SETUP YOUR PANORAMIC HEAD TO COMPENSATE FOR PARALLAX.

III. Use a tripod equipped with a panoramic head

Equipped with two or three axes of adjustment, a panoramic head makes it possible to exactly position the camera, i.e. to place it so that the axis of mechanical rotation when shooting a panorama is located on the lens' pupil.

The panoramic head brings them together. But how do you find and adjust the nodal point ?

1- Check that the optical axis is centered on the head’s axis of rotation when you point the camera 90° downwards. In order to do this, you will need to reverse your apparatus with the head pointed downwards and fix it on the panoramic head’s central point of the horizontal axis of rotation (either the X- or the Z-axis). On a standard Panosaurus head, you can find this point using the bubble level.

2- For the adjustment of the horizontal axis (Y-axis), you must choose a point (or a fixed object) close by and another at a distance.
A classic example is the edge of a window and a fixed point on a building on the other side of the street. You will then need to move the camera to the right and to the left with successive movements while placing the two reference marks on the right and on the left in the field of view of the camera. Then you will need to regulate the Y-axis by slightly moving it forward and backward so that the two reference marks are superimposed perfectly

3- You will then need to adjust the vertical axis of your panoramic head (Z- axis). This step is optional since the screw pitch on the SLR cameras is always correctly centered for this axis. You have also already roughly adjusted this axis at step 1. If you do not have a SLR camera or/and wish to adjust this axis more precisely, follow the procedure of step 2 by choosing two reference markers in the vertical plane, for example the lower edge of a window and the roof of a building, and by moving your camera upwards.

COMMENT: The smaller the focal length of your objective, the more difficult it will be to adjust your nodal point precisely. Do not lose patience as it becomes easier and easier with the experience.