Stitching multiple camera panoramas

Question

I have 4 identical cameras orientated on a tripod covering a 180 degree vertical field of view. The setup revolves using a motor and I want to create a 360 degree panorama.

Vertically, there is very little overlap so I create a stitch template using Hugin to stitch the 4 cameras vertically for 1 direction. This is fine as their positions are fixed.

However, there is error in the motor so I can't do a template horizontally. I can stitch my cameras close to the centre horizontally, but the lenses pointing to the floor and ceiling fail to stitch due to featureless surfaces.

Is there a way I can use the horizontal stitch of the middle cameras to stitch each row of the panorama. Then stitch them vertically using my template?

Answer 1

Ouch. I would say the main purpose of a motorized head is to have accurate turns and angles.

This is a partial answer. But I hope it helps.

My approach would be typing (or modifying) the numeric values of the pan of the images.

On advanced view on Photos tab, double click on an image and edit the values.

I would start with a Pre-template, with only the middle row of photos, lets say a row of 8 photos.

Play from there to find the proper pan angle, and then use that value to edit the main template.

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One thing I do sometimes is to put a small pice of good quality electrical tape, inclusive of different colours mainly on the floor or big plain walls, to have some basic references. They are easy to remove and do not leave glue traces.