Customer Reviews

Panamatic PMTC-1 Head for Seamless Panoramic Images

5 star:		(2)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(5)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

I tried one of these today with a new point and shoot digital camera and was very pleased. It is only made of plastic and will not support a full size SLR but for a lightweight point and shoot it works well and best of all lightweight in the camera bag. I wish someone would make this in lightweight metal with smoother d-tent click stops. Be careful not to push down too hard or go in an anti clockwise direction when moving the camera to the different click stops.

I got this a few days ago and went on a hike locally specifically to try it out.

pros: It does what it says it will do, you can screw it into a ball-head tripod, level it, and then attach a camera. It has click stops that hold the camera every 30 degrees or so. This seems to match exactly the angles assumed in my camera's panorama mode (this mode shows the left edge of the prior photo to allow matching). If you carefully reach under the camera to turn the dial (and not the camera) you will get exactly the right angles.

cons: The first day I had it, I was trying to see why the motion was so stiff, and it came apart. This was not all bad since I was able to put a touch of grease in the innards to that it moved much easier and then reassemble it with thread locker. It is made from plastic, so I think that a SLR might begin to tax it. The bottom is open with plastic webs for strength, and it does not match the head of my tripod very well. The rings on the bubble level are painted on some ridges in the plastic cover. After a short (1/2 mi) walk in my fanny pack, there was noticeable wear and they are starting to disappear. Without an additional bracket, it can hold a camera only in landscape mode. (and I'm not sure about the coverage in portrait mode.)

Other thoughts: My hiking tripod is only a foot or so tall (to save weight), and so finding areas with large angle coverage w/o things blocking the view is difficult. The first solution is to try and put the tripod on something like a table, and hope that it is not in the shot. The second solution - a larger tripod - also brings a pan and tilt head, at which point I would not need this device.

So I would recommend this if you are starting out shooting panoramas and want a aid to get the coverage right. Or you are getting tired of panoramas that won't stitch together due to rolling the camera or going up and down in tilt. It will handle this application and it is cheap enough that you can replace it when you decide what you need. If you are serious, or using a SLR, you might want something a bit stronger and more durable.

For a few dollars, you can put this in your gadget bag. Take it and a lightweight tripod wherever you go and you'll be ready to shoot very precise panoramas anywhere - provided your camera doesn't weight more than a pound or so.

Several years back, a firm made a lightweight pano head similar to this that sold for about five times the price. It was machined from metal as I recall, while the Panamatic Plus is made of plastic. The metal product went off the market before I could get one. I've always regretted that or more accurately, I did until this little gadget arrived.

It is small: about two inches across and four inches long and about an inch high. While made of plastic, it is a sturdy little thing. A large bullseye level occupies one half with a rotating table occupying the other.

Mount the unit on your tripod, then mount the camera and level the assembly.

That's it. You're set. Rotate the Panamatic Plus head and snap away. The stops are 30 degrees apart, the optimal setting for panorama photography. Depending on what stitching program you are using, it is up to you to decide whether to use manual or automatic exposure.

As an experiment, I took a camera with an off-center tripod mount and did several shots of close up stuff on a table. I expected there to be massive parallax problems. I was in for a very pleasant surprise: the six images stitched very nicely and I had a high quality panorama of a very messy table.

This panorama head is designed strictly for single-row panoramas with no parallax compensation. There are other far more expensive pano heads that are capable of doing more. This is not a replacement for a more competent, far more expensive pano head!

But the Panamatic Plus is perfect for carrying with you along with a lightweight tripod. Those two items and a camera weighing a pound or less put perfect panoramas within your grasp.

Jerry

It does the job. Just don't try to use to heavy of a camera with it.

It is a much lower price than other rotating heads for the taking of panoramic pictures, but the materials used (plastic) are not strong enough to safely hold a full size DSLR camera. Works ok for a small pocket camera. Also the attaching screws loosen frequently.. It will take acceptible panoramic pictures BUT, Would reccommend this device for very limit use only.

While this product incorporates some good ideas, the exicution is amateurish. This product does make it easy to rotate in 30 degree increments, but it doesn't provide a stable platform, the bearing woobles. The level is first rate and easy to read. Anyone serious about panos should look elswhere.

I have been using this device for a couple of months and got some great panorama shots with it.
My only reservation is due to its flex: if you put any downward pressure on the camera, the camera will tilt. This happens often while turning the device to take panorama shots. I wish they made this in metal, and eliminate the wobbliness. It can work well, but you must be very gentle when turning the camera.

For simple panoramas, this little gadget works great. I still tend to get a bit of curvature when I do more than one row (i.e. shooting landscape and then sky), but that could be the fault of the tripod. Very easy to use.

If you want to take panorama photos, this is a must. Makes taking the photos easy. You take 12 shots and use your stitching program and makes a great panorama photo. You can see mine here [...]