Anyone using the SL system's 3:1 aspect ratio to shoot Panoramas in-camera ?

[LBJ2]

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Anyone using the SL system's 3:1 aspect ratio to shoot Panoramas in-camera ?  If so, please post some of your favorite SLx 3:1 panoramic images here as I am looking for panoramic composition suggestions and tips to support my Project 2025 initiative. 

Motivated by some 65x24, X-Pan photography that I've seen recently, I've decided to kick off a 2025 personal project specifically using the SL2 3:1 aspect ratio for a one-shot panorama image creation. My project will not include any sort of panoramic stitching or frame overlapping. For this project, I'm attempting to stick with the SL2 in-camera one shot 3:1 aspect ratio.

Thanks in advance for your suggestions and hopefully posting some nice SLx 3:1 imagery too. 

Here some X-Pan 65x24 image samples I found inspiring :   https://jonasraskphotography.com/2017/12/09/different-results-a-look-at-through-the-x-pan/

[LBJ2]

Just in case someone else is wondering:

"The X-Pan 65x24 aspect ratio is very close to a 3:1 aspect ratio, as it is essentially a 2.7:1 ratio, meaning it's slightly wider than a true 3:1 but still considered a very panoramic format with a significantly larger width compared to the height." –Google Experimental Generative AI

 

[SrMi]

I love the XPan format, but I find 3:1 too stretched. I wish Leica had added an actual XPan format.

[Jean-Michel]

All images made with the SL cameras can be cropped to the 3:1 format.

All images shot with in the 3:1 format still have the full sensor format available.

[LBJ2]

2 hours ago, Jean-Michel said:

All images made with the SL cameras can be cropped to the 3:1 format.

All images shot with in the 3:1 format still have the full sensor format available.

"All images shot with in the 3:1 format still have the full sensor format available." Yes. This is my intention. But also I need to learn pano composition and am currently reviewing pano photography for ideas. 

[LBJ2]

3 hours ago, SrMi said:

I love the XPan format, but I find 3:1 too stretched. I wish Leica had added an actual XPan format.

I shall find out shortly if I am able to use the 3:1 ratio effectively or not. From what I read... 3:1 is also considered a popular panoramic aspect ratio. Also, I might be in good shape w/ 3.1 since I don't have any X-Pan experience by comparison. I do however need to learn/practice panoramic composition techniques particularly since I have a keen interest in some other type of wide narrow compositions other than just landscapes e.g., lifestyle, street, etc. maybe even some events. 

[Olaf_ZG]

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You could use 3:1 for framing and then later crop to 2.7 in post. I did it a while with the m. 24mm was great for this.

[hoolyproductions]

Last summer while travelling in Scotland I ended up taking a lot of stitched panoramas at 90mm with my 24-90mm. 2x3 format was not really working so I decided to try X-Pan crops, such as below, and have become a fan of that ratio ever since.

Because of that, I tried out the 3:1 aspect ratio with my SL3 and 24mm on a recent trip. I also found it a little too 'stretched', although I guess it could work in some situations. As Olaf suggested, I have used it a couple of times as a 'rough guide' for an X-Pan crop and then adjusted later in post.

Look forward to seeing your results

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Edited January 6 by hoolyproductions

[hoolyproductions]

One from today. Sl3-S 90-280mm

 

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Edited February 16 by hoolyproductions

[hoolyproductions]

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[stbeyer]

I am a bit late to the party, but may still be of interest.

I like the 3:1 in-camera crop a lot and have a user profile set up to switch to it quickly. I recently wrote a post about this on my Substack:

https://stbeyer.substack.com/p/lens-flare-47-going-panoramic

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Edited March 12 by stbeyer

[LBJ2]

On 3/12/2025 at 3:51 AM, stbeyer said:

I am a bit late to the party, but may still be of interest.

I like the 3:1 in-camera crop a lot and have a user profile set up to switch to it quickly. I recently wrote a post about this on my Substack:

https://stbeyer.substack.com/p/lens-flare-47-going-panoramic

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Thank you. I enjoyed reading your article. All very nice compositions and prompting some ideas how to include people in the compositions. Then there is the "Bison in Utah" image which is just a cool shot in and of itself. 3:1 really adds to the story IMO. Well done all. Inspirational!