M1L + Nikon D300 + Nikon 10.5 + Nadir adapter = HELP!

[DemonDuck]

Nick, I just was "thinking out loud" again as a comment to Dennis. I have all the equipment I need -- right now.

But as long as we are talking -- a long time ago, I suggested a ball head with a long neck. A 6-12 inch neck. That single ball head would take the place of a leveler and a nadir adapter. I use a ball head right now as a nadir adapter when I use a tripod but the neck is not quite long enough to ultimately eliminate all of the tripod. I usually have to patch a little piece of one leg -- depending on how the shadows fall.

The way I use it is just flop it over so my NN3 sticks straight out at 90 degrees then adjust the upper arm to point the camera at the nadir point. Real easy and fast. And fast is good outside when shadows are moving.

[DemonDuck]

Nick, I just was "thinking out loud" again as a comment to Dennis. I have all the equipment I need -- right now.

But as long as we are talking -- a long time ago, I suggested a ball head with a long neck. A 6-12 inch neck. That single ball head would take the place of a leveler and a nadir adapter. I use a ball head right now as a nadir adapter when I use a tripod but the neck is not quite long enough to ultimately eliminate all of the tripod. I usually have to patch a little piece of one leg -- depending on how the shadows fall.

The way I use it is just flop it over so my NN3 sticks straight out at 90 degrees then adjust the upper arm to point the camera at the nadir point. Real easy and fast. And fast is good outside when shadows are moving.

That method may be problematic for heavy rigs. But you have a solution for heavy rigs. And given that the camera of the year is the NEX 7 which weighs only 15 ounces, light rigs are going to be the norm. Why carry around a huge, obsolete mirror box camera when you can carry something that will just about fit in your pocket and take better pictures?

[DennisS]

If you shoot at -15 deg, then you don't need the nadir shot.

Nick,

If you tilt down 15 degrees, can the Zenith be covered with 1 shot or do you need two? I have always shot 6 @ 0 + Z + N + patch with the 10.5 lens.

The Ultimate Modular series is an Arca Swiss compatible system whose parts can mix and match with other Arca Swiss compatible system.

Having the pano head in my hands for just a couple of days, I can definately see the advantage of the modular design. Mixing and matching parts from various other pano heads is a breeze. It is when you start moving parts around that you see how much thought has gone into each and every piece of the system. Nick definately did his homework on this one.

Dennis

[nick fan]

Nick,

If you tilt down 15 degrees, can the Zenith be covered with 1 shot or do you need two? I have always shot 6 @ 0 + Z + N + patch with the 10.5 lens.

yes, see the thumbnails.

http://www.fromparis.com/images/tech...ted_04_big.jpg

nick

[DennisS]

Why carry around a huge, obsolete mirror box camera when you can carry something that will just about fit in your pocket and take better pictures?

If all you used was the 16mm pancake kit lens, the NEX will fit in your pocket. Put an 18-200 and you had better have really big pockets. Better pictures? After having shot both the D300 and the NEX-5, if I were forced to carry only 1 camera on vacation, the D300 would win hands down. For cycling/hiking where I am mostly outdoors with good light, the NEX wins. If I were to travel to a country where I will most likely never go back to, the D300 is the winner. I would not want to shoot with only 1 fisheye lens. I would want to use a 18-200. Put that on the NEX and it's small size no longer works as well.

Nick,

I just tried the -15 tilt. Works GREAT! No extra shots required. As a matter of fact, it eliminates the Nadir shot. Putting the clamp on the rotator in the proper direction combined with shooting -15 removes the knob overlap issue. Sure helps to RTFM. Oh wait, there was no FM! I had to guess. Looks like I guessed wrong. This old dog may just start shooting -15 tilt with the 10.5 lens.

Dennis

[DemonDuck]

If all you used was the 16mm pancake kit lens, the NEX will fit in your pocket. Put an 18-200 and you had better have really big pockets. Better pictures? After having shot both the D300 and the NEX-5, if I were forced to carry only 1 camera on vacation, the D300 would win hands down. For cycling/hiking where I am mostly outdoors with good light, the NEX wins. If I were to travel to a country where I will most likely never go back to, the D300 is the winner. I would not want to shoot with only 1 fisheye lens. I would want to use a 18-200. Put that on the NEX and it's small size no longer works as well.

Dennis

Really? Even if you can put all your Nikon lenses on the NEX 7 and it still would be lighter and smaller and better? Ok.....

Nikon D300
Effective pixels 12.3 megapixels
Sensor photo detectors 13.1 megapixels
Sensor size APS-C (23.6 x 15.8 mm)
Weight (inc. batteries) 925 g (2.04 lb / 32.63 oz)
Dimensions 147 x 114 x 74 mm (5.79 x 4.49 x 2.91")

Sony NEX 7
Effective pixels 24.3 megapixels
Sensor photo detectors 24.7 megapixels
Sensor size APS-C (23.5 x 15.6 mm)
Weight (inc. batteries) 400 g (0.88 lb / 14.11 oz)
Dimensions 120 x 67 x 43 mm (4.72 x 2.64 x 1.69")

[DennisS]

DemonDuck,

Discussing which is better does not answer questions about using the M1L pano head and Nadir adapter. That is what this thread is about.

If you want to get into a discussion about which is better, please start a different thread. In the end, it is not the camera that makes the images, it is the photographer.

Dennis

[DemonDuck]

DemonDuck,

Discussing which is better does not answer questions about using the M1L pano head and Nadir adapter. That is what this thread is about.

If you want to get into a discussion about which is better, please start a different thread. In the end, it is not the camera that makes the images, it is the photographer.

Dennis

You're right. Sorry. Got carried away. Won't do it again.