Flash holder. Cheap panoramic head. Panoramic head for a tripod: Novoflex review Do-it-yourself panoramic head for a tripod
If you already have some practice shooting panoramic images, you know that the standard set of necessary equipment consists of a camera, a sturdy tripod and a special panoramic head. Of course, some craftsmen manage to shoot a panorama with a regular head, and sometimes even without a tripod, but sooner or later, with the growth of skills and mastery, the photographer will still face the need to have a panoramic head in his arsenal, especially since its use significantly reduces the occurrence of artifacts, and therefore time spent on further computer processing of panoramic photographs.
Basically, artifacts arise for two reasons - due to the movement of objects during shooting (in which they fall into the frame overlap zone) and due to the rotation of the camera around a point other than the nodal one. Let us recall that the nodal point is a point located at a certain distance inside the lens, at which the rays that form the image intersect. Conventional tripod heads allow you to rotate the camera around its center of rotation, usually located in the area of the tripod socket when rotating horizontally, or 5-10 cm below the camera when rotating vertically. The nodal point is located in the center of the lens, approximately at its beginning.
Having previously studied many options for homemade heads, I designed my “product”, which consists of four main parts - an X-Y bracket, a Z bracket, a platform for the camera and a platform for the tripod.
I’ll start characterizing my head from the bottom. The platform for the tripod is presented in two parts - a quick-release platform from a Culmann tripod and a cut metal profile 20x40. In our case, the piece had a length of 48 mm, but 40 mm would have been enough. Both parts are fastened with an M6 screw, the purpose of which is to prevent rotation of both parts relative to each other. At the same time, if the platform were a little stronger, and if the protrusion on the tripod near the platform did not interfere, then there would be no need to use a piece of metal profile.
Our next “spare part” is the X-Y bracket. It was made from a 25x3 metal strip, with an X distance from the center of rotation of 57 mm (350D mount center 35 mm from the bottom of the camera + 3 mm platform + 1 mm platform pad + Z3 mm bracket + 13.25 mm shims + 1.75 mm). As a result, the total length of X reaches 57+15=72 mm.
In principle, the length X from the axis of rotation to the outer edge can be made larger, but I don’t see much point in this, since the center of gravity of the structure is shifted to the opposite side and it will not be possible to focus in this direction.
But on the contrary, I made the Y axis the longest. The length was determined in such a way that it was possible to shoot the “lid”, that is, a frame at +90°. At the same time, from the rotation axis Y to X there is enough space for the bracket with the camera mounted on it. Moreover, with such a length of the bracket, if you accidentally let go of the device (for example, when you loosen a screw along the Y axis), it will not hit X. In total, the distance from the rotation axis Z on Y to X for me was 175 mm, and the total length was 185 mm. Since Z turns out to be less than Y, the head folds quite compactly.
To make X-Y, I used a strip of metal with a total length of 185 + 72 = 247 mm, which was bent in a vice, then slightly adjusted with a hammer and bent with a gas wrench. After the above-described manipulations, I ended up with a thing that is not ideal in appearance, but geometrically correct along its axes. All that remains is to drill two 6mm holes for the axles.
The length of Z was not chosen by chance, but after a series of preliminary fittings, when a consensus was finally reached at 142 mm, while from the center of rotation to the axis of the platform - 58-116 mm. This gave me an adjustment range of 58 mm. This Z geometry is suitable for all lenses at my disposal, and the Z can be shortened down to 136 mm. Bracket Z is separated from XY by adjusting washers (in my case, a nut and washer).
This was done so that during shooting +90°, the bolt fixing the camera platform did not touch the Y. In addition, by removing the washer or slightly reducing its thickness, it becomes possible to install a camera with a higher optical center, although in this case you will lose the opportunity shooting +90°. The axis is a bolt with a diameter of 6 mm, which, if possible, should be welded to the Z bracket. I drilled it from the side and secured it with an additional M3 screw.
And finally, the last part of the head is the platform for the camera. Because the 350d's tripod socket is located on the axis of the lens, making the platform was not difficult. The platform was made from a strip of metal 35x72 mm, in which I drilled two holes - 6.5 mm in diameter for a tripod socket, and for a pin that prevents the camera from rotating on the platform.
