This is bull. It's bad enough this software is expensive as it is and now it is telling me i can not use only two images. I have the DS version, double stitch which allows you to stitch just two fisheye shots, right or am i just that clueless.
 

Have you registered the software? If you haven't you can't stitch 2 x images.

I activated stitcher with the serial number, is that the same thing?

Yes it is. If you re-start you will have the ability to stitch 2 x images if they have greater than 180 degs coverage.

Odd, that is what i did and still the same message comes up. I am using the Nikon FC-E8 Fisheye which i know is compatible with Stitcher.

Well, i tried it again and the same message.        

What message are you getting?

http://www.UploadYourImages.com/view/750092what.jpg

What version are you using? Select HELP - ABOUT STITCHER. You should be using Version 5.5.2 Build 18520.

(5.5.1 18382) I am downloading the update right now. Hopefully this will fix my dilemma.

This is just dandy, i installed the latest update and the exact same message.

Can you upload the images somewhere I can take a look at them? The software is working fine with 2 x fisheye 360 images. The issue has to be either with your images or the software config files on your machine. Also, have you contact REALVIZ support about this? They are normally quick to respond.

Sure, i will do that later today after i get some other errons done, thank you.

Did you get my two fisheye photos?

Yes I did. These were taken with a Canon Powershot A520, correct? So tell me, what lens did you use? Because you have two problems.

1. The lens is I'm guessing a Raynox. This doesn't work with REALVIZ Stitcher.
2. The rotator isn't positioning the camera so the point of rotation is over the nodal point of the lens.

Can you give me details about what lens and what type of rotator you used and I can give you specific advice.
 
Just to clarify, the ONLY fisheye lens converters that are compatible with REALVIZ Stitcher DS are the Nikon FC-E8 and the FC-E9.

Yes, they were taken with the Canon Powershot A520.
 
The lens i am using is a Nikon FC-E8.
 
It was probably the Tripod i was using, it's cheepie tripod with a basic rotator so i guess that may very well be my problem. I am looking into getting a better tripod and getting a nice panoramic rotating mount, something like the Nodal Ninja probably.

Nodal Ninja says their rotator doen't work with the FC-E8 and E9 lenses.  
The problem is the bottom of the lens is usually lower than the botom of the camera, at least on the Coolpix Cameras.  
Agnos.com makes a rotator for just a little more money than the Nodal Ninja that is specifically for the FC-E8 and you won't have to figure out the adjustment to get the nodal point in the right position as its built into the design of the rotator
Doug Aurand

Your kidding me. It's always something.  
 
Which one do i need because i can not see it there?

Also i plan on buying the Canon Rebel XTi 10 Megapixel and i want to mount my Nikon Lens onto it. I wonder if that would still be a problem with my FC-E8. Also i read the FAQ and they only mention the FC-E9 not being able to fit.

Any ideas because i am at a loss right now. That site is not exactly set up in a ideal manner.

How are you going to connect the back of the Nikon FC-E8 to the front of your Canon Rebel XTi?

Probably with a couple of step down rings and a adapter mount.  
 
Also i had my FC-E8 attached to my current Canon A520 and it is barely below the overall height of that camera's size and since the Canon Rebel i am looking into is a much larger camera i do not see how my lens is going to be a problem using the Nodal Ninja but perhaps i am still not understanding this.

Not clear to me that everyone here understands that the Nikon FC-E8 and 9 are NOT lenses, but adpaters. By themselves they do not have an aperture. They need to be attached to a lens. So if you want to use one of these on a SLR, your really talking about attaching it to a lens. The lens you choose is the most important thing here.  
 
But with all that, I would suggest that attaching a Nikon adapter to a SLR lense is more of an art project that a day to day tool for real work. If your going to step up to a SLR, get a real fisheye like the Sigma 8 or Nikon 10.5 or Tokina 10-17 or....
 
Good Luck
 
Robert

It is still a type of lens, yes, Lens Adapter. I know.
 
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Photographic_lens
 
You can attach a lens to a lens with a Lens Mount Adapter and Step-up/Step-down Ring Adapters.
 
The Nikon FC-E8 is real Fisheye Lens. How is it not?
 
The Sigma is over 600$. If i could afford that then i could afford a 3000$ SLR but the fact is i can not.
 
The Nikon is almost 600$
 
The Tokina 10-17 is almost 600$
 
The Nikon FC-E8/E9 was made for Stitcher as well. It does what i need it to do. What i need is the right Tripod Rotator which i am still uncertain of which one one i am in need of since apparently the Nodal Ninja will not work with the EC-F8.
 
I am aware that all Lenses have an aperture that emits light through to reach the film (35mm) or image sensor (Digital).
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aperture

Allen,  
 
The Nikon FC-E8 is a fine adapter, but it needs to be attached to a full lens to be functional in any real way. An adapter has no focus control, or adjustable aperature. This is why an adapter is not a "real" lens, at least in most photographer terms. If you want to call it a real lens, by all means go ahead, you could also call a coke bottle a real lens by that definition.
 
