Kaidan 900 User Manual

KiWi™ 900/950  
Users Guide  
Photographic VR  
Panoramic Tripod Head  
Designed expresslyfor the Nikon Coolpix  
900,900S and 950 Digital Cameras  
1
SettingUpYourKiWi900/950™  
UNPACKING THE BOX  
The KiWi 900/950 is shipped in a single box and consists of the components de-  
tailed below. Please make sure that all parts are included. Examine the parts for  
anysignsofshippingdamage.In theevent ofshippingdamage,immediatelycon-  
tact Kaidan to process claims.Ifanyitems are missing or you notice anydamage,  
call Kaidan at 215-364-1778, between the hours of 9:00 AM and 6:00 PM EST, Mon-  
Fri.  
Nikon Coolpix Camera  
Vertical Bracket  
(not included)  
Captive Camera Knob  
& Mounting Holes for  
standard and wide  
angle settings  
(Not visible)  
Access Hole for  
Flash Sync  
Twin-axis Bubble Level  
Friction Cap and  
Angle Indicator  
Indexing hub  
Retaining Knob  
The KiWi 900/950 also comes with two detent discs (14 and 18 positions, not  
shown) and a camera adjustment shoe (attached to the vertical bracket).  
Page-3  
REMOVING THE FRICTION CAP  
The Friction Cap needs to be removed in order to change detent discs.The discs  
provide the means for establishing and changing the number and spacing ofthe  
angular increments of the tripod head. The two discs that come standard with  
the KiWi 900/950 provide for 14 and 18 shots per revolution. Use the 18 position  
detent disc when capturing images with the normal wide-angle setting of the  
camera. Use the 14 position detent disc when using the optional Nikon 24mm  
wide-angle lens for the Coolpix 900/950 camera.  
To remove the Friction Cap, loosen the silver colored Retaining Knob which is lo-  
catedon thesideoftheFriction Cap.It doesnot havetoberemovedfrom theCap,  
but only backed out far enough to allow the Cap to be unscrewed from the axle.  
You can lookinto the opening in the center of the cap to see when the Retaining  
Knob is clear ofthe hexagonal-shaped axle.Rotate the cap counterclockwise and  
remove it from the unit.  
Retaining  
Knob  
Frict ion Cap  
Vertical Bracket  
Indexing Hub  
Once the Friction Cap has been removed, separate theVertical Bracket from the  
Indexing Hub.You might need to wiggle the pieces as you pull them apart.  
Page-4  
REMOVING &REPLACING THE DETENT DISC  
Once the Indexing Hub is removed, the detent disc can be removed from its re-  
cess in the bottom of the Vertical Bracket. The disc may slip out once the Index-  
ingHubisremoved.Ifit sticksinsidetherecess,simplyinsert thetipofaballpoint  
pen or a pin small enough to fit into the detent disc ejection hole on the top of  
the bracket and push the detent disc out of the detent disc recess.  
With the disc removed, a different disc can be inserted to change the angular  
spacing. The 14 position detent disc (included with your bracket) is for use with  
theoptionalNikon wideanglelens(availablefrom Nikon for theCoolpix900/950).  
To install a different disc, simply align the keyed slot and push the disc into the  
recess. Make sure the disc is properly seated and flush to the bottom surface of  
the Vertical Bracket.With the new disc inserted, reassemble by inserting the In-  
dexing Hub back through the bearing in theVertical Bracket.  
REPLACING THE FRICTION CAP  
Replace the Friction Cap by threading the Cap back onto the axle. Continue to  
thread the cap so that there is no free playbetween theVertical Bracket and the  
Indexing Hub. The rubber washer on the bottom of the Friction Cap should be  
slightlycompressed.When the drag feels adequate,turn the Friction Cap so that  
the threaded shaft of the Retaining Knob is aligned with the closest flat on the  
axle.Tighten the Retaining Knob to lock the Cap in place.  
Rubber Washer  
Page-5  
ADJUSTING THE DETENT FORCE  
The spring plunger that provides the detent action can also be adjusted to vary  
the force.Use a flat blade screw driver to move the plunger in and out as desired.  
A convenient way to adjust the plunger is to screw the plunger all the way in  
until it gentlybottoms out.Then unscrew the plunger about one complete turn.  
Page-6  
2
ShootingPanoramas  
HOW MANY SHOTS?  
