I suggest using a proper no-parallax-point camera setup. For single row stitches, you don't need that much gear, just a fore/aft slider to align the entrance pupil of the lens with the axis of rotation, and a means to rotate the camera itself on that axis. Something like this:
Cheers,
Bart
Concur on this as that is what I use for
horizontal multi-shot images. Sometimes I put a tilting monopod head centered on the axis of rotation of the panning clamp, in the panning clamp and put the nodal slide in the monopod clamp. Then I pull the nodal point over that same vertical rotation axis. This when I need to shoot at a downward or upward angle to horizontal.
This is a bitch for trying to do multi-shot in a vertical direction. At least on my Arca Swiss B1 ball head. If you have the vertical shift capability necessary to cover the image (relatively small for close up work) that is stable, then that is, in my opinion, a much better option. If you only need say 4" of camera travel, then oh hell yeah, that is much easier. You will get some flex in the center column.
To do vertical multi-shot using a panning motion, you need something like below to keep the nodal point of the lens centered over any axis of rotation. This is a multi-row, multi-column setup.: