Nodal Ninja SPH-1 User Manual

Nodal Ninja SPH-1 User Manual

Nodal Ninja SPH-1 is a professional spherical bracket (360 degree pano bracket) for
taking panoramic still images or virtual tours. It supports cameras with tripod mount under the
lens axis such as SLR and DSLR and also most cameras with tripod mount off the lens axis
such as most consumer / prosumer cameras in the current market.

It has all the import features to allow you to rotate your camera about the entrance pupil
position (commonly mistaken as the nodal point) of the lens. These include horizontal
adjustment, axial adjustment (along the lens axis) and adjustment for off-axial tripod mount.

Warranty

All Nodal Ninja comes with one year of warranty. We guarantee every unit we shipped

has been thoroughly tested to offer full functionality. Any part broken in this period will be
repaired or replaced free of charge. However, this warranty does not cover any accidental
damage. In any case, replacement parts can be ordered at minimal cost.

Specifications

The following specifications will determine whether Nodal Ninja SPH-1 is compatible

with your camera or not. In case your camera is incompatible, a special adapter may be made to
extend the compatibility. Contact us for details.

Max loading: 3kg for tripod mount 9 cm away from entrance pupil position, i.e., a

torque of 27N/cm. Notice that this value is obtained indoor. External
factors such as winds may reduce the stability. Long lens may reduce
stability. If the center of mass of the camera is far away from tripod
mount, stability will be impaired. You need a heavy rigid tripod for
good stability.

Horizontal adjustment*: 1.4cm – 7.4cm from entrance pupil position, with off-axial adapter

plate.

2.0cm – 8.0cm from entrance pupil position, with EPDM polymer
adapter plate.

Axial Adjustment**: 0.5cm – 12.0cm from entrance pupil position, with off-axial adapter

and cameras with tripod mount under the lens axis

3.9cm – 8.5cm from entrance pupil position, with off-axial adapter
and cameras with tripod mount off the lens axis

3.9cm – 9.0cm from entrance pupil position, with EPDM polymer
adapter plate and cameras with tripod mount under the lens axis.

Off-axial Adjustment: 1.3cm – 3.7cm away from the lens axis.

Vertical Headroom***: 9.6cm vertical clearance from entrance pupil position.

*This value corresponds to the height of your camera-lens combination from the camera base to
the lens axis. The maximum value of the horizontal adjustment will be extended by 0.5cm with
future modified parts.

**This value corresponds to the distance of your tripod mount away from the entrance pupil
position. The minimum value of the axial adjustment will be reduced from 3.9cm to 2.8cm with
future modified parts for cameras with tripod mount off the lens axis or when the EPDM
adapter is used.

***This value limits the maximum size of the camera to be mounted on the bracket. For certain
camera-lens combinations, there may not be enough clearance for the lens to point straight
upwards or downwards. This will limit the vertical field of view of your final panoramic images
and prevent you from getting a full 360 degree spherical image or virtual tour. The actual effect
of this limitation depends on the size of your camera-lens, the field of view of your lens and
hence the focal length in use and also the entrance pupil position. Other factors being constant,
the wider the field of view of the lens, the less the problem is. But typically, you can get a
vertical field of view exceeding 150 degree in the final panoramic image.

The package

Nodal Ninja is shipped in a semi-assembled form as in the picture above. It includes 2

tightening bolts, one EPDM polymer adapter for cameras with tripod mount under the lens axis
and other two pre-assembled units.