As I noted, you'll have to attach it to a lens if you want to use it, and yes this is the expected approach and not hard at all to do if you can find the right step rings. Assuming you get your Canon Xti with the kit lens, you'll need a 58mm to 28mm step down ring or some combination that gets you there.  
 
And if you get all that, you'll now have to see if it can be put in focus and just how big the image circle is. Since the Nikon adapters were meant to be used on P&S type digital cameras with tiny sensors it's not clear to me at least how the .21x factor will work on a SLR.
 
And if your willing to try this, I would also recomend you get the NN3 as it could work with the T-Adapter on a setup like this since no one really knows as all of the references to the Nikon FC-E8 do NOT assume it's being attached to an SLR, but a Nikon P&S.
 
The same is true for Stitcher, etc. There is not going to be any info in the image file that a Nikon FC-E8 was used. It's optical properies will be impacted by the lens it's attached to, so it may not stitch well anyway.
 
Good Luck, perhaps it will work for you if go down this path.
 
Robert

I understand now what you are saying. This to me seems like more of a hassle then i realized.  
 
Since i can not afford to get into the SLR arena with the proper lens i suppose i might have to find a decent Canon Non-SLR 10mega-pixel if there are any.

Hi Allen,
 
I would not worry or focus so much on the megapixels, in many ways the point and shoot cameras like the nikon coolpix line are at their peek  quality in the 5-7 megapixel range. As the camera vendors added more megapixels to the same sensor size, they increased the noise level and lack of contrast amoung other things. It's just simple laws of physic, trying to cramm too many tiny sensors into the same space.  
 
One of the best cameras to use the Nikon FC-E8 with is probably the Nikon 5400. You can produce very good results with this combo if your shooting for typical real esate sized virtual tours.  
 
I used a Nikon 8400 (8 megapixels) and the FC-E8 for a little while, but was very unhappy with the noise level generated by this combo - I did three shots around.
 
Note, you don't have to use fisheye lenses to produce full 360 by 180 VR's, the kit lense can be used with the NN3, but it takes way too many shots (32 or more per) to be even close to typically be profitable.
 
Regards,
 
Robert

So what you are saying is since the overall size of the image sensor remains the same throughout non-SLR cameras, the more pixels, the more noise. That makes sense but the only problem is that buying the Nikon 5400 having only 5 megapixels is not that much better then my current 4 megapixel Canon Powershot as i fear the images will still look painterly due the lack of image resolution. Another thing that bothers me is the max size for the 5400 is 2592 x 1944. For my work i need no less then 3200 by 1600 Pixels in resolution.
 
I was given that Nikon FC-E8 for free. I really want to use it and sense it covers 185 degrees it is exactly what i need for overlapping my shots in Stitcher.

Hi Allen,
 
Yes, the sensors are pretty much the same size, you can see the exact sizes on review sites like DPreview.  
 
I'm guessing your requirement of 3200 by 1600 pixels is for a final equarectangular image? Not sure if the 5400 and FC-E8 would produce that. Perhaps someone that has that combo could help.  
 
Also, note the coverage of the FC-E8 will vary based on the camera it's attached to.  185 degrees is it's extreme limit, on most Nikon's it was intended for I thought it only had a FOV of about 183 degrees.
 
Was never an issue for me as I always used it with three or more shots. You could probably zoom even with your current camera and get more detail, but of course more shots.  
 
Good Luck
 
Robert

Yes, i need two 180 degree fish eyes to produce a equarectangular environment map.
 
I might be 183 degrees with my camera i have as well. I wish i knew for certain.
 

Allen
It sounds like your problem has more to do with the Rotator than the lens or camera. If the Nodal Point of the lens isn't positioned over the pivot point of the rotator you'll get "parallax" or won't be able stitch at all. Its like how your left and right eyes have slightly different views when you close one eye, open it and close the other. Try looking through a staircase railing like this and you'll get the idea.  
 
The FC-E8 you have won't work on the Coolpix 5400, it uses the FC-E9, a much better lens converter. I does work on the 4500 which may have been what "panomatic" meant to type.
 
The Agnos "MrotatorA" Mrotator for FC-E8 is 160 Euros on their website Agnos.com or you may find one on eBay once in a while, but they aren't dicounted much. It can do 2 and 3 fisheyes for source images
 
You could try the Nodal Ninja with a spacer under the camera to move the lens clear of the verticle arm, but you'll be in uncharted waters.
 
The Nikon Coolpix 5400 and 8700 that I use with FC-E9 lenses do have some Noise that I reduce with the Noise Reduction in the camera. I use the iPIX Rotators made specifically for each of these combos and they work great.
 
