Ulitmate M Series Pano Heads

[nick fan]

I have the NN5 with RD 16. Does it mean I can buy the M1 Rails only ?

John

all components are available individually.
for prior NN users who bought new from authorized reseller, please wait for announcement of special discount and arrangement. :-)

nick

[Sam Rohn]

congrats nick, the new heads looks awesome :)

one question, it looks like the camera mounting clamp can only be attached to the end of the rail, possibly limiting that configs use with fisheyes unless a ring mount is used instead of the camera mounting rail ?

will there be shorter rails or ideally, a camera clamp that can be positioned along the rail as opposed to just the end ? this would allow more versatility with fewer parts to pack in ones bag

ok, one more question, what is the approx weight of the M1-L ?

thanks :)

sam

[nick fan]

congrats nick, the new heads looks awesome :)

one question, it looks like the camera mounting clamp can only be attached to the end of the rail, possibly limiting that configs use with fisheyes unless a ring mount is used instead of the camera mounting rail ?

will there be shorter rails or ideally, a camera clamp that can be positioned along the rail as opposed to just the end ? this would allow more versatility with fewer parts to pack in ones bag

ok, one more question, what is the approx weight of the M1-L ?

thanks :)

sam

you are a good observer. yes, part of upper rail may get into the image. we have 3 multifuntional rails at the moment. One is thin with a length of 160mm (shown in M1S), other 2 are thick with lengths of 170mm and 210mm. The M1L shown has two 210mm rails. I just find that 170mm rail will be a better fit for the upper rail. So 170mm rail will be the one shipped and M1L price is reduced by $10. even with 170mm rail, significant amount of rail may get into the image for a compact fisheye lens such as a shaved Nikon 10.5mm on FF camera. As you have suggested, a lens ring will be an excellent solution. Besides, we are making one more clamp which can be installed under the upper rail end clamp. This clamp will allow the camera or lens ring to slide along the upper rail. So, there is no real problem here. :-)

M1L with RD16 has a weight of ~1.5kg. The thick rails are much stronger than NN5 and will support tele lens such as 300mm F2.8 very well when the M2 is out. Did I say there will be lots of products to be released this year? :-) The number of product released this year may exceed sum of past 7 years!

M1S with RD8 is about 1.1kg.


Nick

[Seacat]

Ill wait till the Ulitmate M -series also be for sales with out RD8 or RD16. I've already a RD16 with my NN5.

Nick, i've a Canon 1D MkIII witch will be the best solution for me?

Thanks!

Johan

[DemonDuck]

The number of product released this year may exceed sum of past 7 years!
Nick

Will any of your new products be accessories for the NN3? Like a universal lens collar to clamp onto a compact camera adapter tube that would slide along the top rail of the NN3 and hold the camera in perfect alignment -- unlike the T-XX adapters that allow the camera to twist out of alignment?

[nick fan]

Ill wait till the Ulitmate M -series also be for sales with out RD8 or RD16. I've already a RD16 with my NN5.

Nick, i've a Canon 1D MkIII witch will be the best solution for me?

Thanks!

Johan

We will try to do the best for our beloved customers. To qualify for our upgrade discount, you can buy an M1 without rotator, together with a default rotator for NN5.
Canon 1D series and Nikon D1/2/3/4 series will need the larger model.

Nick

[nick fan]

Will any of your new products be accessories for the NN3? Like a universal lens collar to clamp onto a compact camera adapter tube that would slide along the top rail of the NN3 and hold the camera in perfect alignment -- unlike the T-XX adapters that allow the camera to twist out of alignment?

an updated T-adapter will be released in the near future.
I will see how I can make a cheap universal lens ring for P&S. :-)

Nick

[pedro.silva]

Will the next models have more smaller precise positive stops at the upper rotator, supporting "longer" lenses? If so, any idea of when?

The first model of this modular system is the M1 which has 7.5 degree precise positive stops at the upper rotator, supporting lenses from ultra wide angles to 200mm telephotos. It allows templates to be used to speed up stitching and reduce stitching errors.
Bill

[nick fan]

Will the next models have more smaller precise positive stops at the upper rotator, supporting "longer" lenses? If so, any idea of when?

yes, I plan to release M2 to support 400mm lens this year. This require new lower and upper rotators.
No concrete time yet.

Nick

PS some people show very high interest in the M2 offline. Here is some more info.
M2 will co-exist with M1. It will be targeting people making high resolution mosaic using lenses >200mm eq. fl. It can also be used to make spherical panos. but it will have larger rotator foot prints. It is bigger, heavier and more expensive. The lower rotator will only have very fine intervals to support >200mm lens. Fisheye users will need to skip lots of stops. Well, one can use other rotators such as RD8/16 instead since it is completely modular.

[pedro.silva]

Thank you!

yes, I plan to release M2 to support 400mm lens this year. This require new lower and upper rotators.
No concrete time yet.

Nick

[bbc597]

yes, I plan to release M2 to support 400mm lens this year. This require new lower and upper rotators.
No concrete time yet.

Nick

What will the new M2 upper rotator positive stop(s) be?

Also, will the new M2 lower rotator have fewer detents with the smaller/finer detent settings? (Samller/finer than the current 3.75)

[nick fan]

What will the new M2 upper rotator positive stop(s) be?

Also, will the new M2 lower rotator have fewer detents with the smaller/finer detent settings? (Samller/finer than the current 3.75)

it will have finer detent/ stop to support >400mm eq lens. No more info at this stage as it is still undervelopment.
It will be achieved by replacing the lower and upper rotator of M1L.

Nick

PS some people show very high interest in the M2 offline. Here is some more info.
M2 will co-exist with M1. It will be targeting people making high resolution mosaic using lenses >200mm eq. fl. It can also be used to make spherical panos. but it will have larger rotator foot prints. It is bigger, heavier and more expensive. The lower rotator will only have very fine intervals to support >200mm lens. Fisheye users will need to skip lots of stops. Well, one can use other rotators such as RD8/16 instead since it is completely modular.

[bbc597]

O.K., I got it...thanks.

With the new/current M1 upper rotator and its 7.5 degree positive stops, can I use other settings on the upper rotator besides those at the positive stops?

[Vincèn]

With the new/current M1 upper rotator and its 7.5 degree positive stops, can I use other settings on the upper rotator besides those at the positive stops?

Nope it won't hold well if you try to lock it between two stops, and very quickly it'll move to nearest stop !

Vincèn

[bbc597]

Was the NN5 the same with its 15 degree stops? (will not hold between the 15 degree stops)

And the NN5L without the positive stops, how was it able to hold without moving?