Due to the fact that I did not want to spend time calculating the position of the pin and tripod socket, I simply took a scan of the device using a flatbed scanner and then, in Photoshop, drew the platform, marking the axes. Having printed the resulting diagram on a printer, I pasted it onto my workpiece and drilled it through the paper.
According to the original plan, the pin was supposed to be made from an M3 screw screwed into the platform, but since I had some problems with the drill (I used an electric screwdriver instead), the screw had to be cold welded, but due to the fact that the hole is at the bottom of the camera has a diameter of less than 3 mm, the screw was processed with a file. After that, I screwed the platform to the Z axis, and cold welded the spoke guides to its sides. As a result, the platform could only move along its axis, and without turning. And in order for the camera to sit “softer” on the platform, a piece of dermantine was previously glued onto it.
A few words about limbs. I found dials graduated by 5 degrees to be inconvenient, so I decided to make dials with dots, with each dot corresponding to one frame. Since I want to shoot panoramas with a standard 29mm lens (18x1.6), I need to plan for shooting 10 horizontal frames in one row. Therefore, the points on the limb should be located at 36 degrees. But this solution did not turn out to be convenient enough - for more accurate positioning you need an arrow. As a result, I managed to come up with a more original version of the limb. On it I marked lines at 36 degrees, indicating the near side of the bracket.
I just set the bracket parallel to the line, take a shot, rotate the bracket again, etc. The limb for vertical slopes is made in a similar way. There, the dial is fixed to the Z axis, and the Y axis serves as an arrow. If lenses are changed during filming, you can draw lines of different colors, or make interchangeable dials. In my case, the limbs were drawn in Photoshop and designed to use brackets with a width of 24 mm. The printed and cut out limbs were placed between a plastic lid and the bottom of a can of ear sticks.
And finally the last nuance - nuts with collars. In order to rotate the X-Y axes, you don’t have to look for a particularly powerful nut; an ordinary wing will be quite enough. But to secure the Z axis you will need a nut with a thicker knob. I went through many options and settled on a nut from some part, with a metal plate screwed on. The force applied during the screwing process was sufficient to prevent the bracket with the camera from slipping. That's basically it!
All we have to do is collect all the above details into one whole and go for a panoramic photo shoot. In total, I spent 3-4 hours making a working sample, without dials and imperfections; several more evenings were spent experimenting with washers and dials, as well as other little things. But if you have the tools and materials, all this can be done in half a day.
And finally, let's calculate the financial costs. A strip of metal 24x3 and a piece of profile 20x40 cost me only 10 rubles on the construction market. I also bought washers there, at a price of about 1 ruble/piece, bolts for 5 rubles/piece. The 1/4' bolt was borrowed from an old Ewa Marina box, the dials were printed on Epson SemiGlossy paper (with ink for 2 dials - about 10 rubles). The quick-release platform came from a Culmann tripod; the rest of the little things were found in our own bins. As a result, 10+1×3+2×5+0+10+0 = 33 rubles. That is, we got a panoramic head with horizontal-vertical rotation and settings for various lenses for only 33 rubles!
A fairly long study of posts on Muska on the issue of panoramic photography led me to the idea that, in general, no one had brought all purchases together in one place. And by adding a minor detail, it is possible to make a completely working panoramic head, and start shooting and assembling spherical panoramas with very budgetary funds.
It all started with this post:
But with the method described by the author, the vertical viewing angle is greatly reduced, and accordingly the panorama will turn out to be quite narrow (even when using fisheye)
Then the following post was found:
It’s very simple and cheap, and most importantly, it works. It’s just not ergonomic (the second corner covers half the camera), but the idea interested me. And I started looking for something similar on Tao. Having discovered the “hero of the review,” I began to look for a photo store that had both corners and a flash bracket, and I found:
The order arrived within a month, along the way I collected small things (photoscrews, 3/8 -1/4 adapters, “anti-loss” for lens caps), in short, something that our Siberian photo stores don’t have, or cost a lot of money. The parcel was prefabricated, it is difficult to calculate the total cost, so I am posting a link to a similar product on Ali. There will be no unpacking or anything else.
