osmica wrote:

BTW, tell me about this panohead, please. You know better than me if people are sattisfied with it. Would you reccoment it to a friend? http://store.nodalninja.com/index.php/p … -rd16.html

with EZ leveler and Nadir adapter, 500 $ in total (about 400 €). I think it is a good investement.

What would you raccommend me?

Thank you,
Toni

Nodal Ninja make very fine products which are very popular. In my experience they also offer exceptionally good customer service too.

The R-D16 is a fine rotator, but 'overkill' really for use with the Nodal Ninja 3 which cannot accommodate larger/heavier DSLRs no longer focal length lenses.

Do you have particular camera bodies and lenses that you will be using to shoot panos both now and in the future? So, for example, if you only plan to shoot panos with the Sigma 8mm fisheye you might consider a Nodal Ninja  R-series ring mount instead with a less 'fancy' (fewer click-stop options) rotator.

I wouldn't bother with the EZ Leveler - better to get a tripod with a levelling centre column.

I've never used the Nadir adapter but some like it a lot.

Last edited by mediavets (2012-11-26 15:21:49)

We are writing at the same time every time

I have this tripod: http://www.manfrotto.us/055xprob-pro-tripod-black
with this head: http://www.manfrotto.us/basic-pan-tilt- … quick-lock

I will need a new head also. What you suggest me for this use?

osmica wrote:

Oh I didn`t know about all that... I have already a Panogear motor head but not satisfied with results as it is very slow and nadir is big. I made my first vituals with Tokina 11-16 wide lens. Maybe with my new Sigma 8mm will better...

The Panogear mount will always have a pretty large footprint regardless of what lens you use. And it's not fast (it was designed as an astrotelescope mount and you don't need speed to track stars!) . It does however offer by far the best 'bang for the buck' compared to any other robotic pano head.  You pay many times more for something significantly faster and better.

Unless you are planning to shoot from a pole there's little to be gained by using a robotic pano head if shooting real estate interiors with a fisheye lens. You can shoot 4-7 shooting positions just as quickly with a good manual pano head I think. 

Robotic pano heads come into their own if shooting panos with longer focal length lenses where it needs many tens or hundreds of images to cover the scene, or if shooting from a pole.

Papywizard makes me crazy, sometimes it just crash and I must reinstall. I must buy myself the Touch control panel to avoid that problems. It will be perfect for gigapixel panorama.

What platform are you running Papywizard on? I find it pretty reliable on Windows XP and on Nokia N800 and N810 Internet Tablets.

Can you tell me how much photo I will need with Canon 500 D + Sigma 8mm fisheye?  I will than understand what Nodal Ninja will be good for my needs.

Min. 4-around at small positive pitch, perhaps 7 degrees, (to cover zenith) plus whatever you feel you want to cover the nadir - in portrait orientation. Alternatively you may be happy to patch the nadir 'hole' with a logo?

The cheaper heads have a small range of angles...but I need that head just for my Sigma as I am orineted to real estate business. That mean I don`t care if have 96 stops It is enough that have the right number for my lens + the nadir adapter.

Then consider the R-series ring lens mounts from Nodal Ninja - R1/R10 with related zenith/nadir adapter or the newer RS1-NOR - with the new R-D5 rotator.

Last edited by mediavets (2012-11-26 18:46:54)

I will always have my logo as the nadir. Except if somebody pay to get a virtual tour without my logo
It is just a question of how big will be. If it will be small, than I can put just my logo. But if bigger, I will need to shot the nadir.

I checked the solution you reccomended.
I see the total price will be about 500 USD and something more when I buy in EU + delivery.
It looks a good price. I must check exactly. Kolor doesn`t have in offer that products (RS1-NOR + R-D5).

Another option for me that don`t need big load, will be this:
NN3D16KIT - NN3 - D 16 'FI' Kit WITHOUT T-Adapter         £249.95
RDB3D - 3D Hot Shoe Triple Axis Bubble Level                     £12.99
NN3-RS - NODAL NINJA NN3 RAIL STOPS                             £3.50
N35NADIR - Nadir Adapter for NN3, NN4 and NN5 series         £42.95    
Subtotal    £309.39
Shipping    £72.80
Total            £382.19 ( €471.66) + leveling column € 100 = € 570   

It is almost same price if I take off the accessories. With this I can use any fisheye or wide lens. With RS1 can use just one lens on all Canon cameras. But when I will change my camera the difference can be just in the grip that I can always take off while shooting panos.
Are there other differencies that I don`t see?
The rotator are both very good as I can see.
I looked also the NN4 and older NN5 that have an upper rail that can be locked. And allow havier load that I don`t need.

