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Hi all - I'm considering buying this to make my life easier when creating 360*180 virtual tours. Currently, now that I have a Canon 450, It takes about 35 shots roughly to do a complete VT with the standard lense it comes with. I'm hoping this lense will significantly reduce the amount of shots I have to take to create one as I find it really daunting having shot 35 shots only to find one or two of them I messed up by accidently moving the tripod or shooting incorrectly.
Would this lense help to reduce the amount of shots it takes me? If so, do you know roughly how many to do a complete VT.
Many thanks.
Cpt.
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Hey Captain,
I do 4 around at 90 degrees with a +15 degree upward tilt. For the zenith, I take one shot at + 60 degrees. For the nadir, two shots facing downwards and 180 degrees opposite each other. Hand shot for the nadir patch then optional.
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So it sounds like the Sigma 8mm f3.5 FE is a good choice. Thanks for that. I've just been doing a little more reading as I've not done to many VTs. At the moment, I just have a very standard tripod which I bought from Argos for about £60 which has been ok. Should I consider buying a proper/better tripod and head, like the ninja to make my life a little easier? Would you have any suggestions as to which one to buy?
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As long as the tripod is sturdy and can support the weight of what you are loading it, it can be anything from £20 from Ebay or a £250 carbon fibre tripod. Key things are that it is stable, level and supports the load that you are applying to it.
You could look at using a special levelling system that manfrotto and Nodal Ninja sell but I don't bother with them. I use the bubbles on my pano head and on the ball head that it is connected to. Additionally I have a hot shoe level (£15 off ebay) for really finite levelling.
For pano's, traditional or 360's, yes a dedicated pano head is key to ensure that the entrance point is located at the exact required position to ensure parallux errors do not occur. Nodal Ninja are probably a good place to start as they have a wide range.
If you are only ever goingto use your 8mm FE for taking panos, then you can get a dedicated collar that fits around the lens and places it swiftly on the tripod at the correct position each time. 360Precision also do a dedicated FE collar that works very well indeed. Very solid construction (but heavier as well in comparison to NN) and once fitted, you will never need to locate the Nodal Point etc. I had one before upgrading to the Adjuste and can recommend them.
If you use differing lenses, then either the Nodal Ninja 3 or 5 (if using a heavier camera/lens combination) may be best suited. Check on NN's website for product information etc.
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cptpicard wrote:
So it sounds like the Sigma 8mm f3.5 FE is a good choice. Thanks for that. I've just been doing a little more reading as I've not done to many VTs. At the moment, I just have a very standard tripod which I bought from Argos for about £60 which has been ok. Should I consider buying a proper/better tripod and head, like the ninja to make my life a little easier? Would you have any suggestions as to which one to buy?
The Samyang 8mm FE - also sold under a variety of other brand names - is very much less expensive than the Sigma 8mm f3.5 and only requires a few more shots for 360x180 coverage:
http://tiny.cc/CVMxd
Or if you prefer a UK supplier:
http://www.360tacticalvr.com/systems/fi … g-8mm.html
You definitely need a good pano head when using FE lenses - the shorter the focal length, and the closer parts of the scene are to the camera, the more ciritical it is to have the camera/lens set at the NPP, to avoid parallax, which can only be achieved using a proper pano head. The Nodal Ninja 3 and 5 series are excellent choices.
Last edited by mediavets (2010-02-23 12:46:09)
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Thanks for the info UK Pano.
Mediavets, thanks for that. That would really save me a lot of money. Is the quality just as good?
You say a few more shots, so it could do a full 360*180 in about 7 shots instead of 5?
Cpt.
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cptpicard wrote:
Mediavets, thanks for that. That would really save me a lot of money. Is the quality just as good?
This lens is relatively new to the market but many very experienced pano photographers have purchased or tested this lens and are very impressed with it. Some say it is a little more prone to flare than the Sigma. It is an entirely manual lens - with no electrical connection to the camera - but that is no real disadvantage for/when shooting panos, although you won't get lens dat in the EXIF.
