NN3 or NN4?

[Crazy360]

I'm new to panoramic shootings (with proper equipment), and I thought I'd get my hands dirty and join the club..

Top on the list is probably a NN3 (mainly budget restrictions).

I'm using a 550D, with grip and 10-22mm currently. I intend to upgrade to a fullframe/a 8mm FE, sigma or maybe canon's, but not within the year, maybe next year. I'm not sure if the NN3 supports my current equipment with grip, but I think I can lose it, so no issues there. Was asking a guy on a local forum and he says he still uses the NN3 with his 5Dmkii/iii, so.. I don't know..

Let's just say the NN3 fits my usages:


I'm keen on the ez-leveller2, it seems, well. useful..

so many combinations:
NN3 + NN3 w/RD3L 6-8-10? - most likely option?
NN3 + RD16?
NN3 + RD16 + ezleveller? - expensive option
NN4 + etc..

-will I really need a RD16?

I only shoot wide/UW/soon fisheye.

help :O

[Crazy360]

Nevermind, went in the deep end and ordered a NN4+RD16 with the ezleveller II and nadir adaptor. Hope to get more hands on when the product reaches my shores!

[hindenhaag]

Sorry that we are late to answer your question.

It is not so easy to give an advice because the decision depends on several personal future decisions and development in your interest in panoramaphotography.

Your choice would have been my personal advice to you. I just had checked some details about your equipment this morning to answer you concerning weight and the upper rail settings of your lens. This determines the length of the upper rail you need and that is different in NN3 and NN4. NN3 is shorter. The total weight can influence the decision as well. The NN3 uses the grip of plastic washers in the upper rotator to keep the equipment on upper rail in place. If it is too heavy it might slide down. NN4 has one of the new generation rotators of Fanotec like M1 as well. To keep heavier weights in place, these rotators use a "finger moves in gap" principle instead of plastic washers grip. The rails are longer than those of NN3.

RD16 gives you a lot of varieties of settings and in case you once change to M1 you can go on using it. A lot of friends use the tripod legs to level, but I prefer to use EZ-Leveller II to re level for the Nadir2 shot.

http://www.easypano.com/forum/displa...1&TopicID=4162

http://www.johnhpanos.com/epcalib.htm

http://wiki.panotools.org/Entrance_Pupil_Database

http://www.vrwave.com/panoramic-lens-database/canon/

http://www.nodalninja.com/products/f...calculator/14/

http://nodalninja.com/Manuals/QRG%20...veler%20II.pdf

So long with some first information.

I will send you further information about special tripod set up for use of Nadir Adapter the next days.

Feel free to ask or send an IM.

Most of the time you will get info in time on this forum.

Regards,
Heinz

[Crazy360]

Hey heinz,

it's okay, i do understand the difficulty in selection and giving of advice. was more of a bouncing of ideas thing.

Thanks for the information much! Btw, since this is NN4 now if appropriate please move thread?

Jon

[Crazy360]

Great! The parcel was delivered yesterday (missed delivery, went to collect from the local post office myself) - which is really fast!

First impressions: solid piece of machinery! more solid than my tripod itself!

Current setup : Tripod (removed ballhead) - ez leveller 2 - NN4/RD16 - 550D/grip + 10-22mm.

I tried to use smooth's method, but I simply don't know how to stitch the 6 images together properly in the first place =(

Jon

[hindenhaag]

Jon,

I use PTGui Pro which you can download as a trial version.

Mount your camera. Use f22 or what ever is possible with your lens at zoom 10 for example. Pitch down upper rail to -15°. Focus manually to the corner of the rotator. Then take your shots around. Import to PTGui. Align. Go to >advanced, >optimizer, use heavy and lens shift and optimize. In the tab list on top you find Control Points, > del worst control points. Go to create panorama, use file format Quick Time VR .mov and create the panorama. Check that "Panorama Settings" in advanced mode "equirectangular" is set to 360° x 180° before you create the panorama.

Open in quicktime, move down to Nadir. The rotator should be round without teeth cutting to the left or to the right. If teeth cut to the left, move the camera mm by mm to the left on lower rail. In case it cuts to the right, move to the right. Once you found your position, move 1mm to the right and left taking shots around and stitch etc. Let's say it is 50mm, 51mm set up should cut to the left, 49 mm to the right.

In advance, you have to measure H1 of your camera body explained in Entrance Pupil Database - link is in the list you see below - and add 13mm for NN offset of Camera Plate to Vertical Rail Reference Point. This is your LRS = Lower Rail Starting Point.

