thanks, ChrisDownloaded the trial version of Panovolo for Mac and tried it out. I like that the interface is simple and uncluttered and it can render a large pano from DNGs quite quickly. I have been a PTGui Pro user for quite some time so I am impressed at how well it can stitch panos especially difficult to stitch panos (over water). Adjusting the centre point of the pano is much easier and quicker in PTGui and the Pro version has the option to 'Fill Holes' which saves a trip to Photoshop. While PTGui Pro has many more features, it costs much more.
I found Panovolo better at blending seams where the exposure varies between frames - Why is this? In PTGui Pro, I will often get dark bands between frames where there are exposure variances especially when shooting on auto which I often do when shooting in sub zero temperatures.
Chris
The basic algorithm in all panorama stitchers is basically the same (the Brown and Lowe algorithm). It all boils down to optimizations, raw image processing choices, optimization of exposure matching and rendering settings. Panovolo has a benefit that we mostly optimize around DNGs and not a whole enchilada of camera raw formats.