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Pano Test with Batis 25 and A7RII

dmward

Member
I finally got the last piece necessary to assemble a tripod head that will accommodate tilting as well as panning at the parallax point of the lens.
I had previously tested to determine the parallax point for the Batis 25mm lens. This morning I did a quick test to see how well it works when tilting the camera from having the sensor perpendicular to the ground.

Here are two versions. Both were made in M mode with 1/30, ISO 100, F8. I auto focused on the door with it in the center of the frame. Then changed to MF and fine tuned the focus at X12.5 focus magnification. It reminds me of focusing on the ground glass of a view camera with a loupe.

The first image is with the lower row of four images shot with the sensor perpendicular and the upper row with the camera tilted 15 degrees up.

The second image is with the lower row tilted down 5 degrees and the upper row is the same 4 images used in the first image set.

The merge was done in Lightroom. There are no adjustments in Lightroom other than the merging. The merge function was set to auto and selected spherical for the rendering. The verticals in the house are quite good. In the frames used for the merge they are noticeably tilted when the camera is off perpendicular as one would expect.

Result, in my view, is that the Batis 25 with this pano nodal point rig will work well in the field. Especially for landscapes.

The rig I assembled can easily break down to carry in a pouch or camera bag pocket. Its three rails and two panning clamps.



HERE is a full resolution image. Its 15.4 megabits and 11571x5382 pixels.




HERE is a full resolution image. Its 16.9 megabits and 11458x6128 pixels.
 
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dmward

Member
Like to see a image of your rig and maybe some links to make one
As I was writing the post above it came to mind that someone might ask.

Here are two pictures. First the assembled rig.

Its designed so that it can work on a ball head. I like this Manfroto head because it has geared tilting to ensure bulbs are centered in the levels on the pan head.

I set all the alignment marks to Zero and then use the adjustment for parallax compensation that I determined by testing on the nodal slide that is holding the camera.



Here is a picture of the pan head on the Manfroto plate. Notice the two spirit levels. They make it easy, using the geared adjusting knobs on the Manfroto head to get the panning plate level.



Here is a list of the components:

SUNWAYFOTO DMP-140 140mm Rail Nodal Slide

SUNWAYFOTO DDH-03i Fluid Panning Tripod Clamp

SUNWAYFOTO Discal Clamp DDY-58 DDY58 ARCA Compatible for Ball Head
(This clamp is attached to the above panning clamp as the tilting connection between the vertical rail and the nodal rail.)

Desmond 250mm DLR-2502 Double Macro Rail with Bubble Level

Desmond DVC-220 220mm Rail 90° w Vertical Clamp & Dual Dovetails

Neewer Multipurpose Professional Smooth Quick Release Fluid Panoramic Panning Base Ball Head Tripod Clamp for Camera

iShoot Improved Height Adapter IS-ZGQ II with Quick Knob
(this is not in the picture. Its a useful stand off for the camera to give easier access for a cable release plugged into the USB socket on the camera.)


The total cost from Amazon was $286.30.
 
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A couple tidbits -

First, if you're really serious about stitching big pans, you owe it to yourself to check out the AutoPano Giga software. A little pricey, at €200, but incredibly powerful. It can stitch almost anything and make it look good.

Second, if you're looking for cheap pano rig, I can recommend the Panosaurus. Only $100, and works very well. (I upgraded to an Epic GigaPan Pro a while back, so my Panosaurus is for sale.)

Here's my pano rig...

Gigapan Pro-004.jpg
 

dmward

Member
Mike,
you are way more serious about this than I am. ;)

Although the rig you mentioned for $100 is an attractive price. I clicked the link. Looks like it needs a nodal point rail to get everything centered.

One thing I like about the kit I assembled is that it can break down into a reasonable pouch size to put in my equipment case and carry along in a camera bag while walking around the city or where ever. I also can use only the one pano clamp and nodal slide if I only need one row of images.

I can see where the gigapan is ideal if one wants to do 180, 360 or spherical panos. My interest is more just widening the view a bit or even just increasing pixel resolution.

I know there are some outstanding stand alone stitching applications. At them moment Lightroom is doing an adequate job for me.

The one you linked to is worth experimenting with and I see there is a trial option.
 
Looks like it needs a nodal point rail to get everything centered.
No, it can adjust both vertically and for nodal point. Here it is in operational position...



The camera mounts to that horizontal swinging arm, and can be moved front to back for nodal point.
 

Dan Bellyk

New member
A couple tidbits -

First, if you're really serious about stitching big pans, you owe it to yourself to check out the AutoPano Giga software. A little pricey, at €200, but incredibly powerful. It can stitch almost anything and make it look good.

Second, if you're looking for cheap pano rig, I can recommend the Panosaurus. Only $100, and works very well. (I upgraded to an Epic GigaPan Pro a while back, so my Panosaurus is for sale.)

Here's my pano rig...

View attachment 94866
I have the same unit Epic GigaPan Pro and it quit working, the company went out of business :(
 
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