How to Create a Multi Row Panorama 

Agreed- smart tips! I read a great book that was recommended to me by some pro's in a forum- it's called "Understanding Exposure." One thing he says is to point the camera meter towards the blue sky when using the meter. This way the sky is not blown out. If you expose for the darker scene it will up things like ISO or slow the shutter to get more light but then the sky can be blown out. Of course this way, the foreground can be slightly darker so it's a trade off. I check not only the meter for each shot but very importantly, the in camera histogram. I find that to be far more accurate than the meter. I also set that to B&W so I can see the contrast better. In raw, as you know, all the color info. is retained. Do you ever do the vertical pans he is talking about? So you stitch all the horizontal and vertical pans together somehow? Do you just add them to the selections (I use Affinity) and it will know how to do it or is there another workflow? I am relatively new to photography- in any serious way anyway. In the last 3 months I have learning a lot. I have been getting ready for an upcoming trip to Death Valley and Zion- needed to brush up! One thing I learned is how expensive decent new gear costs! Cheers!

@@UTAH100 i do it in photoshop but it can also be done in lightroom. Just add to selected photos. Sometimes I do bracketing. In that case I combine the brackets before doing the pano stitching.

Thanks. Stay tuned for a detailed follow-up video on how to properly determine the nodal point.

Thank you, Alexander!

Thanks for the nod, Rob. As a former teacher I'm known to be long-winded, too!

True story: In my original post, I almost asked if you had been a teacher in your previous life!

Tim: Thanks so much for your remarks. Glad it was of some help.

Les, just curious if you might know why when I shot and processed a panoramic and stitched it back together with 3DVista that the panorama settings didn't upload to Facebook? it works great from my phone's mode for that, but not from the program or Photoshop CS6.

Sorry, Tim. I do not know 3DVista well enough and my skills on FB are rudimentary.

Thank you!

+Elber Gonzalez Thank you, Elber. Much appreciated.

+elrana1000 Thanks, Elrana 1000.

I second that.

I agree and that is why I have posted several of those panos on my website. Just go to www.lesterpickerphoto.com and click on "blog" at the top of the page. Once there, do a search for "pano" and you will see several blogs, including panos of the Hawaii location. Thanks for your comments.

Actually, the link IS there. Immediately under the frame that plays the video is a box that starts with the "Published" date. Just click on "show more" and the link is there.

Stunami, please see my latest blog for a finished pano. lesterpickerphoto.com/2020/02/13/span-classwhitemulti-shot-panos/span/

@@lespicker I started reading the blog and suddenly i read GFX100 and im like WOW ! So jealous! This resolution must be a dream for landscapes :)

Thanks, David. Much appreciated.

+Coolumbo Thank you, Coolumbo for your very kind comments. Happy 2016 to you!

+Woof Eeka Hi Woof! I suggest that the best thing to do is to go to the Really Right Stuff site and click on the "Panorama" banner. Then spend some time looking at the literature, product descriptions, and video clips so you can decide what will work best for you. My setup is for multi-row panos. Every photographer will want to tailor the setup for their own needs. I also find that calling the RRS staff really helps; they are terrific. They also offer complete pano kits, either single row or multi-row. I hope this helps. Les

+SHIBU GEORGE Thanks for your kind comments. The ball head is a Really Right Stuff BH-5. The remainder of the setup that is quick-clamped onto the ball head is also Really Right Stuff. Look under their panorama equipment and you can put together a system that meets your requirements.

Snoboardz: You are most welcome! Thanks for commenting. I am away on assignment right now, so I can't get you the exact RRS equipment numbers. But if you take the time to go through the replies to several others (below), I have given those details a few times before. In any event, if you purchase the RRS kits, they are complete with everything you would need to do the panos. Best of luck and if you need the exact numbers, please write to me via email in 3 weeks. You can find my email on my website. Les

+Dallas Thomas You are most welcomne, Dallas. Glad it helped.

