Shane B Virtual Marketing 360 Nodal Ninja is by far the best of the best!! Been working with them since 2009! This Mecha looks dope!!! Cool video and keep up the great work.
Mecha Toni F Nodal Ninja customer since 2010, best hardware and customer service for panoramic photographers in the world. I need this Mecha to complete my setup :)
Mecha antilimited Been shooting many thousands of 360°s with your kit for well over a decade now. And over those years I've lost track of the amount of folk who ask - when I explain I shoot 360°s with a camera and fisheye lens - if the camera moves on its own. Mecha will FINALLY allow me to answer "well yes, it does!" :-D Thanks and keep up the great work!
Mecha F9905-1 Felipe G I´ve been using NN products since 10 years ago. I guess the new Mecha would be a great addition to my workflow. - Felipe G
Mecha Howell Photographic Arts Love the innovation you're driving. The Mecha is a great example. It's be great to have it in my kit bag! - Howell Photographic Arts
Mecha B B Was considering all 360 camera like theta z1 as upgrade to theta S. Still not convinced - DSLR always miles away in quality. With Mecha it would be great to have hands free workflow with the same template, without generating any control points. Only verticals left. - B B
Mecha mb Sounds like such a cool device! Although I love the NN3 setup I use now, the Mecha, once I dial in a couple of the presets, will make setup & shooting so much smoother, faster. I might take a few more panos that I would have bypassed before just because I was too lazy to go through the setup. Have I mentioned, SO cool?! - mb
Mecha NN3 F9905-2 alphons n I use Nodal Ninja gear for ages (feels like it ;-) for all my panoramas @ http://www.amsterdam360.com. But can use the Complete Single Row Automated Mecha Panoramic Head to keep me going... And important: The best service world wide! - alphons n
Mecha Daniel M My panoramic equipments has always been nodal ninja. Excellent opportunity to obtain a Mecha + R1. - Daniel M
Mecha R1 Torsten K The Mecha + R1 panorama head would be a great relief for my work as Google Street View photographer. - Torsten K
Mecha R1 Roger M My Nodal Ninja head is always with me! Never know when it will be needed. 99% of the time, I use my fisheye lens with it. The Mecha + R1 would be a dream come true. - Roger M
Mecha R1 Steven P Nodal Ninja is the best! It's been great to see the Mecha evolve and be designed with customer input over in the panographer group on FB. - Steven P
Mecha Brock 5 stars - NN M2 w/ RD8-II Rotator - Best design at this time By Brock. I have worked with the Really Right Stuff panorama gear and the Nodal Ninja provides more functionality and at a lower total cost. In particular the ability to set the degrees of rotation and have a click mechanism is what sets it apart. I do not need to try to find 2.5 degree increments on a scale but can instead rely on the click to tell me when to take the next shot. This saves a lot of time and makes it easier to shoot in low light settings as well. The start and end tabs of the rotators also make it easy to have multi-row shots start and end at the same place. This is a well thought out piece of equipment by people who actually shoot panoramics. Lots of refinements that are not found on other pano setups that are in this price range. A small thing perhaps but I like that they provide a very good storage case for all the parts. With Really Right Stuff I had to buy a third part neoprene case that was expensive and not all that well designed for actual use in the field.
M2 RD8-II R.L. 5 stars - NN M1L w/RD16-II - Finely crafted and versatile - a truly excellent head By R.L. This head's workmanship is about as good as it gets but, more importantly, it was designed to facilitate an efficient workflow for what is often a complicated process. There are less expensive options for similar heads, some which are quite well made, but this head's attention to operational detail sets it apart. It was clearly designed to actually shoot multi-shot images, rather than just sitting impressively atop a tripod. There are more expensive heads that are very well made but lack the practical functionality of this one. Short of a view camera, this head will hold about any camera you choose, but you'll need a solid tripod. Although it is possible to level the rotator with a ball head, its very awkward, especially with a camera mounted, so you'll want to add a leveling base (designs with three screws, like the Nodal Ninja one, make the process easier). The adjustable scales, with start and stop markers, allow precise setup and once everything is adjusted the actually process of shooting the photos is a no-brainer. I have used other heads where it's easy to lose track of where, in a multi-row sequence, you are. When you are shooting 3 or more rows, of 6 or more images each, it gets confusing, especially if each image is bracketed for HDR. This head all but eliminates that confusion. The RD-16 II rotator works very well for me, as I do not shoot many panos with very long lenses, and by adding an inexpensive dual ARCA clamp to the top rail you can go as wide as you like, including fisheye. After shooting hundreds of panos and mosaics I have found only two negatives with this head. First, it's expensive. Second, it's quite heavy. I don't see any way to avoid either. The weight of this head, plus the heavy tripod required to support it, precludes my carrying it on long hikes but I am willing to lug it a mile or two because it works so well. You will need to spend some time documenting setup positions for your specific body/lens combinations (I suggest carrying setup charts whenever you use this head) but once that's done setup is fast, easy and precise. If you are new to multi-shot images you'll need to invest considerable time in learning the various techniques and sadly, there is no single source that I know about for this. Reviewers often complain that pano heads don't include simple instructions (or any for that matter) for use. That's because use is NOT simple! If you are not mechanically inclined this stuff may be quite frustrating. It's not brain surgery but it requires specialized knowledge. In return, you can make high resolution images, independent of sensor and lens constraints, that can be printed huge.
