Howdy y'all!

I am interested in a motorized head for getting into giga panos. I currently shoot spherically and build tours with PTP specifically catering for mobile device users. I am currently on a dx crop sensor body and planning on stepping on up to a FF some day soon (hopefully!).

I've read about a variety of issues and concerns about motorheads, However, these forums discussions date back to the past and may be moot with the latest gen software and hardware. So please help me become a most informed decision maker.

What is the scoop between epic pro vs panogear:

Speed:
Ease of use for hardware & software (APG 3.0.6):
Spherical panos:
Best Focal Length ranges (i've read that too long of a length is problematic for nadir & too short captures the pano head in the shot):
HDR? :
Wireless with iDevices (iphone & ipad):
Durability LIfespan & depreciation:
Any other point of interest/concer I should be aware of?

Is there one clearly better than the other?

Thank you in advance,

Andrew

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Howdy from Deep in the Heart of Texas!

In terms of cost, speed, reliability, sturdiness for gigapanos i´d suggest the Panoneed: http://panoneed.com/
Ask me if you want more informations.
Other brands - more expensive - are Seitz VR2 and Dr. Clauss Rodeon ST.

best, Klaus

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“Simplicity is the keynote of all true elegance.”
― Coco Chanel

if you go gigapixel (I expect you finally dont stop with 1-2GP) I would hardly suggest to think about consequences:

+ lot of hours spending time to find a Fitting workflow for your needs, each Project will arise other mountains you'll have to climb.
+ Need to invest many many Money in 64GB-512GB PCs with dual Xeons and with many many HDs and a really extraordinary expensive GPU (+1000€) having in mind that 1 year later your Hardware is common Standard and available for 1/10 of the Price you paid.
+ I would take every head but NOT the merlin NOR the EPIC even every Manual head is better.
+ if you do HDR I would take into consideration to invest Money to the promote control device (or extra Option if ghoing the SeitzVR road...)

Georg

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pages: gigapixel.at - jedermann.at - My Equipment

Hey Klaus,

Spoke with aaron priest on the phone yesterday about the Panoneed. Very Informative conversations. Panoneeds seems to cover my needs, very cool tech. I'll be working this in my business plan for acquiring it. I have an immediate need, and will be looking at the panogear. I expect after couple/few projects the panoneed will be up next in my equipment acquisition cue.

- Drew

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Howdy from Deep in the Heart of Texas!

Hey Drew!

Take your time - Josef sold out the first tranche! Needs to build the next ones - assemling by hand and testing one by one.

best, Klaus

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“Simplicity is the keynote of all true elegance.”
― Coco Chanel

Georg,

+ Mountains, yes I'm very aware of unforeseen mountain to each project, yet climbing mountains and see the view the top, or even the sitting at base camp after an unsuccessful attempt is the reason why I live. I'm up for challenges and that's why I hang with you here in this new tech media.

+ Computer power & depreciation: I've come from a tech background having previously worked for Dell Business sales & Apple int'l (UK/IE) consumer sales [original ipad launch]. Depreciation is part of the business of a tech company. I've made a blind leap of faith in quitting my corp. job to pursue starting a VR tech company. So far, i've been able to stay afloat and slowly rising. Not making as much money as when I was with Dell or Apple, but my happiness is worth more than gold. If i am lucky, maybe i will strike rich doing what I love.

+ I agree, Manual is best up to a certain focal length. But also, to differentiate my self from others, I need to stay ahead of the curve. Also, I can justify why I charge more if I have fancy mech equipment.

+ Promote control device. Very cool. Will add that to my wish list.

Thank you for your insight! I'm always appreciative of you all. What we share and do is magic to others.

- drew

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Howdy from Deep in the Heart of Texas!

Drew, I didn't get a chance to talk much about the Promote Control on the phone with you, but I absolutely agree and recommend one if you want to do much with HDR, timelapses, or bulb ramping. They make life so much easier!

Best of luck!

Didn't you use a Merlin for a while, before - correct me if I'm mistaken - switching to a Seitz VR drive?

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Andrew Stephens
Nikon D40, Nikkor 10.5mm fisheye, Sigma 8mm f3.5 fisheye, Nikkor 18-55/50/35mm lenses, Nodal Ninja 5 Lite, Nodal Ninja 4 with R-D16, Agno's MrotatorTCS short.
Nikon P5100, CP5000, CP995, FC-E8, WC-E63,WC-E68, TC-E2, Kaidan Kiwi 995, Bophoto pano bracket, Agno's MrotatorA.
Merlin/Orion robotic pano head + Papywizard on Nokia 770/N800/N810 and Windows 8/XP/2K.

Can you still buy the basic Merlin/Orion mount in the USA?

It's a lot cheaper (everywhere) than the same thing with some (nice) added extras sold under the Panogear branding by Kolor, especially by the time you import a Panogear bundle from Europe.

What do you plan to use to control the mount - Papywizard? If so running on what platform?

There is a new kid on the block - PandordWiz which runs on Android platforms with Bluetooth wireless connection. It's not as sophisticated as Papywizard - it uses Papywizard style custom presets for all shooting - but you may find it meets your needs:

https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.fvh.panoramic.pandroidwiz&hl=en

What camera body and lens(es) might you propose to use with a Merlin/Panogear mount?

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Andrew Stephens
Nikon D40, Nikkor 10.5mm fisheye, Sigma 8mm f3.5 fisheye, Nikkor 18-55/50/35mm lenses, Nodal Ninja 5 Lite, Nodal Ninja 4 with R-D16, Agno's MrotatorTCS short.
Nikon P5100, CP5000, CP995, FC-E8, WC-E63,WC-E68, TC-E2, Kaidan Kiwi 995, Bophoto pano bracket, Agno's MrotatorA.
Merlin/Orion robotic pano head + Papywizard on Nokia 770/N800/N810 and Windows 8/XP/2K.

currently the merlin is my head.
I planned since long to retire the merlin and to start panoneeding....
... finally I did place now an order for the next panoneed available (2-3 months from now)

Georg

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pages: gigapixel.at - jedermann.at - My Equipment