So I begin. A strip in a bag, a pair of male-female 1/4-inch screws, an adapter nut for a hot shoe. A rubber sealing tape is glued along the groove. 
The corners have already been described in muska, but this is what came to me: 
The material of both is apparently duralumin or another light alloy, since the magnet does not stick. The result of the assembly is the following design: 
Ishsho and small things will remain: 
Photos of the finished panoramic head on a tripod:
Well, the whole structure is assembled:
A little about the adjustments. The lateral offset of the corner can be easily adjusted by setting the kit lens to maximum zoom. By placing the device in the same way as for nadir shooting, we ensure that the central focusing point coincides with the axis of the mounting screw. It turns out pretty accurate.
I have a Samyang 8mm, bought secondhand on Avito, but I think the link is not much different from mine. 
Oh, I almost forgot the along-axial displacement, it’s easier to just look at the video once. Until I saw it myself, I didn’t understand. It's actually simple:
+ Quite affordable price
+ Assembled with bare hands from the box
+ It can also be disassembled into small things that will be useful to any photographer.
+ It works!!!
- Somewhat flimsy (heavy camera, I wouldn’t risk betting on it)
- Settings get lost when installing and removing on a tripod (solved by markings on the corners and the bar)
-In the corner the top screw is about to slide down. Later I want to drill a hole instead of a groove (space allows). And this is only for multi-row panoramas.
- The zenith is not strictly vertical (it can be solved by shooting two frames of the zenith; for fisheye one is enough) I'm planning to buy +30 Add to favorites I liked the review +33 +60
Homemade panoramic head for retaking large documents
The proposed design does not have a positioning system and does not have the accuracy that industrial panoramic heads provide, but it still provides high-quality image stitching in automatic mode. More details https://site/ru/
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The head of this simple design can be easily made from the most affordable materials using only bench tools.
The picture shows an assembled panoramic head. Moreover, this design is greatly complicated due to the universal camera mounting unit.
Materials and tools.
For manufacturing you will need some materials, fasteners and plumbing tools, which any DIYer will probably have. You will also need a drill and several drills of different diameters. https://site/ru/
More details:
- Skewer.
- Furniture corner.
- Plate made of duralumin, textolite, getinax or fiberglass.
- Potentiometer with shaft diameter 4mm.
- Clamp (only if you don’t like to carry a tripod with you).
- Fasteners M3 and M4.
Detailing.
- Screw, screw, nut – 2 sets. (M3x10).
- Small arc – 1 piece. (steel S = 1.5-2mm).
- Large arc – 1 piece. (steel S = 1.5-2mm).
- Square – 1 pc. (steel S = 2mm).
- Plank – 1 pc. (dural S = 5mm).
- Screw, washer, locker, nut – 1 set. (M4x16).
- Gasket – 3 pcs. (steel S = 2-3mm).
- Rotary unit bushing – 1 pc. (potentiometer assembly).
- Screw, 2 washers, 2 screws, 2 nuts – M4x35.
- Base assembly – 1 piece. (getinax S = 5mm).
Arcs pos. 2 and pos. 3 can be made from a skewer (used for cooking shish kebab).
Elbow item 4 can be picked up at a store that sells furniture fittings.
It should be added that now a wide range of steel parts with galvanic coating has appeared in stores and on the market. On my last visit to the rows at the market where they sell all sorts of hardware, my eyes just ran wide. There are squares, strips and staples, in short, everything that could be needed for the design of non-standard products.
In the square, on the side of the attachment to the clamp, I flared the steel axle box and cut a 1/4” thread in it. This is done in case you still have to screw the head to the tripod. Instead, you can secure the square to a tripod using a nut, which can be something like the one in the picture on the left.
The square is attached to the clamp with an M4 bolt.
Gaskets pos. 7 increase the rigidity of the connection of the arches with the corresponding nodes. You can use ordinary washers.
