or high post-rendering is necessary. The difference with the bicubic mode is not noticeable to the naked eye. Spline64: Works in the same way as the Spline36, but stronger, slower and usually better (expirment to sample resutls). Blending settings The purpose of the blender is to combine the overlapping zones without it being noticeable, to obtain a perfect stiching of the panorama's images. Autopano offers 4 optimization presets adapted to your needs without having to change them yourself. These profiles correspond to the pre-configurations that can be seen in the?advanced settings?.. Simple: This is fast but it is possible that defects are seen where the areas overlap. Anti-ghost: Conserve the image's strong characteristics (stops, lines, curves) when mixing while automatically removing objects that have moved. Exposure Fusion: To be used if the panorama was created with a bracket shot. Keeps the best of different exposures. HDR output: To be used by users who wish to create a.hdr format file in order to create post-production or special effects. Custom: This is enabled when you manually change the parameters and they no longer correspond to a preset. Advanced settings Blending: None: For each position, the algorithm uses the pixel with the greatest importance according to the required weight. Linear: The rendered pixels are the result of a weighted average of input pixels. Multi-band: Lets you mix the average value (color trend) of the images while maintaining their details. Multi-band level: Lets you adjust the influence zone for each input pixel. Each pixel will double its influence zone for each supplemental level. For example, at level 2, each pixel acts on a span of 2 pixels in the final rendering, 4 pixels at level 3, 8 pixels at level 4... Level 0 represents the maximal influence zone (depending on the size of the input images). The negative levels let you reduce this area based on the maximum area. -4, the default value, seems to be the best choice in the majority of cases, if the color correction is enabled. Diamond weighting: The pixels in the centre of the images are more important than the pixels on the edges of the images. Remove ghosts: Avoid mixing the superimposed pixels that do not have the same information (moving object). This algorithm is applied to each layer independently. Exposure fusion: Weights each pixel according to its exposure. Lets you mix different superimposed images excluding under-exposed or over-exposed areas. 30

34 Remove HDR ghosts: Avoid mixing the superimposed pixels that do not have the same information and that come from different levels (moving object on the same bracketed image). At least 3 different data (layers) is needed to determine the data to exclude. It is advisable to get more for a greater reliability of matches (warning, a layer that is entirely over-exposed or under-exposed can not be used). Format Lets you choose the output format, encoding, compression quality and resolution. Exported data Lets you define how and what data needs to be exported: Data: Panorama: Lets you export the panorama. Layers: Lets you export the image groups. Images: Lets you export the images used to create the panorama. Options: Embed all outputs: Incorporates all the data in the same file. Remove Alpha channel: Deletes the alpha channel of the exported files. Output Folder: Lets you specify the file in which the image will be saved. Filename: Default syntax of the file name. Click on the icon for a description of the symbols that make up the models (syntax) of the file name. Render done sound Lets you specify a sound that signals the end of the rendering. Technical Support / Autopano Pro Documentation 31

35 17 Autopano Pro - Import... This option lets you import projects from different origins such as images of a shooting that was taken from a motorized head or projects from the panotools. This module is also accessible by clicking on the button of the interface toolbar. 3 import modules are available: Gigapan Papywizard Panotools Technical Support / Autopano Pro Documentation 32

36 18 Autopano Pro - Import... - Panotools The panotools import plug-in imports assembly projects from other software (PTgui, PTAssembler, Hugin...) into Autopano. Filenames Add: lets you choose one or more PTGui (.pts), PTAssembler (.ptp) and Hugin (.pto) type projects. Delete: a project from the list. Keypoints Merge Panotools control points with computed control points: The assembly will use the control points coming from the panotools instead of the control points calculated by Autopano. Use the Panotools control points: The assembly will only use the panotools control points. Compute Autopano control points: The assembly will only use the Autopano control points. Click on Finish to create the group(s) Technical Support / Autopano Pro Documentation 33

37 19 Autopano Pro - Import... - Gigapan The Gigapan import module lets you import a shot created with a Gigapan motorized panoramic head. However, this module does not require the definition of an xml file (shooting settings). It can therefore be used with any type of shooting line and columns. This module is divided into 5 tabs: 19.1 GENERAL Images Lets you to select the images to assemble. Rows : Number of rows in the panorama. Columns : Number of columns in the panorama. These 2 fields are connected: If the number of rows is modified, the number of columns is adjusted and vice versa. The preview is modified according to these fields, it can quickly see if the order of the images is good. Ignore N files Lets you skip the first N images selected. Avoids selecting images again to find the first image. Nb images per location (bracketing) Indicates the number of brackets per images. This function modifies the preview. Preview and zoom Lets you visualize the shooting. The slider lets you change the image preview zoom SHOOT LAYOUT Organization Lets you choose the scheme corresponding to the shot taken: Column (default) Column (to left) Rows (downward) Rows (upward) 34

38 19.3 SHOOT SETUP 360 Panorama Check this box if your shot is 360 degrees. Overlapping Sets the percentage of overlap between the images. This forces the overlaying of images to the desired value in order to avoid false links (due to the similarities of images for example) STACK This lets you set the import if the shooting is bracketed. For stack Use hard links: Superimposes the different images of the same stack without assigning control points. Detect control points: Uses the control points as reference for superimposing different images of the same stack. Detect the links in One stack level: (default) Looks for all the possibility of links between images with the same bracket level. All stack levels: Looks for all possibile links between the images DETECTION OPTIONS Auto detection Checked by default, this option lets you automatically launch the detection after having confirmed the module?s settings. Uncheck this box if you want to change the groups (or other) settings before launching the detection. Clean wrong link Lets you erase the bad links caused by similarities in the images. Skip optimization Does not take into account the calculation of the control points. Optimization will be required in the control point editor. 35

