{{unreferenced, date=July 2018
A panoramic tripod head is a piece of photographic equipment, mounted to a
tripod
A tripod is a portable three-legged frame or stand, used as a platform for supporting the weight and maintaining the stability of some other object. The three-legged (triangular stance) design provides good stability against gravitational loads ...
, which allows photographers to shoot a sequence of images around the entrance pupil of a
lens
A lens is a transmissive optical device which focuses or disperses a light beam by means of refraction. A simple lens consists of a single piece of transparent material, while a compound lens consists of several simple lenses (''elements ...
that can be used to produce a panorama. The primary function of the panoramic head is to precisely set the point of rotation about the entrance pupil for a given lens and focal length, eliminating parallax error.
To take a panorama, the camera is rotated at fixed angular increments, taking an image at each point. These images can then be assembled ( stitched) using stitching software, which allows the images to be aligned and combined into a single seamless panoramic image, either automatically (using image analysis) or manually (with user supplied control points). The final panoramic image can then be viewed or printed as a flat image or viewed interactively using specific playback software.
Professional models include precision bearings, scales to allow the user to take photos at specific angles,
detent
A detent is a mechanical or magnetic means to resist or arrest the movement of a mechanical device. Such a device can be anything ranging from a simple metal pin to a machine. The term is also used for the method involved.
Magnetic detents are ...
s to stop at common angles and integrated levels to aid in adjusting the tripod.
Robotic panoramic heads are also available. The robotic head performs the rotation and image capture functions automatically under computer control. Robotic heads can also be used with
time-lapse photography
Time-lapse photography is a technique in which the frequency at which film frames are captured (the frame rate) is much lower than the frequency used to view the sequence. When played at normal speed, time appears to be moving faster and thus ...
.
External links
Panoramic Head Comparison list and short description of both commercial and self-made heads from PanoTools.org
Build your own Panoramic Head nbsp;— Contains a series of illustrations showing how to make a simple panoramic tripod head.
nbsp;— Contains a series of illustrations showing how to make a panoramic tripod head.
nbsp;— One of the most popular panoramic heads.
Panohero panoramic tripod head — One of the smallest panoramic heads — for
action cameras
Action may refer to:
* Action (narrative), a literary mode
* Action fiction, a type of genre fiction
* Action game, a genre of video game
Film
* Action film, a genre of film
* ''Action'' (1921 film), a film by John Ford
* ''Action'' (1980 f ...