I first posted this under “Landscape and Nature” but it isn’t getting any traction there so I guess I should have posted it here.
While you can take a pano with any focal length lens I am curious what people who shoot lots of panos have found to be the optimum focal length(s). Often stitching images from wide/ultra wide angles can be difficult. Also, using too long a focal length can severely limit depth of field. Personally I have used focal lengths from about 24mm to 200mm (usually from zoom lenses, except for a 105) to make panos of anywhere from 2 to 30 frames. I am wondering if primes of 35mm, ~50mm, and 85mm may be the best option. Partly because the lighter weight prime lenses will be more stable on my RRS PG01 pano bracket which is pretty light, but nice on the back when you are tramping around all day long. So, I am trying to decide if I need to get a prime in one of these focal lengths and if so which focal length would be most useful.
FWIW I shoot Nikon full frame. Also, for the sake of conversation let’s assume that the entire subject is NOT at infinite distance - if it were we wouldn’t care about depth of field and could use a 500mm if we wanted. Also, let’s assume that we are not trying to capture foreground elements at our toes and so require an ultra wide lens. Also, let’s assume that we are using an appropriate nodal slide, etc.
Curious to know what lenses those with more pano experience find most useful.