PTGui and Its Best Alternatives to Make 360 Panoramic Photos Easily and Effectively
Last Updated on July 31, 2023 by Peter Wood
Panoramic images are increasingly prevalent among Internet users. If you create a panoramic photo and share it on social media, you can attract followers’ attention immediately. But it is a difficult task to get an appropriate tool. Someone may recommend PTGui to you, but it is not a perfect photo stitcher, especially for beginners. Once you enter the keywords of photo stitcher in a searching engine, you will get hundreds of results. Can you imagine trying everyone and finding out the best one among them? It is a waste of time to do such tests. This article will introduce PTGui and some best alternatives for you.
Part 1. PTGui Panoramic Image Stitching Software
PTGui Review
PTGui is one of the best photo stitchers. But it is not appropriate for everyone. So let’s look at the pros & cons of PTGui in detail.
Pros
1. PTGui is compatible with Windows and Mac OS, so it is a cross-system photo editor.
2. It supports the creation of gigapixel images.
3. Users could import hundreds of photos and create multiple panoramas.
4. PTGui could read most photo formats and RAW files and save outputs as high-quality formats.
Cons
1. It only supports the Mac computer equipped with Intel processors.
2. The control point’s method needs a lot of patience when you stitch hundreds of photos.
3. The process of stitching is a little complicated for beginners.
4. The price is too high for personal usage. I mean you have to pay more than $100 to enjoy its advanced features.
PTGui Pro Tutorial
Step 1: Install and launch PTGui on your computer. Click the Load images button in the main interface and select the image files you want to stitch.
Step 2: Click Align images.. to launch automatic pre-assembling. Then you can preview the panorama in the Panorama Editor window and click Create panorama… to launch the final assembling.
Step 3: You can do some settings before the final output like width, height, file format, layers, and output file. Then click the Create panorama… button to finish the creation.
Part 2. Best PTGui Pro Alternatives
1. WidsMob Panorama
WidsMob Panorama is an all-in-one panorama maker to stitch photos with 4 different methods, including vertical, horizontal, 360-degree, and tile. It is compatible with generic photo formats, RAW files, WebP, AVIF, and more. Different from PTGui, it provides multiple editing features to stitch the photo automatically, including ghost suppression, auto-alignment, and more. Besides, you can also find the manual features to adjust the align points and blend parts. It is easy to process, especially for beginners.
1. Stitch RAW files from different digital cameras, including Nikon, Canon, Sony, and more.
2. Provide different stitching modes with auto-stitching algorithms, even 360 panorama photos.
3. Tweak stitching points and blending parts, cut out the desired parts, and adjust HSL settings.
4. Apply ghost suppression, auto-align, and even HDR features to create gigapixel panoramas.
2. Microsoft Image Composite Editor
Image Composite Editor is from Microsoft. And the advantage of this PTGui alternative is free, but it is only available on Windows. The other features include:
1. It is a simple PTGui alternative without fantastic functions. So it is a good choice for beginners and amateurs.
2. It is compatible with Windows 7/8/8.1, but not Windows 10/11.
3. It can auto-stitch photos together and compensate for the lost parts.
4. Image Composite Editor is a gigapixel image application as well.
5. This PTGui alternative has an integrated Photosynth service.
6. It supports most photo formats and RAW files.
3. Hugin
Hugin is an open-source PTGui alternative. That means that it is a large package of freeware and compatible with Linux, Windows, and Mac OS at the same time.
1. It supports importing most image formats and loading camera RAW files from cameras.
2. Hugin could read the camera’s lens saved data and recognize the panorama effects automatically.
3. The process of stitching photos with Hugin includes selecting, aligning, and stitching together and rendering the images as a single exposure.
4. This PTGui alternative uses control points to align and stitch photos. It is good at stitching photos taken at different angles or creating a 360-degree picture.
4. PanoramaStudio
PanoramaStudio is another PTGui alternative. It is good at creating wide-angle panoramic images and 360-degree images. It has a Windows version and a Mac version.
1. It can auto-align and auto-stitch high-quality panoramic images.
2. For advanced users, this PTGui alternative also provides extensive post-processing tools.
3. It could read the Exif data of photos to achieve a better stitching output.
4. Users could use the hotspot-editing tool to enjoy virtual tours within PanoramaStudio.
5. It supports importing RAW files and exporting 3D panoramas.
5. GIMP
GIMP is a popular open-source photo editor. And it is also a PTGui alternative application. Its basic features include:
1. It is a collection of powerful freeware, including the Stich Panorama plugin.
2. It is easy and quick to use GIMP and its plugin to stitch photos.
3. GIMP is a flexible photo editor. For beginners, the friendly interface is easy to use. Advanced users could enjoy the extensive plugins.
4. It is not only a photo stitcher but also integrates many post-processing filters and effects.
5. It also has multiple painting and creative tools.
Conclusion
PTGui is a good but not perfect photo stitcher based on the introduction above. The free version only has some simple tools. And users have to pay more than $ 100 to enjoy the extensive features. So this article also recommends some PTGui alternative applications. There are some open-source photo stitchers, like GIMP and Hugin. And if you need an easy-to-use photo stitcher, WidsMob Panorama is one of the best choices.