Okay, another panorama question.

[Blue_In_AK]

I made my panorama using the 50 mm lens on the 7D and I really like the result. Are you more likely to get a nice composition like this using a prime lens or would a zoom lens work as well. Are there problems using a wide angle with curvature at the edges of each shot? Does this program correct for those things?

Alfredo? Anyone?

[NV Whino]

1. Most experts (and what do they know anyway?) recommend...

Using a prime lens and shooting vertically. So it might take 5 frames vertically to 3 frames horizontally, and you end up with a much larger file, which is preferable if you are going for a large print. I'm lazy. I generally shoot horizontally.

Personally, I haven't noticed a big difference in using a zoom, if you keep it in the 50 mm range. Super wide angle gives you some problems.

Don't know what Alfredo's program would do.

And finally, I'm not sure I've given you any actual information here.

[ManiacJoe]

2. Wide angle lenses tend to be bad for this

precisely due to the curvatures. This would mess up the stitching.

The 50mm or longer is a great option. Quality zooms can work well, just don't change the zoom level.

Shooting vertically and stitching more frames together has the advantage of giving you more vertical space for cropping which is often needed to clean up the pano after the pieces have been put together.

[Major Nikon]

3. You will probably be better off using a lens that's close to normal

What you want is a lens that has the least amount of barrel and pincushion distortion, which to some degree is a function of the particular lens design. Wide angle lenses tend to have barrel distortion and telephoto lenses tend to have pincushion distortion, although some lenses may have both. Lens manufacturers often include lens elements which correct for this type of optical distortion. Lenses in the normal range require the least amount of correction, so they are generally the best choice.

Some lens review sites include distortion information. So if they have reviewed your particular lens and camera combination, you can check to see how much distortion you'll have to deal with.

It's possible to correct distortion before you stitch the images and some stitching software will do this for you. Generally for this to work well, the correction software must know the lens you are using and must have a correction algorithm designed for that particular lens. Lightroom and Camera Raw both have lens correction you can apply to your image prior to stitching.

[alfredo]

4. Check out this tool.

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B014T2Z5IQ/ref=as_li_tl?ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=390957&creativeASIN=B014T2Z5IQ&linkCode=as2&tag=photorumors-20&linkId=6QH2NXQAJMGDTET7

Your camera might be a bit too heavy for this, but there might be more robust products on the market.