Nodal Ninja EZ-Leveler
II Fanotec Quick Reference Manual

EZ-Leveler I I (EZ-L II) al lo ws fine l ev el adjustment of t he mounted de vi ce . By simply
turning 3 ro ll er s, adjustment of the le ve l is easy and smo ot h. There are loc ki ng
knob s to cancel out backlash and pr event accid en ta l ch an ge of le ve l. It is
lightweight, com pa ct , and smartly shaped to mini mi ze the nadi r foo tp ri nt when
taking spherical panoramas. Its "Head Alignment Knob" allows a pano head with an
indexed rotator to point in any direction without moving the tripod. Alternatively, it
allows aligning of EZ-L II edges to the tripod legs to minimize the nadir footprint.

NOTE: E Z- L II d oe s n ot incorporate i ts own b ub bl e level. It r eq ui re s the
mounted device to have a bubble level or other level r ea di ng c ap ab il it y.

Stand in a position so that 2 rollers (1
and 2) are horizontal in front of you.
Lo ok at the bu bbl e fro m ver tic a lly
above. Adju st the horizo ntal roll er s to
center the bubble horizontally.

© 2012 Nodal Ninja

Quick Reference Guide

EZ-LevelerII

PackageContentsofEZ-LevelerII

Features

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3/8” Socket

Leveling
Roller

Level Lock

3/8” Thread

InstallationandLevelAdjustment

Head Alignment Knob

Install the 3/ 8” to 1/4” ada pt er if the
tripod has a 1/ 4” thread. If trip od top
plate has bare metal surf ac e, con si de r
adding a friction material to prevent
loosening and /o r sc ra tc hi ng the base
of EZ-L II. An opt io na l cor k sheet like
t h a t on E Z -L I I is a va i la bl e fr om
Fanotec.

Place the tripod legs in their preferred
positions. Unlock the leve l lock s. Turn
the r ol le rs to rou gh ly the middle o f
their full a dj us tm en t rang e. Tighten the
“Head Alignment Knob” (HA Knob) of
EZ-L II to t he base. Tighten EZ -L II to
tr ip od whil e ho ld ing the kno b wi th
fingers.

Mount t he trip od head or ba ll head on
EZ-L II. Moun t the camera on tri po d
head or bal l hea d. Th en roughly level
(bubble inside o r o n the circle l in e) th e
t ri p od h e a d u s i ng i ts o w n t il t
adjustment or by adjusting the length
of tripo d legs . Th is pre ve nts EZ -L II
from going out of adjustment range.

1

2

4

Adjust rol le r 3 to cen te r the bub bl e
vertically. If th is fails due t o p oo r initial
l e ve li n g, a d ju st r ol le r s 1 a nd 2
s i m u lt a n eo u sl y ti l l the b u bb l e is
ce nt ere d ho riz on tal ly and vert ic all y.
Then loc k t he level l oc ks to prevent
accidental change of level.

3

Install 3/8” to 1/4”
Adapter as Needed

Tighten HA KnobTighten HA Knob
to the Baseto the Base

Tighten HA Knob
to the Base

Lock

UnlockUnlockUnlock

Turn to
Adjust
Level

Spare Parts Qty

3/8" to 1/4" adapter 1

1

2

3

Horizontal to ViewerHorizontal to ViewerHorizontal to Viewer

Centered Vertically

1

2

3

Top View

22

3

Top View

Centered Horizontally

1

Level Level Roughly
by Adjusting
Tripod Legs

Level Roughly
by Adjusting
Tripod Legs

5

UsingtheHeadAlignmentKnob(HAKnob)

In pano ra mi c photography, on e may want to in cl ud e a spec if ic view in to a s in gl e
image t o reduce stitching er ro rs . One m ay also want t o set a s pe ci fi c viewpoint a s
the initial displayed view , inst ea d of in pos t processing. This can be ac hi ev ed by
moving the tr ip od legs. Some si tu at io ns may require the tr ip od legs be plac ed in
specific positions, e.g., in very crowded places. The in de xe d r ot at or in a p an o h ea d
may h in de r rotation to the pr ef er re d angle. Th e HA Kn ob will a ll ow the pa no head
to p oi nt i n any direction. Al te rn at iv e, i t allows EZ-L I I to align its ed ge s to the tripod
legs to minimize the nadir footprint.