As a “rotary unit bushing” pos. 8, I used a bushing from a potentiometer with a shaft diameter of 4 mm. The longer this bushing, the less play there will be. The smooth part of an M4 screw can be used as an axis. The diameter of the smooth part of the rolled screws is less than 4mm, so it is better to use cut M4 screws with a diameter of the smooth part close to 4mm.
In the base of item 10, which I had to make, there are two holes for attaching the camera. This is due to the fact that on one of my cameras, the tripod screw socket is located away from the optical axis of the lens. The base was made of getinax, and the side adjacent to the camera was covered with electrical tape. A layer of electrical tape improves camera fixation.
In the bar position 5 I had to first drill and then saw a groove with a file, the length of which allows me to cover the entire range of positions of the optics I have.
Actually, making this groove turned out to be the most labor-intensive operation. First, I marked in 5mm increments and marked the drilling points (for a Ø5mm drill) along the entire groove. To prevent the large drill from moving to the side, I pre-drilled holes with a diameter of 1.5 mm. In the end I had to work with a file.
The base of item 10 is cut from getinaks with a thickness of 5 mm. It would be easier to process fiberglass, but I have not found it thicker than 2mm.
The picture shows a translational pair formed by the base, pos. 1, and the bar, pos. 4.
Detailing of the node.
- Base (getinax S = 5mm).
- Washer (M3, Ø10mm).
- Grover (M3).
- Plank (dural S = 5mm).
- Bushing (M3, Ø6, H = 4mm).
- Screw (M3x10).
Fasteners and bushings ensure translational movement of the base relative to the bar.
This unit can be greatly simplified if you rely on using one specific camera and a specific lens. Then the entire assembly can be replaced with one wider strip with two holes at the edges.
Reshooting a document using a panoramic head.
An example of how you can attach the head to the back of a chair.
To illustrate the use of a homemade head, I chose a document that was quite difficult to reshoot. This is a semi-gloss document measuring 900x660mm with folds formed when stored folded.
To reshoot this document in the traditional way, it would have been necessary to press the document with glass, very accurately position the camera with measurements of control shots, and install at least two light sources at an acute angle to the document.
When using the described device, it was enough to put the document on the floor, screw the camera together with the head to a chair, sit down on this very chair and take a series of pictures by eye.
The document was shot using a panoramic head.
Light - camera's built-in flash.
Exposure – automatic mode.
Stitching – PTGui in automatic mode.
Editing geometry – Photoshop, Crop Tool.
Related topics.
This spring, Novoflex decided to radically expand its presence in the Russian market. For our review, we chose two of the most interesting and promising panoramic solutions on the market: the VR-System PRO II system and the VR-System SLANT system.
The main and fundamental difference between a panoramic head is the ability to use it to rotate and tilt the camera around the nodal point of the lens. The nodal point of a lens is the point at which all rays of light converge before diverging further. As a rule, the position of the aperture in the lens most closely corresponds to the nodal point. By moving the camera around it when shooting a panorama, we eliminate the possibility of parallax distortion.
To shoot a circular panorama, it is enough to take one row of vertical or horizontal frames.
To shoot a large and spherical (3D panorama) one row of frames is no longer enough. Such panoramas are called multi-row or mosaic. To shoot such a panorama, the panoramic head must be able to tilt the camera up and down. When shooting in this way, the nodal point should be located not only on the axis of the central column of the tripod, but also coincide with the level of the camera's tilt axis. We will tell you more about practical shooting of panoramas in future articles.
A little history
The Novoflex company begins its history in post-war Germany. In 1948, photographer Karl Müller founded the company, and already in 1950 he registered the “Novoflex” trademark. In the sixties, the company successfully developed and produced special bellows for cameras such as Contax and Hasselblad. Apparently, working with such famous brands allowed Novoflex to raise the quality bar to a level unattainable for many companies. In 2006, Novoflex creates its first panoramic system and in 2008 complements it with the QuadroPod system.
First meeting
The PRO II system is the most advanced panoramic system in the Novoflex line, capable of helping the photographer shoot any panoramas, with almost any optics (up to 300 mm) and any camera. PRO II is primarily designed for professionals and wealthy fans of panoramic photography.
