How can I stitch a multi-camera 360 panorama when the top and bottom rows have too few features to align horizontally?

Question

I’m building a 360 panorama from four identical cameras mounted vertically on a rotating tripod head, giving about 180° vertical coverage. The four cameras are fixed relative to each other, so I can make a Hugin template that stitches them vertically for a single direction.

The problem is the rotating motor is not perfectly accurate, so I can’t rely on a fixed horizontal template for every step. I can usually stitch the middle images horizontally, but the cameras aimed toward the floor and ceiling often fail because those areas are too featureless.

Can I use the successful horizontal alignment from the middle cameras to determine the pan angles for each rotation step, apply those values to the other rows, and then use my vertical template to complete the panorama?

user37321 · Answer

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.

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.

How can I stitch a multi-camera 360 panorama when the top and bottom rows have too few features to align horizontally?

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