39 Technical Support / Autopano Pro Documentation 36

40 20 Autopano Pro - Import... - Papywizard The Papywizard module lets you import a shooting from a motorized panoramic head. This module requires the definition of a Papywizard xml file (Shooting settings). This module is divided into 5 tabs: 20.1 GENERAL XML Lets you select the shooting session file (.xml). Information: Number of Images: Defines the number of images shot. Yaw: Defines the horizontal offset used. Pitch: Defines the vertical offset used. Bracketing: Defines the number of brackets of the shooting. Images Lets you select the images to assemble (corresponding to the shooting session file). Information: Number of images: Defines the number of selected images. The number of images should be the same as the number of images defined in the session file information. Preview and zoom Lets you see the shooting. The sliding bar lets you change the image preview zoom level SHOOT SETUP Inverse Y coordinates Inverts the coordinates of the shot if it is not in the right direction (camera is on the left arm of the motorized panoramic head). 90 degrees left or right rotation Applies a 90 left and right rotation to the images. 37

41 20.3 STACK Lets you set the import if the shooting was bracketed. For a stack Use the hard links: Superimposes the different images of the same stack without assigning control points. Detect control points: Uses the control points as reference for superimposing different images of the same stack. Detect the links in One stack level: (default) Looks for all the possibility of links between images with the same bracket level. All stack levels: Looks for all the possibility of links between the images DETECTION OPTIONS Auto detection Checked by default, this option lets you automatically launch the detection after having confirmed the module?s settings. Uncheck this box if you want to change the groups (or other) settings before launching the detection. Clean wrong links Lets you erase the bad links caused by similarities in the images. Skip optimization Save images based on the session file coordinates. Does not take into account the calculation of the control points. Optimization will be required in the control point editor. Use recorded location Uncheck this option if the shot is taken at the Zenith (Shooting with images in both portrait and landscape mode) HEADER DETAILS 38

42 Lets you see the information on the current session file. Technical Support / Autopano Pro Documentation 39

43 21 Autopano Pro - Panoramas Editor 21.1 PANORAMA EDITOR INTERFACE The panorama editor is presented on a separate interface with 4 main areas: Toolbar: Groups the editing tools. Panorama editing area: Lets you use the editing tools, to move and to zoom in the panorama. Information window: Lets you see the assembly information, the history and the parameters of the currently used tool. Layers editor: Used to classify images according to several criteria, as well as add and delete images Toolbar A : Save project B : Undo/Redo C : Geometry Correction D : Selecting and moving images E : Control points editor F : Color Correction G : Render H : Editor settings I : Help Save the project The panorama project files have a?.pano? extension. Access to the following choices is given by clicking on the small arrow to the right of the icon: Save Saves the project to the same location as the last backup. If this is the first time it is saved, Autopano executes?save as?.?. Save as... Open a file browser so that you can indicate where to save the project. Save as extended... This is the same as?save as...". Autopano also creates a file with the same name as the project and places all the images needed to create the project in this file. This is useful if you want to transfer the completed project to a third support (USB key, hard disk, CD, etc.) so that it can be opened on another machine. Export to Panotools... Open a file browser so that you can indicate where to save the project. This button lets you export your project in a format that can be read by the Panotools. 40

44 Undo/Redo Lets you to undo or reset the editing actions Editor settings These settings have an effect on the quality of the preview and operation of the editor. The settings that affect the quality of the final rendering are adjusted in the Rendering launcher window.. Preview quality (CPU only) This frame is only active if Autopano is launched in CPU mode (default). If the GPU mode is active (Menu/Preferences/...), this part is grayed out (inactive). Size: Size in pixels of the panorama?s preview (this is recalculated each time a parameter is adjusted). The default preview is 1200 x 600; we recommend that you keep the default values. Interpolation: Determines how the viewing pixel value is calculated starting from the source image pixels. Mix: Determines how the merging of the pictures is done in the overlapping areas. 3 modes of mixing are available for the preview: None: There is no merging and?the picture on top? is seen. Linear: Quick mode that has good quality. Multi-band: Slower and has the best quality. Grid These options let you define the types and spacing of lines that make up the grid in the panorama?s editing area. Toolbar These settings define the size of the toolbar icons. You can also choose to add a description text to the icons or replace the icons with text. History Lets you set the number of saved actions and the memory allocated to them Contextual help Click on this icon to activate this tool. Click on the icon of your choice to view information about its use INFORMATION WINDOW Info tab General information Groups information such as: The number of images The number of links and control points The stitching quality (average estimate). Selecting a tool in the toolbar brings up the parameters of the tool instead of the Info tab if it is active History tab 41

45 The "History" dialogue box views all of the steps carried out since the opening of the panorama or its creation. A click on a step contained in the history lets you bring it back up so that you can continue editing at the desired location. Clicking on "Create a screenshot" also lets you freeze the state of your panorama at a given moment. PTo reset this state, click on the desired screenshot. The history is deleted when you exit the editor. If you open the same panorama again, only the last version will be visible and usable Field of view The field of view of the assembled panorama can be seen in the bottom right of the editor. Theta corresponds to a horizontal angular field and Phi corresponds to a vertical angular field. The positive and negative values correspond to the angles from a central point of view, as symbolized by the grid's gray lines. Technical Support / Autopano Pro Documentation 42

