GFX 32-64 and nodal point for stitching

[thompsonkirk]

Using Really Right Stuff stuff, I just checked out the nodal point(s) of this lens and wonder if others have seen similar results. I ended up with one point, 95mm.

After trying primes, and despite a longstanding prejudice against zooms, I've settled on the 32-64 as my lens-of-choice for the kind of landscape photography I do (at fairly close or 'personal' distances, and often involving stitching).

From what I'd read, I assumed that with a zoom lens I'd have to establish three different nodal points for a range of focal lengths, specifically 32, 44, and 64mm.

The RRS equipment I used was the basic gimbal with leveling base (PG-01), and the short nodal slider (MPR-CL). The short slider is barely long enough for this body and lens, so the MPR-CL-II slider could be a better choice. The GFX and zoom are just under the small gimbal's eight pound load capacity. It's stable except for one problem: I have the knob rather than the clamp type of camera mount on the gimbal, and it's difficult to tighten the screw enough to prevent vertical sagging. I suppose the clamp version would work better?

The results I achieved – though I double-checked – surprised me. At 64 and 44mm, the rear offset was the same, 95mm – which falls right at the extension limit of RRS's short nodal slider. 32mm would require a little more adjustment, but since it's not recommended to do panos at one's widest focal lengths, it looks like I can leave the setup permanently at 95mm.

What concerns me is that RRS's data for nodal points with Canon and Nikon zoom lenses suggest I should have found more variation at different focal lengths. So I'm wondering what's up: Something about the GF 32-64, or one more instance on my part of User Error?

Any advice or confirmation will be welcome,

Kirk

 

[thompsonkirk]

Confirmation: someone in the Fuji Owner’s FB group confirmed that the GF 32-64 has just one nodal / no parallax point. He too didn't expect this result and double-checked. His slider uses a different measuring point, so his result was 6.8cm. That's equivalent to about 90mm on the MPR-CL slider.

Differences that small are hard to detect and set, so I’ll just go for 92.5 and leave it there forever after.

Conclusion: If you don't use lenses longer than the 63/64mm, then the gear I mentioned above is just right and very light. But if you use longer lenses, then with RRS gear you'll need the heavier PG-02 gimbal and longer MPR-CL II slider.

K

 

[KanzaKruzer]

I am new to GetDPI and this is my first post. I would like to become proficient at stitched and exposure blended bracketed panoramas. Below is a photo of my gear setup which includes: Fuji GFX 50R, Fuji GF32-64, Arca Swiss C1 GP, RRS MPR-CL II, TR423 PMG Pro-Stix Tripod, Benro 75HB Adapter, PLX3x L-Bracket

[/url]Nodal by timberline12k, on Flickr[/IMG]

I was trying to find the nodal point for my GF-32-64 and ran across this thread. I have an older version RRS MPR-CL II that has a different scale than the current versions. The sensor lines up with 16 on the scale. From what I can gather, the distance from the sensor to the middle of the tripod should be approximately 92.5 for any focal length selected with this lens. That would place the nodal point at 6.75 on my scale (16-9.25). Is that a correct calculation?

Thanks for your help!

David

 

[tcdeveau]

Welcome to the forum! You’re in good company, especially with that GP cube

It’s pretty straightforward to double check the nodal point for yourself if you’re unsure about it, here’s a tutorial from really right stuff:

http://www.reallyrightstuff.com/finding-the-no-parallax-point

You can also google and there a million tutorials on YouTube

If I remember correctly, basically you just level everything, line up two vertical objects in the viewfinder (I used water bottles on a table, one near, one far), and move the rail back and forth while planning L/R until you find a point where the two objects in the viewfinder no longer move laterally in relation to one another (as viewed through the viewfinder or EVF/live view).

Hope that’s helpful

 

[KanzaKruzer]

Welcome to the forum! You’re in good company, especially with that GP cube

It’s pretty straightforward to double check the nodal point for yourself if you’re unsure about it, here’s a tutorial from really right stuff:

http://www.reallyrightstuff.com/finding-the-no-parallax-point

You can also google and there a million tutorials on YouTube

If I remember correctly, basically you just level everything, line up two vertical objects in the viewfinder (I used water bottles on a table, one near, one far), and move the rail back and forth while planning L/R until you find a point where the two objects in the viewfinder no longer move laterally in relation to one another (as viewed through the viewfinder or EVF/live view).

Hope that’s helpful

Thanks for the info. I had checked out RRS as well as online videos. I set up in the back yard with some vertical posts and could not distinguish any variance with different focal lengths which seemed strange. That is when I found this thread that was specific to my lens.