Building a panoramic head

We recently revamped our website Virtual Swanage with a new look and a few new features.  One of the new features I wanted to add was panoramic tours of the Isle of Purbeck with shots taken all along the coast and in other beauty spots.

In the past when I have taken panoramic photos I have just lined up the camera on a tripod head and used a wide angle lens to get as much in as possible.  The downside with that technique is the pictures always come out distorted as the nodal point is at the base of the camera instead of the end of the lens. 
With this in mind I decided to build a panoramic head that would let me adjust the nodal point to match each of my lenses plus allow vertical tilt so I can take several rows of photos and stitch them together to give a wider field of view.

Stage 1: Planning

The first stage was to plan out how the head would work and what materials I would need.  Having looked at some of the other panoramic heads on the market I decided to build one with three arms that would allow linear adjustment sideways and forwards which would mean I could use different cameras and lenses.  It would bolt onto my existing Manfrotto 300N panoramic rotation head and have a rotary pivot on the top arm to tilt the camera vertically from the nodal point.  The camera would be mounted sideways to take portrait photos, reducing the number of rows needed for each shot.

With my camera, tripod and a tape measure to hand I started to measure up all of the different parts to work out how big everything would need to be.  I worked out that a single piece of aluminium 60mm wide, 10mm thick and 1000mm long would be enough to build the head with another smaller piece to act as a stabiliser block on the back of the vertical.  With the materials ordered from eBay I set to work designing the various parts and wrote the cut paths for my CNC mill.

(The materials used)

Stage 2: Cutting

First to be cut was the base.  This would have a 60mm wide disk at one end to mount it onto the tripod and a 40mm wide bar coming out for the vertical to bolt onto.  I made a 6mm wide slot down the centre which would act as a slide rail for the vertical to keep it square on the base and provide a space to bolt through.  I also added some smaller pockets on the underside to reduce the weight.  The panoramic head will be travelling around for quite a few miles so I wanted it to be as light as possible while still being strong enough to support the camera.

(Milling the base plate)

(The finished base plate)

Next to be cut was the vertical.  This would be a similar shape to the base but with larger weight saving pockets.  On the top end I cut a 6mm hole for the pivot and two 4mm pockets which would contain sprung ball bearings to make the head notch between set positions.

(Milling the side plate)

The top plate was third to be cut.  After drilling the pivot hole a series of shallow pockets were cut around the pivot at 15 degree intervals.  This is what the bearings would drop into as the head is rotated.  A long pocket was cut down the length of the top plate which would let me mount the quick release plate at different positions depending on the lens I am using.  The back of the pocket was widened so the bolt would sit flush allowing the head to fold down flat when it isn’t in use.

(The holes on the top plate were cut to give 15 degree increments)

The quick release plate needed some modifications to make it fit flat on the top rail. The safety lock was removed and the back skimmed down to make it flat then a sheet of 2mm plastic was glued on to make an even base. The plastic would also add a bit of extra friction stopping it from twisting when the camera is attached.

(The quick release plate, milled down flat)

Last to be cut was a small block that fits on the back of the vertical plate.  This was fitted with two bolts machined down to be the same width as the bottom rail and a third hole for a bolt and washer which would hold everything together.

(The parts cut and polished, the stabaliser block still needs to be cut)

(Testing the parts to make sure they fit together)

Stage 3: Cleaning and Painting

With the machining done the various parts were sanded, polished and then sprayed with acrylic car paint to protect them.  After leaving them to dry overnight the parts were assembled together and then aligned to work with my camera. A seat post quick release was purchased from the local bike shop and this was used on the top pivot so it can be easily released and tightened between rows.  I stuck a small spirit level on the base plate above the tripod which would aid in getting the head level when out in the field.

(The camera folded down for transport)

(The tripod head with camera in the horizontal position)

(The finished head)

First tests

With the head assembled I went out to test it.  As the weather wasn’t too great and it was a bit windy I decided to head over to Corfe Castle and try a shot on the common.  I found a suitably sheltered spot and set the tripod up and attached the camera.  I took a meter reading from about 90 degrees away from the sun and set the camera to manual exposure; this would keep the photos consistent and make stitching easier later on. 

(The tripod head in action on Corfe Common in Dorset)

The tripod head worked flawlessly, 6 rows of photos with 18 shots in each row.  As I was using a Canon EOS 5D MK2 the memory card soon started to fill up with the final shoot taking over 3.5Gb of space.
Once home I loaded the photos up on my computer, launched Kolor Autopano Pro, selected all of the photos for the shot and sat back while the computer stitched everything together.  6 hours later I was left with a 2.09 Gb image measuring 52356x19424 pixels.  The stitching worked well with only a few issues on the sky where there weren’t any reference points for the software to work with.
Overall the head worked great and will serve me well in the future as I have over 50 panoramic shots planned for this summer.

(The final image)

(A crop from the final image showing the detail that was captured)