Lens to use for Panos that will be stitched

I'm going backpacking on the Appalachian Trail in the Smokies mid October. I want to experiment with taking some vertical images (3-5) that will be stitched into a pano. I'm trying to decide which lenses to take. The 24-105IS L is definitely going but I can't decide if my 100-400IS L will make the journey. The 100-400 would be nice to have for wildlife and intimate landscapes but it's also fairly heavy for backpacking. However, after reading a few of the threads about shooting panos for stitching it also seems the 100-400 is the best choice for panos because of the collar. My tripod has a built in bubble level and I'll use bubble level in the hot shoe so I am comfortable with getting everything level before panning with my ball head. Can I achieve equal results with the 24-105 which is a sharper lens but has no collar or should I take and use the 100-400 for my pano work. I obviously wouldn't be shooting wide open so the 100-400 is pretty sharp at f8, f11, etc. Thanks for any tips and words of wisdom! Kirk

70-200L
I normally use a 17mm and 35mm for pano work, am not much of a tele-guy anyway. May be GuyT can chime in,

I'm kinda in the same boat as Prashan - I usually use an 18-35 or a 35-70 for panos, with a preference for the 35-70. I seldom use anything larger because it means having to stitch so many images together in order to come up with one shot. I fail to see the importance of the tripod collar however, unless it just happens to fall at the nodal point. Usually they fall at the weight balance point.

Kirk,
I've used the 24-105 F/4 IS with not problems what so ever. I alsi use the 70-200 F/2.8 and it provides excellent images to stitch with...........IMHO.

Thanks for the info. Sounds like I may be able to lose the weight/bulk of the 100-400 and just take the 24-105. I wasn't sure if there were any problems that would arise from shooting vertically with the ballhead and panning since the 24-105 doesn't have a collar. I am not too concerned about the nodal point since I do not plan on shooting multiple layers or including any FG subjects.

I use standard 50mm lens, no strange pano distortions, works perfectly for me anyway.

I wasn't sure if there were any problems that would arise from shooting vertically with the ballhead and panning since the 24-105 doesn't have a collar.

Kirk,

Are you using an L-plate on your camera body? I assume you are NOT and that is why the lens collar was so important. Yes, if you can only mount the camera horizontally on a ball head and then flip it vertically to pan, you will be panning off the optical axis and that should cause some grief stitching, especially at the shorter focal lengths. I've never done it, so I can't tell you at what focal length/subject distance it becomes a serious problem.

To further decrease possible stitching hassles at the shorter focal lengths, you might also want to consider one of the rail & clamp combos from RRS, such as the MPR-CL II ( http://www.reallyrightstuff.com/mpr/index.html). This allows you to move to the various zoom "nodal points".

Although I find the ~200mm focal length very useful for high resolution panoramas, I agree with your decision to leave the 100-400 at home to lighten the load for this backpacking trip. Unless, of course, you anticipate lots of wildlife....

Here's wishing you great weather on the trip.

Bill,
I highly recommend a L bracket!! Check out
And if you are planning to make big enlargments also find the nodal point for your focal length (zoom lense).

I had already given consideration to purchasing a L-bracket which I am going to go ahead and do. It will be very nice to leave the days of flipping the camera sideways on the ballhead behind. If I go with the L-bracket will that be sufficient for creating a stitched pano out of 3-5 vertical images or is it necessary to also follow Bill's advice and use a rail & clamp combo?

Kirk, the answer to your question will be a function of your stitching software, how well it deals with parallax errors, and how automated you want the process. At ~100mm, no problem, at ~24mm you will probably see some parallax error, along with the barrel distortion.

You've got some time before the trip. If you plan to shoot wide, make some quick test panos at 24mm, 35mm and 50mm. See what you can get away with, using your own equipment, technique, and software. Small errors are easily corrected with minor cloning. How much "touch-up" work is acceptable is highly subjectve. You may conclude that anything wider than "xx" mm is unacceptable for you, at this time.

I plan to purchase Auto Pano Pro for stitching based on the recommendations in the threads I have read. I plan on staying in the 50-100 range to eliminate the barrel distortion. I am excited to give this a try..

Be sure to get the L bracket
Be sure to give it a try at home before you go.
After you get the L bracket, check out the nodal point of
your lens at the 24mm end and the 105mm end. I made
some marks on my L bracket with paint. I adjust the L
bracket on the ballhead if I am shooting at either end of the 24-105mm spectrum.
I have found that the Canon 24-105mm lens and Panorama Factory work well
together. The lens is rather famous for changing color at the corners, but Panorama
Factory takes care of it automatically.

Art Lund

Personally I find longer focal lengths best for panoramics. Its all a matter of your style and what you're out to capture. The great aspect about panoramics is the added detail. A panoramic with a wide angle lens is nice, but you're not picking up much more detail just increasing the angle of view. Ultimately you also have to deal with more distortion in your stitches and vignetting with wider angle lenses. Longer focal lengths allow you to minimize the impact of vignetting and capture greater detail to the scene. I would imagine the 24-105 would be fine particularly from 50mm to 105mm. Many of my panoramics have been taken with focal lengths of 100 to 200mm.