Interactive aerial 360 panorama of Glen Prosen, Scotland - click image below to be taken to Google Maps interactive version

Very cool! I have tried to add my 360 photos to Google Maps but for some reason they don't function like a 360 photo and let you look around. Frustrating! Great job!

Adam Flurk Posted at 2016-12-29 13:19
Very cool! I have tried to add my 360 photos to Google Maps but for some reason they don't function like a 360 photo and let you look around. Frustrating! Great job!

Glad you liked it! Are the images you are submitting to Google maps exactly a 2:1 ratio e.g. 10000 x 5000?

G Davidson Posted at 2016-12-29 13:36
Glad you liked it! Are the images you are submitting to Google maps exactly a 2:1 ratio e.g. 10000 x 5000?

Yeah, for some reason this photo does not show up in 360. Stitch is not perfect by any means but it is in 2:1 aspect ratio. Just put this up so you can see: https://goo.gl/maps/e7w1GrVjMfT2

Adam Flurk Posted at 2016-12-29 15:51
Yeah, for some reason this photo does not show up in 360. Stitch is not perfect by any means but it is in 2:1 aspect ratio. Just put this up so you can see: https://goo.gl/maps/e7w1GrVjMfT2

Unfortunately the link's not opening on my iPad but I'll try it from my PC in the morning for you. Another thing that might be happening is that the XMP data the stitcher inserts into the image might be getting lost. Do you edit the images after being stitched?

I found a link that might give you an idea of what may be going missing - http://www.360panoramas.co.uk/photospheres/

I'm using Autopano Giga for stitching and finishing of with Photoshop. What are you using for the stitcher?

G Davidson Posted at 2016-12-29 16:03
Unfortunately the link's not opening on my iPad but I'll try it from my PC in the morning for you. Another thing that might be happening is that the XMP data the stitcher inserts into the image might be getting lost. Do you edit the images after being stitched?

I found a link that might give you an idea of what may be going missing - http://www.360panoramas.co.uk/photospheres/

Thanks for the info. I am using the same... Auto Pano and then Photoshop to adjust aspect ratio to 2:1.

Adam Flurk Posted at 2016-12-29 20:26
Thanks for the info. I am using the same... Auto Pano and then Photoshop to adjust aspect ratio to 2:1.

Ahh, I don't crop or alter the aspect ratio once the image is in Photoshop. I will rescale the image in Photoshop and may clone out some unwanted lens flares, add watermark.

Is the image that you import into Photoshop from Autopano in exactly a 2:1 ratio?

It would  be worth trying out the template XMP method mentioned on http://www.360panoramas.co.uk/photospheres/ to see if that fixes up the image in a way Google Maps is happy with. Let me know how you get on.

Adam Flurk Posted at 2016-12-29 20:26
Thanks for the info. I am using the same... Auto Pano and then Photoshop to adjust aspect ratio to 2:1.

I had a look at your image on Google Maps and can see something that might be causing issues (the horizon, although wavy, is not centred half way up the image) - I suspect APG is not actually rendering a full 360 x 180.
It's important that APG renders a full 360 x 180 even if the sky is not there. You can force APG to render a full 360 x 180 by clicking on its crop tool and then "Full sphere (360 x 180)" and then the green tick (see attached screenshot). This should result in APG embedding the correct XMP data in the output image for you to then add the sky in PS.
However, I have heard reports of PS messing up the XMP data so the XMP template trick in that other link I mentioned earlier may still be of use

Adam Flurk Posted at 2016-12-29 15:51
Yeah, for some reason this photo does not show up in 360. Stitch is not perfect by any means but it is in 2:1 aspect ratio. Just put this up so you can see: https://goo.gl/maps/e7w1GrVjMfT2

Are you sure your pano is 'spherical' with a vertical field of view approaching 180°?

The circular pano symbol is missing on your thumbnail in Google so it will only display as a photo. Your final image must include the 'equirectangular' EXIF data before it will display as a Google Photosphere. I don't know if AutoPG inserts it for you, but Photoshop doesn't.
Please check your image in Photoshop (File >> File-Info >> 'Raw Data') and look for these lines:
<GPanorojectionType>equirectangular</GPanorojectionType>
<GPano:UsePanoramaViewer>True</GPano:UsePanoramaViewer>

If they are missing, add them as described on the link you were sent by G Davidson. DO NOT 'Export' or 'Save for Web' as you will lose it again. Choose only 'Save' or 'Save as'.

