Kaidan QuickPan III User Manual

QuickPan III
Panoramic Tripod Head
User’s Guide - V0.9 - 27 June 2002
QuickPan III Panoramic Tripod Head Overview
Welcome to the Kaidan QuickPan III and Panoramic Photography
Thank you purchasing a Kaidan QuickPan III Panoramic Tripod Head. This manual is designed to help you understand how to use your QuickPan III to create quality panoramas. This document will be revised from time to time and updated versions can be downloaded from the QuickPan III page on the Kaidan web site.
QuickPan III Overview
The QuickP an III family is built around a sturdy and precise Rotator Base with interchangable indexing rings. There are several camera br ackets that slide and lock onto the Rotator Base.
Why do I need a tripod head?
A panoramic tripod head makes it possible to easily capture a sequence of photos that are stitched to form a complete panoramic image. It holds the camera in the portrait orienta­tion, positions the camera so that it rotates around the optical c enter or nodal point of the lens and provides a repeatable and adjustable click­stop indexing mechanism.
The QuickPan III Family
Introducing the QuickPan III Components
Rotator Base
This heavy-duty design is lighter and more compact than previous models and the compe­tition. The new base employs interchangeable Indexing Rings that support any number of click-stop posit ions from 2 through 22. The rings can be easily swapped at any time and contribute to the light weight. The indexing mechanism requires no lubrication or adjust­ments and has no loose parts. The base contains an integral circular bubble level and accomodates either 1/4” or 3/8” tripod threads. The new QuickPan III Rotator Base will also ac­cept older K aida n came ra brackets (i.e. KiWi+, QuickPan).
Twin-Axis Camera Bracket
The Twin-Axis Camera Bracket is designed to support most digital and film cameras that are equipped with fisheye lenses, or for those users who desire or appreciate two independent slid­ing and locking axes of adjustment. The two in­dependent axes of adjustment positions the lens in such a manner so as not to capture any more of the Rotator Base than necessary. When a camera equipped with a circular fisheye lens is installed on the bracket, only a small segment of the Rotator Base will appear in the image. This feature makes the Twin-Axis Camera Bracket ideal for those using iPIX software, Panowe ave r (w ww.e asy pano.net) and other software applications that use fisheye images.
Standard Camera Bracket
The Standard Camera Bracket is designed to support most digital and film cameras in a por­trait orientation. Used primarily to shoot single-row or cylindrical panoramas, the Stan­dard Camera Brac ket can be adjusted along the horizontal arm of the Rotator Base in order to locate the camera in the side-to-side orienta­tion. There are three slots in the bracket, that when used with various positioning aids, pro­vide for t he fore-aft adjustment of the camera' s optical center, or nodal point, over the rota­tional c enter of the tripod head.
Spherical Camera Bracket
The Spherical Camera Bracket is designed to support most digital and film cameras and to permit the angular up/down elevation for the capture of multirow spherical and QuickTime VR Cubic panoramas. This bracket is ideal for those software applications that stitch mul­tiple rows of images, including up/down "cap" shots such as REALVIZ Stitcher. The Spherical Camera Bracket can also be positioned at a level zero degrees, thus fulfilling the same functions as the Standard Camera Bracket. An optional Arca-Swiss Quick Release camera plate is also available.
The QuickPan III Family
Welcome to the Kaidan QuickPan III and Panoramic Photography
Pro Quick Release Camera Bracket
The Pro Quick Release Camera Bracket is designed to support most digital and film cameras that are equipped with fisheye lenses, or for those users who desire or appreciate two independent sliding and lock­ing axes of adjustment with the convenience of a quic k release mounting system. Y ou can choose from either a Bogen or a Arca-Swiss mounting plate (Arca-Swiss shown at right).