The KiWi 900/950 is designed to be used with:  
The normal wide-angle setting of the camera lens  
The optional Nikon 24mm lens (screw on)  
Other third party lenses usable with the Coolpix 900/950 camera  
The normal wide-angle setting of the camera will require the 18 position detent  
disc.The 24mm Nikon lens requires the use of the 14 position detent disc.  
MOUNTING THE CAMERA?  
The KiWi 900/950 also comes with a Camera Adjustment Shoe to help keep your  
cameramountedvertically.It alsomakesit easytoremoveandreplaceyour cam-  
era in the same position. Before the camera is attached, loosen the knob on the  
CameraAdjustment Shoe. Once the knob is loosened,the shoe can slide forward  
or backwardstohelpposition thecamera.Youmayneedtoremovetheshoeand  
reposition it against either the front or the backofthe camera,dependingwhich  
configuration is selected.  
Camera  
Adjustment Shoe  
(Knob is on the  
other side)  
Page-7  
MOUNTING THE CAMERA?(CONTINUED)  
The KiWi 900/950 is designed to be used at the standard wide-angle setting or  
with the additional 24mm wide-angle Nikon lens. The two threaded mounting  
holes directly above the slot on the camera bracket will position the camera at  
its proper nodal point setting for either configuration.  
The diagram below shows the proper mounting holes for the camera . When  
using the camera with the standard lens, Figure A shows the proper mounting  
with the adjustment shoe behind the camera.  
Figure A:  
Cam era adjust m ent  
Shoe and knob  
Cam era knob  
View of Vert ical Cam era  
Bracket with camera  
at tached using the  
standard cam era lens  
Whenusingthecamerawiththeoptional24mmwide-angleNikonlensmounted,  
Figure B shows the proper mounting with the adjustment shoe in front of the  
camera.  
Figure B:  
Cam era adjust m ent  
Cam era knob  
Shoe and knob  
View of Vert ical Cam era  
Bracket with cam era  
at tached using the 24m m  
wide-angle Nikon lens  
Note:theslot belowthecameramountingholeswillaccept thecameraknoband  
can be used to locate the camera in accordance with the nodal points of other  
3rd partylenses (see Chapter 3 for instructions).  
Mounting Hole for using  
wide angle Nikon lens  
Mounting Holes for  
other accessories  
(Flash Bracket ,  
Sunshade)  
Mounting Hole for  
standard cam era lens  
Mounting Slot for  
use with 3rd part y  
lenses & t he Cam era  
Adjustm ent Shoe  
Access Hole for  
external Flash Sync  
connect ion  
Page-8  
TAKING THE PHOTOS  
The KiWi 900/950 has a female 1/4-20 thread on the bottom of the Indexing Hub  
for mounting to most standard tripods. When ready to shoot, make sure that  
the KiWi 900/950 is securely attached to the tripod. Use a tripod that is sturdy,  
ideally one that has a center support system of braces to help keep the camera  
and KiWi 900/950 from excessive flexing.  
It may be possible that your tripod uses a larger 3/8 inch thread. If this is the  
case,you can purchase a 3/8 to 1/4 adapter at a camera store or photographer  
equipment supplier.  
When ready to shoot, it is important that the unit is level. Observe the twin-axis  
bubble level on the KiWi 900/950 while leveling the tripod. Of course,this task is  
much easier if the tripod is equipped with a tilt head. If the tripod does not  
have a tilt head, a QuickTilt leveler can be purchased from Kaidan for use with  
the KiWi 900/950.  
Once the KiWi 900/950 is level, double check to see if the camera is mounted  
level in elevation. Use the Camera Adjustment Shoe and place it against the  
camera. By placing the shoe snuglyagainst the camera, it will help to vertically  
align and position the camera.  
Youre now ready to begin capturing your first panorama.You should also, at  
this time review the documentation of the panoramic stitching software that  
is being used in order to get recommendations for exposure settings and other  
camera settings.  
Page-9  
3
UsingOtherLenses  
HOW DO ILOCATE MY CAMERAS NODAL POINT?  
Theprior instructionscover theNikon CoolpixstandardlensandtheNikonwide-  
angle lens. Since the Coolpix 900 series has a threaded barrel, you can screw on  
other 3rd party lenses. These lenses will have a different mounting location, or  
nodal point, along the bracket, and youll need to discover this location. Follow  
these steps and youll be able to easily locate the nodal point for anycamera and  
lens combination.  
Simply put, the nodal point is the point inside your camera where the light rays  
converge and flip over.When shooting an immersive panorama,its necessaryto  
rotate about this point to eliminate the image mismatch caused by parallax er-  
ror.  
