Sofia @ 1,200 mm
Maximal zoom factor for Sofia from TV tower Kopitoto
General info
Panorama
Location and coverage
Tech info
Gallery behind the scene
Panorama from the terrace of the Kopitoto TV Tower, which is not publicly accessible. Special thanks to the management and staff of the facility for access, patience and understanding!
The distance to the center of Sofia is 10 km (6 miles), so clear weather and low sun were key to making this quality gigapixel panorama. In this case the panorama was taken shortly before sunset, so heat haze was at a minimum. As a result of this, you can clearly see the planes at Sofia Airport which is 15 kms (almost 10 miles) away. The shooting was supported by Canon Bulgaria, who provided the best possible equipment for the purpose:
mirrorless camera Canon EOS R5 and lens Canon EF 600mm f / 4L IS III USM + Extender 2x III (= 1,200 mm) . For whom he is not familiar: with a 1,200mm lens it is difficult to shoot even from a tripod, and in this case there was a panoramic robot + strong wind and dimming light. As you will see from the gigapixel panorama, the technique did more than brilliantly!
Click on the photo below to view the panorama from terrace of the TV tower.
- Mouse scroll or buttons Ctrl/Shift to zoom in/ out;
- Keyboard arrows or mouse drag with left button to move around.
WE RECOMMEND to watch it on a big screen, not on a mobile device!
Characteristics of the gigapixel panorama:
Camera:Canon EOS R5
Lens: Canon EF 600mm f/4L IS III USM+ Extender 2x III (= 1200 mm)
Panoramic robot: Roundshot VR Drive
Number of photos: 246 @ 45 megapixels (41 columns x 6 rows)
Size of photo: 162,086 x 34,669 pixels (5.62 gigapixels)
Size of panorama on HDD: 32 Gigabytes
Date taken: 11.09.2021
Time span: 18:29 - 19:01
Height above sea level: around 1,427 m
Angle of view: around 35 degrees horizontally and 7 vertically
Magnification: 121.4 х
Stitched with PtGUI Pro 12.7 and output done by Pano2VR Pro 6.1.13
Thanks to the heavy tripod, the stabilized lens and sensor of the camera, as well as the stable and precise panoramic robot Roundshot VR Drive, we were able to take this big picture. The camera was controlled by a phone - Live view for focusing and shooting, and for the robot we had two options - either wi-fi connection with the phone for programming and positioning or a radio remote for moving. Full synchronization between all components was a key moment in the project implementation. The panoramic VR Drive robot had no problem moving the large optics and the camera (its load capacity is as much as 20 kilograms!). The movement it provided for our project was between 1 and 3 degrees with accuracy 0.1 degrees. The results of this professional equipment are shown on this website!
We also used custom software to even out the exposure values and colormetric values of all photos in order to create a seamless panoramic photo.
360 degrees panorama (1.4 gigapixels) from the terrace of Kopitoto TV tower: HERE
Copyright:
All materials on this website are provided for presentation purposes only. Images of the galleries or parts thereof may not be republished, reprinted, resold or modified for any use or profit. Using them without written permission from the authors Georgi Palov and Michael von Aichberger will violate the Copyright and Related Rights Act.
Behind the scene photos:
