The Biggest Disadvantage of a Panorama

Sunday 10 September 2023, 15:51 by Nando Harmsen | 4,581 views | 9 comments

This article was translated from Dutch with the help of AI. Read the original.

With a panorama, you can fit a lot into the frame. Even more than your widest wide-angle lens can capture. That sounds appealing, and it can produce special results. But there is one major disadvantage to a panorama with an extremely wide angle of view.

Recently, I recorded the panorama photography course for Photofacts Academy. I explain how to create a panorama and what you need to pay attention to. By stitching lots of photos together, you can even photograph all the way around 360 degrees. You can find the course linked below this article.

A 360-degree panorama sounds very special, and it can be. There is just one major disadvantage that can suddenly make your panorama photo less impressive. That is the size of the elements in your photo.

You probably know that you can fit a lot into a photo with a wide-angle lens. To make everything fit within the frame, everything is made smaller. With a panorama, you reinforce that effect even further.

A 360-degree panorama with the impressive rocks of La Grande Cadière near Castellane in France. The only problem is that they are so small in the frame that their grandeur has disappeared.
You may think this is not too bad because your photo becomes longer. After all, it is a panorama. And yes, that is partly true. Think about what you are going to view the photo on. In most cases, it will be a computer screen, and that screen often has no more than 1920 pixels or 3840 pixels across. The photo will therefore not become wider, but only narrower.

A print can also be disappointing, unless you manage to make a really long print. If you normally print at 30x40 cm, a panorama will soon become 20x40 cm, or even narrower. If you want the panorama to come into its own fully, you will have to keep the height at 30 cm and print it longer. For example, 30x60 cm or even longer, depending on your aspect ratio.

The all-round view from this mountaintop in the Faroe Islands is fantastic. But this 360-degree panorama does not show it. In addition, the magical sunset is no longer quite so special.
One solution could be to crop your photo to a panoramic aspect ratio. In fact, you are not bringing 'much more' into the frame, but removing excess areas. The result is a photo with a spacious feel, while retaining detail because your angle of view does not become wider.

Or you can make sure that all the elements in the scene are already relatively close and therefore appear large enough in the frame. In that case, the result is less likely to be disappointing. Using a narrower angle of view also helps. So not 360, 270 or 180 degrees, but 'only' 120 degrees or less.

If the elements in the scene are reasonably close, the loss of detail is not too bad, as in this 120-degree panorama of Cap Blanc Nez on the Opal Coast.
That does not mean you should never create panoramas. But it does mean that you need to think carefully about what you include in the frame and how you include it. It is a shame if you capture a 180-degree, 270-degree or even 360-degree angle of view in a photo, but no details are visible anymore.

Do you ever create panoramas? Tell us in a comment below this article what kind of panoramas you create and what you think is the disadvantage of your type of panorama photography. I look forward to your response.

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About the author

Nando Harmsen has been photographing for more than 40 years. He specialises in wedding photography and landscape photography. Nando also gives talks, workshops, masterclasses and photo trips, and regularly reviews new and interesting equipment.

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9 comments

Donald Willemsen wrote on Tuesday 12 September 2023 at 11:01 | reply
Since landscape photography is really my thing, I quite like making panoramas. That's why I also took the course. The conclusion was therefore that I need to start adapting my hardware, such as purchasing a nodal slide, for example.
Soon I’m going to Malta for a few days and, for practical reasons, I can’t take my tripod with me. That’s why I’m bringing my 7.5mm wide-angle lens. It easily fits in my trouser pocket . So I’ll still have a panorama. Even one of almost 180°. The disadvantage is of course that it does reduce it considerably. But I have to make compromises due to my mobility situation, and a wheelchair is more important than a tripod in that case. Once I’m back home, I’ll look at the results. Together with the travel zoom, we’ll manage, and I’ll still make panoramas with 150mm in portrait orientation handheld.
Translated from Dutch.

Rudolf wrote on Tuesday 12 September 2023 at 11:54 | reply
I also make pages. Camera in vertical position and then take a series of photos. Rotate smoothly from your waist. You stitch that series together with well-known programs . And those are real widescreen pictures without that letterbox effect. Good luck
Translated from Dutch.

Jo wrote on Tuesday 12 September 2023 at 12:00 | reply
I wouldn't consider it a disadvantage, rather a practical problem, namely that LR can process "only" 10 to 11 photos taken with the Nikon D850. When you shoot in portrait orientation, you quickly reach that number, even if you make a pano of "only" 120° or less.
Translated from Dutch.

guest wrote on Tuesday 12 September 2023 at 12:14 | reply
Hi Donald,

from the Kamera Express website, this quote: The only exception to this is a tripod. This item is often inconvenient or too large to take with you in your hand luggage. It can also be seen by customs staff as a bludgeoning weapon. To prevent unnecessary problems and delays, it is best to take your tripod in your checked luggage. Fortunately, it can withstand humid conditions. It is wise to wrap your tripod in a number of sweaters for some extra protection.

I would say: a compact staief fits in a suitcase, so ...

Good luck
Translated from Dutch.

Donald Willemsen wrote on Tuesday 12 September 2023 at 13:20 | reply
Hello guest, thanks for the tip.
Translated from Dutch.

Martin van Rooij wrote on Tuesday 12 September 2023 at 14:10 | reply
Donald, then do NOT lock your suitcase. At Charleroi airport, my suitcase was broken into; apparently, the X-ray image had given the staff the idea that it was a weapon. Moreover, I had to go without the suitcase for a day; it was delivered later.
Translated from Dutch.

Donald Willemsen wrote on Tuesday 12 September 2023 at 14:37 | reply
Martin, for the upcoming trip of a few days I don't have any checked baggage with me, well, my wheelchair is going in the hold. Apart from that, just hand luggage. I'm leaving my monopod at home too. I can't put any more strain on my travel companion.
But thanks for the tip. If they break open the suitcase, that's no fun and the damage to the suitcase will also be your own responsibility.
Translated from Dutch.

Wouter ter Horst wrote on Tuesday 12 September 2023 at 16:02 | reply
A panorama shot is best viewed on your screen (with a special viewer), then you can zoom in and pan, which gives you the correct aspect ratio again and makes it feel as if you can look around you, with the details in the landscape clearly visible. I use PTGui for this (a viewer is included too), which can stitch gigapixel shots and is very affordable. You can even use a telephoto lens and, for example, the Nodal Ninja to make and stitch and edit 360⁰ x 180⁰ shots, built up from a huge number of photos. Works very fast with a good computer. It is very easy to use it to prevent people or cars from appearing partially or twice in the image when stitching.
Translated from Dutch.

Dick wrote on Friday 15 September 2023 at 10:06 | reply
Good morning,

I often make panoramas. Using my standard lens ( 20-40 or 16-50) . Quite simply handheld, certainly in good lighting conditions with a reasonable overlap. I take what I want / find interesting, 2 to about 4 photos and combine them in Affinity into a panorama. You discard what is superfluous.
Little to no distortion with excellent detail.

Regards

Dick Eduard
Translated from Dutch.

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