PTGui review

PTGui is the specialist for 360 photos rather than video. It stitches overlapping shots into fully spherical 360 x 180 panoramas and supports equirectangular, rectilinear and stereographic projections, so the same source can become a VR image, an architectural view or a Little Planet. PTGui's site says its OpenCL GPU stitching handles a 1 gigapixel panorama in about 25 seconds on modest hardware, and the feature table lists multi-row stitching, fisheye support, a panorama editor for perspective, vignetting and exposure correction, layered Photoshop output and a batch stitcher. PTGui Pro adds HDR stitching, masking, viewpoint correction and a Patch Tool, which matter for removing a tripod or fixing parallax. The trial is fully functional with no time limit but watermarks output. Prices are set per customer currency on the order page, so the USD check is pending. For one-shot 360 cameras that stitch in camera, it is more than most owners need.

Who it is for

Photographers stitching and correcting 360 photos from DSLR or mirrorless rigs

Price

See vendor pricing (USD check pending).

US price check pending. See the vendor pricing page.

Key features

• Fully spherical 360 x 180 panoramas with equirectangular, rectilinear and stereographic (Little Planet) projections
• OpenCL GPU stitching that PTGui says handles a 1 gigapixel panorama in about 25 seconds
• PTGui Pro adds HDR stitching, masking, viewpoint correction and a Patch Tool
• Batch Stitcher and, in Pro, a Batch Builder that creates projects from folders
• Built-in spherical panorama viewer and Publish to Website output

Strengths and weaknesses

• Strength: Runs on Windows 10, macOS 10.15 or later and Linux
• Strength: Trial version is fully functional with no time limit
• Strength: Supports all lenses including fisheyes, plus layered Photoshop and DNG output
• Weakness: A stitcher and panorama editor, not a video editor
• Weakness: HDR, masking and the Patch Tool require PTGui Pro
• Weakness: Trial output carries a visible watermark

Key facts

• Current version: PTGui 13.10
• Platforms: Windows, macOS, Linux
• Editions: PTGui Standard and PTGui Pro
• Trial: No time limit, watermark on output

Where it ranks

PTGui is No. 4 in our Best 360 Video and Photo Editors verdict.