The bellows is a Lee filters contraption. It serves as a lens hood and its accordion build allows you to angle it perfectly to block light. Here is the link to it on Adorama's site: www.adorama.com/lemwh.html?gclid=CjwKCAiAxuTQBRBmEiwAAkFF1qyzS7J-woNunRTyh4FNYxL56MHoCre4p7fZ5hI0-m9ZBjAzjP8vWRoCD3oQAvD_BwE

Hi Marco. Thanks for your excellent question. Please see my response on my blog: www.lesterpickerphoto.com/2014/03/30/pano-question/

brittney wesley Hi Brittney. Thanks for your nice comments. I use Really Right Stuff (www.reallyrightstuff.com) for my ball head and rails. Although they are expensive, they are incredibly well engineered. The ball head holds even the heaviest loads and the rails are precision all the way. I beat them up quite a bit and they work as well as the very first time I used them. FYI, a ball head and rails are only as effective as the tripod on which they are mounted. I use a Gitzo 3541, but any similar sturdy tripod will do.

Eddie: I would stick to the preferred aperture for your specific lens, typically f8 or f11.

Hi Tony: The short answer to your question is "yes" it does present a slight parallax issue. Technically it would be better to raise and lower the camera, but that in itself presents far more difficult issues almost guaranteed to compromise the resulting image. In practical terms, the slight tilt to accommodate multi-row panos is easily dealt with in whatever post-processing software you will use.

@@lespicker What kind of issues does raising and lowering camera present? Doesnt seem that , that method would be more difficult than the panoramic head method.

Thanks, Ed, although I'm not sure the college professor comment was actually a compliment!! I agree, though; RU-vid is amazing.

Thanks, Steve. Great tip. I will definitely look into it.

Lester Picker Great, Lester! You know, in my 35+ years of commercial photography using tripods, I have never seen one with the functionality, build, and that simply exudes Quality like the FLM Tripod mentioned above. I’m actually debating on getting a Leveling Base for it and my other tripods, as I’ve done some panoramic photography as well, and have “paid my dues” in terms of losing some image information due to panning on a Not-Quite-Level tripod. Regards, Steve

Good question. The best bet is to focus at the hyperlocal distance. However, this very much depends on the subject. If you are shooting a scene that is far away, then a simple infinity setting is fine. If you have foreground objects, then it becomes a decision of what you want in sharp focus. In that case, hyperfocal distance works well.

+Danny Ben-Yakar Thanks for writing, Danny. I believe that Manfrotto and Nodal Ninja also make multi-row pano equipment, but there are others, too. I also came across a do-it-yourself setup. Try a Google search and you will see them. Good luck with your panos! Les

+Lester Picker Thank you very much :)

Their tri-pods and mono-pods are top quality. Here’s their panoramic head: www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/1434448-REG

Naser, good question that I get asked a lot. This is perhaps the biggest problem for pano shooters. You really cannot refocus for each row since the lens perspective will change, making stitching difficult if not impossible. Results will be awful. Instead, try shooting your panos at f11-f16 and gently sharpen in post. I suggest you use the hyperfocal distance as your focal point. Distant objects will still be in focus.

Thanks! You are right about the early morning being better, but sometimes you have to take what the photo gods give you!

Go to Really Right Stuff and pick and choose from their entire line of rails and bases. A great company with beautifully engineered products. Expensive but well worth it in my opinion.

Hi there Lee YH dont think he use any nd filter (at least not a dark one), because if he's as you noticed using a rather fast shutter speed, it wouldn't allow any light coming in, if he use a dark nd filter that is. (I see he use a Filter holder, but I believe he use it only for the lens hood ;) I think there won't be any stitching problems.. of course the stitching program (or you manually also would if doing it manually in photoshop or another software), when stitching, you overlap the images and then mask/delete details, so it won't get any hard edges, and notice any stitching. if he used a slower shutter speed, he would get "blurry" sea, and foliage/plants as well.. and thats totally fine, if you want that effect on the entire image.. but if you want sharp.. you have to do it like he´s doing it. But again, theres not a "right" way to do it.. it all dependes on whats your vision ;) My first 360 panorama I used my 24-105 at 24 on my 5d mark ii, and I had lost my tripod plate, so I had to improvise!.. I used a tree trunk with a winter beanie under the lens to keep it a bit up... and the result?.. it was outstanding! (but I had to stitch it manually!.. also the 24-105 at 24mm gave me some vigneting on each frame, so I had to work a bit with each image.