46 22 Autopano Pro - Panoramas Editor - Geometry Correction The following tools are used to correct the geometry: 22.1 PROJECTION Planar or rectilinear projection Advantages: Good choice if the angle is low, recommended for architectural shots because it is the only mode that does not curve lines that are deemed to be straight lines. Disadvantages: Can be used only if the view angle is less than 180 degrees along the diagonal of the image, practice shows that beyond 90 degrees the stretching of the image is already visible along the edges and in the corners. Beyond 120 degrees, the result is no longer acceptable, because the stretching of the image causes an unpleasant loss of sharpness Cylindrical projection Advantages: Can be used up to 360 (horizontally). Disadvantages: The lines parallel to the horizon (curbs, tops of buildings) are still more or less curved. The vertical angle is limited, it is imperative that it is less than 160 but the stretching begins to slightly deform at the top and bottom of the image when it exceeds 45 degrees above or below the skyline Mercator projection Advantages : Can be used up to 360 (horizontally). The effect of stretching up and down the image is attenuated compared to the spherical projection. Disadvantages: The lines parallel to the horizon (curbs, tops of buildings) are still more or less curved. The vertical angle is limited, it is imperative that it is less than 160 since the stretching begins to slightly deform at the top and bottom of the image when it exceeds 55 degrees above or below the skyline Spherical or equirectangular projection Advantages: Authorizes the assembly of all panoramas. Disadvantages: For the direct display (without a viewer) of a panorama on the screen and for feel we need to ensure that the curvature of parallel straight lines on the horizon is still acceptable (there is no rule, you need to be the judge). When the vertical viewing angle is large, the stretching effect at the top of the image (near the zenith) and at the bottom of the image (near the nadir) varies from unusual to very unusual ROTATION rotation to the left or right These buttons let you switch a panorama when the corresponding group pictures do not have a good landscape/portrait orientation. Note that even if the panorama seems too aligned, rotating it 90 degrees can cause a misalignment in the pictures. Therefore, we strongly advise you to click on the Auto Level tool after rotation Modify Yaw Pitch Roll This tool lets you make changes to the panorama with the 90 right rotation, 90 left rotation, positioning of the viewpoint, Automatic Level and vertical lines tools. The angle of rotation must be expressed in degrees; the successive changes are added to each other (a rotation of -10 is cancelled when it follows a 10 rotation). 43

47 Yaw Horizontal shift (towards the right for a positive value). Pitch Vertical shift (towards the bottom for a positive value). Roll Rotation around a central point (clockwise for a positive value). The panorama?s central point is indicated by the intersection of the two grey lines of the grid, one is horizontal and the other is vertical. Apply Click on this button to confirm the modifications or push the enter button. The preview of the panorama then adjusts according to the constraints you have to define. You can undo changes after validation using the history. Cancel Click this button to ignore the changes and return to the previous state POINT OF VIEW, HORIZON AND VERTICAL LINES Vanishing point The vanishing point tool will change the panorama?s point of view; this implies a visual change of the vanishing points due to a type of projection selected previously. Before displaying the preview, Autopano has already made an estimate on the center of the skyline. This said, it is better to be aware that Autopano totally ignores what has been photography and that you are in a better position to choose. This tool centers the image where you click. In other words, it defines another point of view that the point of view of origin, which has a dual effect: Drages the point of view's vertical axis (the vertical grey line will be the reference point). Drags the point of view's horizontal axis (the horizontal grey line will be the reference point). With the rectilinear projection, the vanishing points are affected by the dragging of the point of view?s center (Perspective transformation equivalent to that can be seen in a camera's viewfinder when you rotate it to the left or right). The point of view?s horizon line should, in principle, be at the same height as the camera during shooting, except for when taking low angle shots (vanishing point towards the top) or a view from above (vanishing point towards the bottom). By checking the "Center Point tool stays activated after use" box, you can try several points of view without having to reactivate the tool. Use the history to undo the changes Automatic horizon Often, Autopano automatically creates a panorama where everything is level and thus the "before" and "after" difference is not seen! The tools described above were used to incline or vertically centre the panorama and on the contrary, the Automatic level effect becomes visible. Moreover, Autopano does not always straighten the panorama: If the camera?s rotation axis was not vertical when passing from one picture to the other (shooting without a tripod or the tripod axis or the pan head was not aligned). If all the pictures were taken from the same side (this should not happen with a panoramic head, in the case of a tripod this is different than the previous setting). In these two cases, the Vertical lines tool needs to be used to put everything into place. 44

48 Vertical lines This tool lets you straighten a panorama by tracing vertical lines in the panorama?s editing area: Trace the lines (symbolized by blue strokes) from top to bottom, where vertical lines are found in the photographed item (the edges of buildings, doors and windows, corners in the walls, furniture). The yellow dotted line (which is displayed at the same time as the blue line) is used as a reference mark to straighten the horizons. This is very useful if your panorama does not have vertical lines (landscapes, nature, etc.). Only the blue lines appear with the rectilinear projection. With the other 3 types of projection, the doted yellow line appears each time a blue line is traced. To change the orientation or length of a line: click on it and use the red boxes found at the ends of the lines. To delete a line: click on it and press the delete key. Two or three lines are enough, especially if they are spaced from each other. It is possible to place more if they are reliable. Autopano will find the best compromise based on your instructions and the links between the pictures. Tracing one single line can make a panorama rotate quickly: the traced line will become a perfect vertical. If the blue line is horizontally traced, the panorama will make a quarter turn and if the line is traced from the bottom to the top it will make a half turn. Using the Horizontal line will straighten a tilted skyline. This works the same way as the Vertical line tool: just trace a stroke on the line that should be horizontal. This tool is only available when using the rectilinear projection mode. Apply Click on this button to confirm the modifications or push the enter button. The preview of the panorama then adjusts according to the constraints you have to define. You can undo changes after validation using the historical. Cancel Click this button to ignore the changes and return to the previous state. 45

49 22.4 FRAMING Crop This tool lets you choose the frame of the panorama. Its original position automatically corresponds to the maximum rectangular area of the current panorama. The default framing is automatic; no part of the selection is left blank. To resize the frame, use the small squares around the frame. When pressing the Ctrl key, the resizing is done starting from the center of the frame. To move the frame, place the mouse cursor inside the frame. The cursor turns into a hand. To rotate the frame, place the mouse cursor outside of the frame. The cursor turns into a rotation arrow. Crop zone : Lets you precisely change the framing: Theta: corresponds to the width of the frame. Phi: corresponds to the height of the frame. Rotation: lets you rotate an angle of the frame. Full sphere: lets you frame the panorama in case there is complete spherical part of the panorama. Ratio: Lets you define a framing ratio (useful to define a framing for printing or to have an identical ratio for a series of panoramic images). Style: Normal: (default) Defines a free frame (without height and width constraints). Ratio: Forces the frame according to the height and width values. Width: Defines the ratio width. Height: Defines the ratio height. Swap: Lets you invert the height and width values. Apply Click on this button to confirm the modifications or push the enter button. The preview of the panorama then adjusts according to the constraints you have to define. You can undo changes after validation using the history. Cancel Click this button to ignore the changes and return to the previous state Autofit This tool produces an effect that is the opposite of that obtained with the Crop tool: the panorama is framed with a rectangle that is as large as necessary so that nothing remains outside the frame. Technical Support / Autopano Pro Documentation 46

