Samyang 7.5mm MFT | NEX-5 | Nomad Panohead | by Jaime Brotons
Conical Hill A, Routeburn Track, New Zealand | Samyang 7.5mm MFT | NEX-C3 | Nomad Panohead v1.3, 4@+2.5°, 1-nadir | by Thomas Huang
Wharariki Beach, Cape Farewell, New Zealand | Samyang 7.5mm MFT | NEX-C3 | Nomad Panohead v1.3, 4@+2.5°, 1-nadir | by Thomas Huang
Download photos (21.1mb) | Hagley Park Botanic Gardens | Samyang 7.5mm MFT | NEX-C3 | Nomad Panohead v1.1, 4@+5°, 1-nadir | by Thomas Huang
Disney Store | Disney Lake | Disney Labyrinth | Samyang 7.5mm MFT | NEX-5 | by hand, 4@-10°, 1-zenith | by Jaime Brotons
Samples from Samyang | Samyang 7.5mm MFT | E-PL1 | variable tilt panohead, 6@0°, 2@+45°, 1-nadir | by Radoslaw Sobik
These panoheads are designed mainly for Sony NEX cameras, and includes a cutout for the IR sensor. Some MFT cameras will fit, while others will not. Update: Newly designed with a detachable inner ring for easy lens installation without requiring removal of MFT to E-mount adapter.
The Samyang 7.5mm MFT fisheye lens mounted on a Sony NEX camera produces a circular image inscribed between the short edges of the sensor, with a field of view of 185-190° after modification to the lens. Aperture f11 seems to give the sharpest edge while maintaining sharpness at the center, with f8 giving the minimum acceptable edge sharpness. When the focus ring is set to infinity hardstop, depth of view is from approximately 1.5m to infinity. A complete panorama has a resolution of about 9000 x 4500 px on a 16mp APS-C camera.
The sharpness gradually drops towards the edge of the image. The center 130° is excellent, with the next 20° acceptable, and the last 10° unusable. It's possible to complete the sphere in a row of 4 shots and 1 hand nadir. The zenith will be covered, but I would recommend also shooting 1 hand zenith if there are lots of detail needed to be captured. If you do not want to shoot the zenith, then a tilt of +2.5° or +5° is needed to capture an acceptable sharpness at the zenith. Tilting down will give a sharper nadir, reducing the size of the patch needed to have a seamless blend, and a hand zenith shot would be required, but a tilt between 0° and +5° doesn't need more than a manageable sized nadir patch.
It is always good to use a spirit (bubble) level when shooting with a monopod to keep the camera rotating at the no-parallax-point to reduce parallax and save time on post editing to fix misalignment. A MFT to NEX E-mount adapter is required to mount the lens to a Sony NEX, which is not included and is available on ebay.
(Performance described is approximate and vary on individual settings and modifications. Fasteners are sold and shipped separately.)
These panoheads are designed mainly for MFT cameras. The main rear ring has been reshaped and the clamping point moved to allow flashboxes and EVF's to fit, with a double ring for stability. All NEX cameras can fit, but there is no cutout for IR sensors, and the MFT to E-mount adapter needs to be removed for lens installation and removal.
The Samyang 7.5mm MFT fisheye lens mounted on a MFT camera produces a fisheye image filling the entire sensor sensor, with a corner to corner diagonal field of view of about 175°, and does not require any modifications. The lens on a MFT camera has a sharper image than on the NEX because the thickness of the MFT to E-mount adapter pushes the lens slightly out of focus. Because of the sharper image on a MFT camera, aperture f9 can be used, compared to f11 on a NEX camera. A complete panorama has a resolution of about 10,400 x 5200 px on a 12mp MFT camera.
It's possible to complete the sphere in a row of 6-8 shots and 1 hand nadir with the MFT camera rotated diagonally to 37° and a tilt of +2.5°. The zenith will be mostly covered with a 1 or 2° hole, but I would recommend also shooting 1 hand zenith if there are lots of detail needed to be captured. A tilt of +2.5° will have a star-shaped hole in the nadir with the tips of the star stretching to 18° radius (6 shots) or 7° radius (8 shots), and the divisions need to be spaced evenly to prevent the star from growing too large and becoming unpatchable. A tilt of 0° would need a minimum of 6 shots around, and has less chance of nadir error, but a hand zenith would be required as the star-shaped holes will be about 8° radius at both zenith and nadir.
It is always good to use a spirit (bubble) level when shooting with a monopod to keep the camera rotating at the no-parallax-point to reduce parallax and save time on post editing to fix misalignment.
