Looking for a Panoramic setup that has "click stops" on both vertical and horizontal axis? Does one exist?

[wallpaperviking]

Am looking to try some Large Format BokehRama (aka Brenizer) portrais but I don't love the idea of shooting a crazy amount of shots and hoping for the best. Was hoping to approach with a tripod and Pano head method and was thinking a head with "click stops" would be ideal, as it would mean I do not have to look down at the head each time...

Hopefully, would be a somewhat intuitive feel, if that is even possible with this technique

Most Panoramic heads that I have looked at only have click stops on the bottom panning base and not the top vertical panning head. Is there one out there that does this?

Or would it be a matter of Macgyvering one out of two panning heads?

Thanks!

 

[anwarp]

I haven’t seen anything like this, but you should be able to put one together with 2 heads and an L bracket for a camera.
The lower head should be set up for a level horizontal pan.

Another option might be a screw driven leveller on top of a level horizontal click stop panning base. You could count the number of turns needed to move vertically.

 

[Paul Spinnler]

Home – Roundshot – fast 360 degree panoramic equipment

Unique cameras with ultimate quality.

www.roundshot.com

This is the most advanced automatic VR system which can stitch in multiple axes. The dynamic VR product under products. Seitz manufacturers the Alpa bodies, so they do top of the line quality ...

 

[wallpaperviking]

Thanks for the responses, much appreciated!

The Roundshot looks amazing but waaay out of my budget for what I am looking to play around with..

Think I have found one that is more in budget..

Sunwayfoto CR-3015A 360° VR Panoramic Tripod Head with 8/12/15/18 degrees Horizontal Stops

Buy Sunwayfoto CR-3015A 360° VR Panoramic Tripod Head with 8/12/15/18 degrees Horizontal Stops direct from the official Sunwayfoto Australia store. Free shipping on orders over $69.

sunwayfoto.com.au

Apparently it has click stops on both axis (and is within budget).

Thanks for your help!

 

[f6cvalkyrie]

maybe some panoramic head from Gigapan could help you ?

GigaPan Store | Panoramic Heads | Pano Heads | Panoramic Tripod Heads

Automatically capture gigapixel panoramas with GigaPan's EPIC series of panoramic heads. Learn more about these revolutionary robotic pano heads.

www.gigapan.com

Stay safe,
Rafael

 

[Ben730]

Panoramic Head

The 303 pan head permits the photographer to take sequential constant-angle shots around a single axis with his or her camera either in portrait or landscape position, and with the nodal point of the camera/lens in line with the centre of panoramic rotation to ensure that parallax effects do not...

www.manfrotto.com

 

[Required]

Novoflex have adjustable steps for base and fixed steps for vertical.

The professional allrounder: VR-System PRO II "Heavy Duty"

The VR-System PRO II HD enables the parallax-free, horizontal and vertical pivoting around the nodal point of the lens the heaviest 35mm full-frame cameras

www.novoflex.de

The Specialist: VR-System 6/8 "Heavy Duty"

Suitable lenses: Fisheye, super wide-angle lenses on even the heaviest 35mm full-frame cameras

www.novoflex.de

 

[wallpaperviking]

Good One! Thanks for the suggestions..

 

[wallpaperviking]

Novoflex have adjustable steps for base and fixed steps for vertical.

The professional allrounder: VR-System PRO II "Heavy Duty"

The VR-System PRO II HD enables the parallax-free, horizontal and vertical pivoting around the nodal point of the lens the heaviest 35mm full-frame cameras

www.novoflex.de

The Specialist: VR-System 6/8 "Heavy Duty"

Suitable lenses: Fisheye, super wide-angle lenses on even the heaviest 35mm full-frame cameras

www.novoflex.de

Does anybody know what the process is for using the 10 degree click stops on the vertical axis? Very hard to find information on this product..

Anybody out there own one or has previously used one?

 

[AreBee]

I don't own either of the linked heads, but I'll hazard to guess it operates similar to my own:

• First, note the description for the 'heavy duty' head states the lower base has a spirit level. Hence, from the attached image we know the left base is the head's upper base.
• Unlike for the lower base, the upper base is required to prevent the weight of the camera causing the arm to which it is fastened from swinging out of its selected click-stop. This is the function of the large blue coloured button.
• To adjust the arm the sequence will be:
  • Hold the camera with one hand to prevent it swinging after the next step
  • Depress the large blue (spring-loaded) button with the other hand
  • Rotate the arm to the desired click-stop setting
  • Release the button to lock the arm.

 

[wallpaperviking]

I don't own either of the linked heads, but I'll hazard to guess it operates similar to my own:

• First, note the description for the 'heavy duty' head states the lower base has a spirit level. Hence, from the attached image we know the left base is the head's upper base.
• Unlike for the lower base, the upper base is required to prevent the weight of the camera causing the arm to which it is fastened from swinging out of its selected click-stop. This is the function of the large blue coloured button.
• To adjust the arm the sequence will be:
  • Hold the camera with one hand to prevent it swinging after the next step
  • Depress the large blue (spring-loaded) button with the other hand
  • Rotate the arm to the desired click-stop setting
  • Release the button to lock the arm.

Thanks for the response, much appreciated!

I have a Sunway 3015A and it is ok. Similar in operation, except that it uses 5 degree increments. I have found that I use 10 degree increments all the time, hence the interest in the Novoflex. With the Sunway, I have to click down 2 x 5 degrees. Not a massive deal but am attempting to shoot people this way, so every second counts...

I imagine due to the price that the Novoflex is just a lot more solid.

What do you have? Your experience with it?

Thanks!

 

[AreBee]

I have an Adjuste Giga (refer to the attached image) by 360 Precision (out of business for years, then seemed recently to have made a comeback, but again seems to have disappeared). It's an excellent head but relatively heavy.

My understanding is the pin hole on a DSLR base is used by a (non-integral) vertical grip. The panoramic head used the hole as a means to ensure the camera was fastened perpendicular to the arm. This was achieved through the use of a so-called 'pin registration plate' in which the plate the body connects to incorporates a pin of the correct size and location to match the body. Unfortunately, the pin hole location is body-specific, hence a new 'pin registration plate' is required if a different body will be used. Unsurprisingly, 360 Precision used this as a cash-cow.

 

[wallpaperviking]

I have an Adjuste Giga (refer to the attached image) by 360 Precision (out of business for years, then seemed recently to have made a comeback, but again seems to have disappeared). It's an excellent head but relatively heavy.

My understanding is the pin hole on a DSLR base is used by a (non-integral) vertical grip. The panoramic head used the hole as a means to ensure the camera was fastened perpendicular to the arm. This was achieved through the use of a so-called 'pin registration plate' in which the plate the body connects to incorporates a pin of the correct size and location to match the body. Unfortunately, the pin hole location is body-specific, hence a new 'pin registration plate' is required if a different body will be used. Unsurprisingly, 360 Precision used this as a cash-cow.

Thanks, much appreciated! That "pin registration plate" sounds sorta annoying... Not that I have more than one camera.. But still..

I am not sure if my head is stable enough for my camera setup unfortunately..

I have a Fuji GFX 100S and the horizontal rail is pushed all the way to the right (to have it centred with the lens). Am using it in both vertical and horizontal placement.

If the lens was not centred over the centre of the horizontal, do you run into major stitching issues? I realise the importance of having the lens set back on the top rail (so it is turning on the lens' nodal point) but is the horizontal positioning just as important?

Different issue to the above but initially I was tilting a separate tripod head up/down to get images that needed this framing, not realising that I could have the Pano head parallel and then use the movements on the vertical axis to essentially achieve the same thing... Pretty new to Pano photography but felt pretty silly with that one.. Was also told that it puts excessive strain on the horizontal rotator doing it this way.. Makes sense, will do it that way going forward. Just out of curiosity, if I was to tilt the whole assembly up/down (Camera, Lens, Pano Head) is the nodal point still centred? The relationship between camera, lens and nodal point has stayed the same, the whole assembly is just being tilted up/down. Is that correct?

Thanks!

