dougpeterson
Workshop Member
Let me first and foremost point out that this post is for fun. Though I do find and point out a very practical usage for this setup I think you'd have to be pretty crazy (or very well heeled) to purchase two cubes. One cube is enough for a lifetime.
Thanks to Charles Brown (forum member) for his photos of the setup below.
That, ladies and gentlemen is cube squared. Why? Well mostly because we could. However it does solve a long standing issue in all tripod head design:
The purpose of one cube is to level the platform of the camera EVEN if the tripod itself is not perfectly level. This is great because the process of leveling a tripod is imprecise, time consuming, and requires a lot of bending over, whereas leveling a cube is incredibly quick, very precise, and can be done without bending over. Imagine you're on a rocky cliff in the winter with heavy clothing/coat, and you can see where the difference can be anything but minor.
By leveling the camera base you can now pan your camera left and right along an EVEN HORIZON.
What if you want to take a shot with the camera pointed slightly down or up (for instance to place the horizon at a rule of thirds). A single cube makes doing this very easy for a single image. You can rotate the camera on the cube until it matches one of the axis of the cube, then use the cube's tilt to accomplish the needed rule-of-thirds composition and use the cube's other axis to level the horizon perfectly. Fast and easy.
The long standing problem is when you want to compose with a non-even horizon (e.g. at a rule of thirds) and then pan-and-stitch left-to-right. With one cube you can't do it! The camera will not remain horizon-level and you move left to right.
So you COULD just level your tripod - what any sane person would do in this situation. However, if you're crazy, you could use a second cube. You use the first cube to provide a level base and you use the second cube to tilt-and-pan to your hearts content.
Doug Peterson (e-mail Me)
__________________
Head of Technical Services, Capture Integration
Phase One, Leaf, Cambo, Canon, Apple, Profoto, Eizo & More
National: 877.217.9870 *| *Cell: 740.707.2183
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Thanks to Charles Brown (forum member) for his photos of the setup below.
That, ladies and gentlemen is cube squared. Why? Well mostly because we could. However it does solve a long standing issue in all tripod head design:
The purpose of one cube is to level the platform of the camera EVEN if the tripod itself is not perfectly level. This is great because the process of leveling a tripod is imprecise, time consuming, and requires a lot of bending over, whereas leveling a cube is incredibly quick, very precise, and can be done without bending over. Imagine you're on a rocky cliff in the winter with heavy clothing/coat, and you can see where the difference can be anything but minor.
By leveling the camera base you can now pan your camera left and right along an EVEN HORIZON.
What if you want to take a shot with the camera pointed slightly down or up (for instance to place the horizon at a rule of thirds). A single cube makes doing this very easy for a single image. You can rotate the camera on the cube until it matches one of the axis of the cube, then use the cube's tilt to accomplish the needed rule-of-thirds composition and use the cube's other axis to level the horizon perfectly. Fast and easy.
The long standing problem is when you want to compose with a non-even horizon (e.g. at a rule of thirds) and then pan-and-stitch left-to-right. With one cube you can't do it! The camera will not remain horizon-level and you move left to right.
So you COULD just level your tripod - what any sane person would do in this situation. However, if you're crazy, you could use a second cube. You use the first cube to provide a level base and you use the second cube to tilt-and-pan to your hearts content.
Doug Peterson (e-mail Me)
__________________
Head of Technical Services, Capture Integration
Phase One, Leaf, Cambo, Canon, Apple, Profoto, Eizo & More
National: 877.217.9870 *| *Cell: 740.707.2183
Newsletter: Read Latest or Sign Up
RSS Feed: Subscribe
Buy Capture One at 10% off
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