Originally posted by MSL This sounds like a lot of work, especially as you need to get the 4 images to mesh properly. Is there no other way to minimize or at least reduce the distortion?
I personally see few alternatives. Photoshop/Lightroom and several other pro PP programs allow you to "correct" distortion, but it comes at a very high cost in terms of lost sharpness and image loss.
fortunately, if shot with a proper plan and a little practice, stitching images together is not that difficult. it's best to shoot in manual mode and vertically if you can (because you almost always lose portions of the top and bottom of the stitched images + the center image portions align much easier if you don't have a perfectly flat image field. I usually even switch to manual focus once everything is composed so I have consistent DoF and other variables throughout the panorama. and then once imported into PS, in my case, it takes about 3 minutes for the panorama to render. I may have to tweak things here and there by deciding on which stitching mode I want.
Honestly, getting images with that "wow" factor IS a lot of work. It takes practice, planning and effort to set yourself above the middle of the pack. it's why so few people (percentage wise) ever take their cameras off full auto or are just happy with P&S via their cell phone. If one only aspires to snapshot quality, then they might see the extra hour invested in set up and post processing as too much effort, and that's entirely a personal decision.
Photography is no different than anything else in life. One's images are a direct reflection of the amount of time and effort one puts into making them, as well as (some?) artistic talent.