Hi Vanessa: Thanks for commenting. I did post the final image on my blog site, but did not provide the link here. I will do so as soon as I am back in town. Currently in Maine teaching a photo workshop and then off to Nepal on assignment. Look for the link in late November or so. Thanks for your patience.

Really Right Stuff BH-55 ball head with Quick Release, leveling base.

Do you need an L Plate as well for the camera?

Yes, you need L-plates for all RRS gear. There are imitation plates made in China, so you might want to check them out. I prefer to use the RRS plates due to their quality control. However, I have no idea if the Chinese knock-offs are good. Some of my clients report good results.

Thanks again Lester ! I guess I will stick to RRS, driven partly by my humanitarian desire to reduce the US trade deficit !

LOL!

Anzaeria: Thanks for the compliment. I think we all make that mistake when we first start. However, the idea of being drunk while doing panos might help!

You might be on to something there with the drunk panos! With regards to shooting panoramas in an urban environment with cars, I guess one way to deal with moving subjects is to use a 10 stop ND filter to make moving traffic disappear from the photos. The downside that I could see from that would be since the exposure times would be so long, the shadows might have moved a fair bit in the meantime. I guess I could wait for a break in the traffic for each shot.

Thank you for watching. The fact is that I still use the exact same setup, despite its weight.

Thanks for posting, Didier. See my response about two messages down from here. Best wishes.

Thank you, Virginia! I'm so happy it helped. Feel free to write me with any questions you might have. My website is www.lesterpickerphoto.com

JC: As you suspected, you must keep the focus constant. The way to handle this is to use hyperfocal distance and a small aperture. A shortcut way to do this is to focus 1/3 of the way into the scene.

Dear Les, Thank you for the reply. To avoid diffraction, there is a limitation for the smaller aperture to choose. Do you have any suggestion on how to choos a smaller aperture before diffraction taking effect? I'm sharing a pano image of the San Francisco Bay at below link with you. The image was a speechless one, but after loading to Nat Geo, it got largely compressed such that the majestic scene cannot be properly presented. Still, hope you like it! yourshot.nationalgeographic.com/photos/11256175/

Multi row? Looks incredible

Single row only. Much appreciated your comment.

You're most welcome, Daryl.

DG: You cannot adjust exposure for each shot. That would create an absolute nightmare for post-processing. Shoot for the highlights and you'll be able to recover enough shadows with most late model cameras. On your second point, I am a bit confused. If you mean can you combine horizontal and vertical shots in a single pano, the answer is no. Thew rule is to shoot vertically for horizontal panos (i.e.: wide landscapes) and shoot horizontally for vertical panos (i.e. a waterfall). There are exceptions, but that guideline should help.

@@lespicker Thanks. Your way is faster for sure but recently I adjusted so each photo was exposed correctly it seemed to make editing easier actually. There is also way to fist stitch vertical panos together, then merge them with horizontal panos. One guy in Ytube does it. I agree that these are not common methods but I think they can work.

SJ: I'm not quite sure what you are asking. I, too, use a ball head (BH-55). The leveling base is also sold by RRS. It fits on the tripod and replaces the existing plate. It is well worth the expense. Go to their website and see which one you need for your tripod. If this does not answer your question, try asking with more detail.

@@lespicker thanks, no worries, I've since spoken to RRS... all good. I wasn't sure why I had two swivel bases on my setup (one on the swivel base, and one on my BH40 head)... turns out I didn't need two, but I ended up with the nicer ball head that has one at the Arca-Swiss mounting plate.

Thanks Aaron. I will try to get the pano processed soon. I travel so much I just haven't had a chance to get to this! In any event, stay tuned for a companion video on how to figure out your lens' nodal points.

I totally understand and thanks again. Keep up the breathtaking work!

I use the Really Right Stuff (RRS) BH-55 ball head with the RRS multi-row pano package.

You're not missing anything, you got it right.

Yes, I am. I believe I mentioned that in the video, but it is critical to keep one focus point throughout. My suggestion is to set your camera for the hyperfocal distance. There are numerous smartphone apps nowadays that will calculate that for you given your camera and lenses. I hope that helps.

Vic: Ballpark... the Gitzo 3541 is about $800 and the RRS BH-55 ball head is about $800. Plus, you should have the leveling base and I'm not sure of that price. Hope that helps. Les

Lester Picker That gives me a good starting point. Thanks!

Hi, John. Sorry it has taken me so long to respond, but I am in Sri Lanka right now on assignment. In this case I was focusing about one-third of the way into the scene in order to get sharp focus throughout.

Hi John: I can't remember right now, but for a distant landscape I usually focus at our near infinity. For a landscape with a foreground object I focus on the hyperfocal distance- about 1/3 into the scene. Hope that helps. Les

Thankyou very much Lester,enjoy your trip. john

It will vary, depending on the focal length of the lens. With a Nikkor 200mm mounted on my Nikon D810, it translates to 5 markings on my Really Right Stuff ballhead. A quick way to test that is to start on any degree marking, take a shot, advance enough for 1/3 overlap and see where the ballhead is now. Voila, you have it! Hope that helps.

Hi Jake: Good question. An L bracket does not give you anywhere near enough room to move your camera front to back to set the nodal point of the camera. The nodal slide has mo0re than ample room to accommodate any lens. Les

GQ, not sure what you refer to. The camera is mounted onto the Really Right Stuff pano gear. If instead you are referring to the black pouch that hangs from he side of the tripod, that is just a filter case, which I did not use for this pano. If I'm not addressing your question, please write back with specifics.

Hi Erik: Good question. The fact is there are NO filters in front of the lens. What you see is an adapter ring for when I take single images and need to slip in a graduated neutral density filter. You should always avoid using any filters when shooting a pano, as the differential effect of a polarizing filter, for example, as you rotate the camera would result in issues that are impossible or very difficult to correct. It is better to shoot a bracketed exposure at each stopping point in your pano series if the dynamic range is too wide. Hope this helps. Les

Dear Lester, thanks a lot for your advice and quick replay! I really value this a lot because I know that social media gives a lot of work. Your videos are so interesting. I like your pictures on your studio walls a lot, they look amazing. Greatings from Dubai, Erik

Erik: I have been to Dubai twice. I led a group of clients there for a photo workshop en route back from Sri Lanka. I'd like to talk more with you about Dubai. Please write me directly via email. Thank you!

Hi Lester, this is my email: erik.dewilde@icloud.com I am living here since six years and I do many photoshooting in Abu Dhabi and Dubai. I did some nice rooftop shoots from Dubai.

+Martin McCrory Thanks so much, Martin! To answer your questions: I always use manual exposure and manual focus. If you don't do that, the camera will make changes that will be difficult if not impossible to correct in post. Also use manual ISO and WB. The best aperture depends on your camera system. For Nikon, f11 is usually the sweet spot. . BTW, I am planning a trip to Ireland. I was going to do it in late May-June, but instead I am heading to Iceland again. Would love to hear your suggestions for time of year and places to go. Please go to my website and contact me through there. Thanks! Les