Loosen EZ-L II a bit to help loosen HA
Knob. G ra du al ly loosen H A Knob wh il e
tightening EZ- L II, until the camera is
about to point at th e desired d ir ec ti on .
Tighten EZ-L II fully. Th en co nt in ue th e
level in g p r o c e s s d e s c r i b e d i n t h e
previous section.

Place t he tripod legs in their pr ef er re d
positions. Tigh te n the HA K no b to th e
base. Ti gh te n EZ-L II to tr ip od while
holding t he knob wit h fing er s. Then
mount the pan o h ea d o n t op of EZ-L II.
Mount the camera on pano head.

1

Rotate EZ-L II
Clockwise to
Tighten

Loosen HA KnobLoosen HA KnobLoosen HA Knob

TipsforLevelingaPanoramicTripodHead

Ma ny peop le new to pan ora mi c pho to g ra phy h av e con ce rns a bo ut bu bb l e
movements after rota ti ng the pan o head, and they try to re -l ev el the pano head
after each rota ti on . DO NO T re-level the pano head ! Re-l ev el in g move s the lens
away fr om the No-Parallax Point a nd will cause st it ch in g er ro rs . For the b ub bl e to
remain stationary and centered, it requires a level of perfect accuracy or very low
sensitivity. That is not the cas e for levels used in pho to gr ap hy . It al so requires a
t r i p o d an d a p a n o he a d of p e r f ec t rig i d i ty , whi c h se ld om exi s t . Th e
recommendation from ex pe ri en ce d pano ra mi c phot og ra ph er s is to level the first
shot and forget about leveling the remaining shots.

EZ-L II i s designed to supp or t 10 kg (22 lb) vert ic al comp re ss iv e loading, a ty pi ca l
loading type for most equ ip me nt to be mounted on EZ-L II. For equi pm en t with
center of gr av it y f ar away from the mo un ti ng po in t, the load ra ti ng is re du ce d due
to the much amplified bending to rque. Th is is t he case for lo ng lens es and Nodal
Ninja with nadir ad ap te r ( or pa no he ad wi th similar construction) in the sw un g o ut
position. We recommend maximum loading of 1.5kg (3.3lb) using a nadir adapter
on EZ-L II. There may be a slight lifting of level on the opposite side of load.

Vertical & Compressive

TipsforAccurateReadingofCircularBubbleLevel

With a pr op er ly leveled ci rc ul ar bu bble
level, the bub bl e is positioned at th e
center o f t h e vi al. T h e b u b b l e is
horizontally centere d whe n a viewer
looks at the ce nt er of th e v ia l f ro m any
direction. Th er ef or e i t suffices th at th e
viewer reads the bub bl e f ro m a ny 2
perpendicular vertical planes

Top Left/Right

Top Front/Back

Leve l t h e bu bb l e as descr i b e d i n
previous se ct io n. Confirm th e accuracy
of reading by ensuring the bubble is
ce n t ere d h oriz o nta lly wh en vie w ed
from the to p f ro nt /b ac k as well as fr om
th e t op le ft/ r igh t. If no t, re -ad j ust
roller(s) to ce nt er the bu bb le . Now the
bubble is leveled.

NoteAboutMaximumLoadingandOff-AxisLoading

Nadir Adapter
Swung Out
Position

Tighten HA Knob to the Base

Alternatively, H A Knob al lo ws EZ-L II to
align it s edges t o the t ri po d legs to
minimize t he nad ir footprint. Lo os en
EZ-L II a bit. Gradually loosen HA Knob
while t ig ht en in g E Z- L II, u nt il it s edges
are about to al ig n with the tripod l eg s.
Then tighten EZ-L II fully.

2A

2B

Edges Aligned to
the Tripod Legs

For accurate le ve li ng , a c ir cu la r bubb le level must be re ad fro m vert ic al ly abo ve .
Any viewing a ng le to the vertical will ca us e re ad in g error. With a c am er a an d lens
positioned a t t he No-Parallax Po in t o n a pan o h ea d, it can be quite difficult t o view
the bubble from vertically above. This tip will help you overcome this difficulty.

Bubble is Centered
in Any Direction