Parts in details

The pictures above show all the parts before assembly. The red arrows show the order of
assembly. Every tightening knob has a Teflon spacer (white rings) to reduce friction and to
protect the paint of the bracket. Between horizontal and vertical turntables are rubber gaskets
(black rings) to increase friction and prevent unwanted rotation. Two Teflon spacers are
supplied for the horizontal turntable. In case, you want to rotate the horizontal arm without
loosening and tightening the knob every time, you can place one of the Teflon spacer between
the rubber gasket and the horizontal arm, so that the horizontal arm is sandwiched by 2 Teflon
spacers. This reduces the friction. By adjusting the tightening knob above, you can create an
adjustable tension around the horizontal turntable. So you can rotate the horizontal arm
smoothly while still getting enough tension to hold the bracket steadily. Note that you MUST
rotate in CLOCKWISE manner; otherwise, the tightening knob will be loosened by the friction.
And the whole assembly may fall down!
EPDM polymer is a high quality and durable rubber. The EPDM adapter plate allows you
to mount your camera (with tripod mount under the lens axis) directly to the vertical rotator arm
without using the off-axial adapter. This gives you extra convenience without the hassle to lock
your camera to the off-axial adapter first. However, the off-axial adapter is important to extend
the range of axial adjustment and it is a must for off-axial tripod mount.
The off-axial adapter is covered with a high quality rubberized slip-resistant material.
This protects your camera from scratches and keeps it in proper position. Other sliding/
movable parts are also covered with the same material.
Along each adjustment is laser engraved scale in 1 mm interval just like a standard ruler.
The grooves of the scales are filled with water resistant paint to increase clarity. For the axial
and off-axial adjustments, scales are engraved on both sides of the arm or plate. On the end of

the off-axial adapter, there is a mark to indicate the mid-point of the adapter, and hence the
position of the tripod mount.
The horizontal turntable is engraved with marks in 5 degrees intervals, with long marks at
each 15 degree interval. Numerical values from 0 – 330 degrees are engraved in 30 degree
intervals in an anti-clockwise manner. Similar marks are also found on the vertical turntable.
But numerical values are not available.

There is also a groove on the horizontal rotator arm for you to stick a custom label for
your particular cameras, with and without vertical grip. So you don’t have to memorize the
numerical values for the horizontal adjustments. You can also put your name or any other
details on the label.

Installation

Installation is very easy as there are just a few parts and they come in semi-assembled
form. What you need to do is determine some dimensional constants of your camera-lens
combination, such as the entrance pupil position, height from base to the lens axis and the tripod
mount off-set distance. All these will determine the values of various adjustment of the bracket.

Horizontal Adjustment

For this you need to determine the height of your camera-lens combination from base of
camera to the lens axis.

Then you record this value so that you don’t have to do it again. For a Dimage 7, the
height is 45 mm. For Dimage A1, it is 32.5mm without BP-400 and 77mm with BP-400. For
E20, it is 35.5mm without the vertical grip.

Now, you look at the scale on the horizontal adjustment. For example, the picture below
shows a value of 8.0 cm or 80mm from the center of the horizontal turntable, i.e., the horizontal
position of the entrance pupil. However, this value does not correspond directly to the height

where height = h

1 + 1/2 Ф

measured above. You need to add to the height 9.5mm if you use the EPDM adapter plate

and 15.5mm if you use the off-axial adapter.

So, for a Dimage 7, you slide the vertical arm to 60.5mm because you must use the off­axial adapter for it. For an E20, you slide it to 51mm if you use the off-axial adapter or to 45mm
if you use the EPDM adapter plate.

Off-axial Adjustment
If your camera has a tripod mount off the lens axis, you need to use the off-axial adapter.

But before you use it, you need to determine the amount of off-set.

Using the Dimage 7 as an example, first, you need to determine the lens axis. This can
sometimes be difficult. But most of time, there are reference point that lies on the lens axis. For
example, the 2 screws under the lens of Dimage 7 lie exactly on the lens axis. Try to find some
similar reference points on other cameras. If there is none, draw a line (with pencil) that bisects
the lens as accurately as possible. Then measure the distance from the center of tripod socket to

this line (the lens axis). On a Dimage 7 the off-set is 29mm. The same value is true for Dimage
5 and other cameras in the 7 series.

After you determined the off-set, you can mount your camera to the off-axial adapter.

