Does anyone know how to create HDR spherical images. I want to convert a HDRI image to a spherical view…

 

When you asked this two weeks ago, I suggested HDRshop or IBLgen

http://www.renderosity.com/mod/forumpro/showthread.php?message_id=4060333&ebot_calc_page#message_4060333

i have a software called vue (there is a vue forum here).  I can make a 3d scene invue and render it a a spherical hdr render then import that into poser by applying it to the 

BB envirsphere which is a freebie here at rendero by baginsbill.

i also bought a few nice HDRIs from dosch designs.

HDRShop is a good choice however it is no longer free and unless you are intending to get quite a bit a mileage from the program, it is not cheap.

It seem that HDRShop is better option. But it isn't cheap. I'm going keep looking for.

luminance-hdr can convert some common map formats; i use it now and then with linux, but there seems to be a windows version, too:

http://qtpfsgui.sourceforge.net/

I am using Luminance HDR 2.3.1 with Win7-64

Works fine, under "Edit", just use "Projective Transformation" panel to choose output.

What Nancy means is this... To render a whole scene for use as an HDR (I belive 5.5 & higher) set the render settings to Panoramic View. Then save the render as HDR. If you just want a vue sky as a source. Click File..-> Export Sky. In the export box, tick Export Sky.Change geometry to UV Sphere. Click Browse to Change file type to HDR. In both instances.. If you want the scene for use as a background, then render big. If you just want to use it as a source for the lighting, then rendering small is fine. For reflection maps, some say you should render to medium high size. Though as most reflections in a scene tended to be blurred, it could be argued you don't always need it big.

settings for exporting sky...

That said I'm not 100% certain that Vue scenes make for suitable HDRs in some apps. Skys's are fine because in a sense when HDR's are used for lights, these feel like the tone maps we use for bumps. With rendered vue scenes, while the HDR thats created is rectangular, it doesn't have that "curve" you see in equirectanglar panoramic HDRS. (as shown in the sample image - from the SIBL archive @ hdrlabs.com). Which means if you use the vue scene rendered HDR as the background in your 3d app, when you render the background image is curved. So first question is that fixable, if so how? Which brings me to my next question. Creating decent equirectanglar panoramic HDRS with a standard lens. The consensus on most panoramic sites is to use a fisheye lens and stitch together 6-9 images. But I don't have a fisheye lens, so is there any way of 'faking' this to create those types of image?

you might look at Hugin, you can create panorama even from shots with 300mm lens

http://hugin.sourceforge.net/tech/

Medzinatar - yea I've got hugin and some other ones on my 2nd machine. Creating regular panaoramics from standard lenses is easy enough in most apps... http://www.poserdirect.com/images/printfolio/big/theark1024.jpg I can even do it directly within camera... http://www.poserdirect.com/images/panos/mersey.jpg Where I'm stuck is creating Equirectangular ones from a standard lens and can't find a suitable tutorial.