The tw o independent axes of adjustment positions the lens in such a manner so as not to capture any more of the Rotator Base than necessary. When a camera equipped with a circular fisheye lens is installed on the bracket, only a small segment of the Rotator Base will appear in the image. This feature makes this bracket ideal for those using iPIX sof tware, Panoweaver (www.easypano.net) and other software applications that use fisheye images. Of course, this brac ket can also be used with any wide-angle lens and stitching soft­ware as well.
Rotator Base
How to install and remove the indexing rings and adjusting the indexing force
Installing Indexing Rings
1) Slide the Indexing Ring onto
the Rotator Base from the bot­tom, keeping the portion of the Indexing Ring with the degree la­bel facing up until it makes con­tact with the brass plunger. The brass plunger will eventually snap into the hole that in the side of the Indexing Ring.
2) Rotate the Indexing Ring to
line up the notch on the top of the Indexing Ring with the black slanted alignment pin at the top of the Rotator Base. The pin will eventually go into the notch.
3) Depress the brass p lunger and
push up on the Indexing Ring un­til the bra ss pl unger pop s into the plunger hole and the pin slides into the notch.
Removing Indexing Rings
On the lower portion of the black Indexing Ring, there is gold col­ored pin visible through the hole in the side. Insert the tip of a ball point pen or a paper clip end into the hole and push the gold pin in­ward till the Indexing Ring drops down, then slide the Indexing Ring off the Rotator Base.
Adjusting the Force of the Spring Plunger
The screw, shown at left, can be used to position the spring plunger up and down. You can use a screwdriver (or a c oin) to adjust the indexing or click-stop force. The s p ri n g p l un g e r is set from the factory, but you may find that you prefer a harder click-stop action.
Be sure to not overtighten the plunger so that the metal body of the plunger would co me in con­tact with the indexing ring. Also be sure that the plung er is not set deep enough as this will cause excessive play in the indexing ac­tion.
Standard Camera Bracket - Camera Mounting
Mounting your camera on the Standard Camera Bracket
To mount your camera, first select the appropriate slot in the Vertical Cam­era Bracket that will best locate the tri­pod mounting thread on your camera. You m a y n e e d to r e position the Cap­tive Camer a Knob . To remove the knob simply slide it along the slot to the end that has the threaded hole. Carefully unscrew the knob out of the threaded hole, being careful not to crossthread the knob. Replace the knob into the ap­propriate slot by reversing the proce­dure.
Note: Whatever side of the Vertical Bracket you mount your camera on al­ways kee p the offset portion of the Ver t ic a l B ra cke t towards the rear of the camera.
The camera knob is a two piece knob, with a inner and outer knob . Before in­stalling the camera knob in the Verti­cal Bracket, turn the inner knob c lock­wise into the outer knob until it won’t turn anymore. Next install the knob into the appropriate slot then into the tripod moun ting hole of your camera. Turn the inner knob into the camera until it bottoms out, then turn the
outer knob clockwise until the camera is tight on the Vertical Bracket. Don’t worry about getting the camera level at this time, as this is a task you’ll need to do when you’re ready to shoot.
The left-right adjustment to center your lens over the pivot point is ac­complishe d by loosening the purple knob and sliding the bracket. Be sure to tighten the knob to lock the bracket in place.
The fore-aft adjustment is made by loosening the camera knob and slid­ing the camera along the slot. There are camera adjustment shoes and lugs to locate your camera on the bracket and to help position the camera along the slot. These devices will also make it easy to remove and replace your camera wh en you use it for other tasks.
Some models of the Standard Camera Bracket ma y hav e the rubberized cork as shown on the left. Newer models have a special anodized coating that will grip the camera.
Spherical Camera Bracket - Camera Mounting
Mounting your camera on the Spherical Bracket
The Spherical Camera Mounting Bracket has a rotating swing arm which is held into position by large black locking knob. The knob allows you to po sit ion the arm and your camera from plus 90° to minus 90°.