First fully tighten the bolt and then loosen it until slot of the bolt is perpendicular to the
rim of the adapter. Try to position the adapter so that its rim is perpendicular to the lens axis.
Try to find lines on the camera as references. Usually the front side and / or the rear side of the
camera is perpendicular to the lens axis. In this case, you place the adapter parallel to this side.
Then you slide the adapter until the center of the bolt has the desired amount of off-set, i.e.
29mm on a Dimage 7. You may need a ruler or any straight object to help you access the
accuracy of the positioning. Finally, you tighten the bolt fully. You may need a coin for this. At
this stage, you probably want to mark the position of the bolt to save your effort next time.

Use a marker or even a sharp object to scratch the paint if you want the mark to stay
forever.

After you mount the adapter to the camera, you can now mount the camera to the vertical
rotator arm, where you do the axial adjustment.

Note that the off-axial adapter can correct tripod mount from either side of the lens axis.

Axial Adjustment for Cameras with Tripod Mount off the Lens Axis

After you have corrected the tripod mount off-set. You need to determine the axial
adjustment, i.e., the distance from the tripod mount to the entrance pupil position. You can find
the values for most camera-lens combination on the internet. If the value is not available, you
have to determine it yourself. There are various tutorials on this subject across the internet. But
most of time, the entrance pupil position is mistakenly referred as the nodal point. So you would
like to search for “nodal point determination” or something like that. You can also read my
tutorial “Locating the Entrance Pupil—a systematic approach” at the end of this manual. This
new approach is particularly easy to use for digital cameras with a live video out function.
Assuming you know the entrance pupil position, e.g., 41mm in front of tripod mount for
Dimage 7 series at 28mm focal length, what you need to do is mount the camera onto the
vertical rotator arm through the off-axial adapter. There is a mark at the back of the off-axial
adapter which corresponds to the center of the tripod mount. So you slide the adapter to 41mm
by reading the scale on the vertical rotator arm. Check that the surfaces of the adapter and the
vertical rotator arm are parallel before you fully tightened the knob. You can mount your
camera with the handle up or down (if your camera is not too bulky), as there are scales on both
sides of the vertical rotator arm. Mounting the camera with handle down helps to lower the
center of mass and hence increase stability. Now, you are ready to take as many panoramas as
you like. But before you fire the first shot. You should level the whole assembly first. Adjust
your tripod head until the bubbles in the spirit level remain at the center. The spirit level in the
bracket has been calibrated against engineering grade spirit level during assembling.

Axial Adjustment for Cameras with Tripod Mount under the Lens Axis

If your camera has a tripod mount at correct position, i.e., under the lens axis, you can

simply use the EPDM adapter if you tripod mount lies within the range of axial adjustment.
Note that the horizontal adjustment is affected by the choice of the adapter in use.

On the adapter, there are white marks that correspond to the center of tripod mount. So
you simply mount your camera on it and adjust its position so that the white mark corresponds
to the distance of the tripod mount from the entrance pupil position.

Check that the lens axis is parallel to the vertical rotator arm then tighten the knob.
Check if the whole assembly is leveled. Then you can start taking photos at various angles of
elevation and rotation.

If you need to extend the range of the axial adjustment, you must use the off-axial adapter.
Depending on which side of the range you want to extend, you can mount the off-axial adapter
in 2 orientations.

Either way, you need to record accurately the position of the bolt. You need to add/
minus this value when you do the axial adjustment. To make life simple, you may want to
mount the adapter to the nearest cm, say 3 cm from the adapter socket. Remember this distance
is measured from the center of the bolt. So you may want to wind / unwind the bolt till the slot
of the bolt is perpendicular to rim of the adapter. Then check the accuracy of the position with a
straight object. Again, you can mark the position of the bolt on the adapter for future use. Then
mount your camera to the vertical rotator arm.

Slide the camera to the correct position, taking the off-set by the adapter into account.
Again take the choice of the adapter into account for the horizontal adjustment. Level the
assembly and start shooting.

The entrance pupil position is usually in front of the tripod mount for wide angle lens or
zoom lens at the wide end; and behind the tripod mount for telephoto lens or zoom lens at the

tele end. The wide end is usually the choice to reduce the number of shots to take for the pano,
especially for the 360 degree virtual tour. However, you can use the tele end to reduce distortion
and increase the resolution of the final image.