mediavets wrote:

fma38 wrote:

I can reach 90° only if I move the camera/lens on the sliding rail, so I'm out of NPP position. If I stay at NPP, I can't go more than 40° up (because of the body of the camera, and also because of the connector).

The circular mount was designed by Trekker317. Thierry, did you make a version with correct holes positon?

This appears to be a major limitation of the Merlin head for pano photography with longer focal length lens on a DSLR IF one wishes to set the NPP properly?

I would agree that perhaps few people would us a Merlin head for 360x180 panos shooting when panos are destined for on-line display because they would probably choose to use a FE and then this would require  only a few shots and a manual pano head would be more appropriate, and also they would have a smaller nadir with a manual pano head.

So it seems to me that the main use of a Merlin head will be for shooting partial panos at higher resolutions - such as landscapes from a high viewpoint?

If that assumption is correct is the limited upwards pitch that can be achieved - such as +40 in your case with a 17-40 lens on a Canon 30D  - while retaining a correct NPP a real limitation, or am I making too much of this issue?

Perhaps if shooting distant landscapes for example then it does not matter very much whether the NPP is set correctly?

No. The Merlin is fine for spheres. Nobody shoots spheres with 200mm lenses . . .

I tried a 105mm and it goes 90deg up - hitting the NPP of course.

Again: nobody shoots spheres with lenses which are so long they wouldn´t fit the Merlin at 90deg upwards - therefore it´s very theoretical to discuss longer lenses for 90deg up . . .

The only problem is the footprint.

"or am I making too much of this issue?"

Yes - definitely

best, Klaus

Frederic,

I will take some pictures of the very small modification of the Merlin, but not today nor tomorrow... I am out !

Sorry, I made a mistake, the objective I use isn't the 10-17 mm but the 10-22 mm EF-S and this is a rectilinear.
So at 10 mm with the 1.6 crop factor this is approximating to 16mm equiv.

This objective is quite compact and certainly much more compact than a Tele-objective. The combination with the Canon D40 and the setting allow the correct NPP and a complete freedom (full rotation for both axis)

I use this objective essentially for 360 x 180 (sphere). With Papywizard and the Merlin and Autopano, I can say that this combination is really a dream !

So the Merlin is not limited only for shooting partial panos at higher resolutions !
And I confirm that the only problem is the footprint, but there are several solutions for that.

I have also a Nodal Ninja 5 and really when I will be able to use the Merlin with the Bluetooth connection, I will probably put this beautiful Nodal Ninja 5 for sale on Ebay... 

Claude

I understood.

Here the maximum position with my Canon 20D + EF 17-40/f4 L USM, with a correct NPP. I can reach up to 50°...

I have to move the NPP 25 mm forward to be able to reach 90° (or even 70°, the position I need to make a full-spherical pano with that lens).

Klaus,

Thanks for the detailed reply - all very informative, helpful and much appreciated.

I look forward to seeing some photos of your setup and the rail system you are using to mount lenses on the Merlin. I have a few vague ideas of how I might do it but it would be good to learn from those with hands-on experience - as Isaac Newton put it, "to stand on the shoulders of Giants" (http://www.phrases.org.uk/meanings/268025.html).

Very interesting to learn of your use of the Merlin on a pole - must be a pretty strong pole! And you must be very courageous or at least have lot of confidence in the pole.

I'm certain you are correct in saying there is nothing to match the Merlin at the price. If the manufacturer's realised that it is useful for pano photography I'm sure they could make a variant specifically targeting that market and charge twice as much - perhaps we should keep quiet about it!

I did consider a Gigapan unit before choosing to go with the Merlin. I think it is quite well thought out (as a concept) but the Gigapan unit looks so frail and it is really only suitable for use with a compact camera - I have one, a Nikon P5100, but that's not really ideal for Gigapan it seems, and anyway should I wish to I'm sure I could mount that on a Merlin.

