Panorama Calculator

This calculator plans a multi-row panorama shoot by working backward from your lens's field of view to the number of frames you'll need and the resolution of the stitched result. Horizontal and vertical field of view per shot are computed from your sensor dimensions and focal length using the standard 2×atan(sensor/(2×focal length)) formula. Because adjacent frames need to overlap for stitching software to find matching features, the calculator reduces each shot's effective angular advance by your chosen overlap percentage, then divides your desired total horizontal and vertical field of view by that reduced advance (rounding up) to get shots per row and number of rows — multiplying the two gives total shot count.

The final stitched resolution is estimated the same way in pixel space: each additional shot contributes only its non-overlapping pixel width or height, while the very first shot in each direction contributes its full frame, so the formula is (effective pixels × (shots − 1)) + one full frame width. From the final pixel dimensions it also estimates the uncompressed file size assuming an 8-bit, 3-channel TIFF — real files will typically be smaller if you're stitching to JPEG or a compressed TIFF. Keep in mind 25-35% overlap is the generally recommended range: too little risks failed stitches from insufficient shared detail, while too much just adds unnecessary shots and file size without improving the merge.