The SLANT system is a special head for quickly creating spherical or 3D panoramas. Moreover, the speed of operation is the strongest aspect of this system. To create a 3D panorama, just take four frames using a fish-eye lens. As you can see, the camera is fixed at an angle of 60 degrees, which significantly optimizes the size of the structure and makes it possible to use a monopod when shooting.
For the test, we provided both sets to a professional photographer, President of the Guild of Advertising Photographers Dmitry Mukhin. Dmitry often has to shoot panoramic industrial landscapes and interiors.
Professional opinion
I have sufficient experience in shooting panoramas of interiors, landscapes and industrial photography. In my work I have been using the Manfrotto panoramic system for several years. I will compare the Novoflex system with it. The first thing that immediately catches your eye is the technical performance of this device, every detail of which is made with precision quality. If someone says that this is not the most important thing, I beg to differ with him. The level and class of equipment used in the work is very important for a professional. Very often, the level of equipment used can be used to judge the qualifications and cost of the services of a professional photographer. And one more important detail: you need to be 100% confident in panoramic equipment, since it is possible to check the result only after shooting, when it is almost impossible to go back and repeat the shot.
Constructive
When disassembled, the PRO II system is quite compact and not too heavy (1.69 kg), which allows a professional photographer to include it in a mandatory on-site equipment kit. Often, when preparing for on-site photography, the issue of the size and weight of equipment is a tough one. Sometimes you have to refuse to take some components with you to the detriment of future quality simply because it is difficult to convey.
During the test, the panoramic system was additionally equipped with a compact Novoflex MagicBalance ball assembly, which could not but please. Regardless of what surface the tripod is installed on: flat, uneven, or maybe even at an angle. The rotating assembly itself is easy to level. With Manfrotto, when setting the level when the clamp is finally clamped, the adjustment often gets lost; with Novoflex this does not happen. The dividing head in PRO II has the ability to automatically measure angles on the horizontal plane at 10, 15, 20, 24, 30, 36, 45 and 60 degrees. Switching between angles is very easy, you just need to turn the control wheel to a different position. And this is another design difference from Manfrotto.
For comparison, here’s what two professional panoramic systems look like: Novoflex and Manfrotto.
I've been using the Manfrotto system for over five years now and it has never let me down. PRO II looks more compact and less brutal against its background, let's see how it performs in operation. The SLANT system is an amazing thing. Using it, the camera is installed at an angle of 60 degrees, so that the diagonal of the frame becomes perpendicular to the scene being filmed. This is very convenient when shooting spherical circular panoramas with a fisheye lens, the distance of the camera lens axis becomes shorter, the console is smaller, and it is much easier to control the structure at the time of shooting.
Tests
To test both panoramic systems in the field, I decided to conduct three surveys in different conditions. The first is the open-air “Arkhangelskoye Estate Museum”, the second is a large room “Vadim Zadorozhny Museum of Technology”, and a very small intimate room is the “Valentin Ryabov Gallery”.
Photography at the “Arkhangelskoye Estate Museum”
Of course, taking panoramas in Arkhangelskoe in winter is not a rewarding task; the entire famous park is under snow, and the sculptures are packed in wooden boxes. But my goal was to test Novoflex in our cold winter. But with this everything is in order, the weather outside is sunny and minus 18 degrees. I decided to shoot a line panorama of the façade of the “Great Palace” in order to create a large file size suitable for large format printing, and a circular panorama of the palace courtyard to check the accuracy of the entire system during further assembly. The dividing head, smoothly moving between shooting angles, at the same time recorded them very clearly, thereby eliminating frame skips. Those who shot panoramas will understand me - you start to collect a picture, but one frame from the panorama is missing, you just missed it and didn’t notice. Of course, this is the photographer's fault, but with the PRO II you have to try really hard to miss a shot.
The unique four-legged QuadroPod tripod I took for testing also received a good test for frost resistance. I’ll explain why: the QuadroPod in our case was equipped with carbon legs (there are other configurations), and we were strongly advised not to work with it in the cold, they say the thing is expensive and can crack. But nothing terrible happened; the entire system worked at low temperatures without complaints or breakdowns.