50 23 Autopano Pro - Panoramas Editor - Color Correction The following tools are used to correct the colorimetry: 23.1 CORRECTION MODES No Correction In this mode, the mechanism to equalize the brightness or color of pictures against each other is not used. In fact, in certain cases, the color correction is not needed. For example, when the picture is shot in manual mode. Warning, surprises could arise with the manual mode (automatic ISO, light conditions could change due to passing of a cloud, etc.) LDR Correction (standard correction) This mode is active by default. The purpose of this adjustment is to align the small differences in brightness, contrast and color in the series of pictures that make up the panorama. For the most part, this is the correction that you will use HDR Correction This mode is used when a subject requires a large margin of exposure. The algorithm is different from the LDR mode and allows for the harmonization of panoramas when the differences in brightness are much larger. This method of correction directly calculates the luminance for each pixel; Autopano no longer works with the pixel values, but works with the real values of the scene. In practice, you will not see the difference on a scene with low dynamics but everything changes when the exposure differences are very large. When passing to the HDR mode, the produced image often has a very large dynamic and we need to reduce this dynamic to have something that is displayable. The levels are available in the HDR mode and they let you make certain global changes on the panorama in order to reduce this dynamic CORRECTION ANCHORS The correction anchors are used for seamless image stitching (colour, exposure, contrast, etc.). An anchor represents how the corresponding image will be changed by the color correction algorithm Type of anchors Reference image: It is the reference for the correction of other images. The anchors of the other images will therefore be influenced by the contrast, exposure and tone of this anchor. Adjust gamma: Only corrects only the gamma. Adjust exposure: Only corrects the exposure. Adjust gamma and exposure: Corrects the gamma and the exposure. Adjust gamma and color tone: Corrects the gamma and the color tone. Adjust exposure and color tone: Corrects the exposure and the color tone. Adjust gamma, exposure and color tone: Corrects the gamma, exposure and color tone. 47

51 To change an anchor, right click on the image to open a contextual menu so that the desired anchor can be selected from the list. An optimization is launched after each change and the result is automatically displayed after Contextual menu A right click on the image opens the contextual menu: The right part lets you change a single anchor (the anchor for the selected image). The bottom part lets you change all of the anchors at the same time (a right click on an anchor opens only this part of the contextual menu) Settings Optimize by layers If your panorama has layers (brackets, etc.), the changes will be applied to all the layers of the panorama. Color level after update The Level histograms will be adjusted according to changes. Optimize on any anchor change By default, this option is enabled to view the results after each change. Optimize color If the "Optimize on any anchor change" option is unchecked, clicking on this button will let you confirm the changes so that the result can be seen LEVELS Levels This window lets us adjust and change the entries and exits in terms of light intensity. Input level. Pull-down list: Lets you select the image layer on to which the histogram is to be displayed. RGB: Displays the complete histogram (of all the layers). Red: Displays the histogram for the Red layer. Green: Displays the histogram for the Green layer. Blue: Displays the histogram for the Blue layer Histogram: Lets you view the current curves and amplitude, displayed as Min. /Max. The sliders let you adjust the dark tones (black) and the light tones (white). Gamma The slider adjusts the contrast ratio of the selected channel. Buttons OK: Enables the changes. 48

52 Cancel: Undoes the changes. Reset: Resets the previous state of the histogram. Auto: Automatic correction. Settings...: Opens the Level Options window for automatic correction. Eyedroppers: Black point: Lets you define the black point value directly on your image. White point: Lets you define the white point value directly on your image. Preview Check or uncheck the box to show/hide the preview of the Level tool changes on the panorama Level Options The window lets you set the applicable automatic correction mode via the Auto button. Algorithms Enhance monochromatic contrast: Applies the Min and Max values of the RGB layer to maintain the balance of the tones in the separated layers. Enhance per channel contrast: Applies the Min and Max values for each layer separately, it could cause an imbalance of the colors and tones may disappear. Clipping Black: Sets a tolerance threshold (in %) from the Min. value on the RGB layer or on separate layers according to the selected algorithm. White: Sets a tolerance threshold (in %) from the Min. value on the RGB layer or on separate layers according to the selected algorithm. Technical Support / Autopano Pro Documentation 49

53 24 Autopano Pro - Panoramas Editor - Selecting and moving images The following tools are used to select and move images: 24.1 SELECTING IMAGES Layers mode This tool lets you see how the source images are arranged in the panorama. By moving the mouse over the panorama, the picture corresponding to the location of the cursor appears. If the cursor is on a connection zone, a rotation of the mouse wheel will scroll each of the pictures found at this location. If the cursor is outside of the image or connection area the full panorama is seen. Click on the button again to exit this mode MOVING IMAGES This section describes how to move the images within the panorama so that they can be correctly positioned. It also describes how to move the full panorama in its projection space with the help of the tool. This tool is used in several ways: Click on the icon and move the image or the panorama in the editing area. Enter the position values in the Position frame When using the keyboard arrows, simply click the images with the mouse and use the arrows to slightly move the images. Move Pano: Lets you interact with the panorama in its entirety (only if the GPU mode is enabled) Pano pan: Lets you move the panorama in its projection space. This tool is very useful when selecting the center of a 360 panorama. Pano rotate: Lets you rotate a panorama in its projection space. Image: Lets you intervene on each image independently. Picture pan: Lets you move the active selection. Picture rotate: Lets you rotate the active selection. Picture zoom: Lets you enlarge or narrow the active selection. Location Yaw: Horizontal shift (towards the right for a positive value). Pitch: Vertical shift (towards the bottom for a positive value). Rolls: Rotation around a central point (clockwise for a positive value). FOV: Changes the angular fields (positive value reduction). Wizard Guess position: Lets you find the position of orphan images (without links). Apply Click on this button to confirm the modifications or push the enter button. The preview of the panorama then adjusts according to the constraints you have to define. You can undo changes after validation using the history. Cancel Click this button to ignore the changes and return to the previous state. The Layer editor Lets you change the position of the images. To do this, after having enabled the Drag tool, click the image in question and double click on the desired field to change its value and click on Enter to confirm. 50

