Yes - here are a couple in-progress examples I have handy (sorry for the lame commercial subject matter...)Thanks so much. I'm going to go onto RRS and see what kind of top pan with a clamp they might have and permanently attach it to my BH 40 and 55 ball heads.OK - I forgot that the newer RRS PG head has a panning device built into the base arm... I use an older one with just a simple base rail that I clamp into a panning clamp. I was trying to make a suggestion that would minimize carrying extra gear for arch and pano work.
Back to architecture photos:
A common move in architectural photography is to square the camera up to a wall or space, creating a one-point perspective. Then shift the lens (maybe diagonally) to adjust framing.
Using a traditional ball head, it can be maddening to try to get all three axes aligned to the wall at the same time. If your tripod apex isn't perfectly level, every time you (base) pan the ball head, the pitch/roll will need to be adjusted again. If you have a top pan on the ball head, you can level with the ball, then adjust the top pan to finish up. The same thing works with just a leveling base and pan clamp.
The next step from there would be to a traditional 3-way head or a geared head that allow you to adjust each axis individually.
I have no idea what you are talking about with that wall lineup thing but I'll Google it. This all applies to use with the 30TS right?
Example 1:
Camera positioned on-axis to entry, (poorly) leveled and squared with building. No shift applied.
Same camera position, lens shifted up and right to adjust framing.
Example 2:
Camera leveled and squared up to building. No shift applied.
Same camera position. Lens shifted up and left.
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