23/05/2019
Roundshot VR Drive Instruction Manual
–
Firmware Version 2.023
122
6.3
Gigapixel photography
Lens and camera mounting
In gigapixel photography it is quite common to use heavy tele-lenses. These are some
recommendations for mounting the camera and lens on the VR Drive:
•
The
maximum weight
that can be mounted on the VR Drive is
20 kg
. Please make sure your
material does not exceed this limit as this might damage the system.
•
When the size of the lens exceeds the size of the L-bracket of VR Drive, it is very
important to
switch on the VR Drive before attaching the camera
and
never create a program
capturing images close to the nadir or the zenith
. This might damage either the lens, the
camera, the VR Drive or all of them.
•
When using long and heavy lenses, it is important to
balance the weight
according to the
centre of rotation. So whenever possible,
attach the L-Bracket to the lens directly
as shown in
the image below
Attach the lens directly
on the nodal bench
Software mode: quality vs. speed
Whenever the light conditions are sufficient, it is highly recommended to use
speed mode
in
gigapixel photography. This has two main advantages compared to quality mode:
•
No vibrations
due to motor start/stop
•
Significant
capture time reduction
If the light conditions do not allow the use of speed mode, it is necessary to use
quality mode
.
In this case please make sure to program a small
anti-vibration pause before every image
and a
low acceleration (10%).
Combining
quality or speed mode with USB image release, Write IDs + Liveview mirror lockup
is essential for a smooth workflow. Please make sure to give enough time to the camera for
processing, either with
a small “pause after image”
(quality mode) or a
slow rotation speed
(speed mode).