Mounted on the swing arm is an adjust­able camera mount. This mount can be adjusted along the length of the swing arm by loosening and tightening the purple clamping knob. T o remo ve the cam­era mount, simply loosen the knob and slide the mount off of the swing arm. There is a spring-loaded plastic ball which provides drag on the camera mount as well as t he ca mera bracket. When you re­place the mount or the camera bracket onto their respective arms, you’ll need to push it sharply so as to overcome the spring force.
The s tand a rd c a m e ra mount (shown) has a number of slots for you to choose from to mount your camera. It’s important to make sure that the centerline of your camera’s lens intersects the pivot axis of the swing arm. Since some cameras have tripod mounting threads that are not inline with the center of the camera, it ma y be necessary to use one of the various slots on the bracket.
There are camera mounting shoes (flat shaped) and lugs (triangle shaped) that are provided for y ou to help locate and position the camera. These are also helpful when you want to remov e a nd re place the cam­era and return it to the proper location.
An optional camera mount is also available with a qui ck -re lease mo unt. In this case you would attach the a plate (either Arca-Swiss or Begen) to your camera and this plate would then dovetail into a mating plate on the optional camera mount.
Adjusting the camera position for the nodal point is made by loosening the ap­propriate locking knobs and sliding either the camera mount plate along the swing arm, or sliding the entire assemblage along the arm of the Rotator Base. Be sure to tighten the knobs when you’re done posi­tioning the camera.
Twin-Axis Camera Bracket - Camera Mounting
Mounting your camera on the Twin-Axis Camera Bracket
Select the appropriate slot in the bracket that will best locate the tripod mounting thread on your particular camera. You may need to reposition the camera knob to another slot in or­der to achieve this. T o remove the knob simply slide the knob along the slot to the end that has the threaded hole. Carefully unscrew the knob out of the threaded hole, being careful not to crossthread the knob. Replace the knob into the appropriate slot by re­versing the procedure.
The camera knob is a two piece knob, with a inner and outer knob . Before in­stalling the camera knob in the bracket, turn the inner knob clockwise into the outer knob until it won ’t turn anymore. Next install the knob into the appropriate slot then into the tri­pod mounting hole of your camera. Turn the inner knob into the camera until it bottoms out, then turn the outer knob clockwise until the camera is tight on the bracket. Don’t worry about getting the camera level at this time, as this is a task you’ll need to do when you’re ready to shoot.
The left-right adjustment to center your lens over the pivot point is ac com­plished by loosening the purple knob and sliding the camera bracket in and out of the slider . Be sure to tighten the knob to lock the bracket in place.
The fore-aft adjustment is made by loosening the other purple knob on the slider and then moving the entire as­sembly along the arm of the Rotator Base.
There are camera adjustment shoes and lugs (shown at left) to help locate your came ra on the bracket and to help position the camera along the slot. These dev ices will also make it easy to remove and replace your cam­era when you use it for other tasks.
Nodal Point
What is it and how do I find it?
This is one of the most frequently asked questions when it comes to stitcher-based panorama creation. Once you understand the basics , you ’ll be able to easily locate the nodal point for any camera and lens combination.
Simply put, the nodal point is the point inside your camera where the light rays converge and f lip over. When shooting a panorama it’s necessary to rotate abou t this point to eliminate the image mismatch caused by parallax error.
It’s also worth noting that the nodal point is no t the same as the film plane, which is often marked on the underneath side of many 35mm cameras. Generally, for most 35mm cameras and lenses, the nodal point is located somewhere towards the center of the lens barrel.
Parallax error can be easily demonstrated by this simple experiment. Close one eye and hold your index f inger upright about six inches away from your open eye. Rock your hea d from side to side. No tice
Para lla x er ror can be easily demonstrated. It’s the relative movement caused by a shifting point of view . In this example, you eye is mov ing wit h res pect t o your hand and the back­ground.
how your finger moves with respect to the background. This relative movement is due to the fact that you’re not rot a ting your head arou n d your eye’s nodal point, which is somewhere in the center of your eyeball. Instead, you’re rotating about your spine which is several inches to the rear and off to one side. It is this relative side-to-side motion that we will strive to eliminate when setting
up a camera for VR panoramas.
