I've downloaded the trial version of AutoPano Pro. It seems to do a good job (it's hard to tell with those damn watermarks everywhere!), but I'm disconcerted to find that it locks up when rendering the panorama. I'm using a Mac, OS 10.5, and I get the "spinning pizza of death" while the rendering takes place. Is it really supposed to do this?

Second, what are the pros and cons of AP Pro and PTGui? Is there in reality much to choose between the job they do? I don't see much difference, but again I have watermarks everywhere so it's rather hard to tell.

Thanks

Jeremy

I chose Autopano Pro for its superior GUI. While AP doesn't have some of the more advanced features of PTGUI, it does its job very well and without hassle. There's a new version of AP Pro coming later this year which promises to be a huge step for the program.

The technical question is better answered on the official forums - but are you sure it's not just calculating?

And finally, have you tried the stitching capabilities of CS3? It's reportedly very good.

I also thought the GUI was better than PTGui, until I found that it hung during rendering. I'm pretty sure it's not just calculating, since it hangs for the whole of the rendering process, without any response at all: I can't even move its windows around. Oddly, it seems to go on doing something even after the rendered file has been written: I can open that file in another imaging program (Preview or PS) just fine, but AP Pro carries on doing whatever it's doing for several more minutes.

Yes, I've tried CS3 and it is indeed very good. There are some images, though, that APPro's planar rendering makes look an awful lot better than I can persuade either CS3 or even PTGui to do. It manages to get verticals vertical and to minimise distortion. I'll post an example or two when I'm back at my desktop Mac.

I've put up a question on the AP Pro bug forum and sent an email to the authors, so I'll wait to see what response I get.

Jeremy

In, I think, the rendering window, you can set the priority for the rendering process. Also if you are using smartblend, it takes up a LOT of processing power. When set to high priority, it used to lock up my old computer completely. Nothing would work at all. I've always assumed this to be normal. When I tested the available stitching programs (some two years ago) it was the only one to work well "out of the box". Cheers, David

Also under Edit- Settings- General check you have the correct number of CPUs checked.

I've found APP temperamental on how many images you put into it. Anything less than 100 and it works fine but anymore and the renderer as you have found just freezes. I can still use all my other applications on Mac (unlike PTGui).

The advantages I've found with Autopano Pro are that you load RAW files into it and it tends to cope with more complex subjects a little better than PTGui but with the latest version of PTGui I don't tend to use APP anymore.

Autopano is great, for most pano's but it does not do all well, I would or I do use, PTGuiPro and AutopanoPro, and believe it or not Photoshop to do pano's with.

Autopano has a great feature IMHO that checks a folder for pano's and then puts them together, or at least try to. I did one yesterday, well over the last few days, 180 images, or 160megapixel image, Autopano did a nice job, but PTGui did a better job. Granted I use a Panohead with an indent rotator, so I have reasonable overlab on my images.

Autopano is a great way to get into panorama making, but PTGui is probably better...when things gets hairy.

good luck and have fun

Henrik

PS: obviously heavily down sized...original is about 22000x7600 pixels