G Davidson Posted at 2016-12-30 02:19
I had a look at your image on Google Maps and can see something that might be causing issues (the horizon, although wavy, is not centred half way up the image) - I suspect APG is not actually rendering a full 360 x 180.
It's important that APG renders a full 360 x 180 even if the sky is not there. You can force APG to render a full 360 x 180 by clicking on its crop tool and then "Full sphere (360 x 180)" and then the green tick (see attached screenshot). This should result in APG embedding the correct XMP data in the output image for you to then add the sky in PS.
However, I have heard reports of PS messing up the XMP data so the XMP template trick in that other link I mentioned earlier may still be of use

Thank you sooo much. That totally fixed it with Google Maps! Now it is working properly. Now I just need to learn how to correct the rough stitches! https://goo.gl/maps/q8b6sTkseHU2

Adam Flurk Posted at 2016-12-30 11:27
Thank you sooo much. That totally fixed it with Google Maps! Now it is working properly. Now I just need to learn how to correct the rough stitches!  https://goo.gl/maps/q8b6sTkseHU2

Excellent - glad to see that worked

Looking at the stitching issues, I suspect the drone moved sufficiently between shots to cause parallax errors. To my eye, I think changes in height was the biggest contributor.  The key to good stitching is to keep the drone in a fixed position as best as possible.  
Another tip is to delete any control points APG may have placed in the clouds - these will generally cause errors in stitching as the stitcher tries to match up the moving sky against a static landscape.  Stitching errors in clouds are less noticeable than errors in the landscape

Beautiful good job

G Davidson Posted at 2016-12-30 12:02
Excellent - glad to see that worked

Looking at the stitching issues, I suspect the drone moved sufficiently between shots to cause parallax errors. To my eye, I think changes in height was the biggest contributor.  The key to good stitching is to keep the drone in a fixed position as best as possible.  

Thanks for the help. Yeah, it was a bit windy on that day. I used Drone Pan to take the photos and it was getting blown around a bit.

hallmark007 Posted at 2016-12-30 12:45
Beautiful good job

Thank you

What 360 cameras are u using? What mounts?
Looking to get one just seeing what the easiest it use with the best quality

fansda83456e Posted at 2016-12-30 21:34
What 360 cameras are u using? What mounts?
Looking to get one just seeing what the easiest it use with the best quality

I'm just using a Phantom 4 with its own camera and manually shooting a series of images to make a ground hemisphere. As the drone can't see up, I shoot a sky hemisphere with a DSLR from a clear area on the ground. The two separate hemispheres are then merged together to make a full 360 by 180.

As you can see, it works out not too bad but it is laborious. I would love to have a bit more resolution and dynamic range and am sitting on the fence waiting to see if P4 Pro would be the way to go.

Very nice, love the exposure and crisp DoF

rodger Posted at 2016-12-31 06:41
Very nice, love the exposure and crisp DoF

Thank you Rodger! I was hoping to get out some more during the festive season but the weather has not been kind. At least we are past the shortest day in the UK and will soon be getting more than 7 hours of daylight

G Davidson Posted at 2016-12-31 07:46
Thank you Rodger! I was hoping to get out some more during the festive season but the weather has not been kind. At least we are past the shortest day in the UK and will soon be getting more than 7 hours of daylight

The days will be getting longer in the US as well. We go from warm to freezing, dry to moist. Winter time is a good time for study of your favorites. Your exposure was spot on.

rodger Posted at 2017-1-1 07:04
The days will be getting longer in the US as well. We go from warm to freezing, dry to moist. Winter time is a good time for study of your favorites. Your exposure was spot on.

The climate in the UK is certainly not what it used to be - I seem to recall frosts and snow in winter were much more common. It's like an extended autumn these days; a cold dampness and not much frost!

G Davidson Posted at 2017-1-1 07:46
The climate in the UK is certainly not what it used to be - I seem to recall frosts and snow in winter were much more common. It's like an extended autumn these days; a cold dampness and not much frost!

I guess it is the global warming issue. When I was very young a very long time ago we always built igloos at my grandfathers Christmas Eve. No snow at all now.

rodger Posted at 2017-1-2 06:15
I guess it is the global warming issue. When I was very young a very long time ago we always built igloos at my grandfathers Christmas Eve. No snow at all now.

Indeed - I seem to recall many happy years of sledging and snow days. Looking back through my 14 years of photos only a few years have snow in them. I wish the seasons were more distinct like they used to be

Nice!Good Job!