Patent US 5,752,113

Systems, particularly cameras and mounts, for capturing images of a panorama to allow the combination of the images into a continuous image are disclosed. In particular the invention is directed to mounts that rotate image capturing devices such that the images may be electronically stitched together. One such mount includes a base, which can be held on a tripod, and a frame rotatably connected to the base for supporting an image capturing device. Usually, such image capturing device is a chemical-film or digital camera. In some applications, a video camera will be useful of photographing a panorama at high speed. The mount has a rotational advance system that enables the rotation of the frame through discrete angles through 360.degree.. The frame may have a fordable arm for carrying an image capturing device in both a portrait and landscape orientation. High speed systems are also disclosed that use controllers to coordinate the rotation of the base with a timing of the images captured by the image capturing device to enable stitching of the images into a coherent panorama. As a result, a panorama can be photographed in less than one second.