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A 1. |
With this design if you try to mount a
camera with the tripod mount hole on the "wrong" side of the lens to
the camera mounting pad it will not be able to slide down far enough
to let the lens be over the point of rotation on the upright arm so
you would lose the ability to take multi-row panoramas. The only way
to overcome this is to drill a custom hole in the lower half of the
camera mounting block. Please contact me if you are interested in
having this done.
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A 2. |
To create an inexpensive head compromises had to be made. However the
compromises that were made in the design of the Panosaurus will not
effect your ability to take extremely accurate panoramic pictures.
There are not features such as "Stops" on the turntable to force you
to only rotate a precise distance between shots. The ability to move
the camera forward or backward small fractions of a millimeter is
beyond the ability of this head since the mounting of the camera is
done by sight. However, the accuracy that was needed in the past,
before panoramas were created digitally is not as applicable today
with the advent of computer software to stitch the pictures together.
The most important aspect of creating good panoramic pictures, using
this or any panoramic tripod head, is taking the time to find the
optical center of the lens as accurately as possible. This head will
do this as well and any $1000 head.
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A 3. |
The greatest contributor to the high cost of the other heads on the
market is the material used to make them - aluminum and stainless
steel. Also, many of the designs were created many years ago before
digital cameras came on the scene. Older cameras were much heavier
and required a much heavier head to support them. Most of the
Panosaurus is made of the same material as PVC pipe. It is an
extremely durable strong yet inexpensive material that does not cost a
lot to machine.
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A 4. |
The best way to use the Panosaurus with a fisheye lens is by using the
optional Landscape Tower Attachment. This will allow you to shoot in
landscape mode (rather than portrait mode which will keep you from
seeing the upper part of the Panosaurus in your images. |
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A 5. |
The Panosaurus is not recommended for a camera and lens combination
that weighs more than 3.2lbs (1.4 kgs). The problem with weight is
related to the weight of the head itself. Since the head is so light
(less than 2 lbs) it becomes unstable when too much weight is
applied. This causes the head to be very subject to wind or any
other vibration. In a light wind the camera and head will slightly
shake making it nearly impossible to shoot without having the pictures
blur. Shooting indoors with no wind would make it more likely to be
able to shoot successfully. The head is more susceptible to the
weight problem when you are using a long lens that causes you to push
the camera a long way back on the upper horizontal arm in order to
position the lens at its nodal point. This is because most of the
weight is not centered over the point of rotation but back on the
upper arm. Some people have worked around the weight issues (to a
degree) by holding a hand on the head to steady it when shooting. |