Last edited by mediavets (2008-10-14 00:03:09)

mediavets wrote:

I look forward to seeing some photos of your setup and the rail system you are using to mount lenses on the Merlin. I have a few vague ideas of how I might do it but it would be good to learn from those with hands-on experience - as Isaac Newton put it, "to stand on the shoulders of Giants" (http://www.phrases.org.uk/meanings/268025.html).

Very interesting to learn of your use of the Merlin on a pole - must be a pretty strong pole! And you must be very courageous or at least have lot of confidence in the pole.

Andrew - the merlin comes with an right-angled (?) rail (?). Unmount the angle and you get one straight rail.
Attach the camera with a camera-screw so that the camera sits right-angled on the rail.
Turn the dovetail of the head horizontal and slide the rail into it.
The camera now sits in portrait-mode attached to the vertical moving part of the Merlin and is nearly perfectly vertical aligned - with my 20D it´s one or two millimeters beneath it. So you can use a modified - as Frédéric does - turning plate to put a Manfrotto rail-holder on.

But it works already by using just the "primitive" version without any modification besides to detach the angled rail.

Frederic

I am trying to choose which of the GentleLED devices to use to trigger the shutter of my Nikon D40 DSLR (which does not have the option of a wired remote and does not have AEB) from the Merlin head using Papywizard to control the head:
http://www.gentles.ltd.uk/gentled/options.htm

I read this in the Papywizard documentation:

"Delays ¶

There are two delays to set in the configuration dialog: Stabilization delay and Time value.

The first one is the delay between the end of the move end the effective shooting. Depending of the tripod used, the head can start shaking while moving. So, it maye need a long delay before it stabilizes again. This is especially true if the head is on a long pole.

The second delay mainly depends of the exposure time of the camera; it should be longer that this time. Take into account the total time of the shooting cycle, which is longer that the exposure time alone.

Note that the shutter trigger remains on during all the Time value; if the camera AF mode is on, use a much longer delay to let it complete its AF cycle. "

I'm not sure what the last paragraph means - would this mean that the LED on the Gentle device would be lit for the entire duration of the Time value?

I'm guessing that the 'switch' in the Merlin head which outputs to the camera remote cable is a normally open type?

What exactly happens (electrically speaking) when under Papywizard control the head fires the camera via acables connection between the head and the camera - as in the case of a Canon body?

I think that if I better understood (in simple terms) how the head triggers the wired remote cable then I could talk to the maker of the Gentle devices and seek his advice.

I'm also considering one of their Nikon serial devices for use with my ancient Nikon CP5000 compact - which does have AEB - on the Merlin. Do you think this could be made to work? I thought one could take 5V from then Tronisoft serial-TTL device?:
http://www.gentles.ltd.uk/gentled/Manual-serial.pdf

Last edited by mediavets (2008-10-14 10:33:55)

fma38 wrote:

mediavets wrote:

Frederic

I am trying to choose which of the GentleLED dvices to use to trigger the shutter of my Nikon DSLR from the Merlin head using Papywizard to control the head:
http://www.gentles.ltd.uk/gentled/options.htm

I think you need this one:

http://www.gentles.ltd.uk/gentled/options.htm#IRjump

It can be triggered by an external contact (relay).

Note that the shutter trigger remains on during all the Time value; if the camera AF mode is on, use a much longer delay to let it complete its AF cycle. "

I'm not sure what the last paragraph means - would this mean that the LED on the Gentle decvice would be lit for the entire duration of the Time value?

I don't know how the Gentle will react: does it let the led on during all the time, or does it send a pulse? If you dont' use the AF mode, this does not matter: the camera only needs a pulse. But if you want it to do AF and then shoot, you need to keep the shutter on during all the AF cycle.

You should ask Gentle to know how it works.

I'm guessing that the 'switch' in the Merlin head which outputs to the camera remote cable is a normally open type?

What exactly happens (electrically speaking) when under Papywizard control the head fires the camera via a cable connection between the head and the camera - as in the case of a Canon body?

