 Making
QTVR Macropanoramas |
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| Panoramic QTVR creates the impression that you are standing at a point in space and can turn to view 360 degrees around. Typical QTVR panoramas are made by shooting a series of wide angle photos using a camera which rotates around a fixed point. The images are then 'stitched' together to make a 360 degree panoramic image. Details of this can be found at the QTVR Online Tutor. The size of the virtual space created in this way is limited (on the small end) by the fact that the camera has to be within the space. Macropanoramas can be made from very small spaces because the photographic technique used is very different. A small spherical mirror (we use 1 cm. aluminum-coated spherical lens) is placed in the center of the space. The image in the spherical mirror (i.e., a 360 degree reflection of the surrounding space) is photographed using a 35 mm SLR camera with a macro lens or bellows system. The resulting photograph is scanned, then mathematically converted into the type of panoramic image used by QTVR. This technique was first described by Helmut Dersch who developed the software (Panorama Tools) to convert spherical mirror images into normal panoramic images. | |
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Photograph
of image in the spherical mirror.
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The film was scanned and processed into a panoramic image using Panorama Tools v. 1.9.1. |
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The
QTVR pano was then made with QuickTimeVR Authoring Studio using
PhotoJPEG compression.
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Last
updated
1/11/02