Average Reviews:
(More customer reviews)As a panoramic (or virtual tour) photographer myself, I was hopeful about this book. It's bound well with lots of glossy photos and an easy-to-read layout. It is the only book (that I know of) dealing with the growing area of 360 degree or virtual tour photography. That in and of itself deserves some credibility.
The author gives lots of step-by-step photos, showing the different camera brackets and tripod heads needed, and covers the various techniques for shooting in-line or full cylindrical virtual tours. There are even a few sidebars with comments from other virtual tour photographers or company owners. The coverage and explanation of parallax errors is done well.
I wish there had been more of an explanation as far as the different software types, the pros and cons of each, expenses involved, etc., although there is a nice section on how to polish up finished images, and what to do to get a good exposure when the room & light you're in prohibits it.
Shooting these types of tours with a fisheye isn't really covered, and even though it's not the most popular way to create a panoramic or 360 degree tour right now, neither is the egg-type of 1-shot method the book does go into detail with.
If you're looking for a book on 360 degree imaging, I suggest this book. The website references and up-close equipment shots, and diagrams of stitching methods is very good. It's not a coffee table book full of breathtaking panoramics, so don't buy it if you're looking for that. (Although there are a few nice landscapes.)It's not the be-all of 360 degree imaging, but it's a great start.
Click Here to see more reviews about: 360 Degree Imaging: The Photographer's Panoramic Virtual Reality Manual (Photography on the Web)
Photographic based virtual reality is fast becoming one of the most exciting areas of the digital imaging world. No helmets, no gloves; no longer even an interactive panorama tool, the new techniques create fully immersive experiences where the viewer can look up and down as well as sideways whilst playing with virtual objects. This book provides a visual introduction that is both easy to read and understand. The ideas and techniques draw on those used by industry professionals and are presented in a step-by-step form, allowing readers to gradually develop VR skills. Practice images and demonstration versions of the software used in the book can be downloaded from the companion website.
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