(Performance described is approximate and vary on individual settings and modifications. Fasteners are sold and shipped separately.)
The Nomad Panohead XA has multiple tilts of ±2°, ±6°, ±10°, & reversed +16mm offset, and the XB has multiple tilts of 0°, ±4°, ±8°, ±12°, & reversed +19mm offset for poles. However, only one tilt can be used for each panoramic, since the vertical position of the lens is different for each tilt. The reversed position moves the lens in front of the edge of the pole, and reduces the pole footprint to 0-3° for poles up to 38mm diameter. This is useful for high poles where a small footprint is needed. With the lens in front of the no-parallax-point, parallax will be smaller with higher poles where objects in the scene are farther away, but will be noticeable if shot near to the ground where objects are closer.
I would recommend for maximum portability to shoot with a fixed tilt version, but if you need to shoot in a variety of environments and on a high pole, then the X multi-tilt version would be a good solution.
(Performance described is approximate and vary on individual settings and modifications. Fasteners are sold and shipped separately.)
Fasteners are sold and shipped separately. You MUST purchase fasteners to operate the Nomad Panohead. Fasteners may vary from photo, depending on stock. Camera, lens mount adapter, lens, tripod, monopod, thread adapter, tape, knife, and bags in photos and videos are not included and need to be purchased on your own.
| Theoretical Coverage with Fixed Tilt Panohead | |||||||
| Tilt | +0° NEX | +2.5° NEX | +5° NEX | +0° OMD | +2.5° OMD | XA +16mm | XB +16mm |
| Camera | NEX (shaved lens) | NEX (shaved lens) | NEX (shaved lens) | MFT | MFT | NEX - MFT | NEX- MFT |
| Field of View | Circular 185-190° | Circular 185-190° | Circular 185-190° | Full Diag. 180° | Full Diag. 180° | ||
| Orientation | Portrait | Portrait | Portrait | Diagonal 37° | Diagonal 37° | ||
| Rotations | 4 | 4 | 4 | 6 | 6, 8 | ||
| Zenith | Covered, 15° soft | Covered, 12.5° soft | Covered, 10° soft | Need, 8° hole, 10° soft |
1-2° hole, 7.5° soft |
||
| Nadir | Need, 15° soft | Need, 17.5° soft | Need, 20° soft | Need, 10° soft | Need, 18° or 7° hole, 12.5° soft |
||
| Total Shots | 5 | 5 | 5 | 8 | 7, 9 | ||
| Map |  |
 |
 |
 |
|
||
| Notes | Sharper nadir, Softer zenith |
Sharper nadir, Softer zenith |
Sharper zenith, Softer nadir |
Less chance of nadir error |
|||
| Height mm (in.) | 125 (4.92") | 126 (4.96") | 126 (4.96") | 125 (4.92") | 126 (4.96") | 131 (5.16") | 131 (5.16") |
| Width mm (in.) | 77 (3.03") | 77 (3.03") | 77 (3.03") | 77 (3.03") | 77 (3.03") | 88 (3.46") | 88 (3.46") |
| Depth mm (in.) | 43 (1.69") | 39 (1.54") | 36 (1.42") | 43 (1.69") | 39 (1.54") | 40 (1.57") | 43 (1.69") |
| Base dia. mm (in.) | 31 (1.22") | 31 (1.22") | 31 (1.22") | 31 (1.22") | 31 (1.22") | 31 (1.22") | 31 (1.22") |
| Weight g (oz) | 100 (3.5oz) | 100 (3.5oz) | 100 (3.5oz) | 100 (3.5oz) | 100 (3.5oz) | 130 (4.6oz) |
130 (4.6oz) |
| Footprint radius | 10° | 9.5° | 9° | 10° | 9.5° | 0-3° for pole up to 38mm |
0-3° for pole up to 38mm |
(Performance described is approximate and vary on individual settings and modifications. Fasteners are sold and shipped separately.)
Shipping body only: The panohead body is purchased and shipped through Shapeways located in the Netherlands with UPS worldwide delivery, customs fees and taxes may apply, and PO boxes are not accepted. Once your order is submitted to Shapeways your panohead is placed in the production queue and is usually shipped to you in 8-14 days. Check Shapeway's FAQ for more information.
Shipping fasteners only: You MUST purchase fasteners separately to operate the Nomad Panohead, which are shipped by a forwarding service through United States Postal Service First Class International Mail in 10-14 days. You may also purchase the fasteners on your own.
