Best Stitching Software for LF Panos with huge files?

[tbirke]

Hi,

I have a serious problem stitching my 8x10 scans. I currently try with Photomerge (CS5) and Autopano Giga - I mostly need only 2 or 3 images that I want to blend. The problems are:
- File Size and Speed
when I try to blend some 300MPix Scans, I have to wait big time

- The stitching accuracy
This nags me the most - all the tools I tried seem to be optimized for many small Images, not 2 or 3 large ones - I constantly get distorted horizons, stitching errors and bent buildings

What tool do you suggest? If it is one of the above, what can I do to tune the settings? Since there are no Exif Data on scans, what focal length equivalent should I use? The diagonal, the horizontal or the vertical to 35mm?

Any pointers to tutorials would be helpful as well.

Does anyone have successful examples of stitches and can tell how he did it?

[Donald Miller]

Check out Kolor. They have a couple of stitching applications (Autopano Pro and Autopano Giga). I personally use Autopano pro. Their software should handle your file sizes with no problem since they routinely stitch much more complex images and file sizes. They also have a forum and excellent support. While this software is normally used for gigapixel panoramics I don't see where you would have any problems for your intended use.

http://www.autopano.net/en/

[Walter Calahan]

How much horse power do you have running Photoshop CS5? You need a fast processor and LOTS of RAM memory.

I'd suggest turning off any "Auto Merge" stitching in Photoshop, and use "Collage" or "Reposition."

Sometimes it is better to blend multiple images the old fashion way when Photoshop did not have the tools to do the job automatically.

Good luck.