I have a Sigma, but I got it secondhand, and before Sigma radically raised their prices, for not much more than half what a new one costs today. But had the Samyang been available then I think I would have got one instead.
You say a few more shots, so it could do a full 360*180 in about 7 shots instead of 5?
6-around plus zenith and nadir is recommended by most people, but it has been demonstrated that you can get 360x180 coverage with 4-around plus zenith and nadir although the overlaps are then rather small.
This thread on the panoguide forum will give you some other opinions/info:
http://www.panoguide.com/forums/qna/7448/
Lots more if you're an avid reader:
http://www.panoguide.com/search/?s=samy … ion=forums
More still:
http://www.lenstip.com/160.1-Lens_revie … h-eye.html
Last edited by mediavets (2010-02-23 17:51:01)
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Thanks Mediavets - I've made the decision to go ahead and buy the Samyang 8mm FE instead of the sigma - budget is obviously a big part of that decision, but also, looking at the research, there's not a big difference for the results I want. Now I have a bit more money to spend on the Nodal Ninja 3 or 5. Haven't decided, I'll probably go ahead with NN3, but looking on their website, there's about 6 different versions/packages to choose from... ?
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cptpicard wrote:
Now I have a bit more money to spend on the Nodal Ninja 3 or 5. Haven't decided, I'll probably go ahead with NN3, but looking on their website, there's about 6 different versions/packages to choose from... ?
Will you be shooting panos as a hobby or for business?
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I've got the Samyang 8mm FE and for the price it is extremely good for panos. There is some CA around the edges of the frame but not excessive, it's sharp and has a ridiculous DoF even wide open 
. Any fisheye can suffer from flare but I haven't found it a real problem so far even shooting directly into the sun at sunset.
When I used to shoot 35mm film I had a Canon fisheye lens which was better but was about x4 the price.
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mediavets wrote:
Will you be shooting panos as a hobby or for business?
To start with, just a hobby. But, I may well include these new skills into my business eventually.
Thanks for the positive feedback, Photosbykev.
Cpt.
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cptpicard wrote:
mediavets wrote:
Will you be shooting panos as a hobby or for business?
To start with, just a hobby. But, I may well include these new skills into my business eventually.
Thanks for the positive feedback, Photosbykev.
Cpt.
Choice of Nodal Ninja really depends on whether you will only be using it with the Samyang. If so, then a 3 will be fine.
If you plan to use other lenses and bodies then a 5 will offer greater flexibility - the longer arms and max. loading capability will accommodate just about any body and lens most people would consider using to shoot panos.
It is said that the models with the new style R-Dx rotators are nicer, but for use solely with a Samyang I'd have thought the basic version with the detente rings would be quite adequate. In any case you wouldn't need more than the NN3 model variant with the R-D8 rotator - for some reason they don't seem to offer a NN3 with the R-D4.
There's a choice of two UK suppliers:
http://www.red-door.co.uk/
http://www.360tacticalvr.com/
Last edited by mediavets (2010-02-24 00:19:42)
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Hi Mediavets - I've found this http://www.red-door.co.uk/pages/product … 3-d16.html NN3D16KIT - Nodal Ninja NN3 - D16. Looks a good buy!? This should be everything I need!?
Cpt.
Last edited by cptpicard (2010-02-24 21:52:34)
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cptpicard wrote:
Hi Mediavets - I've found this http://www.red-door.co.uk/pages/product … 3-d16.html NN3D16KIT - Nodal Ninja NN3 - D16. Looks a good buy!? This should be everything I need!?
Cpt.
Very nice but arguably more than you need really - you won't need all the click stop options of the R-D16 rotator.
To save some money - if that's important to you - you could look to the basic NN3 with detente rings rather than the R-D series rotator:
http://www.red-door.co.uk/pages/product … d-nn3.html
http://www.360tacticalvr.com/systems/ro … plete.html
or the NN3 with R-D8 rotator - not sure whether this includes case and the rail stops, call and ask:
http://www.360tacticalvr.com/systems/ro … i-rd8.html
Last edited by mediavets (2010-02-24 22:28:08)
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