Customer Reviews

Interactive Panoramas: Techniques for Digital Panoramic Photography (X.media.publishing)

5 star:		(1)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(3)
2 star:		(2)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

I sincerely wish Corinna Jacobs had tried a bit harder or had a different publisher and editor because this book could have been a classic.

Jacobs attempts to provide a comprehensive overview of digital panoramic photography. Unfortunately that's precisely what she does. The book is long on overview, some of it of no interest to the average photographer. The sections on $20,000 panoramic imaging systems could easily have been eliminated. Where she describes techniques of panoramic photography and, more importantly, putting the panorama together, the sparsity of detail takes it toll. In the end there is littl, if any, information here that you couldn't find on the web or in the Help files that accompany the stitching software she speaks of.

While "Interactive Panoramas" could serve as a passable reference manual, the price of over $50 rules this out. I would pay not more than $25 for this book and even that would be a stretch. I suspect this book is intended as a college text: my heart goes out to those who are forced to expend their limited budgets on this book.

Hopefully, Ms. Jacobs will find the opportunity to expound on the subject for O'Reilly or another publisher with a different, better attitude toward the reader. I am sure she knows the subject and has much valuable insight to impart: but it just doesn't happen in "Interactive Panoramas."

Jerry

Software manuals come and go, as fast as software versions. This is not the case.
This book is quite unique, is one-of-a-kind, an "all ways and softwares existing to do this" manual.
But not only. Is a book on immersive imaging itself, leading the reader through the whole process, from taking the pictures to the final way to show them, in presentations or over the web.
The amazing thing is that quite all workflows are considered, with any kind of camera, hadrware, software and result combination. Any software has his own detailed and exaustive explanation, its features etcetera.
A vademecum, able to lead you in the world of creating panoramas and VR objects, even if you do not know anything about it. But it is so complete that even an expert can use it as reference. Simple language, very good diagrams, pictures, snapshots and explanation, and very tidy and clear.
Well, it is like a complete surfing on the net, through thousand pages, tutorials, links and bonus, trying to understand how these tings works, plus some months trying to make work many software demos. All this work is done and put in a tidy form for you, in this book. And it is something that remains, over the aging of softwares, since it gives you all the informations and links you need to stay up to date.

Dr. Luca Vascon
Teacher in immersive imaging technologies.
IUAV University of Venice, Italy.

Yes, this is an expensive book, and it probably is meant as a textbook (and would be a decent one), but if you are a true photo novice seeking to get involved with interactive panorama photography, this is fairly cheap once you consider the money you will likely eventually spend for camera, lens(es), software, tripod, and panohead. By putting in one place much information you could cull for free from various sources on the Internet (namely, software reviews, analog vs. digital camera comparisons, nodal point, lenses, and codecs), this book might help you make better choices when it comes time to buy your equipment and start shooting and stitching. For the absolute beginner, 4 stars.

This book covers much software, for both Windows and Macintosh, quite thoroughly in terms of its operation (however, software development cycles will probably soon render this section of the book out-of-date). However, for Mac users, it omits the software from Click Here Design.

If you've already shot a few panoramas, even bad ones, this book will offer you little benefit (2 stars). Case in point: I use "VR Worx 2.6" and feel that software's manual provides almost as much information as this book, which in fact covers "VR Worx 2.5." I was looking for tips, techniques, ideas, and examples when I bought this book, but that's not really what I found in it.

Interactive Panoramas is a good introduction to a photographer thinking about adding this type of media to their product list. It covers cameras, lenses, software and equipment.
It even includes Demo versions of some of the popular Virtual Imaging software although the technology is changing so fast, the versions are a little old now.

From a book of this depth and this cost was hoping to find more tips and tricks on the field. Instead, the book is highly technical and largely explains how to use different programs (and recovery equipment) to create panoramas.
I have a basic understanding of some depth, so I am not fully satisfied with your purchase.
Great for those who want to get started!

From my point of view this book is really good for novice panoramic photographers (or for them that haven't search the net well). It gives some overall information about panoramic techniques and then describes some programs with which you can produce interactive (or simple) panoramas. The reality is that in the Internet you can find find lot more information about panoramas BUT from different sources.
Although it is useful this book's price is quite high.

If you are interested in all aspects of panorama photography (cheap and expensive ones, easy and difficult ones, it's history, ...) then this book gives a good overview of solutions on the market.
If you did already some research on the net about the subject because you want to come immediately to the point, there is not so much reading to do.
I'll take this purchase as a lesson for the future: I browse the internet for information and if I don't find enough, then I will turn to "buying books".