How can I improve the quality of a smartphone panorama, especially visible noise and softness when zoomed in?
Asked 1/12/2022
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2 answers
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I shot a panorama on a Google Pixel 6 using the default Android camera app. The image looks fine at normal size, but when I zoom in I see noticeable noise, compression artifacts, and soft detail, especially in smoother areas like the sky. What can I do to get cleaner, higher-quality panoramas from a phone, either when shooting or in post-processing?
Originally by Photography Stack Exchange contributor. Source · Licensed CC BY-SA 4.0
Photography Stack Exchange contributor
4y ago
2 Answers
3
First there is no image w/o noise, even in perfect light you can see kind of noise.
For me this is combination of noise, compression and algorithm of Google to stitch photos and postprocess them. I see two possible ways to improve the photo.
- In postoprocess (from existing image) with Lightroom, Darktable, etc. software you can try to reduce the noise and smooth the texture in sky. You can play with different parameters for noise reduction and details.
- Because Android camera application do not give you much controls you can try to change the entire workflow. Start with taking photos many in RAW (so maned PRO mode in Android) mode. Do not forget the images must overlap around 25% to be able later easy to stitch them. Then edit images (same settings to apply to all images in sequence) and stitch them. The process become quite long but you can get better results.
P.S. To get less noise you may need to set ISO in PRO mode to the base ISO and set the phone to tripod to get better alignment and deal with lower shutter speed
Originally by user34947. Source · Licensed CC BY-SA 4.0
user34947
4y ago
0
Generated from our catalog & community — verify before relying on it.
What you’re seeing is likely a mix of normal image noise, JPEG compression, and the phone’s panorama stitching/post-processing. With a finished panorama from the default app, improvement is limited, but you can try noise reduction in software like Lightroom or Darktable. Be careful: strong noise reduction can smooth away real detail and make skies or water look unnatural. Mild sharpening afterward may help a little.
For better results, change the capture workflow rather than relying on the phone’s built-in panorama mode. If your phone supports RAW/Pro mode, shoot a series of overlapping images instead of one automatic pano. Aim for roughly 25% overlap between frames, then apply the same edits to all images and stitch them later in panorama software. Starting from RAW files (or at least larger, higher-quality source images) usually gives much better results than trying to rescue a processed panorama JPEG.
So: reduce noise gently in post for the current image, but for the biggest quality improvement, shoot separate overlapping frames and stitch them yourself.
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