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Shooting the Panorama
The KiWi™ has a female 1/4-20 thread on the bottom of the Indexing
Hub for mounting to most standard tripods. Be sure that the KiWi is
securely attached to the tripod. Use a tripod that is sturdy, ideally
one that has a center support system of braces to help keep the cam-
era and KiWi from excessive flexing. It may be possible that your
tripod uses a larger 3/8 inch thread. If this is the case, you can pur-
chase a 3/8 to 1/4 adapter at a camera store or photographic equip-
ment supplier.
When ready to shoot, it is important that the KiWi is level. Observe
the twin-axis bubble level on the KiWi while leveling the tripod. Of
course, this task is much easier if the tripod is equipped with a tilt
head. If the tripod does not have a tilt head, a QuickTilt™ leveler can
be purchased from Kaidan for use with the KiWi. The QuickTilt is a
convenient aid for making the small leveling adjustments you’ll need
to make as you move from spot to spot.
Once the KiWi is level, double check to see if the camera is mounted
level in elevation (up and down). This is even more important that
the leveling of the unit done previously. Use the Camera Adjustment
Shoe and place it against the camera. By placing the shoe squarely
and snugly against the camera, it will help to vertically align and
position the camera so that the camera’s optical axis is parallel to the
plane of rotation.
You are now ready to begin capturing your first panorama. You
should also, at this time, review the documentation of the pan-
oramic stitching software that is being used in order to get recom-
mendations for exposure settings and other camera settings. You’ll
want to try and position the camera and tripod so as to avoid direct
sunlight. Try and locate the unit so that the sun (or other bright
lights) is behind a tree or a building. Cloudy days are also helpful in
this regard.
Parallel to
rotation plane
Camera squarely located against
Camera Adjustment Shoe
Correct
Incorrect
Camera
optical axis
not parallel
to rotation
plane