Looking for a panoramic head .........

lanod2407

I'm looking for a panoramic head, but am restricted regarding budget. Found this one on eBay, but when I look at the pics on the ad I'm struggling to see how I'd see through the camera viewfinder once the camera has been fitted to the head .......... looking for input from the good people from boards to assist ............. any opinions? Even better, does anyone else have one?

http://cgi.ebay.ie/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=310327968430&ssPageName=STRK:MEWAX:IT

jaybeeveedub

seems to be a design flaw alright.....

first of all what stitching software are you going to use.... this will dictate your head and lens....

if you are planning on making full spherical vt images then you'll need a fisheye lens and a very basic vr head.... or a more complex head and a standard wide lens depending on software...

if you are planning the images 360 in one plane only then any vr head and any wide lens will do nicely.....

if you have any specific questions just ask!

lanod2407

tbh I'm just looking to take some landscape shots in a panoramic format - e.g. take 4 or 5 shots in portrait mode and stitch them together using something like PT Gui ............. any advice appreciated.

I'm using standard lens formats - 50mm or 70 mm,.
The pics will be on a single plane.

jaybeeveedub

lanod2407 wrote: »

tbh I'm just looking to take some landscape shots in a panoramic format - e.g. take 4 or 5 shots in portrait mode and stitch them together using something like PT Gui ............. any advice appreciated.

I'm using standard lens formats - 50mm or 70 mm,.
The pics will be on a single plane.

in that case you don't really need a vr head... just get the tripod head level and use a double-bubble to get the camera vertical....

a vr head is only really necessary for close quarters imagery...

I've captured a 270 panorama hand held and printed it 14m wide with no perceptible joints or ghosting...

I'd also spend the cash on a stiching program... I've found ptgui labour intensive..

lanod2407

jaybeeveedub wrote: »

I'd also spend the cash on a stiching program... I've found ptgui labour intensive..

What program would you recommend ahead of ptgui?

Heebie

There's something very important to consider with that bracket... and that is that the pivot point is in entirely the wrong place.
The pivot point should be at the zero point of the lens. (If you draw a set of lines outlining the path of light through the camera, you get to a place somewhere in the lens where the lines cross each other.. generally on a lens long enough to have it's own tripod mount.. the tripod mount is at the zero point which should be the pivot point for a panorama to be ideal.

The pivot point on that mount isn't anywhere near the right place.. as it's on the wrong side of the camera body.


I'm looking for a panoramic mount that isn't €600, and will drop onto my Manfrotto tripod.

Good luck!

stcstc

i have a manfrotto 303 sph and leveling base

it rock, although i am not using anywhere near as much as i expected so chances are i will sell

The zero point is called the nodal point.

its worth spending on a decent head, as configuration can be fiddly with the wrong bit of kit

Heebie

Thanks for the proper terminology there.

stcstc wrote: »

The zero point is called the nodal point.