Step 1: The side-to-side adjustment
Once your camera is fastened to your camera bracket, move to the front of the tripod head so you’re looking into the lens. Adjust the camera br acket so that the center of the lens is directly over the pivot axis of the tripod head. Try to be as accurate as possible. You should strive to get this adjustment within plus/minus a 1/16th of an inch.
Nodal Point (continued)
What is it and how do I find it?
Step 2: Fore-Aft Adj u stment
This step is most easily accomplished out of doors. Find a vertical edge or line, such as a doorway or edge of a building. Position your camera and tripod a bout 2-1/2 feet away , or as close as possible with the edge still in focus when you look through the viewfinder. If you’re using a multirow head such as the QuickPan III Spherical, set the swing arm to a level horizontal position (zero degrees).
Looking through the camera’s viewfind er, find a nother vertical edge or line that is far away , such as another building or telephone pole. Align the two objects and rotate the pan head so they are in the left hand side of the viewfinder.
Rotate the pan head so the two objects move over to the right hand side of the viewfinder. Unless you’ve managed to unwittingly locate the right position, you should notice the two ob jects will move with respect to each other as y ou rotate the pan fr om
Looking through the viewfinder align a close object (brick wall) with a faraway object (telephone pole). As you r otate the camera from side-to-side there should be no relative movement between the tw o objects as shown to the right.
If, as shown above, the two objects move with respect to one and another in the viewinder, slide the camera fore or af t i n order to eliminate this movement. Here, the telephone pole has moved behind the brick wall.
left to right. Slide the camera to the front or rear as required to eliminate
this relative movement.
Step 3: Record Your Results
After you’ve discovered the two location dimensions, be sure to r ecord the settings. The QuickPan III has convenient indicator scales for this purpose. These numbers represent the nodal point for this given camera and lens combination. If you change cameras or lenses, this procedur e may have to be repeated
Step 5: How About Rangefinder Cameras?
A rangef inder camera is a camera where you look through a separate viewfinder and not through the actual lens . The process is basically the same. Locate the Side-to-Side adjustment as discussed in Step 1. When it comes to the Fore-Aft adjustment, you won’t be able to look through the viewfinder to determine
Nodal Point (continued)
What is it and how do I find it?
the proper setting since the viewfinder is a separate optical path that doesn’t really “ see” the same image as the film.
Instead, you’ll have to start with the bracket all the way to the front and take pairs of test shots. Each pair will have the vertically aligned objects in the left and then the right side of the viewfind e r. A fter each pair of photos, slide the bracket rearward and r epeat the process. Slide the br acket the same increment each time (i.e. 10mm). Be sure to record the scale setting for each pair of images. Process the film, or in the case of digital cameras, download the images to your computer.
At the end of this process you will be able locate the pair of images with the least relative movement. If no single image is optimum, you may need to interpolate between two images to find the closest value.
Shooting Panoramas
How do I begin?
How much Overlap?
The a m ount you turn the camer a for eac h shot varies. It is dependent on a number of factors such as the field of view (the angle) of your camera and lens, as well as which pr ogr am you intend to use. For example, in their QuickTime VR Authori ng Studio, Apple recommended that the images should overlap by anywhere from one-third to one-half. That’s a good rule of thumb for most stitching applications. You should check with the rec ommendations of the software that you intend to use in order to
determine overlap requirements.
How many Shots?
Once you’ve determined the overlap, you’ll be able to figure out how many shots. The easiest way to do t his is to simply look through the viewfind er a nd turn the camera to ac hieve the desired amount of overlap. You then check the angle readout to see how far you turned the camera. Round the angular value to the nearest convenient value. F or most stitching programs , it is generally not that important to use a precise overlap value. However, it should be noted that some programs are more sensitive to an overlap value that constantly repeats from s hot to shot. You may need to experiment somewhat to obtain the best results.
