Recommend Panoramic / QVTR Head

largelylivin

I'm in need of a cylindrical panoramic tripod head that allows you to shot in the portrait (vertical) orientation to shot virtual home tours. Yesterday I found and priced the Manfrotto 303SPH and, while appearing to be a mechanical marvel, its $459 price tag is way out of my league.

I see other much cheaper solutions on the web. I found the price friendly but plastic Panosaurus at $79 http://gregwired.com/pano/Pano.htm and the Nodal Ninja 3 at $229 http://www.nodalninja.com/. Both units claim to be compatible with the Pentax K10D. At this point, price is an obstacle so I am willing to settle for something that I can just get started with subject to usual price/quality/versatility trades.

claudermilk

While the RRS gear is spendy, you can get their pano stuff a piece at a time. I'd link some example prices, but it seems their shopping site is hosed right now.

I want to get into doing some panos eventually, and plan on using RRS pieces since I've already started down their rabbit hole.

Another options is I've seen a few sites describing how to build a DIY pano setup. They are obviously a bit clumsier than the manufactured ones, but seem to work.

hgernhardtjr

I have, use, and like the cost-effective NodalNinjaII. The refined NN-3 and the new, larger NN-5 appear to be of the same construction and quality build. Either would be a good, cost-effective choice, IMHO.

You might want to read my couple of replies to Nikolai a few months ago:
http://dgrin.com/showthread.php?t=68417&highlight=nodalninja

largelylivin

I asked the virtual tour owner what his other photographers use. He said that all 5 of the 5 responders said they use this http://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/369823-REG/Kaidan_00_0232_Kiwi_Panoramic_Tripod_Head.html, the Kaidan Kiwi Panoramic which B&H lists for $199, the same price as the Nodal Nija III. The NNIII kit is $229 and that looks equivalent to what you get with the Kiwi. NN looks a little better construction, but they have considerably better photos.

Based on all your inputs: (1) the RSS is too expensive (2) the Kiwi and NNIII are essentially the same price (3) the NNIII appears to have a real strong following here.