Kaidan KiWi-L manual

K iW i™-L / K iw i™+ User ’ s Guide Photog r aphic VR P anor amic Tripod Head Designed f or the pr o f essio nal, pric ed f o r the novic e...[...]

Copyright Information Copyright © 2001 Kaidan Incorporated. All Rights Reserved. First Edition, March 2001. P roducts mentioned herein may be trademarks of their respective companies. Patents Pending. Information in this manual is subject to change without notice and does not represent a commitment on the part of Kaidan. No part of this manual may[...]

Page - 3 Assembling the KiWi™ UNP ACKING THE BOX The KiW i-L or the Kiwi + are shipped in a single box and con- sists of two major components. The components are detailed below . NOTE: Only the Kiwi+ is shipped with four detent discs (12,14,18, and 20 positions). Please make sure that all parts are included. Examine the parts for any signs of shi[...]

Page - 4 Assembling the KiW i ™ A TT ACHING THE VERTICAL BRACKET T o assemble the KiW i, simply slide the V ertical Bracket onto the Horizontal Bracket in the orientation shown in the various im- ages in this manual. Note: The bottom of the V ertical Bracket has a clamping mechanism with a spring-loaded nylon ball which keeps tension on the horiz[...]

Page - 5 Using the KiW i™ A TT ACHING YOUR CAMERA T o mount your camera, first select the appropriate slot in the V ertical Bracket that will best locate the tripod mounting thread on your camera. Y ou may need to reposition the Captive Camera Knob in order to achieve this. T o remove the knob simply slide the knob along the slot to the end that [...]

Page - 6 Using the KiW i™ REMOVING THE FRICTION CAP The KiW i+ needs to be disassembled in order to install or change detent discs. The detent discs come in various settings and pro- vide the different angular click-stops. (NOTE: See Disc Selec- tion Chart In Appendix A). T o start, the friction cap must be removed. Loosen the knob located on the[...]

Page - 7 W ith the components removed from the top side of the hori- zontal bracket, the lower hub and axle assembly can be slid out and removed. At this point, you’ll be able to install the detent disc into the recessed area on the bottom.[...]

Page - 8 W ith the disc removed, you can insert a different disc to change the angular detent spacing. Kaidan offers a variety of discs, with detents ranging from 2 to 22 per disk.. When changing discs, be sure the disc is seated properly and is flush with the top surface of the plate. W ith the new disc inserted, you can begin to reassemble the as[...]

Page - 9 Push the axle through the bearing and plate as shown below . Reverse the disassembly . Replace the cap by threading the cap onto the axle as shown below . Continue to thread the cap so that there is no free play in any of the pieces and to compress the rubber washer slightly . When the friction drag feels adequate, turn the Friction cap so[...]

Page - 10 The spring plunger that provides the detent action can also be adjusted to vary the force of the click action. Use a flat blade screw driver to move the plunger in and out as desired. A con- venient way to adjust the plunger is to screw the plunger all the way in, until it bottoms out. Then unscrew the plunger about one turn. Once the ind[...]

Page - 11 Using the KiW i™ HOW DO I LOCA TE MY NODAL POINT ? This is one of the most frequently asked questions when it comes to QTVR panorama creation. Once you understand the basics, you’ll be able to easily locate the nodal point for any camera and lens combination. Simply put, the nodal point is the point inside your camera where the light [...]

S TEP 1: T HE E ASY P ART - T HE S IDE - TO - S IDE A DJUSTMENT Once your cam- era is fastened to your pan head, move around to the front of the unit so you’re looking into the lens. The center of the lens should be directly over the pivot axis of the pan head. Adjust the side-to-side adjustment so the lens is centered over the pivot. W ith the K[...]

Page - 13 It may help to first locate the camera all the way to the front or rear and then move it a little bit at a time. This way you’ll more readily see the parallax effect and notice how it im- proves as you slide the bracket. S TEP 3: L EVEL THE C AMERA Once you have located the fore-aft position, you now must level the camera. If your camer[...]

Page - 14 surface, then you can use a bubble level. Y ou should be able to locate a small level at a hardware store. If your there are no level surfaces, then you may have to resort to “eyeballing”. S TEP 4: R ECORD Y OUR R ESUL TS After you’ve discovered the two location dimensions, be sure to record the settings. The KiW i has convenient in[...]

Page - 15 T AKING PHOTOS WITH THE KIWI™ H OW MUCH O VERLAP ? The amount you turn the camera for each shot varies. It is dependent on a number of factors such as the field of view (the angle) of your camera and lens, as well as which program you intend to use. For example, Apple recommends that the im- ages should overlap by anywhere from one-thir[...]

Page - 16 T AKING THE PHOTOS (CONTINUED). Y ou can use the level on your KiW i™ and observe it while you level the tripod. Of course, this task is much easier if your tri- pod also has a tilt head. Once the tripod and KiW i™ are level, now is the time to double check to see if the camera is straight up and down. If it needs to be adjusted, loos[...]

Page - 17 Appendix A List of Lens FOV versus Number of Shots Lens (35 mm equiv) 14-15 12 10 8 18-20 14 12 10 22-24 16 14 12 27 18 16 14 35 20 18 16 Disc for 50% overlap of images Disc for 33% overlap of images Disc for 25% overlap of images SHOTS DEGREES OF ANGLE 8 0 45 90 135 180 225 270 315 10 0 36 72 108 144 180 216 252 288 324 12 0 30 60 60 120[...]

Page - 18 Camera Adjustment Lug Addendum Because of the various sizes and camera body profiles, we have included a camera adjustment lug as an additional means of keeping your camera mounted in a vertical position. Shown below are examples of various ways to use the Camera Adjustment Lug to mount your camera.[...]