Panasonic Lumix GX80/GX85 - panorama dial setting and image quality

Question

I'm a newbie with a GX80 having had to replace my old GX1 which I managed to break! Controls are similar, but there are many new features. I really like the post focus and 4K video.Plus a great help being able to use image app for remote control and to add GPS data to images.

However, I do have one question! Last weekend I went walking in the Peak District on a marvelous clear and sunny February day. A good opportunity to try the panorama setting on the selection dial! However, the results are oddly pixellated when you slightly zoom in. Does the panorama mode work as 4K video I wonder? Normally I shoot a number of pictures to create a panorama and stitch them together in Photoshop or Lightroom. This gives better results than the panorama dial setting ... or have I missed a step somewhere?

Answer 1

If you are holding the camera horizontally and panning from left to right (default) or right to left (available via a menu option) the maximum vertical resolution is limited to 1920 pixels with the standard panorama setting and only 960 pixels in the wide panorama setting. These are quite a bit less than your camera's maximum resolution of 3448 pixels on the short side.

If you hold the camera vertically and pan horizontally you should be able to get the same resolution as when you hold the camera horizontally and pan vertically: 2560 pixels on the shorter dimension with standard selected and 1280 pixels with wide selected.

It is all outlined on pages 77-78 of the Owner's Manual for advanced features for the DMC GX80.

If you want better resolution than that you'll need to take multiple images normally and stitch them together later the way you have been doing it in the past.