PRO TIP: Remove Big Thumb from RICOH THETA Images

Stitching Equirectangular Images to Remove BigThumb using Hugin

From @looeee, originally posted to Facebook: Carl Bennett

The first picture is made from a blend of the other two, removing myself from the image

The finished result

Standing on the one side

Standing on the other

  • Take two pictures with the camera on opposite sides rotating about the lenses. I look at a mark on the ground and keep the lenses above the same spot
  • Open both pictures in Hugin
  • Go to the menu Interface->Expert
  • Change to the Masks tab
  • Click Add new mask and draw roughly around your outline. Left-click adds a new point. Double-click ends the mask.

  • Change to the second file and repeat, adding a mask
  • Go to the menu Interface->Simple
  • Push Align (Note: this does not always work in which case you will need to add control points yourself. If there is demand I can add this in another tutorial)
  • Go to Move/Drag and straighten your image (left mouse to move, right mouse to turn)
  • Return to Interface->Expert and switch to the Stitcher tab
  • Click on Calculate Optimal Size
  • Push Stitch
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