It's been a while since I played with Panos in Photoshop. I've got CS and have seen the new menu items, but haven't used them yet. www.ptgui.com has links to the free plugins and a commercial (GUI) interface product. http://www.ptgui.com/panotools.html is a link to mirrors of Helmut Dersch's orginal site.

When I don't use my 'stitch-assist' on my Canon S35 (ie when using film or my 10D) it's best to use a tripod with a geared head. Photos should overlap at least 1/4 with the adjoining photos and it's best to keep your 'pan' horizontal as possible (this is where a tripod with a level comes in handy). Also, the better the camera's lens the better you panorama will be. Cheaper/smaller lenses have more pronounced brightness fall-offs towards the outside edges. When you stitch these become dark bands where the photos overlap, and they're difficult to edit out.

HTH.

-Zeke