Useful Links for Panoramas

Compiled by Joseph S. Wisniewski for the MPW workshop on Panorama Stitching


Put some really clever stuff here

Helmut Dersch's Panorama Tools

Written by Helmut Dersch of the Technical University Furtwangen, this is probably the most powerful panorama stitching software in existance. Aside from stitchign panoramas, it's also useful for correcting lens distortions, perspective correction, stacking images to increase dynamic range

Helmut Dersch's web page (down for about a year, due to pressure from IPIX)

Current mirror of Helmut Dersch's homepage

Current mirror of Helmut Dersch's homepage

Max Lyon's updated version with all the latest improvements and fixes

Modified versions that bypass the iPIX fisheye restriction (you don't need these unless you have a 180 degree circular fisheye)

Universal Helper Programs

These Java programs run just fine on PC, Mac, Linux, UNIX workstations, etc.

PT Picker GUI, Convenient, but not very powerful. Freeware, comes with Panorama Tools

PTools Pixel Picker GUI, better for picking points than PT Picker. Freeware

PT Viewer Viewer, lets you immerse yourself in your panoramas. Build virutal tours. The next best thign to being there. Freeware, open source

PC Helper Programs

PT Assembler GUI, very powerful yet very friendly. Shareware

PT Gui GUI, probably the most powerful one there is. Shareware

PT Open GUI GUI, Powerful, but incomplete. Open source freeware, runs fine on Linux with Wine

PT Open GUI Developers site on SourceForge

PanoCube Converts panoramas to QTVR. Freeware

FSPviewer Viewer, lets you immerse yourself in your panoramas. Build virutal tours. The next best thign to being there. Freeware

Mac Helper Programs

PT Mac GUI. More powerful than PT Picker, but not as powerful as the PC programs. Shareware

Tutorials

Panorama Tools FAQ Answers for many Frequently Asked Questions

PanoGuide Information on panorama equipment, techniques, and software

J. Brian Caldwell, Ph.D. Stitching large mosaics, correcting lens distortions

Helmut Dersch lots of tutorials, panoramas, perspective, distortion, color

Nick Gordon Finding lens nodal points

John Houghton Straightening horizons, PhotoShop blending, morphing

Sascha Kerschhofer Beginners guide

Kevin Kratzke Fixing the zenith and nadir, PhotoShop masking

Erik Krause Correcting distortion

Big Ben Kreunen Very comprehensive tutorial

Peter Murphy Successful hand held panoramas, lens calibration

Thomas Niemann Printable panoramas

Philo Good general tutorial, correcting dostortion, home made panorama heads, wsing a piece of string instead of a $400 panorama head, panorama lampshades (no kidding). He's also a noted authority on Lego (I'm not making that up, either)

Michel Thomby Comprehensive nodal point tutorials

About iPIX

iPIX makes panorama software. They have a patent on the use of 180 degree fisheye lenses to create panoramas. Many people believe this patent to be worthless, citing much accessable prior art. However, iPIX has an abundance of money and lawyers, while all the community of freeware software developers has is love, so they usually win the battles, anyway.

Read about this alleged abuse of the patent system

More about this issue

Still more about this really scary issue

Last updated: August 22, 2003