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Re: Laser pointers for monopod alignment

by panovrx-2 :: Rate this Message:

> Here are some pics of my laser alignment gadget
> http://www.mediavr.com/laser.jpg
> -- note the pen lines on the barrel and the base it fits into.
> This is because the laser beam and laser body are not in alignment.
> You need to carefully set the bubble to the actual beam direction
> not the body of the laser and then put the laser back into the base
> the same way each time (you need to change batteries or whatever).
>
> Here is a pic of what you see thru the viewfinder at the bottom of the image
> http://www.mediavr.com/nadir1.jpg
> -- you see two red dots -- one is the actual laser beam hitting the translucent plastic you have mounted 15cm under the lens
> -- the other red dot is the laser unit itself, and you are looking at
> red light reflected off the internal barrel of the laser
>
> The relative positioning of these two red dots makes it easy to move the camera til it is the right position -- even without using LiveView magnification. You want the top red dot (the laser body) to be vertically above the
> bottom red dot (the laser beam). And you want the bottom red dot to be where it is - just on the edge of the plastic sheet.
>
> You pick up and move the monopod around the base of the MonsterPod for each (90 degree) shot and tilt it forward slightly each time to find the laser dot on the plastic.
>
> Here is the nadir pic again with captions
> http://www.mediavr.com/nadir2.jpg
>
> Peter M
>

Well this ground-mounted levelled laser pointer setup is good for pano alignment through the camera lens -- with a translucent plastic sheet mounted under the lens to receive the laser beam -- but this method restricts one pretty much to eyelevel shots -- but it is very quick and accurate for this.

For overhead panoramas using my ground-mounted laser pointer I made a new gadget to clamp onto the monopod at eyelevel (with the camera at any height above). First I put white masking tape over the bottom of the lens and marked where the no parallax point is in ink. If the laser pointer on the ground is carefully levelled (ie. made vertical) it is easy to find the projected laser dot on the bottom of the lens if you use a bubble on the monopod to keep the monopod vertical too. But it is hard to hold the pole steady and and look up and keep the laser dot where it should be and monitor the scene at the same time.

So I got a little monocular and reversed it (I didnt need the magnification but reversed it provides a bright clear focusable view)
-- and epoxied it to a right angle prism. And this is attached with some right angle brackets to a Manfrotto clamp at eyelevel on the monopod. So I have a nice clear view of the bottom of the camera looking horizontally -- and can keep an eye on the scene too.
The right angle brackets can be swivelled to enable the monocular to give a good view of the bottom of the camera at any height above my head.
http://www.mediavr.com/lasergadget2.jpg
The laser dot movement on the bottom of the lens provides good feedback too on how steadily I am holding the pole.

Peter M

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