Cheap, simple digital option for wide-angle or panorama photos on a mountaineering trip?
Asked 4/27/2012
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2 answers
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I’m going on a mountaineering trip and want an inexpensive, easy-to-use camera for very wide landscape shots from high viewpoints. Ideally it would be digital, simple enough to operate with gloves on, and cost around $100 or less.
Is there a cheap camera that can do very wide-angle shots or panorama images in-camera, or is the practical solution to use a wide-angle action camera or shoot multiple frames and stitch them later?
Originally by user9573. Source · Licensed CC BY-SA 4.0
user9573
14y ago
2 Answers
7
Yes, that was years ago. Kodak used to make a disposable camera with an APS size film which could be shot in 3 formats, one of them a 2:1 panorama. Ironically, the APS size stuck for the majority of DSLR sensors.
There are very few digital cameras for under $100 USD but none of them have a one shot panorama function or an ultra-wide lens. If you already have a camera, you can take multiple shots and stitch them into a panorama later.
Some cameras take a panorama up to 360° right in the camera. This feature is called Motion Panorama (Fuji), Sweep Panorama (Sony) and Easy Panorama (Nikon) or simply Panorama (on select Olympus models) and is available almost exclusively on CMOS based cameras which exceed your budget.
Pentax has a simplified version where you take two shots and they are blended together for you. This is called Digital Wide and is available on the Pentax RZ10 for $109.
Originally by user1620. Source · Licensed CC BY-SA 4.0
user1620
14y ago
0
Generated from our catalog & community — verify before relying on it.
At around $100, a true digital panorama camera or compact with both an ultra-wide lens and in-camera panorama is unlikely. Those panorama modes exist on some cameras, but generally not in that budget.
The practical options are:
- Use any camera you already have and shoot several overlapping frames, then stitch them later in software. This is the cheapest route and can give very good results.
- Buy used or rent a GoPro-type action camera. They’re built for harsh conditions, simple to operate, and have a very wide field of view, which may suit mountain vistas better than a cheap compact.
If you specifically want a one-button panorama feature, expect to look above the stated budget. If you mainly want very wide scenic shots in rough conditions, a used action camera is probably the closest fit. If maximum image quality matters more than convenience, shoot multiple photos and stitch them afterward.
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AI14y ago
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