The VR-System PRO II panoramic system comes with a licensed copy of the professional program Panoramastudio 2 pro. This program allows you to stitch together cylindrical and spherical panoramas. And since I didn’t make any serious mistakes while shooting, it only took a few minutes to select the necessary parameters for creating and exporting the panorama, and the program did the rest automatically.
Examples of captured and collected panoramas:
Photography at the Vadim Zadorozhny Museum of Technology
Here it was decided to test the Slant system. To prepare the system for work, I remove one leg from the QuadroPod tripod, thereby obtaining a monopod, and attach the Slant to it. Next, I attach the camera and in a minute I’m ready to shoot. I will briefly describe what optics the manufacturer recommends using the Slant system with:
For cameras with crop sensor:
- Sigma 4.5mm/2.8 EX DC Fisheye HSM
- Sigma 8mm/3.5 EX DG Fisheye
- Peleng 8mm/3.5 Fisheye
For cameras with full frame sensor:
- Tokina AT-X 10-17mm / 3.5-4.5 DX Fisheye
- Sigma 10mm/2.8 EX DC Fisheye HSM
- Nikkor AF 10.5mm/2.8G ED DX Fisheye
- Samyang 8mm/3.5 Fisheye
- Canon EF 8-15mm/4 L USM Fisheye
To create a spherical panorama, you need to shoot only 4 frames, approximately at 90-degree intervals. The entire panorama shooting takes about a minute, and only because it takes some time to level the camera. If this is not your first time doing this, I think you can do it in 30 seconds.
I recommend collecting the footage in the PTgui program. This is the most complete and widespread program for assembling panoramas. I will also note that PTgui is an intuitive program, and you can figure it out without tedious reading of the manual.
Photography in “Valentin Ryabov Gallery”
In the gallery, I decided to shoot a spherical panorama, but with the PRO II system. It was necessary to achieve such image quality that the viewer would have the opportunity to examine and evaluate each painting in the interior. To do this, I used a panoramic head to capture 60 images, which I then compiled into a high-quality interactive panorama. I also shot several multi-row 180-degree panoramas, suitable for high-quality printing.
I collected all these panoramas in the PanoramaStudio 2 Pro program, which collected them quite quickly and automatically.
QuadroPod
I also want to dwell in a little more detail on an amazing product - the four-legged QuadroPod tripod. At first glance it’s complete madness, but you understand that the Germans are only mad when it comes to porn. It is not so easy to install, since you have to install three legs and adjust the fourth one under the surface. So what is it for?
In fact, a four-legged tripod is necessary just for shooting panoramas. The fact is that four points of support provide the same stability as a conventional tripod with a smaller leg radius than a conventional tripod. And accordingly, if the legs are not widely spaced, they do not fall into the camera’s field of view when shooting a spherical panorama.
The illustration below clearly shows this:
In addition, the quadropod has removable legs, each of which can be used as a monopod, and in the Variabel configuration, the QuadroPod left without a leg easily turns into a familiar tripod.
Estimated retail prices in Russia: VR-System PRO II – 31,200 rubles. VR-System SLANT – 10,300 rubles.
This spring, Novoflex decided to radically expand its presence in the Russian market. For our review, we chose two of the most interesting and promising panoramic solutions on our market, the VR-System PRO II system and the VR-System SLANT system.
The main and fundamental difference between a panoramic head is the ability to use it to rotate and tilt the camera around the nodal point of the lens. The nodal point of a lens is the point at which all rays of light converge before diverging further. As a rule, the position of the aperture in the lens most closely corresponds to the nodal point; by moving the camera around it when shooting a panorama, we eliminate the possibility of parallax distortion.
To shoot a circular panorama, it is enough to take one row of vertical or horizontal frames.
To shoot a large and spherical (3D panorama) one row of frames is no longer enough. Such panoramas are called multi-row or mosaic. To shoot such a panorama, the panoramic head must be able to tilt the camera up and down. When shooting in this way, the nodal point should be located not only on the axis of the central column of the tripod, but also coincide with the level of the camera's tilt axis. We will tell you more about practical shooting of panoramas in future articles.