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55 25 Autopano Pro - Panoramas Editor - Control Points Editor The following tools are used for editing control points: 25.1 PRINCIPLE The control point editor lets you manually correct the links and control points in order to obtain an optimum placement of your images. Indeed, sometimes the automatic mode poorly positions or excludes images. This can be easily corrected with the control point editor PRESENTATION OF THE INTERFACE The active control point editor interface uses 2 windows: The Panorama Editor window The Control points Editor window 25.3 PANORAMA EDITOR WINDOW 52

56 Panorama editing area Meshing of the editing area The mesh appears above the preview of the panorama and lets you view the links between images and their quality. It also lets you select the images and links. A color code lets you quickly see the state of the links: (RMS lower than 5): Good quality link. (RMS between 5 and 10): Average quality link. (RMS more than 10): Bad quality link. (the RMS value is not very important): Modified and unoptimized link Selecting images When you select an image, the editor displays them as superimposed and the red lines show you all the related images Selecting links When you select a link, it is highlighted in red. You can select more than one link, the display of the mesh will change based on the selection Stitching information The assembly information window groups all the general information such as the number of images, the number of links and the control points plus the quality of the assembly (in the form of an average estimate). The assembly quality information can be displayed in 5 different ways, according to Autopano?s calculations of the source images: When the assembly quality is good, only the RMS is displayed. If the assembly is less good or bad, it is possible that a list of the worst links is displayed, letting you quickly correct them. Another possibility is to obtain sub-panoramas. This means that certain images that are normally linked are no longer linked. The list of sub-panoramas lets you quickly create the missing links so that they can be corrected. If one ore more images is not linked, a list of orphan images (without links) will be displayed. 53

57 Tools The slider is used to hide links to visualize and identify the worst links. Clear displayed links: This button is used in combination with the cursor. Full optimization: Lets you optimize the whole panorama. Quick optimization: Lets you only optimize the latest changes. Optimization settings: Provides access to the control point editor settings CONTROL POINTS EDITOR WINDOW Control points editing area The control points editing area is divided into 2 windows where 2 images selected from the list can be viewed and the different tools could be used to edit the control points Selection list The selection list is divided into 3 closely related parts: All of the images selected in the image list will display a list of links or control points that the images have in common with other images (according to the selected tab). The links tab displays the list of common links when you select one or more images. The Ctrl Point tab displays the list of common control points when you select one or more images. List of images Lets you quickly see if an image is properly connected to another. A redundant image can be deleted with the use of the delete key. Selecting all of the images will display all the links between all of the images. List of links Lets you see the links and their RMS quality. The links can be deleted with the use of the delete key. List of control points Lets you see the control points and their RMS quality. The points can be deleted with the use of the delete key. 54

58 Toolbar Enable/Disable Views This tool lets you decide whether to display or not to display the images in the control point editing area Window layout Lets you change the display of the control point editing area Synchronize Views Lets you synchronize the display of images in the control point editing area. This is useful to simultaneously view the images when the zoom level is high Optimize the panorama Lets you confirm the changes to the control points/links done in the editor. The preview of the panorama then adjusts according to the constraints you have to define. The optimization can be adjusted in the control point editor settings Locally optimize the panorama Lets you only optimize the latest changes. The preview of the panorama then adjusts according to the constraints you have to define Adding control points to the selected areas After having selected 2 overlaying images (the 2 images have similar details), draw a rectangular with the help of the mouse on the 2 images in the control point editing area. The control points will be automatically calculated and displayed. 55

59 You can also delete control points by selecting an area and pressing the delete key Add manual control point The adding of a single control point lets you precisely define the control point (and not an area like the pervious tool). For this reason, you have to define the same point on 2 images with the help of the mouse and the zoom tool active in the control point editing area. The created control point will be displayed in blue Delete selected control point This tool is opposite to the single adding tool and lets you delete control points singly. Just select a control point and click on the "Delete selected control point" icon. You can also delete a point with the 2 previous tools, select the point and then press the delete key Add control point using geometric analysis Geometrically analysis the panorama to find the new control points. Uses the images? common positions to find the overlapping areas. If the 2 images overlap and there are no control points, the algorithm will try to add them Clean bad control points This tool works together with the control point editor setting tool tab. According to the setting used, the algorithm saves or deletes the points that have a value that exceeds the defined threshold on a pair of images or on the entire panorama Optimization settings The control point editor setting window is divided into 2 tabs: Optimization and tools. Optimization tab 56

