What Makes Panospin Different from Other Virtual Tour Photographers

Many photographers offer virtual tours or 3D photography, but few know how to get it right. The result of poor quality virtual photography is jagged or wavy lines and top and bottom views which have been cut off.

When considering a virtual tour company, it pays to determine what type of equipment is used and how the photographs are “stitched” together to form the panorama. When comparing costs among photographers, be sure to ask how the images are created so that you can compare “apples to apples.”

Professional vs. “point and shoot” cameras
At Panospin, we use professional digital SLRs (e.g., Canon, Fujifilm) that are at least 12 megapixels and high quality lenses. Point and shoot cameras offer much lower picture quality, both pixelwise and in the quality of the lens glass.

Specialized panoramic equipment
On a more technical note, high quality panoramic photography requires that the camera be positioned so that it rotates around the optical center of the lens. Simply mounting the camera to a tripod and rotating around to shoot photographs will result in tremendous parallax error that shows up as errors of alignment in the final 360-degree photograph. In short, high-quality panoramic photographs require specialized panoramic equipment.

Stitching vs. “one shot”
Panoramic photos are created either by stitching together individual photographs or by taking a photograph of the scene as it is reflected off a parabolic mirror. Taking separate photographs of a scene results in a much higher quality final image for two reasons:

1. The image from the parabolic mirror only contains information from one photographic image and contains much less information than multiple images stitched together.
2. Shooting the actual scene itself, instead a reflection, naturally results in a higher quality image. At Panospin, we always stitch together multiple images for maximum image quality.

Digital exposure blending
To capture a high dynamic scene properly, photographers must account for bright windows and dark interiors by setting the camera’s exposure and properly blending the images together to produce the natural effect our eyes see. At Panospin, we take the extra time to photograph two or more sets of shots for digital exposure blending. When considering project samples from virtual tour companies, look at the windows in the picture. If you can’t see any detail outside the window (or if the window space is white), then digital exposure blending was not done.

Spherical vs. cylindrical view
Many 360-degree panoramic images only offer a cylindrical view that has restricted upper and lower views. To us, “panoramic” view means you can see around you with complete 360-degree ability. Including the upper and lower views requires more time to photograph and subsequently process, but the view is worth the extra effort – especially if you have an ornate ceiling or gorgeous rug.

Quality of photography
Assembling the photographic images together and removing the tripod in the downward view requires a high level of artistry and skill in digital image retouching. We have over 10 years of combined experience that we put to use in delivering high quality photography to you.

QuickTime® and Flash® versus Java® format delivery
The Apple® QuickTime format, as compared to the Java format, delivers a more natural looking image without warped and stretched views. All of our Panospin^TM virtual tours and panoramas come with instructions for your customers on how to download the free plugin from Apple computer’s website. Because its format is smaller, Flash is also popular. We can deliver Panospins in a Flash format as well.

Solutions focused vs. “just” photography

Bottom line: we are focused on the results you want – which is why we’re more than “just” a photography company. We’re two guys with lots of resources who want to work hard for you and help your business succeed.

-- Carlton SooHoo and Jeff Engel