Panoramic Cameras

Panoramic Cameras

A panoramic camera produces very wide images, even wider than those of a wide-angle lens. Generally, a true panoramic camera has an aspect ratio of 2:1 – meaning that the picture is twice as wide as it is tall – or greater. All true panoramic cameras are based around one of four photographic systems: Short Rotation (Swing Lens), Full Rotation, Fixed Lens and Segmented. Swing lens systems involve a lens located opposite of a curved piece of film. The lens rotates around a point in the middle of the camera, and the exposure is done via a vertical slit in the lens that scans across the film, exposing it in segments. Full Rotation works in a similar way, except that the camera itself rotates completely on a tripod. A mechanism pulls the film along the film plane in precise synchronization with the rotation of the camera, producing an even exposure. Fixed Lens cameras work entirely differently than the previous two methods, and are the most common style of panoramic camera.

The cheapest kind of Advanced Photo System cameras simply use standard film and crop the bottom and top of the frame, producing an image that simulates a panoramic picture. The more expensive models, on the other hand, actually use special film with longer exposures that are captured with a special panoramic lens. Because the film is exposed all at once as opposed to over time, like other panoramic cameras, Fixed Lens cameras are capable of using a flash in a low-light environment. Finally, there are segmented photos, which aren’t really panoramic pictures at all. Rather, they are conventionally shot pictures that are then arranged to form a single image and then digitally “stitched” together. This is the most common method for creating panoramic images, and the least expensive.

Panoramic Disposable Cameras

Disposable panoramic cameras are essentially the same thing as ordinary disposable cameras. They’re simple, cheap cameras built into cardboard boxes with the film sealed in. When developed, they are simply thrown away and the film returned to the owner. They work on the Fixed Lens system, most likely in the cheaper, APS method.

Digital Panoramic Cameras

Digital panoramic cameras are much simpler than regular film cameras. Instead of trying to manipulate the exposure of light onto a piece of film, creating a digital panoramic picture is just a matter of saving an image file with a different set of dimensions.