60 Optimization presets These presets correspond to the pre-configurations of different optimization stages that can be viewed in?advanced settings?. By default, the most appropriate profile is automatically selected depending on the content of the group of images. Quick: Simple optimization. The result may be disappointing if the panorama contains a lot of images or bad links. Strong: (default) This is the best choice in the majority of assemblies. It has a good calculation time/assembly quality compromise. Gigapixel: Suitable if your panorama contains a large number of images (more than 100 images). Fisheye: Select this profile if your image was taken with a fisheye lens. Custom: This is enabled when you manually change the parameters and they no longer correspond to a profile. Lens distortion correction Enabled : Turns distortion correction to be applied to each photo of the panorama. Focal calculation : Sets the method for calculating the focal length. Automatic : (default) Autopano decides by itself what kind of focal calculation to apply, depending on the content of the group of images. Force different : Allows to force a different focal length for each photo of the panorama. Useful if the panorama contains photos with different focal length, or if the focusing has moved. Force identic : Allows to force an identical focal length for each photo of the panorama. Distortion calculation : Sets the method for calculating the distortion of the lenses. Automatic : (default) Autopano decides by itself what kind of distortion calculation to apply, depending on the content of the group of images. Force different : Allows to force a different distortion calculation for each photo of the panorama. Use in case you change your lens during the shot (if the group contains photos taken with different lenses). Force identic : Allows to force an identical distortion value for each photo of the panorama. Use when shooting was made with the same lens. Distortion model : Sets the distortion model of the lens(es). Automatique : (default) Autopano decides by itself what kind of calculation to apply, depending on the content of the group of images. 1st order : commom distortion, Barrel distorsion or Pincushion distortion 2nd order : more complex distortion, Barrel distorsion, Pincushion distortion or mix of Barrel/Pincushion (mustache). 3rd order : Further complex distortion. Few lenses still get this type of distortion (not very useful in practice). 1st order + optical axis : commom distortion, Barrel distorsion or Pincushion distortion + calculation of the optical axis (the difference between the center of the lens and the center of the sensor). 2nd order + optical axis : more complex distortion, Barrel distorsion, Pincushion distortion or mix of Barrel/Pincushion (mustache) + calculation of the optical axis (the difference between the center of the lens and the center of the sensor). 3rd order + optical axis : Further complex distortion. Few lenses still get this type of distortion (not very useful in practice) + calculation of the optical axis Options (Advanced settings) Use grid position: This is only available if you have imported pictures taken with the help of a pan head via a Clauss or Papywizard import plug-in. This option re-uses the coordinates provided to pre-position the images. Assume row/column shooting: Active for panoramas coming from a Gigapan head. This method requires high precision in the shooting matrix. Optimization stages (Advanced settings) 1) Local approach: Lets you pre-position the images locally. Strong algorithm: Intelligently validates the local approach calculations. This changes in the assembly if the calculations seem wrong (false links). 2) First optimization: Looks for the ideal position of each image simultaneously. 57

61 3) First lens distortion correction: Corrects lens distortion (very useful for short and medium focal lengths). 4) Clean up control points or links: Keep only control points below this error (RMS): Useful in cases where quality counts. Keep only the N best control points: Useful in cases where only the number of control points per image count. Remove links below this error (RMS): Useful in cases where the quality of the links counts. 5) Final optimization: This is the same main optimizer as in step 2 that is retrieved (if it has not already been) or retrieved again (to account for deletions of step 3). 6) Final Lens distortion correction: Corrects lens distortions again if Step 4 was performed (cleaning links/control points). Tool tab The tab lets you set the control point editor tools. This tab works together with the Add/Delete control points by geometric analysis tool. CP detector quality Sets the detection quality when a control point is added to an area with the Add control point tool. The default value is inherited from the value used in the initial detection of the panorama. Detection quality: Low: Good compromise between the quality of the control points and the detection speed. Standard: (default) Increases the density of the points at the expense of the detection speed. High: Very slow, reserved for desperate cases (?.but think about it all the same before giving up). Number of points / Image pair: Influences the number of control points exported to Panotools as well as on the detection quality. 50, the default value, seems to be the best choice in the majority of cases. Geometric analysis Lets you set the control point Add tool based on geometric analysis. This tool does an analysis and tries to find geometric correspondences between images that currently overlap in the panorama. Find control points where none exist: Looks for control points in overlapping image pairs but that do not have control points between them. Find control points everywhere and merge with old CP: Looks for control points and control points existing amongst overlapping image pairs. Find control points everywhere and remove old CP: Looks for control points in all overlapping image pairs and replaces the existing control points with the detected points. Bad control point cleaner Lets you set the control point Delete tool based on geometric analysis. Keep only control points below this error (RMS): Useful in cases where quality counts. Keep only the N best control points: Useful in cases where only the number of control points per image count. Remove links over this error (RMS): Useful in cases where the quality of the links counts Contextual help Click on this icon to activate this tool. Click on the icon of your choice to view information about its use. 58

62 Technical Support / Autopano Pro Documentation 59

63 26 Autopano Pro - Panoramas Editor - Layers Editor 26.1 PRINCIPLE This tool is based on a known fact: many panoramas are made up of images that have common information, the same speed, the same openness or the same focal length. It is interesting to group images with similar characteristics during the mixing phase and treat them as a sub-group (layers). There is a simple method for treating certain images by layer, regardless of other images INTEREST This is obviously very interesting for assembling bracketed images. The bracketed panoramas obtained can be mixed as you wish (using Photoshop masks, etc.). Each layer is specially optimized by the use of all constraints and all images, not only images of the current layer. So if you stack the panoramas, they will match perfectly INTERFACE Toolbar Add images Lets you to add one or more images to the selected layer. Autopano Pro will then integrate this image (or these images) into the panorama preview. You can also use the contextual menu (right click) Remove images or layers Select an image or layer and click on this button to delete it. Autopano Pro will then remove it from the panorama preview. You can also use the delete key or the contextual menu (right click) Image properties Lets you see and change the image properties Reload Image Reload an image after any changes. This allows you to edit an image in a third-party software, without leaving Autopano and reload it in the panorama editor with changes made New layer Creates an empty new layer in which you can slide or add images Reset layer Lets you return to the initial state. 60

64 Group by aperture Creates layers that depend on the openness of each image Group by bracket Creates layers that depend on the bracket of each image Group by focal length Creates layers that depend on the focal length of each image Group by speed Creates layers that depend on the speed of each image Group by stack Creates layers that depend on the stacks of input created images Display/Hide Exif info Shows/hides Exif information of images (image information source) in the layer list: Focal Speed Aperture Iso Display/Hide Localization info Shows/hides Localization information of the images (image information after optimization) in the layer list: Yaw: localization on horizontal axis (X) Pitch: localization on vertical axis (Y) Roll: localization on Z axis Fov: field of view Computed Focal: computed focal K1: 1st order distortion factor K2: 2nd order distortion factor K3: 3rd order distortion factor Offset X: localization difference between the center of the lens and the center of the sensor on the horizontal axis (X) Offset Y: localization difference between the center of the lens and the center of the sensor on the vertical axis (Y) Display/Hide Color info Shows/hides the color information of images in the list of layers: Color anchor: defined color anchor Layers list This area lets you manage the layers and images that form a panorama. 61

