Going through my old hard drives has been very rewarding. I’ve found ancient software that has become useful again and is still developed. Both Arcsoft and PTGui make software that stitches photographs together to create panoramic images or spherical displays (if you’re more advanced). Using panorama software is a great way to capture wide or tall vistas on vacation and, unlike internal software cameras have, both these stitching softwares finish the job for you. There are differences though.

The Arcsoft Panorama Maker 3 doesn’t know to NOT repeat artifacts from the series of images. So as you shoot pictures, you have to work hard to place the edge of one photograph against the edge of the next photograph. As you see in this image, ONE hurricane lamp rusting in the garden became TWO hurricane lamps rusting in the garden. One is bad enough. The ease of the interface for Arcsoft’s Panorama Maker do make novice users have a good time. The drawback to the stitching method means that all panoramas created should be of subjects at a great distance where the blending won’t reveal close objects doubling up like this.

Arcsoft’s interface is devoid of many control buttons with words. Graphics and “Next” are about all you have to do. If your images aren’t in the order they’re supposed to be in, look at the right side of the image above… I went back to shoot three pictures of the ‘beginning’ of the garden. Arcsoft disregarded this recognition and just stuck those pictures in the wrong place. The result is rather, Alice in Wonderland -ish.

More confident computer users will go bananas for PTGui which is now in version 8. The version used above was from 2005 and is so damn smart and offers controls beyond what I wish to control that it’s mind blowing. Consider all that your desktop or laptop has to do to identify a horizon, recognize repeating artifacts, like the hurricane lamp rusting in the garden (of which there are now, correctly rendered, ONLY ONE). And what’s even more amazing about PTGui is that the FREE version’s limitations would only bother the graphic artists at a 3D Hollywood studio:

PTGui comes in two versions: PTGui and PTGui Pro. The main difference between the two versions is support for HDR stitching, viewpoint correction and vignetting, exposure and white balance correction in PTGui Pro. The table below shows a detailed list of features: LINK

I’ll gush for a moment. PTGui can give you so much control over the creation of the panorama that one result could find you taking an entire day. Control points and rotating and blending options and projection parameters all get so messy that it’s downright scarey. The good news is, despite a dog-ugly interface, the buttons you need to do the next thing are clear and present for all to see. Control over the final size of the image is absolutely in your hands.

For panorama stitching software that puts photographs together for 360 degree views, wide and tall vistas, spherical environments or just cool pictures, PTGui is so far ahead of everything else it’s a wonder Adobe hasn’t purchased them for $750,000,000 bucks. PTGui found the three pictures (in red below) that I snapped out of order and, like facial recognition software, placed them where they belonged without asking me or needing me to do a single thing (as seen pictured at left). PTGui will do most everything for you except carry your tripod.

Both panorama softwares work best if you shoot with a tripod or resting the camera to maintain a center to the lens. Both are capable of breath-taking results. Arcsoft is mostly for the brain dead or terrified computer user. PTGui is for users with more cajones, if you will.