I have been very pleasantly surprised recently, at just how well the Merge to Panorama feature is working in Lightroom. The image you see above is three vertical shots taken on the Olympus EM5 at 12mm. When I first tried the stitch I used Photoshop, which made a complete mess. This version though was done in Lightroom using the Cylindrical panarama blening option. Look at the boat mast and rigging. The software has done a great job.
I shot the image almost 2 years back but had largely ignored it due to the stitching problems. I think I might revisit some of my other images now.
Have a great weekend everyone.
The Lightweight Photographer 
Beautiful shot! But my question is this: If you can achieve this kind of image quality with the exceptional light weight combo of the EM5 and the 9-18 WA, why carry the much more expensive AR7 with heavy Canon glass and adapters? It seems to contradict the whole philosophy of “The Lightweight Photographer”. Is the Sony system that much better and worth the extra cost, weight, size?
Hi John, thanks for the positive feedback about the image. My thought process is a difficult one and I can understand why your confused. I really like the EM5 as a camera. It’s served me well for a few years now and I hope will serve me well for a few more yet. I really enjoy using it and the results are very good. But sometimes I find myself just rattling off shots and getting rather lazy with it. I also sometimes find the RAW files a little limiting in terms of what I can do and when this happens I can see flaws in the quality. The Sony has made me realise a few things. The EM5 whilst an amazing camera, isn’t perfect and the Sony RAW files are cleaner and more flexible. The EM5 has great colour handling but the Sony is better. I can work at speed with the EM5 but the Sony slows me down, it more difficult to get picture right with but then there is something enjoyable about this. Is the extra size and weight worth it? Sometimes it is and sometimes it’s not. Do I enjoy using both cameras? Yes. Do I have a favourite? No. I said it was complicated. I should also point out that the Sony with the Canon 24-70 L lens isn’t significantly larger or heavier than the EM5 with the 12-40 Olympus lens. It is bigger but not by the amount people expect.
Thanks for the detailed response. I think I speak for a lot of photographers who would like to have a vast variety of different bodies and lenses, but just can not justify the huge expense for limited benefits, not to mention the lack of mastery and confusion in multiple systems. I suppose the problem really stems from manufactures who constantly update their digital systems which then force the users into the revolving lust for the latest incarnation. I, myself, use two systems, Micro Four Thirds, and Nikon. I will stay with Olympus in the field, even mounted on a tripod 90% of the time, but defer to Nikon for action and portraiture. I think you are right in using the best system that fits your needs, but the important point is to find a good system and then take some time to master it before switching to the camera du jour.
So John, you’re not that much different in that you try to choose the best tool for the task at hand. I used to think that I would be able to find a single system that would suit all my needs but the more I do, the fussier I become. The approach of thinking that one system could meet all my demands just resulted in me becoming dissatisfied with my cameras and selling them too soon, often at a large loss and then regretting the sale when the next camera didn’t live up to expectations in some way. I like having a few different systems with different characteristics. But I still try to keep the system lightweight (where possible).