I am looking for a stitching software with which I can create extremely large panoramics from multiple 4x5 pieces of sheet film/digital files. I will be doing lightjet prints for sale professionally. THe quality must be outstanding.

Thanks for the input! - Jon

-- Jon Paul (jonpaul@aci.net), April 21, 2001

Answers

I've used the software from Live Picture, and had excellent results. Unfortunatly, I can't remember the name of the software. Check out www. LivePicture.com I'm sure it's still listed. The retail price is only about $100

-- William Levitt (Light-Zone@web.de), April 21, 2001.

Jon Paul -

I saw this product demonstrated years ago by LivePicture, Inc. and Apple. The product is PhotoVista, and it used to be put out by LivePicture, Inc. MGI Software has bought their products, and you can download a trial version of PhotoVista from their web site. There are Mac and Windows versions.

Their URL is http://www.mgisoft.com/webtools/photovista/pv_main.asp

They say it is for stitching 360 degree panoramas, but you can use it for any stitching.

Another alternative, if you're using a Mac, is GraphicConverter and the PT Stitcher plug-ins that can be used with it.

And, of course, any of the typical paint programs can be used, too: Corel Painter (http://www.corel.com); Deneba Canvas (http:// www.deneba.com); and Adobe Photoshop (http://www.adobe.com). Any of these latter can do the whole thing - but they have huge price tags compared with PhotoVista ($100) and GraphicConverter ($35).

And, if you've got a Mac still using System 8.1 to 8.6, and can get a copy of LivePicture 2.5.3 - then you'll be in heaven. It did things that Photoshop and the rest are just beginning to understand - and it did it back in 1996. It's no longer made, and works only on the more vintage versions of the Mac OS, but it's a magnificent program.

Ciao.

-- Alan Agardi (alanagardi@sprintmail.com), April 21, 2001.

Jon,

See the PanoGuide.com web site software review list. It appears to be a fairly complete list of what's available.

-- John H. Henderson (jhende03@harris.com), April 23, 2001.

For working with large files, I think Enroute's PowerStich was the best. Unfortunately they do no longer support the product. You might still be able to get your hands on it. There is a new online service at http://www.bigphotohelp.com/ but I have nothing to say about them.

-- Q.-Tuan Luong (qtl@ai.sri.com), April 24, 2001.