1. A panoramic view imaging system, comprising: a first image acquisition assembly comprising a first lens and a first sensor that produce a first image from light in a visible spectrum, where the first image acquisition assembly produces first images at a rate of at least sixty images per second; a rotational position controller that pans the first image acquisition assembly through a range of horizontal imaging positions; an elevation position controller that tilts the first image acquisition assembly through a range of vertical imaging positions; a zoom controller that changes the focal length of the first image acquisition assembly; an image processor that produces a panoramic image from a plurality of images produced by the first image acquisition assembly, where the panoramic image has a field of view greater in both a horizontal dimension and a vertical dimension than a single image acquired by the first image acquisition assembly, and where the panoramic image is produced without using a hemispherical mirror; and a calibration processor that calibrates the panoramic view imaging system by: calibrating the first lens with a pre-characterized sensor; calibrating the first sensor with a pre-characterized lens; calibrating the first lens and the first sensor arranged together in the first image acquisition assembly; or calibrating the first image acquisition assembly mounted in the panoramic view imaging system, where calibrating the panoramic view imaging system facilitates mitigating an effect of an aberration in the first lens or an aberration in the first sensor.