Then measure L1 of your camera. Use something stiff, place it across both sides the lens flange of the camerabody from top to bottom and let it stand out beyond the camera bodies bottom. Now you can measure the distance L1 of your camera. Add L2 out of the list and use this as starting point for NPP URS = upper rail setting.

Hope it helps as quick advice in between to get you on the road. In case you are not sure you can send the set of pics with www.ge.tt.

Feel free to ask.

Heinz

BTW: I should remove the grip. Gives you higher torque to the system. In case you need the extra batteries take them with you apart from the grip in case you run out of power. To get slow times to write to memory card taking the pics for example several bracketing shots, use the quickest card you can get and afford. Best is 90mb/sec. It also will reduce your back up time to PC as well.

[Crazy360]

Hi Heinz, thanks!

Am trying it now. Btw: Johnpano's website is down, sadly =x

Will reply when I get a better nadir shot

[Crazy360]

I think I got it, finally!



Lower: 95mm
Upper: 84mm

550D + grip + Nadir Adaptor attached.

Heinz: I think i will remove the grip on a proper pano-only shoots but on normal occasions i'll just leave it in!

Is the nadir shot okay?

[hindenhaag]

Congrats, can't be better.

Just one hint concerning the fixation of the EZ-Leveller II. http://nodalninja.com/Manuals/QRG%20...veler%20II.pdf Have a look to picture 2A. Try to fix the blue screws on top of the tripod legs. This will make leveling much easier. First level from back to front in viewpoint direction and then from right to left. This means first bring the bubble aside "centered" of the black center ring. So it sits "in the middle" in back to front direction of the black ring, but aside in left to right. Then use the left blue screw to move the bubble to the center of the black ring. This is the quickest way to level.

Only level once for the first shot. Taking your shots around the bubble will slightly move from stop to stop. But do not re level in between the shots. This does not matter.

Could you please send the data of H1 with and without grip and L1 for 550D?

This links work for me: http://www.johnhpanos.com/epcalib.htm Yes just retested. Have fun.

Thx,
Heinz

[hindenhaag]

Sorry it's the same problem with Johns website, it is automatically linked to www.perfectoasis....

Use this one: http://www.johnhpanos.com/tuts.htm

Heinz

[Crazy360]

Hi heinz,

the L1 is 39mm, same as 500/600D

H1 with grip is about 80mm, without grip is 40mm - this is very rough as i don't have an accurate measurement/parallax error etc.

Hmm..The 2nd link still leads me to www.perfetoasis..

[Crazy360]

Just tried a 360 HDR in town:

http://dl.dropbox.com/u/27125314/_MG...20Panorama.mov

have no idea how to display on web yet. Hope it's okay

Have a really hard time stitching the nadir: I saw a thread here regarding that. What worked for me at the end -

1)stitch complete with nadir shot
2)open with Pano2QTVR and open as cubic.
3)photoshop nadir shot and replace with nadir adaptor shot manually
4)rebuild equilateral photo and created .mov file in Pano2QTVR..

I think my questions should be in that nadir thread so..i'll ask there instead =]

Jon

[hindenhaag]

Top Tab PTGui Pro, >Tools, >Publish to website.

The links shows nadir shot for me.

Heinz

[Crazy360]

Top Tab PTGui Pro, >Tools, >Publish to website.

The links shows nadir shot for me.

Heinz

Hi heinz,

thanks. haven't tried that but meanwhile i've zipped the quicktime movie here:

http://dl.dropbox.com/u/27125314/_MG...%20Panorama.7z

I'm looking at the other threads and forums + google regarding Pano2VR, FPP eg eg. Also need to integrate into my wordpress blog which i have no idea how to. Lastl, Ipad support! So many options don't know what to choose.

Have been trying different PTGui workflow.

HDR pano: (HDR in photomatix first then stitch) vs (All in PTGui). The first option seems to work better, but more tedious.

Nadir Patch:

I tried Dennis pictorial tutorial for this shot: http://www.dlsphoto.net/Tutorials/NadirPatch2/index.htm
Seems to work well except i shoot at -60pitch according to vrwave, need to mask 6 images instead of just nadir and nadir patch shot =(

ps, must all ptgui control points be <2 to be a "good stitch"?

[Crazy360]

I just tried PTGui's output:

http://www.photocreationism.com/panoramas/

might just work for now...thanks heinz!