 

[AreBee]

If the lens was not centred over the centre of the horizontal, do you run into major stitching issues? I realise the importance of having the lens set back on the top rail (so it is turning on the lens' nodal point) but is the horizontal positioning just as important?

Typically yes, but more specifically it depends. Consider the following parallax example, which goes directly to your question:

Hold an extended finger several inches from your face, close one eye and rotate your head about a vertical axis (yaw) as you would were you to turn your head to look left/right. You will see your (foreground) finger traverse across the background. Parallax occurs here because the lens (your eye) entrance pupil is not located on the rotation axis (your neck), but instead some horizontal distance from it.

To eliminate parallax the lens entrance pupil must be located on the axis about which the lens will be rotated. From this it follows (for a levelled panoramic head) that:

• For a vertical-only image set: The lens entrance pupil need only be located correctly relative to the 'camera arm' the body connects to (rotation axis is horizontal, through the same arm at its other end)
• For a horizontal-only image set: The lens entrance pupil need only be located correctly relative to:
  • The horizontal arm if all you have is a rail, or;
  • The horizontal and camera arm if using a panoramic head because both affect the entrance pupil location relative to a vertical rotation axis (through the panoramic head/tripod)
• For a vertical and horizontal image set both preceding bullet points apply, but the second incorporates the first, hence governs.

Different issue to the above but initially I was tilting a separate tripod head up/down to get images that needed this framing, not realising that I could have the Pano head parallel and then use the movements on the vertical axis to essentially achieve the same thing...

Yes, normal practise is to level the head, then rotate the horizontal and camera arm to capture horizontal and vertical images respectively.

... if I was to tilt the whole assembly up/down (Camera, Lens, Pano Head) is the nodal point still centred? The relationship between camera, lens and nodal point has stayed the same, the whole assembly is just being tilted up/down. Is that correct?

Yes, as the lens entrance pupil is still located:

• On the relevant rotation axis in the case of a (tilted) vertical or horizontal image set, and:
• At the intersection of both rotation axes in the case of a (tilted) vertical and horizontal image set.

However, with the camera tilted so too will be the image set, traversing diagonally across the field of view. This would make no difference in the case of a 360x180 (spherical) panorama (albeit is a non-standard means by which to shoot it), but for coverage less than it you potentially would require to shoot more images in the set to ensure the desired composition was captured.

 

[wallpaperviking]

Typically yes, but more specifically it depends. Consider the following parallax example, which goes directly to your question:

Hold an extended finger several inches from your face, close one eye and rotate your head about a vertical axis (yaw) as you would were you to turn your head to look left/right. You will see your (foreground) finger traverse across the background. Parallax occurs here because the lens (your eye) entrance pupil is not located on the rotation axis (your neck), but instead some horizontal distance from it.

To eliminate parallax the lens entrance pupil must be located on the axis about which the lens will be rotated. From this it follows (for a levelled panoramic head) that:

• For a vertical-only image set: The lens entrance pupil need only be located correctly relative to the 'camera arm' the body connects to (rotation axis is horizontal, through the same arm at its other end)
• For a horizontal-only image set: The lens entrance pupil need only be located correctly relative to:
  • The horizontal arm if all you have is a rail, or;
  • The horizontal and camera arm if using a panoramic head because both affect the entrance pupil location relative to a vertical rotation axis (through the panoramic head/tripod)
• For a vertical and horizontal image set both preceding bullet points apply, but the second incorporates the first, hence governs.

Yes, normal practise is to level the head, then rotate the horizontal and camera arm to capture horizontal and vertical images respectively.



Yes, as the lens entrance pupil is still located:

• On the relevant rotation axis in the case of a (tilted) vertical or horizontal image set, and:
• At the intersection of both rotation axes in the case of a (tilted) vertical and horizontal image set.

However, with the camera tilted so too will be the image set, traversing diagonally across the field of view. This would make no difference in the case of a 360x180 (spherical) panorama (albeit is a non-standard means by which to shoot it), but for coverage less than it you potentially would require to shoot more images in the set to ensure the desired composition was captured.

Wow, thanks so much for the very detail response! Much appreciated!