Putting the FC-E8 or E9 on a DSLR is defeating the benefit of the new camera. Its just not as good a lens as the lens you'll be attaching it to.
 
If money is a factor, like it is for me, start with an Agnos rotator and get some practice. Even with the right rotator, virtual imaging isn't a "point & shoot" process. You'll need to shoot hundreds of scenes before you get really good. I do about a 100 four scene real estate virtual tours a year so I get to practice and experiment a lot!
 
Then if you want to move up the food chain, buy a DSLR virtual imaging setup one piece at a time as you can afford it. I'll be ordering a Nodal Ninja soon, then a Canon XTi and finally a Sigma 8mm f3.5. It'll be almost US$2000 to shoot my first scene with it. And it will take at least a hundred scenes to get really good with it too
 
Doug Aurand
Albuquerque, NM

I just had bought the nodal ninja 3 a few days ago. I hope there is a way to still work with what i have but judging by your other post explaining the whole parallax issue i think i am in trouble. Maybe i never should have gotten into photography being that there is way to many expensive complications involved.  

But that's what this forum is all about. If you want to know what equipment to buy, ask here first before buying. You may get a couple of different opinions, but overall you will get the correct information to help you decide what to buy.
 
Everything Doug said above is spot on.

Allen
"Expensive" is a relative term.  
 
I just finished a virtual tour of a US$2.9 million dollar house with spectacular views here in Albuquerque. They decided to have me do a "Custom" 10 scene tour instead of a Real Estate tour. The Custom tour is better quality and includes "Super-Size"images. I'm charging them $1,300 for it.  
 
I shot with a Nikon Coolpix 5400 and the FC-E9. So I'm charging more for one shoot than the camera, lens, rotator and tripod cost, combined. And I've already done almost 60 standard Real Estate tours this year at $110 each.
 
When I move up to the Canon XTi, Sigma 8mm and Nodal Ninja, I'm thinking I can charge closer to US$2000 for 10 scenes of Custom work because of the better image quality. And I'll keep using the Nikon for my Real Estate work because of the simpler shoot process and workflow of a 2 fisheye system
 
But like most business investments, I have to spend the money before I can start seeing a return on it. And I've made some mistakes how I spent it and learned from it
 
You just need to slow down, do some research and take one smart step at a time.
 
Good luck
Doug Aurand
Albuquerque, NM

I think i will be OK with the nodal ninja. After i looked at it more i figured i have two options here.
 
1. I can use a wide angle lens and just take more shots sense the rotator can be seen along the very edge of the fish eye lens. That was unexpected but can be solved. I have the nodal point figured out.
 
2. I can get the Nikon Coolpix Camera the lens was designed for and take the fish eye shots. I priced the Coolpix 5400 at 189$ so i can buy that for now as a temporary means of starting my work until i can later on get into the SLR realm.
 
I have been thinking about getting into Real Estate tours myself as well. I live out in southern california and as many know there are new homes being built everywhere out here so i am in the right area to look into this kind of work.
 
I used to work out in orange county as a electrician working on multi-million dollar custom homes some of which were in the 27 Million Dollar range so there is big money out there and i know what that is all about. I made some nice acquaintances out there and some not so nice but it comes with the territory but that was over a year ago. So when i look back i think getting into Virtual Tours would be a good idea and i had not heard of it until the last few weeks as i learn more and more about the world of photography.
 
Believe me i have been taking it slow. My only means of income at the moment is as a Texture Artist and rendering HDRI Environment Maps and that only makes so much so this is why i became interested in being a photographer.
 
To be honest i am quite ignorant in the world of business investments but i am learning slowly but surely.

Does anyone have any photos of the:
 
Agnos Optical Adaptor for Nikon Lens
 
tacked onto a dSLR?  Mostly out of curiosity at this point, it would be nice to set to rest the quality questions it keeps popping up into the stitcher population.

Also, another interesting point to ask about in this thread....with a digicam (non dslr) that has noise issues, is it possible to work past those by setting the megapixels captured to a lower setting?  Instead of 8mp on the 8700, going down to 5mp or so?  In other words, is it possible to bypass the noise problems by capturing at a lower resolution, or will that just degrade the end result that much further?

Hello Robert,
you quoted "I used a Nikon 8400 (8 megapixels) and the FC-E8 for a little while".
How did you mount the FC-E8 on the Coolpix 8400? With what adapter? UR-E16?
And what Rotator did you use?
Or can anyone else tell? Andrew?
Best regards
Tim

The 8400 would use the FC-E9, "FC-E8" is probably a typo

Does this mean, there is NO WAY to mount the FC-E8 on a 8400?
So the FC-E9 is not just a newer version of the FC-E8, it is actually a DIFFERENT adapter? Some Coolpix work only with one, others only with the other? Right?
Best regards
Tim