Taking the P hotos
When you ’r e ready to shoot, make sure that the camera is securely attached to the Quic kPan III. You s h ou l d use a t ripod that is sturdy, ideally one that has a center support system of brac es to help keep the camera from flexing.
Proper leveling is important and often misunderstood. When it comes to leveling there are two things that are fairly important. With multirow panoramas (i.e. Stitcher) the issue of leveling is less crucial and primarily involves aestethics and placement of the horizon. We’ll concentrate prima rily on cyli ndrica l or single­row pano ramas.
First, the camera' s optical axis should be parallel with the rotation plane of the tripod head. In other wor ds the camer a shoul d not be pointed up or down with respect to the plane of rotation.
Secondly, it's also somewhat important for the camera and f ilm/CCD to be properly aligned with respect to rotation when view ed from the front (looking into the lens).
This can happen because the camera is not seated flush against the upright bracket. This
is pretty common since many cameras have mounting screws that are not in the center of the base. Many camer as ha ve scr ews off to one end of the camera or a t the edge of the camer a and this can cause the camera to not be pulled down evenly onto the tripod head mounting plate.
Another problem is that CCDs may not be accurately positioned within the camera body and respect to the mounting surface. It only takes a fraction of degree and with other manufacturing tolerances this can add up to be noticeable.
This misalignment can also happen if the upright bracket is bent or is not exactly perpendicular to the rotation plane of the head. At Kaidan we check this dimension very closely to ensure it's as close to 90° as reasonbly possible.
The effect of a rotated camera (when viewed looking into the lens) is a stairstepping of images as you progress around the panorama. Stairstepping has nothing to do with the state of the entire head being level with respect to the horizon. This can be corrected by rotating all the images a slight amount in y our authoring program.
Shooting Panoramas (continued)
How do I begin?
You can also shim the camera/head to compensate for such misalignment errors as well. A few layer s of tape is usually all that it takes. Let me also reiterate what's not as important as some people think.
The overall level of the head/camera is not as critical in order to produce good stitched results. As long as the camera is not tilt ed or rotated and as long as the camera is positioned so that the optical axis is parallel to the rotation plane, you can tilt or position the entire head so that it's not level to the horizon and it won't affect the image.
Now, it might produ ce a panorama tha t is tilted with respect to the horizon but that might be an artistic choice or something y ou w ant to do on purpose.
As long as the optical axis is parallel to the rotat ion plan e and the camera/CCD is not rotate d, slight variati ons in level as the head rotates is generally not a problem.
before shooting the photo. You may also want to check with the software
developer of the stitching software that you’re using to get their recommendations for exposure settings and other camera settings. We ho pe you e njoy shooting your panoramas and if you ha ve any questions or pro blems using
our equipment, please let us know.
As you shoot around the c ircle, try to avoid capturing any moving objects that might c ome into your field of view. There is no harm in waiting, for example, while a perso n walks past
Warranty and Product Return Information
Copyright © 2002 Kaidan, Inc. All Rights Reserved. First Edition, June 2002. QuickPan is a trademark of Kaidan, Inc. Other products mentioned herein may be trademarks of their respective companies. Patents Pending.
Information in this manual is subject to change without notice and does not represent a commitment on the part of Kaidan. No part of this manual may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photo­copying, recordi ng, or information storage and retrieval systems, or translated to an­other language, for any purpose other than the licensee’s personal use and as specifi­cally allowed in the licensing agreement, without the express written permission of Kaidan.
