Hi, Seeking advice to purchase QTVR pano head for my D2x & Hassey. So far RRS & Bogen/Manfrotto QTVR heads seems to be impressive.
Any recommendations to find Nodal point of my 17-55mm F2.8G ED AF-S DX lens. Since Nikon does not supply that info. Is it just trial & error with 4pens standing on a table. @ 2 in front & 2 in back and removing parallax!

I use the Manfrotto 303SPH and it does work very well.

There is information about finding the nodal point on the Manfrotto website: www.manfrotto.com/303SPH/

Note that the nodal point changes with focal length, so you will need to spend some time to find the nodal point at different focal lengths - I spent an afternoon making up a chart for my Canon 24-70L so I can estimate nodal points at odd focal lengths.

If you are doing mostly landscape work, the precise location of the nodal point is not super critical as you probably won't have objects very close to you.

Andrew

Thanks Andrew, I also posted the same question in Medium Format section and all the sugestions are wonderful & insightful. I was hoping to shoot some architectural work- exterior & interior. Though in both cases there may not be more than 3-4 wide & 2 rows max, so finding Nodal point may be essential. Thanks for your help.

Check out www.outbackphoto.com

Under the technique section there has been a lot published about all of what you are looking for.

Paul C.

My nodal point trick has been to look out a window and paste a post it note on he wondow such that the edge of the post it (very close to the camera lens) is in line with the edge of a neighbor's house (very far).

You can approximate the nodal point through the viewfinder, but when you get close bracket a bunch of different settings (ex on a rail 34,35,36,37,38mm or whatever) and then look at all of them at a 100% view in PS and see which one is really the closest.

One you get the hang of it the process just takes a couple of minutes. I use a very durable waterproof nail polish and a paint brush and record the results right on the pano rail, so it is always where I need it.

Good tip, thanks!

Thanks for the tips.... I would like to know what software you use for doing your stiching and QTVR.
Whenever I use a super wide lens like 14mm to a D2X shooting an interior that is about 25 square meter room it seems that when I stiched it - sometimes it does not connect correctly. Help please.

Hello,

I use PTGui, but I do flat stitches for printing. It might also work for QTVR, but I have to admit to not knowing much about this.

My equipment is mostly MAC. My work requires both flat and other forms of stitching. Realviz Stitcher has worked well for me, particularly Stitcher 5 which came out last September.

Although the automation is good and it is relatively easy to use, Stitcher 5 has more capabilities than most photographers will need. Stitcher Express, which I haven't used, has fewer capabilities but is less expensive and is designed for photographers.

I am new to pano shots, I am a bit confused on how many shots to be taken for one image using a panohead. How can i determined on how many shots/nodes to shoot on one image or space especially using a wide angle lens. I used a manfrotto pano head. Help please....

Various formulas exist to compute this, but the easiest is to try by leaving about 30% overlap between images.

Regards,
Bernard

Thanks very much for the advice.