I once tried Hugin but experienced less stitch faults with Microsoft ICE.
My workflow with DXO-PL and ICE only:
- take reference picture e.g. with my Nikkor 10-24 in Auto-Mode. This should look similar to the later stitch (not a must but helps)
- carefully analyse exposure and highlights
- set camera to Manual-Mode and set exposure settings from reference picture
- If something in foreground or multiple (>2) row stitch, a well calibrated pano-head is a must (I do not have one). A well balanced tripod in general is an advantage but it works also without one.
- Set focus manually to required value (check DOF) on needed lens (e.g any prime from 35 to 85 mm) and finally re-check exposure at an example picture
- take required pictures quickly, about 30% overlapping (lens edge sharpness?), pan the camera (usually) in portrait-format around the central axis of the lens. Be generous at the top and bottom for later cutting
- take another 1 or 2 sets just to be sure (motion blur, wind, clouds, people, cars etc.)
That was the shooting part, it’s easier than it reads….
Back at home:
- Develop reference picture with DXO to taste (color, contrast, exposure, shadows, highlights whatever) so that it looks (about) how the later stitch should look like.
- copy these correction settings to one set of to be stitched pictures
- if not already applied, add other corrections like vignetting, distortion, CA (size as necessary but all equal). For referencing maybe take one picture and then copy correction settings again. Easy!
- develop pictures, output=TIF
- load TIFs into ICE and stitch, output again TIF
- Load resulting image to dxo again and check whether some volume deformation corrections and final corrections (horizon, straight lines, final cut) need to be applied. Develop again to jpg
- Smile!