400mm f/2.8 lens for a large gigapixel image

[MJPage]

One of my friends who posters in the Nikonians Panorama Forum wants to use a 400mm f/2.8 lens to create a large gigapixel image. His Gigapan Epic Pro takes a lot of time to shoot the the necessary number of images. He said it could take two hours or more to capture the 100 or more images.

I know the M2 system is much faster than electronic pano heads, but the 400mm f/2.8 lens weighs 10 pounds. The weight limit on the M2 is 6.6 pounds.

What are his options for using a non-electronic pano head?

[nick fan]

if you have the lens, you can test it on M2. The weight will not damage M2. Just may reduce stability, and hence require longer time to stabilize the head after each turn. A faster shorter speed may also be needed.
We can add another vertical arm to stabilize the lens too. Use of lens collar makes this easy. Being a modular design opens up lots of options.

Nick

[hindenhaag]

I've tested the Nikkor 300mm/f2.8 with M2. To fix it on the lens collar will keep it in weight. Just test the 400mm/f2.8 as Nick says. The 300mm shows no deformation of the rails. It s totally stable.

http://ge.tt/3LyRo7Q

Heinz