A little history
The Novoflex company begins its history in post-war Germany. In 1948, photographer Karl Müller founded the company and already in 1950 he registered the “Novoflex” trademark. In the sixties, the company successfully developed and produced special bellows for cameras such as Contax and Hasselblad. Apparently, working with such famous brands allowed Novoflex to raise the quality bar to a level unattainable for many companies. In 2006, Novoflex creates its first panoramic system and in 2008 complements it with the QuadroPod system.
First meeting
PRO II system is the most advanced panoramic system in the Novoflex line, capable of helping a photographer shoot any panoramas, with almost any optics (up to 300 mm) and any camera. PRO II is primarily designed for professionals and wealthy fans of panoramic photography.
SLANT system is a special head for quickly creating spherical or 3D panoramas. Moreover, the speed of operation is the strongest aspect of this system. To create a 3D panorama, just take four frames using a fish-eye lens. As you can see, the camera is fixed at an angle of 60 degrees, which significantly optimizes the size of the structure and makes it possible to use a monopod when shooting.
For the test, we provided both sets to a professional photographer, President of the Guild of Advertising Photographers Dmitry Mukhin. Dmitry often has to shoot panoramic industrial landscapes and interiors.
Professional opinion
I have sufficient experience in shooting panoramas of interiors, landscapes and industrial photography. In my work I have been using the Manfrotto panoramic system for several years. I will compare the Novoflex system with it. The first thing that immediately catches your eye is the technical performance of this device, every detail of which is made with precision quality. If someone says that this is not the most important thing, I beg to differ with him. The level and class of equipment used in the work is very important for a professional. Very often, the level of equipment used can be used to judge the qualifications and cost of the services of a professional photographer. And one more important detail, you need to be 100% confident in panoramic equipment, since it is possible to check the result only after shooting, when it is almost impossible to go back and repeat the shot.
Constructive
When disassembled, the PRO II system is quite compact and not too heavy (1.69 kg). This allows a professional photographer to include it in his mandatory on-site equipment set.
Often, when preparing for on-site photography, the issue of the size and weight of equipment is a tough one. Sometimes you have to refuse to take some components with you to the detriment of future quality simply because it is difficult to convey.
During the test, the panoramic system was additionally equipped with a compact “MagicBalance” ball unit, which could not but please. Regardless of what surface the tripod is installed on, flat, uneven, or maybe even at an angle, the rotating assembly itself is easy to level. With Manfrotto, when setting the level, when the clamp is finally clamped, the adjustment often gets lost; this does not happen with Novoflex. The dividing head in PRO II has the ability to automatically measure angles on the horizontal plane at 10,15,20,24,30,36,45 and 60 degrees. Switching between angles is very easy, you just need to turn the control wheel to a different position, and this is another design difference from Manfrotto.
For comparison, here is what two professional panoramic systems Novoflex and Manfrotto look like.
I have been working with the Manfrotto system for more than five years and it has never let me down, PRO II looks more compact and less brutal compared to it, let’s see how it shows itself in operation.
SLANT system amazing thing. Using it, the camera is installed at an angle of 60 degrees, so that the diagonal of the frame becomes perpendicular to the scene being filmed. This is very convenient when shooting spherical circular panoramas with a fisheye lens, the distance of the camera lens axis becomes shorter, the console is smaller and it is much easier to control the structure at the time of shooting.
Tests
To test both panoramic systems in the field, I decided to conduct three surveys in different conditions. The first is a plein air “Arkhangelskoye Estate Museum”, the second is a large room “Vadim Zadorozhny Museum of Technology” and a very small intimate room is “Valentin Ryabov Gallery”.
Photography at the Arkhangelskoye Estate Museum
Of course, taking panoramas in Arkhangelsk in winter is not a rewarding task, the entire famous park is under snow, and the sculptures are packed in wooden boxes, but I set out to test Novoflex in our cold winter. But with this everything is in order, the weather outside is sunny and minus 18 degrees.
