Altostorm Rectilinear Panorama™

Product Information

Types of distortions that Rectilinear Panorama can correct

User interface

Using the program for heterogeneous images

Using the program for deliberate image distortion

Program editions

What's New (Release History)

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Types of distortions that Rectilinear Panorama can correct

Rectilinear Panorama™ is a universal tool. It can be used to correct virtually any distortions of shape, size and position of objects. It corrects:

barreling and pincushioning (optical distortion),
perspective shift, image skewing, curved horizon (caused by camera tilt or unfavorable shooting spot),
image rotation (caused by camera rotation),
panorama distortion (common for panoramic images),
any other distortions that cause curvature of straight lines or changes in shape or size.

Rectilinear Panorama™ can correct images that suffer from multiple problems. Processing is always done in a single pass.

Rectilinear Panorama™ can correct both scanned and digital images because the program does not use shooting info (from the EXIF headers of files) and it does not make any assumptions about image center, i.e. it can process cropped images.

Rectilinear Panorama™ can correct both panoramic and not panoramic images because the program can handle any asymmetrical and irregular distortions.

Some examples of geometric distortions that Rectilinear Panorama can correct

User interface

The easy-to-use visual distortions definition system helps you to work fast and precisely. Any correction won't take you more than several minutes and you won't have to search for the optimal settings to get the best possible result.

The user interface was designed as a step-by-step wizard. It has 4 simple steps:

Step 1. Distortions definition
Step 2. Final geometry definition
Step 3. Compensations definition
Step 4. Cropping area definition

In step 1 you define several distorted lines (originally straight) on the source image (up to 4 lines - 2 vertical and 2 horizontal). The exact number of lines depends on the distortions of the image.

In step 2 you choose what is going to happen with the defined lines after correction - (a) either they will just become straight lines (and their directions will remain the same) or (b) they will become strictly horizontal/vertical straight lines. You can use the (a) option for images taken with an angle if you do not want to correct the original angle and perspective but want to remove curvature. The (b) option results in recovery of parallelism of originally parallel straight lines and recovery of right angles.

In step 3 you define parameters that control the recovery of object sizes (compensations) and ratios of dimensions.

In step 4 you define the cropping area of the resulting image (if only a part of the image is needed, not the whole image).

The examples below show what lines you may define for different distortions to get the ideal rectilinear geometry (the lines are highlighted in red).

After the source image is processed, all the lines (defined in step 1) will become straight lines oriented the way you selected in step 2. This information is enough for the program to recover the entire image geometry.

The compensations selected in step 3 influence object sizes and ratios of dimensions. Selecting different compensations allows you to simulate different shooting spots (see the example below).


Original	Corrected image	Corrected image
	- straight lines	- strictly horizontal/vertical straight lines
	- no compensations	- all compensations to 100%

All the transformations the program does are based on the position of the lines (which are defined by the user). This important operation requires attention and precision. To make it easier, the program has a powerful and convenient image navigation system, much similar to that of Adobe Photoshop.

To define distortions, you can apply 2 types of lines - arcs (that are defined with 3 points) and Bezier curves (that are defined with 2 line segments). The arcs are easier to use, but Bezier curves are more precise, especially in heavily distorted images.

In steps 3 and 4 you can see a large preview of the resulting image exactly as the way it will look after the correction. This helps you to select the optimal compensations and makes the program so easy-to-learn.

Rectilinear Panorama™ is very simple in use.

Download and try the free demo version in practice. It is not restricted functionally or limited in time anyhow, but every image processed with it will be watermarked with DEMO.

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Using the program for heterogeneous images

Complex geometrical objects taken from a short distance may need a special approach. For example, in the panoramic image of a building below you can see that the building has 3 parts - a central part and 2 wings. Each part has different geometry and has to be processed separately.

Using the program for deliberate image distortion

Rectilinear Panorama™ can be used not only for image correction, but also for the inverse task or any other transformations (e.g. deformation of an object or straightening out something that does not have to be straight - mountains/hills, stems/trunks of plants, bridges, towers etc.)

Download demo

View screenshots

View examples

Deliberate image distortion

Program editions

Two editions of Rectilinear Panorama™ are available.

Rectilinear Panorama™ Professional is the full-featured product most suited to the complex requirements of professionals and amateurs in photography who need maximum quality and functionality.