Difference between revisions of "Align a stack of photos"

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(→‎Aligning with hugin: Added some keyboard shortcuts and menu descriptions; not sure if this is windows-specific, though)
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{| style="margin: 1em auto 1em 1em;background:#FFFF99;color:#FF0000;text-align:left;border: solid #FF3300;"
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! '''2013-02-10:'''
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! This page is rewritten to reflect the state of the new designed GUI of the 2013.0 version.
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This 2013.0 version will be released in Quarter 1 of 2013.
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|}
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''('''These instructions but then for the current stable release version 2012.0 can also be read in this wiki as an [http://wiki.panotools.org/index.php?title=Align_a_stack_of_photos&oldid=15021 older version]''')''
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There are occasions where it is necessary to align a set of otherwise identical
 
There are occasions where it is necessary to align a set of otherwise identical
 
pictures:
 
pictures:
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* Start up a new [[hugin]] project for each series and load the images.  Set the [[Field of View]], [[lens correction model|lens parameters]] and [[projections|projection]] type, ie. if your lens is a [[fisheye Projection|fisheye]], set this for both the input and output projection.
 
* Start up a new [[hugin]] project for each series and load the images.  Set the [[Field of View]], [[lens correction model|lens parameters]] and [[projections|projection]] type, ie. if your lens is a [[fisheye Projection|fisheye]], set this for both the input and output projection.
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* Create control points via the [[Hugin Photos tab|Photos tab]].  [[Align_image_stack]] is specialized for this task. But also [[Panomatic]] or [[Cpfind]] work for this use case.
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* Select "Positions (y,p,r)" and "Optimise now!" in the [[Hugin Photos tab|Photos tab]].
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* If necessary, fine tune the control points in the [[Hugin Control Points tab|Control Points tab]] and optimise again.
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* In the [[Hugin Main window|fast panorama preview]], the images will be on top of each other.  Select "Move/Drag" and "Fit", then select "Crop" and "HDR Autocrop".
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* In the [[Hugin Stitcher tab|Stitcher tab]], select "Calculate Optimal Size", then deselect the default panorama outputs and select "No exposure correction, low dynamic range" in the "Remapped images" section.  Select "Stitch!".
  
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* Create a few hundred [[control points]] between each pair of consecutive photos with the '''g''' key in the '''control point''' tab.
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See a more detailed view of this article [http://www.lemis.com/grog/photography/aligning-with-Hugin.php here].
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* Fine tune all points (available in the Edit menu)
 
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* Delete any control points with a correlation less than 90% (i.e. open the control point list (F3 or the Show Control Points icon in the toolbar), press the '''select by distance''' button, enter -0.9, and hit the '''delete''' button).
 
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* Optimise positions ('''ctrl-T'''), select points by distance again but this time enter 0.2. Optimise again.
 
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* Adjust the field-of view in the '''stitching''' tab to something slightly smaller than the input size so there are no transparent edges.
 
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* Stitch to '''multiple TIFF''' format.
 
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[[Category:Tutorial:Specialised]]
 
[[Category:Tutorial:Specialised]]

Revision as of 10:00, 11 February 2013

2013-02-10: This page is rewritten to reflect the state of the new designed GUI of the 2013.0 version.

This 2013.0 version will be released in Quarter 1 of 2013.

(These instructions but then for the current stable release version 2012.0 can also be read in this wiki as an older version)

There are occasions where it is necessary to align a set of otherwise identical pictures:

  • Aligning red, green and blue channels to correct chromatic aberration.
  • Aligning photos taken over a period of time to create a time-lapse movie.
  • Aligning bracketed shots to create a single HDR or contrast blended image.
  • Aligning photos taken at different focus distances to merge into a single extended Depth of Field image.

Panorama tools is particularly useful for this process since it allows sub-pixel alignment and has a sophisticated lens correction model for applying distortion - Even photos taken years apart with different cameras can be aligned perfectly.

Most tools for HDR generation such as photomatix have some level of automatic alignment, so this may be sufficient for most purposes. Otherwise the hdrprep perl script automates the process described below:

Aligning with hugin

  • Start up a new hugin project for each series and load the images. Set the Field of View, lens parameters and projection type, ie. if your lens is a fisheye, set this for both the input and output projection.
  • Create control points via the Photos tab. Align_image_stack is specialized for this task. But also Panomatic or Cpfind work for this use case.
  • Select "Positions (y,p,r)" and "Optimise now!" in the Photos tab.
  • If necessary, fine tune the control points in the Control Points tab and optimise again.
  • In the fast panorama preview, the images will be on top of each other. Select "Move/Drag" and "Fit", then select "Crop" and "HDR Autocrop".
  • In the Stitcher tab, select "Calculate Optimal Size", then deselect the default panorama outputs and select "No exposure correction, low dynamic range" in the "Remapped images" section. Select "Stitch!".

See a more detailed view of this article here.

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