Linary Loc: UK

For a project I am running soon, I need to purchase a Tripod Leveling Base. I have narrowed my choice down to two types - A and B on the illustration below.

Type A looks as though it might be fiddly to set, and type B, though it looks simpler, may well have some drawbacks.

Both types are available from well known manufacturers and suppliers, but the purpose of this thread is to get some help in choosing a type rather than a brand. I am looking for something that can be set up quickly and easily, without too much fuss and will hold its position without creeping. The maximum it will have to carry is a ballhead + DSLR + 300mm lens.

I have very sturdy tripods but they are difficult to set level on uneven ground, especially when in a hurry.

Any opinions would be welcome. thank you.

(Download)

Rongnongno Loc: FL

Opinion (and no more than that)

I would rather use A because it seems more precise.

B seems ok but also seems depend on the head, same as a regular plate. I assume the key above the image it so set something i do not see so...

The bubble is visible from above on B, a big plus but bubble levels are a dime a dozen today.

Now, for me, keeping it simple is more important so I set my tripod head correctly with the level bubbles. I then use whatever apparatus I have in hand for the shoot, panorama or not.

Remember, this is an opinion.

Linary Loc: UK

Thank you RGG, your opinion is appreciated. My project is not to create conventional panoramas, but to research creating real time 3D statues using 3D printer technology. I would set up a minimum of 4 identical cameras, all at precisely the same height and level, all with the same lens and shoot the subject from four sides simultaneously. I have seen this done using some twenty five cameras, but I think I can do it with just four.

The "model" would be programmed into the 3D printer in the normal way (I believe Photoshop can do this), but I need the cameras to record the colours and texture shadows. Pano equipment, such as the leveling bases should make the initial setting up easier (and cheaper) than rigging a scaffold which is the method I have seen employed.

I already have the cameras, lenses and tripods, but have had difficulty in setting the camera heights and levels, hence this post.

I am hoping that someone who has actually used these devices can add to the discussion.

Rongnongno Loc: FL

Wow, this is another story here. You are basically trying to create a 3D mesh from still images created with four cameras...

This means, as I envision it, an object sitting on a rotating table and uniformly lit from the cameras point of view. The cameras at equal distance located on a vertical arc, pointing at the 'center' of the object then focused on the outside of the object... Using the same focal length of course.

If you want to that with an horizontal rig the object motion will have to be on an horizontal axis... Easier to setup for the cameras but hell to get the object in place...

Before you go too far, I suggest that you do this with a single camera and a single tripod. If I recall correctly I did something that I posted a couple of years ago with a simple camera and a self made rotating base. Turned out relatively ugly as I had not been a maniac when it came to the object being placed on the center of the base... And this was a single 360 row, I did not try to create a 360x3D anything. At the time I was not interested in 3D just in animation using PS CC. The experiment relates to your project thought.

Lowering/raising the tripod level, keeping the camera equidistant and directed toward the object center should be relatively easy with a boom. It will take time thought but since you will be thinking from a single camera it might be better.

Gene might have a much better solution. I think there is or was a product photographer on UHH. I'll try to remember who, he might be a huge help here.

Rongnongno Loc: FL

I found the files but not the thread so I am posting the recreated gif. Each frame can be used to create a mesh.

Info:
Shot using a single camera (D800e)
Same lens
Same exposure
Same focusing (a mistake)
40 raw captures
Tripod
Light behind the camera
Edited and created with PS CC
Cropped to fit and reduced UHH

This is far from anything near what you are trying to do but shows what you can do with a single camera toward your goal.

Use the download.

-

(Download)

BboH Loc: s of 2/21, Ellicott City, MD

Not familiar with B; do have A and have found it to be somewhat difficult as the weight of the equipment made the nuts hard to turn thus difficult to make fine adjustments. I'd rather not mention the manufacturer

Tjohn Loc: Inverness, FL formerly Arivaca, AZ

Have used type A on surveying equipment. It is easy to level. Turn the front two screws slowly in opposite directions until the bubble levels. Then, level the back screw by itself to match the front two. Loosen the lock rings first. This system should handle a lot of weight as long as the screw threads are clean and the lock rings loose.
Single level systems are a lot harder to level and less precise.

SusanFromVermont Loc: Southwest corner of Vermont

The two bases you have chosen are inexpensive, the red one looks complicated, the other one looks flimsy. You need to be sure that whatever you buy will hold up to the weight of your gear, and at the same time be easy to adjust with the gear attached. Take a look at reallyrightstuff.com/tripods/leveling-bases for top quality. Then compare with other choices on bhphotovideo.com under leveling bases. If you do not want to spend the money, you can also go with a very inexpensive and workable solution. See photo below - $16.00. The problem with leveling the tripod is you have to adjust the legs individually rather than just the base, but the level is easy to see, and it responds accurately to adjustments. Then all you have to do is level your camera [simple if it has a built-in function for which you can assign a button]. It seems to me that your biggest problem will be setting all camera/lens combinations to the same height.

Not sure why you are worried about being to adjust things in a hurry! The process you described sounds like one you can NOT set up in a hurry...

Hope this helps.

Rich1939 Loc: Pike County Penna.

I have the 'B' type and find it quick and very easy to use. The lever on the right side in the picture locks and unlocks the unit. For my use it fills the need quite well but for what you described I think the more "fiddly" one would be better. At the least, more precise.
An aside; For what you are working with, don't trust the included bubbles, they will vary to some degree from one to another.

rmalarz Loc: Tempe, Arizona

If I were making the choice, it would be A. Most civil surveying equipment uses this type of mount and it is the easiest to adjust. That being said, I've no experience with the Neewer equipment.
--Bob

SalvageDiver Loc: Huntington Beach CA

Am I missing something here? Why not just use a bubble leveler cube that goes into the hotshoe?

Linary Loc: UK

Thank you, looking at your creation (40 frames), I am wondering if I need to raise the number of cameras to eight! I will carry on with four, eight will be just too much money.

You mentioned "same focusing - a mistake" Was the mistake something to do with Depth of field? (or something else)?

My subject will be an outdoor monument - 10-15 feet high, hence multiple cameras and not a turntable. I am expecting all kinds of problems including lighting. I will be relying on available light. What I have found so far is that all images must be exactly the same in position - (horizon, height and most important state of "levelness").

Linary Loc: UK

Thanks for commenting.

Linary Loc: UK

This is what I needed to hear, thank you very much. Based on your comment and one or two of the others above, I have ordered a Manfroto version (can't afford 4 x Really Right Stuff) to try out before buying the rest.

Rongnongno Loc: FL

Still a single camera solution....

Trace a circular line on the ground around the monument. Mark every place you want to take a capture. Use a tripod, vertical column on the each mark, in turn.

You have two issues:
- Tripod level (as horizontal)
- Tripod elevation.

The tripod elevation can be easily solved using a laser lever fixed on a second tripod, the laser being reoriented (rotated) toward the next point of view using the first tripod elevation as a reference. Both tripods need to be level of course.

As to focusing error. It was fixed and while the DoF was enough, the wings are sometime out of focus, among other things.

Lighting is not a problem per say. Focusing is.
If you want consistant lighting wait for an overcast day.