Les, Thanks for posting your informative videos. Everyday I learn something new. It’s a fun journey. It was really eye opening for me that in your other video about the nodal point that you said that you take pano’s with a zoom lens. The thought never crossed my mind, however once I thought about it more it makes total sense for all the reasons you stated (mainly to pack in the pixel count into the final image). If you have time I have a few questions/scenarios for you that maybe you could help me with getting my mind straight: What are your opinions on the Gitzo tripods vs the RRS tripods? Are the Gitzo better, if so why do you think? I have the RRS TVL-34 tripod and the BH-55 ball head. I am looking into possibly purchasing a RRS pano gimbal set (likely the good fluid one with ball bearings and needle bearings), like you have, for the main reason being that I am always looking to tinker and improve my skill set / knowledge. I do photography as a life long passion / hobby. Currently I guess that I have taken the more amateur approach to landscape photography, which is to use my Canon 16-35mm wide angle lens on a tripod, set up exposure bracketing +\- 1 or 2 stops and then in Photoshop Lightroom using HDR efex Pro I would compile the three images in one creating a vibrant HDR image. For clarity I always try to shoot in F22 or as high of a Fstop number as possible with ISO 100 on my Canon 6D entry level full-frame 20.2MP (much lower MP than your camera). My next question to you is do you ever do bracketing when taking your individual images? For example have you ever stitched together a -1 stop pano (compilationof multiple photos), and then a neutral 0 stop pano, and then a +1 stop pano, and then tried to combine them into an pano HDR image? I don’t know if I am getting ahead of myself or not, but I am always thinking and trying to get these ideas straight in my mind. I also purchased a AI device called Arsenal that introduced me to the idea of advanced photo stacking, which gets me thinking about whether or not any pano techniques exist for stacking the same images, but with varying focus points (hence creating a master image with near and far objects all perfectly in focus). Arsenals software will automatically do this, but unfortunately at this time saves the resultant image as a jpeg instead of a RAW file. So I don’t think that it would be of use for this application. Following this logic however, it seems like I would need countless photos to make this happen... multiple photos for the pano, with multiple exposures for future HDR, with each individual photo being taken multiple times at different focus points. My mind is hurting thinking about this... I know that this is over complicating things, but I don’t don’t know when enough is enough in the pursuit for perfection. Perfect composition, perfect color range, perfect focus, high density of pixels, etc. I am driving myself nutty and this process is sucking me in like a black hole. Another separate thought/issue/mystery came to my mind as well. I then started thinking about how my images would vary in exposure&brightness if one of my 200mm pano images contained the sunrise/sunset, while the 2-3 images next to it didn’t. In a normal photograph the metering would average the whole scene including the bright part with the sun. Hence, under exposing other areas of the photo to prevent the sun’s light detail from getting blown out. If the sun is comprised of most of the frame, that can’t be good? I am of the impression that it isn’t that good for the cameras sensor anyway taking a picture looking into the sun, although I am not going to pass up a beautiful sunrise or sunset. Sorry for all of the amateur questions. I am unsure as to how I should go about handling this situation. I am open to help/suggestions from anyone in the community as well. Thanks! Dave

Hi Sean. Yes, I've tried two and here is my review of one of them (lesterpickerphoto.com/2013/06/27/the-gigapan-epic-pro-a-review/). In short, I found them to be too unwieldy, heavy and bulky for my needs. They also have some major flaws inherent in their design and manufacture.

@@lespicker excellent review and just reading about it being a "beast to carry" immediately had me back tracking, then you add in the wind portion and poor stability. Ill just go with your RRS recommendations instead. Thank you!

Andy, I'm not quite sure what you are asking, but I'll hazard a guess. If you are asking how many tick marks on the tripod you have to advance after each shot, then what I do is take the first shot (good to have a practice shot anyway), making a note of where one the dial I started. Then go to the next position using the 1/3 overlap method. Now look at how many ticks you advanced. Now just advance that exact same number of increments for every subsequent shot. For the second ro9w, go back to where you started, lower your frame 1/3 and repeat for as many rows as you require. Hope that helps. Good luck!!

@@lespicker Yes, that's about it, but I wondered if there was information available that said how many degrees of rotation different lenses need?