Parallax error can be easily demonstrated by this simple experiment. Close one  
eyeandholdyour indexfinger upright about sixinchesawayfrom your open eye.  
Rockyour head from side to side. Notice how your finger moves with respect to  
the background. This relative movement is due to the fact that youre not rotat-  
ingyour headaroundyour eyesnodalpoint,which issomewherein thecenter of  
your eyeball. Instead, youre rotating about your spine which is several inches to  
therear andofftooneside.It isthisrelativeside-to-sidemotionthat wewillstrive  
to eliminate when setting up a camera for VR panoramas.  
STEP 1:THE EASY PART -THE SIDE-TO-SIDE ADJUSTMENT  
Once the camera is fastened to the KiWi 900/950 Pan Head,the center ofthe lens  
will be directly over the pivot axis. No side-to-side adjustment will be needed.  
Page-10  
STEP 2:THE SLIGHTLY HARDER PART -FORE-AFT ADJUSTMENT  
Put the Captive Camera Knob in the long slot of the Vertical Bracket. This will  
allow you to slide the camera (along with the Camera Adjustment Shoe) as re-  
quired.Note:Thisstepismost easilyaccomplishedoutside.Findaverticaledgeor  
line, such as a doorway or edge of a building. Position the unit and tripod about  
four feet away, or as close as possible with the edge still in focus when looking  
through the view displayed on the LCD screen of the camera.  
Looking at the cameras LCD,find another vertical edge or object that is far away,  
such as another building or telephone pole.Align the two objects and rotate the  
Vertical Bracket so they are in the left hand side ofthe viewfinder.  
Rotate the pan head so the two objects move over to the right hand side of the  
viewfinder. Unless youve managed to unwittingly locate the right nodal point  
position,you should notice the two objects will move with respect to each other  
as theVertical Bracket is rotated from left to right.Slide the camera to the front  
or rear as required to eliminate this relative movement.  
Good.  
No relat ive m ovem ent  
between object when  
rotat ing cam era from  
side to side.  
Looking through the viewfinder, align a close object (brick wall) with a faraway  
object (telephone pole). As the camera is rotated from side-to-side, there should  
be no relative movement between the two objects.  
Bad.  
Relative m ovem ent  
between object when  
rotat ing cam era from  
side to side.  
If, as shown to the right, the two objects move with respect to one another in  
the viewinder, slide the camera fore or aft in order to eliminate this movement.  
Here, the telephone pole has moved behind the brickwall.  
Page-11  
STEP 3:DETERMINING THE ACTUAL POSITION  
IfyouwereusingaSLRcamerainthepreviousstepsyoucouldhavelookedthrough  
theviewfinder in order to determine the nodal point.However,with the Coolpix  
900 series, the viewfinder is not viewing the exact same image as what the CCD  
(imagingchip)isseeing.Therefore,in order toaccuratelydetermineat what posi-  
tion along the slot does the nodal point lay, youll need to take a series of test  
shots.  
The best wayto do this is to start with the camera at the front most position of  
theVerticalbracket.Usingtheobject-alignment techniquementionedpreviously,  
take a sequence of left-right pairs of test shots. Each pair will have the vertically  
aligned objects in the left and then the right side of the viewfinder. After each  
pair of photos, slide the bracket rearward a small amount and repeat the pro-  
cess. Slide the bracket the same increment each time (i.e. 10mm). Placing a tem-  
porary strip of tape in order to measure and mark the increments should make  
it easier to recordyour results.Be sure to record the scale setting for each pair of  
images.  
When youre done,you should have a pair ofleft-right images for each position of  
the camera along the slot. Transfer the images to your computer and inspect  
each left-right pair.Yourelookingfor thepair ofimagesthat hastheleast relative  
movement between thenear andfar objects.Gobacktoyour recordedmarkings  
and determine which location on the tape corresponds to the best pair of im-  
ages.  
In some casesyou might find that no pair ofimages is optimum.In that case,you  
should look for the two pairs that are closest and reshoot a test pair between  
those pairs. With a little trial and error you will be able to accurately determine  
the nodal point for any lens.  
Once youve found the position,you can mark that location with the CameraAd-  
justment Shoe or leave a piece of tape as a marker for future reference.  
Page-12  
KW-900/950 ADDENDUM  
We have included a friction pad cork strip to be used with  
the Coolpix 950 camera only. See Fig.A below for the correct  
placement .NOTE: If you are using the Coolpix 900 camera  
the cork does not need to be installed.  
FIG.A  
5 JUNE 2000  
Page-13  

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