65 The information used by each image can be seen in independent columns : These columns are sort by type (Exif, Localization and Color) that can be displayed/hidden with the buttons (located on the right of the toolbar). Each of these columns can be sorted by clicking on its title, which quickly shows the logic in a sequence of images. This window also lets you: Move an image from one group to another: Select the desired image and drag & drop to the desired layer. Rename a layer: Double-click on the name of the layer so that it can be edited. You can also use the contextual menu (right click). Show/Hide an image/layer in the preview: Lets you display or hide an image or a layer in the preview of the panorama, just check / uncheck the image or layer. This function is applicable only for the preview of the panorama editor and not for the rendering. If you do not want an image to be viewed in the rendering, delete it Contextual menu (right click) Rename layer: Lets you rename the layer. Add images: Lets you add images. This works the same way as the Adding images tool. Remove images or layer: Lets you delete images or layers. This works the same way as the Delete images tool. Reload Image: Reload an image after any changes. This allows you to edit an image in a third-party software, without leaving Autopano and reload it in the panorama editor with changes made. Copy to new panorama: Copies the current selection to a new panorama. The latter will open in the panorama window. Move to new panorama: Lets you move the current selection into a new panorama. The latter will open in the panorama window. Technical Support / Autopano Pro Documentation 62

66 27 Autopano Pro - Render The following tool is used to export the panorama: The?Launch the rendering? window is the last step in creating a panorama. This window lets you set (or re-set) the rendering options for the exporting of the panorama, according to your needs OUTPUT SIZE Lets you adjust the panorama?s output size with the cursor (percentage of the maximum size), by entering the desired width (in pixels) and by entering the desired height (in pixels). A reminder of the maximum size is shown on the first line. The maximum size (100%) corresponds to that of the original pictures. This information was registered at the shooting and will be kept on the final image. Density Histogram The histogram visible above the slider is used to find the density of pixels with a ratio 1:1 according to the final size of the panorama. The black portions sizes are best suited to the preservation of the 1:1 ratio for each pixel: In case of a panorama created from photos of same focal length: the histogram will be heavy at about 100%. For a panorama created from photos of multiple focal lengths (shown in the picture above) the histogram will contain several peaks, corresponding to the 1:1 ratio of each focal used. In other words, this corresponds to the dimension for which the image has more details (the longer focal length) will be 1 (for one pixel in the source image, there is one pixel in the destination panorama). The pixels corresponding to images of intermediate focal lengths will stretch. Note Do not feel obliged to work 100% systematically! If the diagonal viewing angle is greater than 90 in the rectilinear projection and if the vertical viewing angle is more than 90 in the cylindrical projection, the pixels of certain parts of the image are considerably stretched out (the rectilinear edges, the cylindrical height). In any case, it is recommended to take into account the density histogram to adjust the output size of your panorama to obtain the best possible result. In terms of speed, it is the surface that counts: at 30%, it is 10 times faster! 27.2 INTERPOLATOR The interpolator is used to project the pixels of the source image on the panorama. Its quality often depends on the sharpness of the panorama. Nearest: Reserved for testing, because of the numerous and very visible artifacts created. In return, this is the fastest. Bilinear: This is a correct quality/speed ratio choice. Bicubic: (default) Use it if you do not know. The difference with the bilinear is almost imperceptible to the naked eye but can be seen in the lines with strong contrasts. Its default use is recommended. Strengthened bicubic: This is the same thing as the bicubic but it is stronger (the fortification level corresponds to the same settings as in Photoshop when changing the size of an image). Softened bicubic: This is the same thing as the bicubic but it is softer (the softening level corresponds to the same settings as in Photoshop when changing the size of an image). Spline36: This powerful method of interpolation is to be used when extreme or high post-rendering is necessary. The difference with the bicubic is not seen by the naked eye. Spline64: This works the same as the Spline36, but it is stronger, slower and usually better (you need to try it to see). 63

67 27.3 BLENDING SETTINGS The purpose of the mixer is to combine the overlapping zones without it being seen so that a perfect stitching of the panorama images can be obtained. Autopano offers 4 optimization profiles adapted to your needs without having to change them yourself. These profiles correspond to the pre-configurations that can be seen in the "Advanced settings". Blending Presets Simple: This is fast but it is possible that defects are seen where the areas overlap. Anti-ghost: Conserve the image's strong characteristics (stops, lines, curves) when mixing while automatically removing objects that have moved. Exposure Fusion: To be used if the panorama was created with a bracket shoot. Keeps the best of different exposures. HDR output: To be used by users who wish to create a.hdr format file in order to create post-production or special effects. Custom: This is enabled when you manually change the parameters and they no longer correspond to a profile. Advanced settings Blending: None: For each position, the algorithm uses the pixel with the greatest importance according to the required weight. Linear: The rendered pixels are the result of a weighted average of input pixels. Multi-band: Lets you mix the average value (color trend) of the images while maintaining their details. Multi-band level: Lets you adjust the influence zone for each input pixel. Each pixel will double its influence zone for each supplemental level. For example, at level 2, each pixel acts on a span of 2 pixels in the final rendering, 4 pixels at level 3, 8 pixels at level 4... Level 0 represents the maximal influence zone (depending on the size of the input images). The negative levels let you reduce this area based on the maximum area. -4, the default value, seems to be the best choice in the majority of cases, if the color correction is enabled. Diamond weight: The pixels in the centre of the images are more important than the pixels on the edges of the images. Exposure Fusion: Weights each pixel according to its exposure. Lets you to mix different superimposed images excluding under-exposed or over-exposed areas. Remove the HDR ghosts: Avoid mixing the superimposed pixels that do not have the same information and that come from different levels (moving object on the same bracketed image). At least 3 different information (layers) are needed to determine the information to exclude. It is advisable to get more for a greater reliability of matches (warning, a layer that is entirely over-exposed or under-exposed can not be used). Cutting: Lets define the cutting choices of the blender according to the desired result (ghost removing or long focal preservation) thanks to the priority's definition slider: Ghost removing: (default) all moving objects will be retained or removed according to their positions in the overlap areas. The anti-ghost himself makes this choice. Long focal preservation: Used to promote the details of the images of long focal length. The left side of the slider bar enables the Ghosts removing at 100% and makes the Long focal preservation inactive. The right side of the slider bar enables the Long focal preservation at 100% and makes the Ghosts removing inactive. Move the slider bar allows to play on both settings (ghost removing or long focal preservation) at the same time, ie giving more priority to one of both settings leads to a lower priority for the other FORMAT 64