@@andysuzierawlins5462 I do not believe there is a standard reference, at least not that I am aware of. It depends on the lens, the tripod head and if you are using a zoom, what the focal length is. Once you determine it for any specific lens/focal length/tripod combo, you can create a chart and use that for future sessions. Personally, that would not work for me, as it is so simple to use the method I described above. But, try it if you think that would work for you.

@@lespicker thanks, its just I struggle with spatial orientation in opposition to me. So I need simplicity

Thank you, Valentin. Welcome to the weird world of landscape photography!

John: I really appreciate your suggesting this option, which works for some people, but not all. I have extensively tested the Gigapan Epic Pro (see my review here: www.lesterpickerphoto.com/2013/06/27/the-gigapan-epic-pro-a-review/). It is fine in concept and on windless days with very slow-moving clouds. It is nothing short of a windsail in even moderate winds. Also, in the time it takes to stop shaking once it comes to a stop, multiplied by so many shots, I could have done two panos and had a snack. Seriously. There are other flaws with the system, as you'll see when you read my blog. I found the company to be very responsive and hope they continue to refine a terrific concept. Perhaps I will revisit their offerings in the near future.

Hi Lester, I use the Epic 100 that works great with my FujiX-T1. You tried the pro model which is much bigger. The middle model is great for mirrorless cameras. You can take off the button taping assembly (not needed with my camera as I use a release cable like the pro model and save more weight). The cloud moving issue is there no matter what you use; even worse is no clouds! :-) Waiting is definitely part of this kind on photography. I worked at a sight for several monthes before getting a few good captures....Generally though, this works excellent for me and starting post with hi rez HDRs is great but not for everyone. I use AutoPano Pro to stick HDRs together then clean-up in Photoshop.

LOL! The videographer is my wife!

+Lester Picker :=)

It sure would help! However, if you have the time, you can let even a less powerful computer churn through the files. Alternately, you can shoot with a wider perspective and have fewer files to process.

Steve, thank you for writing. I'm not certain enough to give you a definite response. I suggest you call RRS. Their people are terrific and will give you an answer.

Good question. On the face of it you would naturally think that, being a landscape, use a wider angle of view, right? Well, when creating a pano the aim is to get as many pixels as possible from the image. If I shot with a 50mm, I might have 4 or 5 images that would comprise the scene. That would give me 4 or 5 images, multiplied by the pixels that my sensor records, minus the 30% overlap, of course. But, if I use a 200 mm to record that same scene, it might take 3 rows of 10 images per row. That adds up to 30 images multiplied by the number of pixels my sensor records (then subtract that 30% overlap). That is one heckuva lot more pixels in the final image. That allows one to blow up that image really large. If you go to my website (www.lesterpickerphoto.com/commercial-installations/), you can see an image I took of Baltimore Harbor at night. It consists of 28 images merged into one pano. The image we hung on that hospital wall is 30 feet wide by 10 feet high!! It is so detailed, you can actually see people standing in the windows. Take a look at the video on the bottom of the page. Hope this explanation helps.

thank you

Thanks, Alexandre. I have to laugh, since my wife was the camera person. How about I let YOU tell her that??!??

Two things, Denis: First, you should read my unbiased review of Gigapan. They sent me their equipment to review and, quite frankly, I found that it has a few serious problems that limit its usefulness (www.lesterpickerphoto.com/2013/06/27/the-gigapan-epic-pro-a-review/). Next, as far as the cost of the brackets, I agree with you that they are expensive. However, in fairness, Really Right Stuff makes incredibly well built equipment with extremely fine tolerances. They also hold their value quite well. If you do not own any, go to their website and check out the quality. Best wishes, Les

I'm not saying it's better i'm just saying $500 for 400g of alluminium bent 90 degrees with two scales on it is really demotivational, eventhough it will probably outlive me. Also i've checked really nice stuff some time ago, i really hope those guys get more notice! They have really nice gear and i love how their reviews for their products are very informational unlike other companies that just point out to their most expensive thing. Also, i'm surprised you actively answer stuff on comments. So a little question. The gigapan pro is not as useful as a little tripod planning but do you think it's useful buying their less expensive model (400-500 bucks) which is suited for point and shoot cameras? I mean it probably makes something easier in the workflow

Also thanks for linking that review it helped.