Thank you!
Toni

osmica wrote:

It is almost same price if I take off the accessories. With this I can use any fisheye or wide lens. With RS1 can use just one lens on all Canon cameras.

And that is why I asked you which camera bodies and lenses you planned to use for shooting panos.

You replied that you would only be using the Sigma 8mm fisheye, that's why I suggested a lens-ring style mount.

Now you are talking about using several lenses both fisheye and wide angle.

If you may use more than one lens then I would recommend the NN4 with one of the R-Dxx rotators and with the QR accessory for the upper rail. 

But when I will change my camera the difference can be just in the grip that I can always take off while shooting panos.

Never use a battery grip when shooting panos.

I looked also the NN4 and older NN5 that have an upper rail that can be locked. And allow havier load that I don`t need.

The upper rail locks also facilitate repeatability of upper rail setting.

..............

The take home message (given to me many years ago by a real expert) is that there is no single pano head setup that is ideal for every type of pano shooting; but that's probably something one can only really fully understand with experience.

..............

Before you rush out and buy anything I suggest you think very carefully about what you are wishing to achieve in terms of pano image resolution and quality vs. the budget you can justif and the fees you can expect top receive for the work.

Very few people manage to make a decent living by shooting panos for real estate applications. Real estate shoots often demand both panos and wide angle single images - typically shot using different lenses, and for simplicity and speed two (or more) camera bodies (you really don't want to be swapping lenses on a single DSLR body all the time).

You haven't yet mentioned the likely requirement to shoot bracketed exposures nor any additional gadgets to facilitate that.

Last edited by mediavets (2012-11-27 11:56:44)

osmica wrote:

Andrew, about QR accesories, do I need both, a plate and a clamp? I feel really stupid asking you that but I don`t understand if that is a set or 2 diferent accesories.

When shooting with your wide angle lens - do you usually use a tripod?

If so you may decide you need two tripods - on with the pano head on it and another with a regular 3-way tripod head.

If you are going to use one camera body and need a QR plate that works with both heads - pano and 3-way - then that will determine the type of QR system you will need; you don't want to be swapping QR plates (or pano vs. 3-way head) along with the lens.

I am making HDR with 3 images that Canon offers. I don`t know what else I would need for that? If I want I can connect it to my PC by DSLR Remote Pro and shot up to 15 bracketed images. What you have to tell me?http://www.breezesys.com/DSLRRemotePro/

Many people report that the built in automatic expsoure bracketing offered by most DSLRs is inadequate to cope with the dynamic range presented by typical interiors. A popular - but not cheap - solution is the Promote Control which can extend the exposure bracketing range, and is considerably less 'clumsy' solution than DSLR Remote Pro.

For both: Can you tell me your experience about costs of a virtual tour in your area? With no special extra requests. Here is about 30-50 € for one pano, and if a virtual have 5 pano it is 150 € for example. But I can make them much cheaper because I will get more money from renting them as real estate and turist agency. I can make them free if I want. But why?
I belive in your country it is more expencive. Am I right?

I don't know about the UK - I am strictly a hobbyist - but from what I read it's difficult, even with the property market in a deep recession,  to persuade real estate agents to spend any money on photography of any kind, they seem happy with poor photos shot by their own staff when inspecting a property. It may be different at the very high end of the property market but that's a very limited a specialised field.

osmica wrote:

No, I am shoting from hand, I don`t need a tripod for that. But it would be nice to have the right QR for both heads. Can you help me with that. Which do I need if I buy the NN4 D16 ? And what if I use the nadir adapter also?
I have the Manfrotto 3way head RC 804-RC2 at the moment.

Does that use the 200PL QR plate?:
http://www.manfrotto.co.uk/product/8374 … EASE_PLATE

I have this Nodal Ninja QR system for my NN4and NN5L but it's not compatible with your Manfrotto 3-way pano head:
http://store.nodalninja.com/index.php/p … ystem.html

As far as I know Nodal Ninja doesn't offer a Manfrotto-compatible QR system

However you could mount a Manfrotto QR system on an NN4/5 using this accessory rail plate:
http://store.nodalninja.com/index.php/p … -inch.html

Last edited by mediavets (2012-11-27 23:34:22)