GigaPan EPIC Pro - Manual (Page 22)

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2.8 Set manual focus or autofocus
Focus is very important when capturing panoramas with the EPIC Pro. By paying close attention
to the focus both before and during shooting, you can create panoramas wih ulta high resolition
and incredible clarity in their detail. By not paying close attention to focus, the amount of time
and effort spent capturing a large 1000 photograph panorama may not generate as good of
results as the same panorama using a shorter focal length and 400 photographs.
Manual Focus
Consistent Focus
The use of manual focus to capture a panorama reduces the risk of missing photos, inconsistent
focus, or complete lack of focus. When you choose to use manual focus, you are assured that the
focus will remain consistent over all areas of the panorama. You will also not need to be so con-
cerned about missing an image in a large panorama. Consult a depth of field table to become
familiar with the distances which will have an acceptable sharpness.
Maximize Depth of Field
Depth of field is a function of
1. Aperture - diameter of diaphragm opening. Decreasing the diameter will increase the DOF.
Increasing the aperture value too much, such as f/22 versus f/8 through f/16 will result in dimin-
ishing returns in sharpness due to diffraction losses.
2. Focal length - distance from image sensor plane to principle point. Decreasing the focal
length will increase the DOF.
3. Distance to subject - increasing the distance to the closest point that needs to be acceptably
sharp increases the DOF.
4. Size of image sensor { full frame, partial frame, point and shoot } A smaller size sensor will
increase the DOF.
5. Circle of confusion - diameter of circle considered to be one point. This is not a camera
setting, but a definition of what is considered to be sharp. You need to pay attention to this
value so that you do not misinterpret the depth of field. When the circle of confusion diameter
is increased ( what is considered to be one point ) the standard for what is is considered to be
acceptably sharp decreases.
Plan your Panorama
If you have time to plan the capture of a panorama, the measuring tool on Google Earth allows
you to measure the potential distances involved. Google Earth also has a tool for visualizing
the lighting conditions with respect to the time of day and the date.