Fisheye or Rectilinear?
Personally, I advise using a really wide angle rectilinear lens (i.e.: Canon’s 10-22 EF-S lens). Rectilinear (also known as “normal” lenses) are easier to retouch and are supported by most stitching and photographic applications. Fisheye allows you to shoot fewer images, but you are a little more limited to how many applications that support fisheye stitching for. Retouching fisheye images can also be very challenging. (But they sure are fun to look at!) Some panographers argue that Fisheye is much better because it allows you to be much more efficient with your time. (ie: less images = less file size = less retouching/post-processing). Another factor is that fisheye lenses (ie: Nikkor 10.5mm fisheye) are generally much sharper in the corners than extremely wide rectilinear lenses like the Canon 10-22 EF-S or Canon “L” series EOS 16-35mm lens. Another issue is how most lenses deal with lens flares. Most fisheye lenses have an additional special coating on them to minimize lens flares.