In the video I demonstrate how to make the coupling nut fit snugly inside the rotator. The thickness of the coupling nut and the slot in the rotator both vary by up to 0.1mm, which are the normal properties the metal and plastic materials. If you find your coupling nut too loose, then add a layer of tape to make it thicker. If it's too tight, you can smooth the inside of the rotator with a knife to make the nut easier to insert.
If you would like rotations other than 15°, you can flip the rotator upside down so that the teeth are disengaged. This will allow you to have smooth rotations. Nylon has very little friction so in this orientation the panohead will not lock completely.
If you have a wide tripod or monopod base you will see it in the footprint. To reduce the footprint, you can use a spigot adapter (not included) to raise the camera.
To use the Samyang 7.5mm MFT fisheye lens with a Sony NEX camera you will need to shave the lens hood, remove shims, and attach a MFT to Sony E-mount adapter.
Remove the black metallic label ring to reveal three screws which attach the hood to the lens. The ring is backed with adhesive tape, pry gently. Remove the three screws and detach the hood. You need to completely remove the short shades of the lens hood, and shave about 3mm off the top and 1.5mm off the sides of the large shades. The large shades are needed to attach the lens cap. Draw a line along the intended cuts, clamp ($3) the hood, and use a hack saw ($4) to cut a little bit less than intended. Use a nail file ($1) to remove the rest. Check intermittently with your camera to see if you have shaved enough of the hood so that you no longer see it in the image. Clean off the dust every time before reattaching.
Since the MFT to E-mount adapter is slightly thicker than the needed 1.25mm thickness, the lens is pushed forward slightly out of focus and you need to remove shims to bring it back. My adapter is 1.60mm thick. Unscrew and detach the mounting plate on the back of the lens. Inside you will find multiple adjustment shims. Mine has one brass shim 0.3mm thick and one metallic shim 0.06mm thick. You may find more in your lens. Remove one at a time until focus to infinity is achieved. Removing both shims was best for me. When shims are removed, focus to infinity will change and shift below the infinity mark on the focus ring; mark the new location (see product photo).
You need an adapter to attach the MFT lens to the Sony NEX. The adapters from ebay may be machined slightly wider than necessary and the lens sits loosely inside the adapter. To make a tighter fit insert the end of a screw driver into the slot inside the adapter mounting teeth to widen it. Do it slowly and in increments, checking intermittently if you are getting just enough tightness. It is possible to make it too tight and then you'll have to press them back down. You can also drill countersink holes into the adapter and screw it directly onto the lens mount, but you would have to unscrew the adapter if you want to remove the lens from the panohead. I eventually did this because the pin on the adapter wore out and the lens frequently detached itself from the camera. The screws on the lens mount are M1.6x9mm with a 2.5mm diameter flat head. You may need new screws at least 11mm long if you decide to drill through the adapter. I used M1.6x12mm with a 3.5mm diameter pan head, and drilled all the way through the adapter, so the screws did not compress but only prevented rotation of the adapter.
You will also need to shave the lens cap, the same distance that you have shaved the hood.
The Nomad Panohead is made with Selective Laser Sintering (SLS), which is a method of producing a physical duplicate of a 3D model by using a laser to fuse together plastic, sand, or metal particles in layered slices until the full physical model is formed. Several material options are available from Shapeways including stainless steel, silver, and glass. The material which the Nomad Panohead is designed for is Black, Strong and Flexible which is a Polyamide 12 nylon (PA2200 Material Data Sheet). It's first produced in white, and then dyed in color options of black, red, gray, or indigo. Black has a slightly blue hue. The built up layers may be visible as linear patterns in the product, with most smoothed with a light sand blasting.
 |
| 1/4"-20 to 3/8"-16 Thread Adapter |
| find on ebay |
 |
| MFT to Sony E-mount Adapter |
| find on ebay |
 |
| Sony E-mount Rear Lens Cap |
| find on ebay |
 |
| Samyang 7.5mm MFT Fisheye Lens |
| Samyang |
 |
| Rokinon 7.5mm Fisheye Lens (unverified) |
| Rokinon |
 |
| Compare Sony NEX Cameras |
| dpreview.com |
 |
| Manfrotto Autopole Spirit Level 032SPL |
 |
| Spigot Adapter |
| find on ebay |
 |
| Bophoto Brackets |
| Bophoto |
The following panoheads are in working and accurate condition, and are for sale at a reduced price. NEX-7 only fits in grip up position. G, GH, and OMD will not fit. Footprint is 12° radius, larger than the 9° in the current version. There is no IR sensor cutout, but you can make your own with a saw. INCLUDES fasteners.
| © Thomas Huang. 2013. All Rights Reserved. |
