Panorama nodal thingy

Hi Kevin,

the Manfrotto Pan Pro Head MH057A5-LONG seems to be the current iteration of a head I used quite happily about 15 or so years ago. I can't answer the question about how it compares with the current competition, but I thought I'd flag it up to you,

all the best

flakey

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flakey
 
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Is there a single row panorama nodal thingy 'go to' or market leader?

Saw something that might work from 'Nodal Ninja'

http://shop.nodalninja.com/m2-giga-w-rd8-ii-f9000/#product-tab-description

Want to do a single row, portrait mode pano at the nodal point. (at night)

Thanks.
Wow, that's a fancy looking pano head! That would be overkill for me, though.

I don't know how big/heavy your camera/lenses are, but if they're not too heavy you could look at the much less expensive Nodal Ninja 3 mark 2 like I have for my mirrorless kit.

Oddly, doesn't look like B&H and Adorama keep this in stock any more, but the factory has an improved-looking NN3 mark 3 available:

 
Want to do a single row, portrait mode pano at the nodal point. (at night)
All you need is a "nodal slide" (Ebay is also a good source), and depending on your tripod head, possibly an L bracket (search for Arca Swiss L bracket). It lacks some convenience features compared to the expensive ones, but it will position your entrance pupil if you know how to use it.
 
Thanks for the replies everyone.

I ordered a nodal rail and a L bracket off ebay.

Start with the KISS principle first.

Hope it will be rigid enough, - i estimate my camera +lens to weigh 2.5kg.
 
To see if it's aligned right, rotate the camera back and forth on the tripod while looking backwards through the lens. You should be able to see the entrance pupil, and it should be stationary. If it's moving, it will appear to be in front or behind the tripod axis, and you should move it to the axis.

You can judge it more accurately by using a stationary reference. With a little care you should be able to see less than a millimeter of decentering just by eye. I find that another camera with live view is even better.

The usual method is to view stationary objects with the camera (either live view or more accurately with a picture), but I find it's usually faster to do it reverse.
 
Yes, lots of people use the two-sticks method, but two sticks also work in the other direction. You might be pleasantly surprised.
 
Start with the KISS principle first.

Hope it will be rigid enough, - i estimate my camera +lens to weigh 2.5kg.
Indeed, keep it simple. I think you'll find it quite rigid.

By the way, be sure to keep the rotational axis (i.e. center post) vertical (or horizontal). The camera can be pointed up or down as necessary, and does not have to be level.

Let us know how it comes out. :)
 

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