68 Lets you choose the output format, encoding, compression quality and resolution. Type of file Options Notes JPEG Compression: quality from 1 to 12 Depth: only 8 bits (does not keep the alpha layer) Support ICC: yes Support IPTC: yes Maximum size: 64,000 x 64,000 pixels. Warning, Adobe Photoshop refuses to open valid jpeg files that contain more than pixels. PNG Compression: from 1 to 7 Depth: 8 or 16 bits (keeps the alpha layer) Support ICC: no Support IPTC: no Maximum size: 64,000 x 64,000 pixels PSD / PSB Depth: 8 or 16 bits wiht alpha layer Handles embedded images Support ICC: no Support IPTC: yes Maximum size: x pixels The PSD format is a traditional Adobe format, which is accepted by all Photoshop versions and other software. The PSB format eis another Adobe format that is relatively new and unknown; it is not compatible with version 7.0 and previous Photoshop versions. It has been available since 2003 and is compatible with the Photoshop's CS and CS2 versions. This format is an extension of the PSD. It is used for saving larger images, see gigantic according to the usual criteria. So, when one of the panorama?s dimensions surpasses 30,000 pixels or when the file size exceeds 2 gigabytes, Autopano Pro automatically chooses the PSB format instead of the PSD format. TIFF Depth : 8 or 16 bits without alpha layer Compression: none, LZW, ZIP Support ICC: yes Support IPTC: yes Maximum size: none 16-byte TIFF files are not compatible with certain software. The TIFF compression modes are not very good. We strongly recommend compressing the LZW with a 16-bit TIFF file. The resulting file will seem larger than if it had been saved without compression.. The ZIP compression remains a good choice. HDR Depth: 32 bits Compression: none, RLE Support ICC: no Support IPTC: no Maximum size: none This file format is recognized by Photoshop CS 2 as well as by software that use tone mapping such as Photomatix or FDRTools. EXR (OpenEXR) Depth: 32 bits Compression: none, RLE Support ICC: no Support IPTC: no Maximum size: N/A : This file format is recognized by Photoshop CS 2 as well as by software that tone maps such as Photomatix or FDRTools. KRO (Kolor Raw) Depth : 8, 16 or 32 bits Compression: none Support ICC: no This very simple file format was created in order to render in an unprocessed file format without any limits. Here are instructions on how to decode a KRO format file. Maximum size: none 65

69 Support IPTC: no 27.5 EXPORTED DATA Lets you define how and what data needs to be exported: Data: Panorama: (defaults) Allows to export the panorama. Layers: Allows to export the layers created in the Layers window of the editor (for example the layers of each bracket level). Pictures: Allows to export all the photos used to create the panorama.. Options: Embed all outputs: Incorporates all the data (Panorama, Layers and/or Pictures) in the same file (useful in the case of an export in psd format for example) Remove alpha channel: Deletes the alpha layer of the exported files OUTPUT Folder: Lets you specify the file in which the image will be saved. Filename: Default syntax of the file name. Click on the icon for a description of the symbols that make up the models (syntax) of the file name. Technical Support / Autopano Pro Documentation 66

70 28 Autopano Pro - Batch Rendering 28.1 PRINCIPLE The batch rendering lets you automatically concatenate the rendering. To do this, a list of projects (.pano) needs to be defined. Each project will be rendered one after another. Without talking about batch rendering, by clicking on the "Render" button from the Render settings will automatically open this window. This allows you to view the progress of the calculations and to obtain certain information (computing time, etc.). Notes Autopano can render while you continue to work (detection/editing). However, it is sometimes more convenient to postpone the final rendering step at a time when your computer is not in use (at night for example) especially if you are rendering large panoramas INTERFACE Toolbar Open rendering queue Open a file (.apb) containing the list of projects to render Save rendering queue Save a file (.apb) containing a list of your projects Add project Lets you open a project (.apt) directly in the batch-rendering window Remove project Closes a project (.pano) directly in the batch rendering window. 67

71 Start batch Launch or stop the rendering of batches. Only projects on hold will be rendered one after the other. This means that a rendered, annulled or failed project will no longer be rendered. To stop batch rendering without canceling the current rendering just click on the launch button again Pause batch Lets you pause the current rendering Abort rendering Stops the current rendering and renders the next project. The rendering of batches is not stopped. The small arrow besides the icon lets you cancel the current rendering and to stop the rendering of batches Open rendering directory Facilitates access to the folder containing the rendering of selected projects Contextual help Click on this icon to activate this tool. Then click on the desired icon to see information on how it works Progress bar Displays the progress of computing during the export of the panorama Rendering queue This frame shows the list of projects that you want to render. An icon found in front of each project name shows the rendering state: The project is being rendered. The project has been rendered. The project is waiting to be rendered. An error has occurred during the rendering. The rendering has been cancelled. The rendering has been paused Properties The selection of a project in the list lets you display the following properties: Path and name of the project Stitching information Number of images Size in pixels FOV Stitching quality Type of lens used Type of projection used Color correction mode used Benchmark 68

72 This information informs you of the calculation time for each rendering step and the amount of memory used. Technical Support / Autopano Pro Documentation 69