Recommendations for digital camera with really great panorama capabilties?

One thing I really love about the RX100 for stitching is the virtual horizon.
I'd definetely list that as a much have feature.

It's also very easy to lock exposure and focusing, I tied it to middle button and left button on the real wheel.
 
I'm not much of a pano guy but I know you can go plenty of great stitch together panos from almost any camera if you use a tripod and the right stitching software. Since I'm too lazy to try that I've done in-camera auto-panos with Sony cameras (Nex 5, RX1, and RX100), Fujis (X100, X10) and the Panasonic LX7. Of these I'd have to say Sony does the best job of correcting for my lack of steadiness as a tripod as I sweep. The Fujis have shown plenty of jumps when I haven't been steady panning and the Panasonic did to some extent as well. I can't seem to screw up the Sony panos no matter how unsteady I am. I'm not sure how they do it, whether they take a little off the top and bottom to even everything out or what, but they're really pretty incredible. But I'm strictly amateur hour when it comes to panos. I think to do it right you'd want to use a tripod and good stitching software.

-Ray
 
It's also very easy to lock exposure and focusing, I tied it to middle button and left button on the real wheel.

Apologies for going slightly OT, but when you say that you set a button to lock focus, do you mean that you set the button to engage the flexible spot setting?

I have to say that I wish that the RX100 had a means of assigning a button to a straightforward AFL function (à la Fuji X series).
 
Fuji X100's continuous panorama isn't bad, but you need to make sure that shutter speeds are slower than 1/250th to prevent banding (apparently the shutter speed isn't 100% precise above 1/250th, so different shots could have slightly different exposure, leading to banding).

Sony has a reputation of having the continuous panorama thing pretty much spot-on.
 
Apologies for going slightly OT, but when you say that you set a button to lock focus, do you mean that you set the button to engage the flexible spot setting?

I have to say that I wish that the RX100 had a means of assigning a button to a straightforward AFL function (à la Fuji X series).

No, what I do is autofocus where I want focus to be, and then I use the middle button to switch to MF. That effectively locks AF for as long as I want it locked. And the focus peaking also gives me a good indication for whether or not I end up having things out of focus that I wanted in focus.
 
The Fuji X100 and X10 that I've used were pretty good when I used good technique. I shot a few on my brother's cheapo Sony and they were flawless. I think they may have been the first add that feature and they do seem to be a step ahead.

If you're really into panoramas though, I recommend taking as many photos as you want (remembering to switch to MF so your focal plane doesn't change....and also being fully manual so all your exposures are the same) and stitching in post. There's many different programs that will stitch them together fairly flawlessly. Your end result will be higher resolution, larger file. If you're just going to view it on a screen, it doesn't matter quite as much, but if you're going to print one to hang in your home, you'll appreicate the extra IQ.
 
I went looking for a couple panoramas that I like and had forgotten that I went through a panorama phase. Once I realized how easy it was to stitch images together, I started seeing panoramas in unlikely places. And sometimes instead of switching to a wider lens, I'd just shoot 2 or 3 frames and stitch 'em.
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Looking for Lauren by Lukinosity, on Flickr

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Take me out to the ball game by Lukinosity, on Flickr

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Bullseye Records Panorama by Lukinosity, on Flickr

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movie night panorama by Lukinosity, on Flickr

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scenic outlook panorama by Lukinosity, on Flickr
 
No, what I do is autofocus where I want focus to be, and then I use the middle button to switch to MF. That effectively locks AF for as long as I want it locked. And the focus peaking also gives me a good indication for whether or not I end up having things out of focus that I wanted in focus.

Ok, I see what you mean now. I'll give this method a try, and see if works for me - thanks...:)
 
It's been a long time since I was REALLY into it, so when I do one now, I just use Photoshop Elements. It works simple and is as automated or manual as I want it to be. I have also used Arcsoft Panorama maker and Hugin. There may have been some others I tried as well, but that was a couple years ago.
 
I went looking for a couple panoramas that I like and had forgotten that I went through a panorama phase. Once I realized how easy it was to stitch images together, I started seeing panoramas in unlikely places. And sometimes instead of switching to a wider lens, I'd just shoot 2 or 3 frames and stitch 'em.

View attachment 67881
scenic outlook panorama by Lukinosity, on Flickr

Haven't been there in well over 20 years, but I recognized this Kauai shot the second I saw it. When we lived in the Seattle area, Hawaii was actually a pretty affordable vacation and we went several times over a period of years. That's just off the road heading up to the Na Pali Coast, no? And that beach where they filmed the famous scene in "From Here to Eternity". Amazing island. We liked it so much we never went anywhere else on the islands - just straight to Kauai. The first few times we stayed in rental, open air huts at some 7th Day Adventist camp down on the south end of the island (inland from Poipu) that cost about $25 a night. Later we moved into some of the lesser resort hotels down at Poipu beach. Great memories from there...

-Ray
 
I don't get great panoramas from my Fuji F660 - perhaps i need to practice more with it but the wide angle is too extreme & they don't stitch well

Its a shame as I rely on Panoramas for survey work - (the business end of my photos)

The 16:9 ratio works quite well on its own though & has less convergence than wide angle at 4:3.

Previously I had excellent results from my little & cheap Nikon Coolpix A3200. Arc soft Panorama Maker came bundled with it & its a great simple to use package.

Nikon Coolpix pan

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No, what I do is autofocus where I want focus to be, and then I use the middle button to switch to MF. That effectively locks AF for as long as I want it locked. And the focus peaking also gives me a good indication for whether or not I end up having things out of focus that I wanted in focus.


I tried this, and it works a treat. Thanks for the tip!:)
 
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