I decided to shoot a row panorama of the façade of the “Grand Palace”, in order to create a large file suitable for large-format printing, and a circular panorama of the palace courtyard, to check the accuracy of the entire system during further assembly. The dividing head smoothly moved between shooting angles and at the same time recorded them very clearly, thereby eliminating frame skips. Those who shot panoramas will understand me - you start to collect a picture and one frame from the panorama is missing, you just missed it and didn’t notice. Of course, this is the photographer's mistake, but with PRO II you have to try very hard to miss the frame.
The unique four-legged QuadroPod tripod I took for testing also received a good test for frost resistance. I’ll explain why, the QuadroPod in our case was equipped with carbon legs (there are other configurations), and we were strongly advised not to work with it in the cold, they say the thing is expensive and can crack. But nothing terrible happened; the entire system worked at low temperatures without complaints or breakdowns.
The VR-System PRO II panoramic system comes with a licensed copy of the professional program Panoramastudio 2 pro. This program allows you to stitch together cylindrical and spherical panoramas. And since I didn’t make any serious mistakes while shooting, it only took a few minutes to select the necessary parameters for creating and exporting the panorama, and the program did the rest automatically.
Panorama size 12000x6000 pixels (download) 
All-round panorama 
Photography at the Vadim Zadorozhny Museum of Technology
Here it was decided to test the Slant system. To prepare the system for work, I remove one leg from the QuadroPod tripod, thereby obtaining a monopod and attach the Slant to it. Next, I attach the camera and in a minute I’m ready to shoot.
I will briefly describe which optics the manufacturer recommends using the Slant system with:
For cameras with crop sensor:
- Sigma 4.5mm/2.8 EX DC Fisheye HSM
- Sigma 8mm/3.5 EX DG Fisheye
- Peleng 8mm/3.5 Fisheye
For cameras with full frame sensor:
- Tokina AT-X 10-17mm / 3.5-4.5 DX Fisheye
- Sigma 10mm/2.8 EX DC Fisheye HSM
- Nikkor AF 10.5mm/2.8G ED DX Fisheye
- Samyang 8mm/3.5 Fisheye
- Canon EF 8-15mm/4 L USM Fisheye
To create a spherical panorama, you need to shoot only 4 frames, approximately at 90-degree intervals. The entire panorama shooting takes about a minute, and only because it takes some time to level the camera. If this is not your first time doing this, I think you can do it in 30 seconds.
Shooting 4 frames in the museum. 
I recommend collecting the footage in the PTgui program - this is the most complete and widespread program for assembling panoramas. I will also note that PTgui is an intuitive program and you can figure it out without tedious reading of the manual.
An example of a captured and collected panorama:
Panorama of the Vadim Zadorozhny Museum of Technology. 
Photography at the Valentin Ryabov Gallery
In the gallery, I decided to shoot a spherical panorama but with the PRO II system. It was necessary to achieve such image quality that the viewer would have the opportunity to examine and evaluate each painting in the interior. To do this, I used a panoramic head to capture 60 images, which I then compiled into a high-quality interactive panorama. I also shot several multi-row 180-degree panoramas, suitable for high-quality printing.
I collected all these panoramas in the PanoramaStudio 2 Pro program, which collected them quite quickly and automatically.
Examples of captured and collected panoramas:
Panorama in the Valentin Ryabov Gallery. 
Gallery Valentin Ryabov 
Backstage
QuadroPod
I also want to dwell in a little more detail on an amazing product - the four-legged QuadroPod tripod. At first glance it’s complete madness, but you understand that the Germans are only mad when it comes to porn. It is not so easy to install, since you have to install three legs and adjust the fourth one under the surface.
So what is it for?
In fact, a four-legged tripod is necessary just for shooting panoramas. The fact is that four points of support provide the same stability as a regular tripod with a smaller leg radius than a regular tripod. And accordingly, if the legs are not widely spaced, they do not fall into the camera’s field of view when shooting a spherical panorama.
The illustration below clearly shows this
In addition, the quadropod has removable legs, each of which can be used as a monopod, and in the Variabel configuration, the QuadroPod left without a leg easily turns into a familiar tripod.
Estimated retail prices in Russia: VR-System PRO II - 31,200 rubles. VR-System SLANT - 10,300 rubles.