Some of the newer cameras have a panorama feature that allows you to press the shutter button and pan the camera left to right, thereby recording a smooth 120 degree (or so) image. (An example here.)
I wondered if the camera was sensing the input across the CCD, or if it was sensing via some sort of gyro technology. To answer the question, I held the camera steady out the driver’s window while I drove my car, creating a panning effect. The train was moving parallel to the road I was diving on, but in the opposite direction. Here’s the result:
Because the action was going faster than normal panning speed, the camera lost a lot of information in between the vertical slices it was recording. At least I know it works by interpretation of visual data. Plus, I like this effect!