M1L RD16-II pano head Photomatrix_1 from Vermont Nodal Ninja N4-PKG - Good value for money. About Me Photo Enthusiast. Verified Buyer. This is an easy to use, well thought out panoramic head. I mostly take 3-4 shot stitches in portrait orientation, and I don't have a complaint. As another reviewer said, those with very demanding needs might want something more elaborate, and perhaps mechanized, but this is a solid product that won't get in your way. Yes, I would recommend this to a friend. - By Photomatrix_1 from Vermont
NN4 Photomatrix_1 from Vermont (B&H NN4 review) Good value for money - 5 stars. About Me, Photo Enthusiast. This is an easy to use, well thought out panoramic head. I mostly take 3-4 shot stitches in portrait orientation, and I don't have a complaint. As another reviewer said, those with very demanding needs might want something more elaborate, and perhaps mechanized, but this is a solid product that won't get in your way. Yes, I would recommend this to a friend. - By Photomatrix_1 from Vermont (B&H NN4 review)
NN4 Michel Thoby Using the M1L to M2 Upgrade kit Product: M1L to M2 upgrade with 65mm QRC (F8112) Posted By: Michel Thoby - As expected and due the accuracy and stiffness required by the smallish 2 degrees minimum intervals, the R8-II rotator drum has quite a hefty diameter. The subsequent problem is then to find a new arrangement inside the FANOTEC case that is just roomy enough to accommodate the new "bigger baby". A 55 mm Arca-Swiss clamp seems sturdy enough to hold the horizontal arm while the 60 mm clamp would probably be better. I might have preferred to find real mechanical stops instead of simple "indicators" for the starting and ending positions although the present system works as expected... except if the Advanced Rotator Handle is put in the lowest of the threaded holes on the R8-II cylinder where it then interferes with the indicator tiny blue teeth and thus screws-up all the angular pre-settings! The new upper rotator is IMO just perfect even when it is deprived of the (optional) positive stops. The ability to adjust the rotation friction is amazing and the user can feel plainly how the control on the elevation angle adjustment is both smooth and accurate. All the new components of the upgrade kit are easy to install to replace the M1 counterparts while I think some documentation would/could be "useful" to some customers.
M1L M2 Maurice K. Netherlands (Canon EOS 350D + Canon EF-S 10 - 22mm) Last year I have ordered the Nodal Ninja 3 and since the first day it has arrived, I am really pleased with it! I am a mechanical engineer and I need to say that I am impressed by the simplicity and quality of your product, really outstanding! Best Regards, - Maurice K. Netherlands (Canon EOS 350D + Canon EF-S 10 - 22mm)
NN3 Ben H. USA I got the NN3 today and I am amazed at the quality of the piece! I was expecting some plastic and some wobble but man, I bet I could use it as a bludgeoning device if I had to! The detent mechanism clicking into place enhance the weaponry quality of it. I can tell a lot of thought went into designing it. Good stuff! ... amazing value for the money. Thanks again! - Ben H. USA
NN3 Thomas N. New York I'm using NN with an Olympus E-500 with a 14-54 lens. (deleted) wasn't up to the task, but NN does just fine. I purchased the standard version (SPH-2S) and have a full range of movement except for straight up. For me, that's not a problem. I removed the set screw that does click stops as I prefer no stops. Once I did this I could rotate the mechanism counter clockwise and the tightening knob didn't loosen! - Thomas N. New York