What photo accessories to use to make a virtual tour?

When I try to create virtual tours, I realized I used very few accessories in the end. Here are the reasons why...

Spherical shooting and use of a fisheye are so binding that very few accessories can be used during the shooting. Here's why according to me. It is only in the case of shooting telescopic pole that I see an indispensable. Here's why in my opinion.

Remote shutter release

In order to avoid any camera shake, it is tempting, even natural, to consider using a remote shutter release. Any photographer working on a tripod most often has this accessory in his photo bag. But the fisheye shooting, and above all of a full sphere, has its own restrictions and it is essential to avoid a cable or a strap entering the shooting field when releasing the shutter. Now, what is the best solution in case of shooting 360 °, what is more when it is realized at the top of a telescopic mast? Should I use a remote control? If so, a wired or wireless remote? Wireless infrared, radio or Wifi? Let's see that now ...

Specificity of the 360° photo

Shooting fisheye and moreover a complete sphere has its own constraints and it is essential to prevent a wire, a thong, enters the field of shooting at the moment of release. The wired remote control does not seem the most appropriate. What is the best method?

My recommendation! With a fisheye lens, the field of view is really very wide and it's quite usual to see your feet on the photos, but also the cable of a remote control! So prefer wireless remote controls or even just the self-timer positioned on 2 seconds. It is completely enough, especially when it's paired to the raise of the mirror.

However, in some situations it is essential to use a remote control: tripod in height for example, very long exposure time (over 30 seconds), shooting with a teleobjective lens or even amateur body with no mirror raising nor self-timer. It can thus be under the form of a soft shutter release, a wired remote control or even an infrared or radio wireless remote control. It is even directly built-in motorized panoramic heads to make gigapixel panoramas. In the field, I prefer wired or radio remote controls because they always word, whatever the sunlight.

In addition, if you opt for another point of view, for example the telescopic pole, it will be essential to use a remote control but we guess that it can not be wired! What solutions are available to us and what is the most relevant?

What type of wireless remote control to choose?

The categories of wireless remote controls are three in number:

• Infrared remotes
• Radio remote controls
• Wifi remotes

1 - Infrared remotes - They are very cheap but have two major flaws: they do not carry very far and especially are very sensitive to sunshine. Forget about good weather outdoors because they just do not work!

2 - Radio remotes - At least, these are obviously the ones to choose because they work up to 150 m and are not sensitive to sunshine by definition. In addition, they are cheap.

3 - Wifi remotes - There are more and more cases that have a built-in Wifi module or that can be added easily. Then just download the app on your favorite smartphone and you will not only have a remote insensitive to sunshine on sunny days, like a radio remote control, but in addition you can have a video back Liveview, almost essential when you use a pole.

My recommendation! Infrared remote controls are cheap but don't work well in the sun.

Radio wireless remotes

	Kaavie remote control RW-221 $19.99

My opinion on Kaavie remote control RW-221

This radio remote control has a range of 100m and can function on 16 channels. Caution when you place your order: the connecting cable is contingent on your camera body.

• Radio up to 100m;
• AAA batteries;
• Several shooting modes;
• For Canon and Nikon cameras.

The reliability seems satisfying and the manufacturing quality doesn't look too Made in China. I adopted it.

Wifi remote

	Xsories Weye Feye $79.99

Weye Feye Xsories Wifi Remote Control

This WiFi transmitter displays on your Apple or Android smartphone the soft copy from your camera body and allows you to take control remotely to a certain extent (Focusing, White Balance, ISO, etc.).

• Wifi up to 80m;
• Remote focusing wherever you want;
• Remote control of the camera body;
• Compatible with numerous cameras; check the compatibility with your body.
• Rechargeable batteries.

Compatible with iOS and Android but still $100...

	Nikon WU-1a $39.00

Transmetteur Wifi Nikon WU-1a

This Wi-Fi transmitter sends back to your Apple or Android smartphone (via the Nikon WMU app) the Liveview image of your camera and allows you to take remote control to a certain extent (Focus, WB, Sensitivity, triggering , etc.). I adopted it for my D7100 camera.

• Wifi up to 15 m;
• Remote focusing where you want;
• Remote control of the camera;
• For many Nikon cameras; Check compatibility with your case.
• Very light (less than 10 grs) and compact,
• Without battery.

Photo filters

There's no contraindication a priori to use filters during the shooting, except for polarizing ones, however there are technical restrictions because of fisheye lenses. Indeed, the field of view shot is most often so wide that there could be a big difference between the two edges of a Stitchd photo. The maximum effect of such a filter is in the part of the sky at an angle of 90° with the sun, it will give the impression that you used a filter in certain parts and not in others. Try it and you'll see it!
It's true that with digital cameras and their color rendering possibilities, sometimes wide, the use of filters during the shooting is disappearing. In the end, a grey shelf neutral filter(Lee Filters for example), anti-UV in the mountain, or any specific filter can form part of the equipment of a panoramic photographer using the stitching method. With a fisheye lens, you'll seldom use a filter because the field of view shot is so wide that it would hide part of the photo. Besides, there's no screw in the front part of the lens - My opinion about several filters

My recommendation! Don't use polarizing filters, at least not to shoot the sky because the field of view shot is too wide. You'd rather use a grey shelf filters like Lee Filters, except for Fisheye lenses of course.

Flash

As always in panoramic photography via image stitching, the sinews of war is the quality of the covering zone between two consecutive images. They have to be as similar as possible. And flashes can create very pronounced drop shadows and above all different from one photo to another. So if the flash offers the possibility to be directed towards the ceiling - hence inside - the flash won't cause drop shadows that could lower the quality of the final stitching. It's thus completely possible to use it. Outside, during the day, it could as well be used to clear a shadow. Maybe then would it be interesting to ensure that the cleared part of the picture isn't in a stitching zone, and not to move the flash between two shots.
A good solution would then be not to place your flash in the hotshoe, but to hold it in your hand and always turn it in the same direction when you're shooting a given zone. Today, more and more systems function wirelessly and with several flashes. Very handy! Apart from that, you'll be confronted outside to the standard issues coming with the use of a flash, that is its maximum range. With a fisheye lens, you'll direct your flash towards the wall behind you for each photo, in order to make sure not to generate problematic shadows.

In the next page, we'll talk about tripods and poles

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