Denis Slavcheff I'm pretty passionate about photography and helping people progress in their photo skills, so I tend to respond to most questions. In any event, I think we agree that the RRS prices are too high, but then again, what alternative do I have. I do wish there were other options. In fact, I recently bought a spare tripod mount from China that imitates a RRS bracket and it worked just fine and cost 1/3 as much! As far as the lower cost GigaPan for PAS cameras, I really do not know enough about it, not having tested it myself. However, conceptually I'm not sure it makes sense for a couple of reasons. First, most PAS users want to travel light. With GigaPan you still face the issue of transporting bulky equipment. Second, most PAS cameras nowadays have built-in pano functions that are pretty damned good. My iPhone 5s is superb for that. I use it all the time for quick images when I'm blogging or need to make notes of where I was shooting. Les www.lesterpickerphoto.com

Julia: Sorry you were disappointed and unwilling to take the time to click over to another site. We are constantly improving our video capabilities and will be launching a revamped site this fall. In the meantime, best wishes for some great panos. And, thanks for taking the time to comment (despite life being too short!).

Hi Zebulon: I'm laughing reading your comments. I totally agree with them and really do appreciate your taking the time to critique this video. My reason for laughing is that the "pro" who did the video was my wife, who had never done this before (and, in fact, she DOES have ADD!!). In fact, I would love to have help with video production, since I never shoot video, except on my iPhone every once in a while for my travel blogs. Let's correspond. Best thing is to go to my website (lesterpickerphoto.com) and get my email address. Looking forward to hearing from you. Les

Lester Picker Cheers! For those out there who want to shoot this style of vid: Use a multi-cam approach where you have 2 cameras locked down: one for the wide shot that is the main camera with the best direct wired mic audio (GH4), one zoomed in for detail of what you are explaining and the last one can be slowly floating around handheld (could be an iPhone) to add visual interest. Make sure all are recording audio then syncing them in FCP is a breeze with the MultiCam feature. During your presentation make running notes of what you might want to have a close up of then shoot that right after your program to cut to during the edit. That way you in effect have a 4 angle presentation that can be shot and edited with a crew of one. For extra credit: record your audio to a Zoom so you have stereo for the ambient and direct wired mic for clear talent audio. You can mix to suit in post. Oh and . . . a good video shoot starts with a good location. No direct sun and no wind ;-)

Easy now, Richard! My wife was the video person and it was her first time ever doing this. So, if you'd like to, you can complain directly to her. But for health reasons (YOUR health), I warn you against that course of action!!! Seriously, though, I apologize for the video quality. We should have rehearsed it first. I have improved our technology with a gimbal head and better techniques. Stay tuned for other videos. And thanks for taking the time to comment.

Sorry to disappoint you, Hugo. Obviously no videoclip is for everyone. However, I would like to point out that this was not intended as a "show off of accessories." I use this setup every time I am on assignment. And, judging from the majority of comments here, most people were able to get something from the video. I'm hoping you do find instruction that meets your needs. I am also happy to answer specific questions you might have.

JB: Thanks for your comment. I agree with its pitfalls, although with 610 positive comments, 106 negatives, and 136,000 views it must hold some value for my viewers. In any case, be advised that we are in the planning process for better planned and professionally produced videos. This video was produced spur-of-the-moment as the opportunity presented itself, recorded by my wife. And, for your sake, I won't share this comment with her!! Best wishes for great panos.

Lester - class response. Not sure I would have been as kind and thoughtful as you were. Free is free..thank you for your time showing us a few tips!

@@roresteen Thanks for your support, Rob. I guess that's why Ben & Jerry's makes so many flavors of ice cream!