Cornerfix profiles for ultra wide Voigtlaender lenses on Sony NEX-5 and NEX-7

In a previous article I already described how to post-process images which were taken with ultra wide legacy lenses on a Sony NEX in order to eliminate the magenta cast in the corners. I use the free software cornerfix (which is available for Mac and PC).

In order to get the best results, you should create your own lens profiles. Therefore you can follow these instructions. I recommend a flat field reference file which is based on a picture through a matted glass panel.

But as you may not have such a glass panel at hands you can also download one of my profiles and give it a try.

If the profiles work for you, then please leave a comment or send a note.

Wireless remote control and panorama setup for Sony NEX-7

Markus already wrote two articles about controlling the NEX-5 with a wireless remote control. The first article presented the code and the schematics. In the second article he wrote about the final ‘product’, a boxed version of his Arduino.

Inspired by his design I tried to reduce the size. Therefore I didn’t implement the infrared receiver part and I also used a Arduino Nano instead of a regular Arduino. And I also used a smaller radio receiver. I finally had these components.

Radio transmitter, opened controller-box, trigger
Radio transmitter, opened controller-box, trigger
Radio transmitter, opened controller-box, trigger
Radio transmitter, opened controller-box, trigger

The next image shows a detailed view of the guts inside the box. With all the connecting cables and the two circuit boards there is not much space left.

Arduino Nano, radio receiver, cables
Arduino Nano, radio receiver, cables

The next images are showing the final setup. The trigger is attached to the camera. The controler box is connected to the trigger. The radio transmitter is ready to fire.

Sony NEX-7 with attached trigger, controller box, radio transmitter
Sony NEX-7 with attached trigger, controller box, radio transmitter
Sony NEX-7 with attached trigger, controller box, radio transmitter
Sony NEX-7 with attached trigger, controller box, radio transmitter

The following image shows a detail of the mounted trigger on the Sony NEX-7. I used some florist wire to attach the circuit board to the connector of the hand strap. On the other side the circuit board is glued to an hotshoe adapter which connects to the hotshoe of the camera.

Sony NEX-7 with attached trigger (detail)
Sony NEX-7 with attached trigger (detail)

And finally some images of the complete panorama setup, including a custom made lens bracket (in fact it’s a simple pipe clamp from the hardware store), a Novoflex Alpha- to E-Mount adapter and a Sigma 8mm/4.0 fisheye. For panoramic photography this setup is used on top of a double-monopod construction.

The weigtht of the shown setup is 1145 g (2 lb 8 oz). My old setup (Sony Alpha 900 with shaved Sigma 10mm/2.8) has 1710 g (3 lb 12 oz). In both cases this includes camera, lens, adapter, bracket, trigger, controller box, batteries and memory card.

Both setups delivers equirectangulars with the same size (10.000 x 5.000) and with both setups I shoot 4 around and mostly no up and no down shot.

Complete setup (back view)
Complete setup (back view)
Complete setup (right view)
Complete setup (right view)
Complete setup (front view)
Complete setup (front view)
Complete setup (left view, wake up)
Complete setup (left view, wake up)
Complete setup (left view, trigger)
Complete setup (left view, trigger)

And here is the new setup in action.

Shooting a horizontal pole panorama
Shooting a horizontal pole panorama

Click here to view some panoramic images which were taken with this setup.

Another Experiment With a Cinemagraph

The original footage has been taken from a Full- HD movie. I exported some frames of the film to individual images and used Photoshop CS6 to create this cinemagraph (in fact it’s an animated GIF image).

View over Husavik harbour
View over Husavik harbour

Lessons learned: Use a tripod!

As I didn’t use a tripod in the shoot, I had to align each of the images to minimize the movement between frames.

Another reprojected Hallgrímskirkja (Reykjavík, Iceland)

This image also shows a reprojected image of the panorama Inside Hallgrímskirkja (Reykjavík, Iceland). The projection is “transverse mercator”.

Reprojected Hallgrímskirkja
Reprojected Hallgrímskirkja
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