The Merlin output is a opto-coupleur, so acts like a relay contact. Most DSLR, not only Canon, have a input for remote shuttering. You just need to wire 2 contacts to take the picture. Some DSLR only have a IR input, so you need a device like Gentle one.

I've ordered the GentleJUMP but now I don't think it will work, this is what it says in the manual (http://www.gentles.ltd.uk/gentled/Manual-jump.pdf):

"With a switch connected at the mono 2.5mm jack socket the unit triggers
the camera every time it is switched on. The switch connects the battery
to the unit so no current is drawn when the switch isn’t pressed. Point A
can be connected to any switch, e.g. a Mouth or tongue switch, a PIR
sensor, a pressure mat, the possibilities are endless! Red LED C flashes
every time the shutter signal is sent.The switch must remain closed until
the red LED flashes (about 0.5seconds) to ensure the IR signal is sent."

If the Merlin 'switch' is an opto-coupler then it will not pass current will it?

Also it will automatically repeat if the switch remains closed - at a rate of either 0.5 secs. or 2.5 secs. - that's not really desirable for our purposes is it?

What do you think?
.............

If you could tell me what happens when the standard cable is used to a Canon camera - I mean what gets sent down the cable while the switch is closed - then maybe I could discuss this with the guy at Gentles?

Last edited by mediavets (2008-10-14 17:19:51)

Frederic

fma38 wrote:

I think all is OK. The Merlin opto-couleur acts as a switch. That's exactly what is needed for the GentleIR hardware.

About the repeat, you should set the Papywizard Tv parameter to a value lower than that (< 0,5 s or < 2,5 s, depending on the internal link) so there is only 1 shutter cycle (Papywizard can take several shots at the same position).

So, don't worry, it will work

Here is the reply I got from James Gentle:

"Because of the way gentLED-JUMP was designed to avoid having an on-off
switch, the switch to trigger the camera is actually the on-off switch, I
dont know if an opto-coupler would trigger it. It might.

A better solution would be gentLED-SHUTTER, BUT this will only work if
there is a 3V to 6V supply available beside the output for the camera.

If you are really fortunate plugging the stereo 2,5 jack for the Canon
into JUMP will work but don't hold your breath.

So: If there is 3V to 6V present I can change the order to gentLED-SHUTTER
(it's a cheaper solution too).

If not I'll process your jump order and I'm happy to work with you to get
it working then look at customising if necessary."

I told him to go ahead and ship me the gentLED_JUMP - with luck between us we'll get it to work.

But if we can't then we can fall back to using the gentLED-SHUTTER and tap 5V from the Tronisoft 4201 module to power it. That might be quite aneat solution although it would make the cabling a little more complex.

Thanks for your help so far - I'm going to need a lot more soon when all the bits and pieces arrive!

No problem; I set the opto-coupleur during 'Tv' sec; as you can set this value with a 0.1 s accuracy, from 0.1 to 100.0 s

mediavets wrote:

Would the 'less than 3 secs' mean that I could not use an exposure of longer than that?

No; a long exposure does not need you keep your finger on the shutter button. A pulse is enough to start the exposure.

Regarding the mono 2.5 jack that he says is required do you know how the Merlin camera cable is wired - he says that when wiring the mono end for the gentllED-JUMP then I will need to make sure that "the collector of the NPN optocoupler needs to goto tip and the emitter to sleeve".

It depends of the opto-coupleur; it may have 2 circuits, which allow the current to go in both directions. And even if it is not the case, you will just have to cut the cable and cross the wires.

As I said, if you have troubles, I will help you, for example, making a new cable or add a little circuit if needed.

I can understand your frustation! Not being able to play with your new toy, just because of missing batteries... Try to do that to your chilrdren at Christmas

About your power supply, you can try it, it may be enough. Motors don't drain much current (150 mA each).

About the NPP, start to use the Merlin without too much modifications; except for indoor full-spherical panos, it is not a big problem.

Klaus,

Thanks for the photos. I'm keen to try that.

But how did you get the original screw out of the rail?

Last edited by mediavets (2008-10-15 23:22:43)