Kaidan Warranty and Return Policy A • Limited Warranty In the event of a defect in materials or workmanship, Kaidan will repair the product
with new or rebuilt parts for a period of three-hundred and sixty five (365) days from the date of original purchase. Such work will be performed f ree of charge. Follow the Product R etur n Proc edure (Section D follo wing). Likewise, any software purchased from Kaidan also comes with a one year warranty if your disc or media is defective or dam­aged. This warranty is extended only to the original purchaser and is not transferable. A purchase receipt or other proof of original purchase will be required bef ore w arranty performance is rendered. This warranty only covers failures due to defects in materi­als or workmanship which occur during normal use. It does not cover damages or fail­ures which are caused from accident, misuse, abuse, neglect, mishandling, misapplica­tion, alteration, faulty installation, modification, service by anyone other than an au­thorized representative of Kaidan, Acts of God, or by products not supplied by Kaidan. This w a rr a n ty c o vers any damage incurred during original shipment of product to cus­tomer. Any item resold, or distributed by, and not explicitly manufactured by Kaidan will be covered by their respective company’s product warranty.
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or limitations may not apply to y ou. This warranty and an y claims which arise with the Kaidan product(s) are governed by the laws of the state of P enns ylvania. By purchasing this product, customer acknowledges and agrees to these Limits and Exclusions. If a problem with your Kaidan product develops during the w arranty period, immedia tely contact Kaidan for assistance.
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ing fees may apply) from date of purchase, with the ex ception of software or video­tapes. Both of the aforementioned items are copyrighted and subject to the laws con­cerning intellectual property. Kaidan will replace defective software/videotapes free of charge upon return receipt of defective item(s). Products returned under this po licy, excluding replacement of defective items, must be shipped at purchaser’s expense. Pur­chaser must ship product with an approved traceable service, such as FedEx, and with appropriate levels of shipping insurance for the item being returned. Kaidan will not be held responsible for returned items lost or damaged in transit. Kaidan will issue a refund to customer’s account if the following conditions are satisfied:
1) Receipt of item(s) in a restockable condition. Criteria for Restockable Condition is as follows:
All parts are included in box; hardware, manuals, discs, nuts/bolts, tools.
No signs of damage; scratches, bent parts, mis sing piec es , markings, alterations, or ad-
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All packaging materials are intact; foam, peanuts, cardboard, bubble bags.
No signs of excess usage or wear to the product.
Items of Non-Restockable Condition are subject to the following:
Restocking Fee(s) - a minimum of 10% and possible additional fees based on the c ondi­tion of th e pr oduc t (how the product best meets the criteria above), at Kaidan’s discre­tion.
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Missing parts; hardware, manuals, discs, nuts/bolts, tools, and packaging materials; foam, peanuts, cardboard, bubble bags.
Signs of damage; scratches, bent parts, missing pi eces, markings, alter ations, additions to the product.
Signs of excess usage or wear to the product.
Damage or loss incurred during uninsured shipping to Kaidan. In this case, Kaidan
cannot issue any type of refund. Customer will be responsible to submit cl aim with their shipping company.
If damages occur in shipping, customer must submit claim with shipping company prior to any action by Kaidan.
Items Part of Special Bundle If item(s) are part of a special bundle offer, return of par t of the bundle will void any
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customer purchases thru Kaidan distributor or reseller, customer is responsible for all shipping and VAT costs incurred by that distributor or reseller. These charges are non­refundable. For instructions on the return of your product, follow the Product Return Procedure below
D • Product Return Procedure When returning a product, customer must first contact Kaidan (or the distributor/
reseller) and obtain a Return Material Authorization Number (RMA#). After receiving the RMA#, customer will be instructed to return product directly to Kaidan. Returned goods must be shipped with an approved traceable service, such as FedEx, an d with ap­propriate levels of shipping insurance for the item being returned. Kaidan will not be held responsible for returned items lost or damaged in transit. RMA numbers ar e v ali d for 15 days, and the product(s) must be received by Kaidan before the RMA expires. We are unable to accept for return any pr oduct(s) receiv ed after the expiration of the RMA.
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information: Kaidan Incorporated
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