Hey,
what do you think about the following questions?


1. What is the fastest way to create a panorama with the inspire 1.

2. What is the fastest way to create a panorama with the inspire from photos.

3. What is the best way to create a good quality panorama with the inspire 1?

I have been wondering about that myself.  I have done lots of panoramas with a still camera...usually I shoot in portrait mode to get max resolution for the height and then stitch the still shots together.  Will this camera rotate into portrait mode?

I can't answer questions 1 or 2, but 3 is easy.  Wait for DJI or an aftermarket manufacturer to offer a reasonable quality photography camera and gimbal assembly, shoot in manual exposure mode (fixed aperture and shutter speed) then use Photoshop to stitch the exposures together.

There are several video's tips on YouTube.

Regarding point 2: I think there is a function to make 7 photos in a row each 2 seconds. Do you think thats usable for panos? Since you probably cant exactly time the turning speed of the camera you maybe shot while the camera is moving.

q1: Do you think this is a problem with landscapes? Or should the shutter time for landscapes be low enough either way and this avoids possible problems coming from camera movement while taking photo?

@ultraturtle You seem to know something about photo making. Given I want to use the inspire 1 camera: Can you suggest a setting for this camera for landscapes? Or should I look it up myself in the internet because its the same with other normal ground cameras?

@ElliotTeskey I am happy that it cant rotate into portrait mode because this would have probably needed a extra motor which would lower flight time and performance.

@hmerkel thanks for the link :-)

InspireFlyer Posted at 2015-1-2 07:21
Regarding point 2: I think there is a function to make 7 photos in a row each 2 seconds. Do you thin ...

The most important issue in making panos is keeping the Inspire stationary while taking stills, sort of like a tripod in the sky. Since most of the objects will be at infinity (any object nearby tends to complicate the problem of getting a good merge in Photoshop or Photomatix or other pano program. Wind is another problem), it is important to use manual exposure control as you pan to avoid sky brightness issues in the photo merge. If you want to increase coverage so the pano isn't too thin (stretched), take two passes of the area you want to pano, one with the camera pointed down slightly, and one pass with the camera pointed slightly up. Assuming there is sufficient overlap (at least 30%, 50% is better) you should have no issues with merging the frames in any decent application.
Remember to set exposure manually, and keep the Inspire as stationary as possible.
Good luck, and happy flying!

PS. When you get sufficiently proficient, try taking 3 or 5 shot HDR brackets, with the same pano procedure to get an HDR Pano. Be prepared for huge file sizes, though.

So the pictures that will be taken can they be done in Portrait mode? or are they all in Landscape mode?

@rbendjebar Thank you for this good answer :-).

@svencool Iam not sure what you mean.

in Portrait mode? or are they all in Landscape mode?

By referencing to "mode", do you mean pre programmed theme settings in the app (A)? Or do you mean how wide the photo is(B)?

pictures that will be taken can they be done

What you mean with "can they be done". Do you mean "should be done" for good panorama results (C) ? Or do you mean "can they be done" in general with the inspire 1 (but its pano thread so maybe no..) (D)

Mh... what i think:

AC: I dont know if there is a landscape profile. If yea, then you can use it (for landscapes) but how rbendjebar pointed out use manual control.
BC: I saw in the internet that there is (at least for video) an option to switch between wide and small angle. I think it depends on wether details get lost in the wide angle mode. The difference in this modes would be created by ftware (camera or app) so probably no details get lost. If details would get lost better use normal mode.

AD: I cant remember to have seen this up to now in some youtube videos about the app. But since there are filters and stuff like this I would estimate that there is a good chance that something like this is included or could be included in the future. On the other hand maybe they expect people to know what they do - its an advanced drone.

BD: Yea I think it should be possible. And if not then you can still crop your image to portrait.

svencool Posted at 2015-1-2 08:15
So the pictures that will be taken can they be done in Portrait mode? or are they all in Landscape m ...

The camera is permanently oriented in landscape mode. There is no provision for tilting it to portrait mode (i.e., tilting 90 degrees left or right).
Hope that helps.

...Given I want to use the inspire 1 camera: Can you suggest a setting for this camera for landscapes? Or should I look it up myself in the internet because its the same with other normal ground cameras?

I was joking a bit about waiting for a better photography camera solution.  The Inspire 1 should be able to make passable panoramics.  

rbenjebar already stated the most important points.  A fixed shutter speed is critical (unfortunately, aperture is already fixed), so shoot in manual mode.  This is where the playback feature on the remote will come in handy - take some sample shots at different shutter speeds, pick the best exposure, then shoot the series at that shutter speed.  

To ensure you do not throw out too much picture information in post, carefully calibrate the camera to level prior to takeoff using the app.  

From a fixed position and altitude hover, I suggest manually framing each shot with ~30% overlap - doesn't matter if you yaw the aircraft or gimbal the camera, just make sure it is not panning when you shoot.  

The biggest challenge will be overcoming barrel distortion.  While far better than the Phantom V2+ and GoPro lenses, you can expect there to be some to correct with such a wide angle lens.  Hopefully we'll get an update to the lens correction filters in Adobe RAW that include the Inspire 1's lens in the very near future.  If so, correct barrel distortion prior to loading the photos into Photoshop for the stitch operation.

@ultraturtle Thanks for this thorough answer!

Maybe I can post a quick pano with the Inspire on sunday, looking forward to your feedback :-)

One thing I maybe don't understand fully, just because I am new to the field:

To ensure you do not throw out too much picture information in post, carefully calibrate the camera to level prior to takeoff using the app.

What does "carefully calibrate the camera to level" mean? Is there somewhere a tutorial or so how to properly calibrate the camera of the inspire 1?