As a photographer for over 20 years I have bought more cameras than I can possibly count. When digital first became popular I switched vendors a number of times, requiring a reinvestment in lenses and accessories. I am trying to avoid that with my pursuit of spatial photography. I have unique requirements that are not met by the current VR cameras, and I don’t see that changing anytime soon. For these reasons I have been using a DIY rig to shoot spatial photos, and I feel any serious photographer can take my techniques and start making spatial content right away.
Background
GoPro Jump Camera
Rotating Platform Rig
I first heard of this camera technique described as a twisted panorama. I wish I could find the paper that explained it like this, but it was that “Ah ha” moment where I immediately realized what was possible. The early GoPro Jump camera and the Insta360 Pro use this principle to create stereo. Instead of multiple cameras we simply move a single camera along a circle and take a photo at each position. Post processing is the same as if we had shot with many cameras, in fact it is easier because there is no variation in the lens distortion parameters.
Current Setup
My current setup uses a simple lasercut plywood rotating base along with a Panasonic Lumix G9ii to create my images. The platform is easy to throw in my backpack, lightweight, and can take a beating. Shooting may get you strange looks from those passing by, but it can be a conversation starter.
Equipment
For those that don’t want to make something themselves, a slight modification of standard Amazon parts will get you going. First, a good right angle bracket like this one from Really Right Stuff. Second, a panoramic head with detents like this one. Also a means to move the camera forward of the rotation point. This last point is important, most pano heads allow the alignment of the lens no-parallax point to the rotation point of the tripod head. In this case we want the camera offset from the no-parallax point, parallax is what allows us to add stereo which is the whole point!
Post Processing
I process my photos using PTGui and Blackmagic Fusion with Kartaverse plugin. I will post a separate page going in to the workflow here.
