Panotaker
Posts: 5
Location: Austin, United States
Registered: 18 Sep 2010
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Poorman's pano head!
Posted: 15 Oct 2011 at 16:07 GMT
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I am sure this has been done before, but here is my simple version. If you have a full frame camera, like a 5D mkII, and a Sigma 8mm f/3.5 fisheye lens, this bracket works perfectly and it is practically free. I took a 5 inch long piece of aluminum that is 1 inch wide and 1/8 inch thick and drilled a couple of holes in it. I use it on a monopod with a bubble level in the hot shoe. One hole is drilled for the monopod, the other hole I drilled right at the gold band of the Sigma 8mm. I take four shots around and one hand held nadir shot and stitch it in PTgui pro. You can go to this link to see my bracket: www.pbase.com/panotaker/canon_5dmkii_homemade_pan... and you can go to this link to see a pano shot with it www.roundus.com/listing/1356/#1 I still have to figure out how to get rid of my own shadow, but I am just learning.
Ralph
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Pete Loud
Posts: 397
Location: United Kingdom
Registered: 14 Oct 2006
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Re: Poorman's pano head!
Posted: 4 Nov 2011 at 9:42 GMT
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You will upset many people who have spent a great deal of money on some fancy pano-head. Having spent a fortune many resent anyone coming along with an inexpensive solution. I think it significant that no one has replied to you posting.
At least you are not getting the hate mail that I got when I made my Nodal Samurai.
www.peterloud.co.uk/nodalsamurai/nodalsamurai.html
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Tourdesign
Posts: 52
Location: United Kingdom
Registered: 24 Aug 2011
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Re: Poorman's pano head!
Posted: 4 Nov 2011 at 10:30 GMT
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Hate mail, bloomin eck!
In essence, a pano head is very simple I guess. If you get your measurements right i'm sure it will produce results on par with the likes of NN and 360p. I just wish I had the time and skill to give one a try!
I am a sucker for looks though, and don't think i'd feel comfortable as a professional panographer turning up to shoots with a DIY version. 
The pano example looks good, but give it a try in an enclosed space, only then can you really see if you've got the nodal point right. With regards to the shadow, simply step out of the way (use a tripod) for one shot, then stand the other side for another shot and mask out the shadows. If the sun is high in the sky, you can also just bend down so as not to cast such a long shadow!
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juann
Posts: 142
Location:
Registered: 6 May 2006
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Re: Poorman's pano head!
Posted: 4 Nov 2011 at 10:59 GMT
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My new one , less than 50 grams , little tilted up , one piece of wood floating floor between adapter and lens
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Clay
Posts: 251
Location: Port Colborne, Ontario, Canada
Registered: 23 Aug 2004
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Re: Poorman's pano head!
Posted: 4 Nov 2011 at 11:37 GMT
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You won't get hate mail from me, there's nothing wrong with a homebuilt, particularly for monopod shooting where stitching errors and additional editing are a given.
My first tripod homebuilt was constructed from a drafting machine head, I'm on my 4th design right now, but I gave up on the drafting head.
Here's the problem ...
As your skills improve you're going to want to shoot faster and more precisely. Zero flex and solid clicks stops for rotation in horizontal and vertical axes are important for template stitching. Registration marks for different cameras/lenses become important, etc., etc.
These things are hard to achieve in a home workshop, but by all means, take it as far as it can go.
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Pete Loud
Posts: 397
Location: United Kingdom
Registered: 14 Oct 2006
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Re: Poorman's pano head!
Posted: 4 Nov 2011 at 11:44 GMT
updated: 4 Nov 2011 at 11:59 GMT
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Panotaker,
If you bend the bar, like my Nodal Samurai Lite, it would put the camera at an angle and give you more overlap at the zenith.
The position and angle of the of the bend are a little bit critical, but if your first attempt isn't spot on try again. At about 20p per piece you can afford to get it slightly out first time.
Incidentally my Nodal Samurai webpage has had 45,900 hits. Probably most of the visitors were after a pano-head device. If one of the commercial manufacturers had placed an advert, and/or given me one of their models to review, I wonder how many sales they would have won.
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Panotaker
Posts: 5
Location: Austin, United States
Registered: 18 Sep 2010
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Re: Poorman's pano head!
Posted: 4 Nov 2011 at 12:53 GMT
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I started out with a Nodal Ninja 4 and a Canon 15mm fisheye. It works great and it is what I use for indoor panos, or when I start doing HDR panos. I then bought the Sigma 8mm fisheye and found out that outdoor panos stitched up fine with the string and plumb bob method. So I made the simple pano bracket to use with my mono pod. It works surprisingly well. The few panos I shot stitched up perfect. I even did an indoor pano of my kitchen and that stitched up fine too, it took a few tries though due to the slow shutter speed.
Since the 5D mkii is a full frame camera, I haven't had to tilt the camera up. So far the Sigma 8mm seems to have enough overlap to stitch the top of the pano just fine. Since it also shoots a perfect round circle, the camera can be held in landscape mode instead of portrait mode, so a simple flat pano bracket is all that is needed.
I don't recommend all the pros ditch their nodal ninjas and go make one of these simple brackets, but if you need to take a quick simple outdoor pano, this combo is hard to beat. 4 shots and one nadir shot and you are done.
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DennisS
Posts: 1292
Location: Los Anglels, United States
Registered: 1 Sep 2007
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Re: Poorman's pano head!
Posted: 8 May 2012 at 3:24 GMT
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particularly for monopod shooting where stitching errors and additional editing are a given. After shooting monopod panos for a couple of years now, I can say the only time I get into trouble is when I try to do a pano right next to a handrail on a bridge or porch. If I must shoot a pano there, I break out my tripod. Otherwise 99% of the panos I do are on a monopod with no stitching issues whatsoever (is that even a word?) Given enough practice there is no reason a monopod pano cannot "fall" together.
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Pat Traynor
Posts: 81
Location: Boston, United States
Registered: 4 Oct 2007
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Re: Poorman's pano head!
Posted: 10 May 2012 at 15:37 GMT
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Dennis, do you attach the camera to the tripod via the normal socket on the camera base, or do you have something that extends out so that it's centered under the lens' focal point?
But the more I think of it, it might not matter, since the entire assembly is going to want to balance at its center of mass, wherever that is.
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DennisS
Posts: 1292
Location: Los Anglels, United States
Registered: 1 Sep 2007
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Re: Poorman's pano head!
Posted: 10 May 2012 at 17:38 GMT
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Pat,
I use a Nodal Ninja R1. Since your hand is on the camera holding the monopod plumb, the center of balance is not important. What is important is keeping the camera at "the point" for all the shots. All the rules for using a standard pano head on a tripod apply to monopod shooting. You must keep the camera rotated around "the point".
Believe it or not a monopod rig needs calibration beyond finding the nodal point. You would be amazed how far off center an R1 (or Atom, etc...) mounts on the top of most monopods. The top of a monopod is nowhere near square. Most monopods are bowed, so your level needs calibration. Remember that monopods are designed to support a big old honkin camera and lens that otherwise could not be hand held. Monopods are not designed for pano work, so they require a bit more attention and calibration. It is a thing of beauty once you get the hang of it.
Dennis
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