View Full Version : majestic head with panning
Hello! I recently purchased a majestic head for my camera stand and discovered that it has no ability to pan! It never even occurred to me that a head wouldn't have the ability to pan... I bought it used and it was cheap so I'm not too upset about it, but I am having trouble finding a good quality geared head (pan and tilt) that can support a large camera and doesn't cost a fortune. Am I missing something? What do people do with these majestic heads? The tilting is really nice; why couldn't they have added a geared pan function as well!? Is that something I can purchase separately? I haven't seen a pan only head that can attach to my camera stand post.
Thanks in advance,
Chad
Hello! I recently purchased a majestic head for my camera stand and discovered that it has no ability to pan! It never even occurred to me that a head wouldn't have the ability to pan... I bought it used and it was cheap so I'm not too upset about it, but I am having trouble finding a good quality geared head (pan and tilt) that can support a large camera and doesn't cost a fortune. Am I missing something? What do people do with these majestic heads? The tilting is really nice; why couldn't they have added a geared pan function as well!? Is that something I can purchase separately? I haven't seen a pan only head that can attach to my camera stand post.
Thanks in advance,
Chad
You can mount an adapter for panning, from a 3rd party. It's fiddly, but can be done. Studio stands were not used for panning.
I'm trying to do macro photography in the studio with it and it's impossible to line up the shot precisely if I can't pan... what third party adapters are there?
I'm trying to do macro photography in the studio with it and it's impossible to line up the shot precisely if I can't pan... what third party adapters are there?
It depends on how heavy your rig is. What are you shooting with?
You could use this http://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/search?N=10848913&InitialSearch=yes&sts=pi
Rated for 42 lbs
You need a aluminum plug tapped 3/8-16 to fit inside your head.
And you need to either make something similar for the stand or drill a hole through the mounting plug you have and use a bolt from the bottom.
I have done this with my Arkay studio stand and Majestic, but I have not used the above panning adapter.
It depends on how heavy your rig is. What are you shooting with?
Sinar P. With all of the various extensions, macro lens and digital back I would bet it's pushing 30 to 40 lbs.
You could use this http://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/search?N=10848913&InitialSearch=yes&sts=pi
Rated for 42 lbs
You need a aluminum plug tapped 3/8-16 to fit inside your head.
And you need to either make something similar for the stand or drill a hole through the mounting plug you have and use a bolt from the bottom.
I have done this with my Arkay studio stand and Majestic, but I have not used the above panning adapter.
It looks kind of wimpy, although I see it's rated to 40 lbs, I wonder if it can handle that much force laterally (ie. if the head is tilted 90 degrees down)? And I'd rather have something geared. I've got one of the Manfrotto geared heads but it won't handle the weight of a large format camera.
This seems like a problem that must have been solved decades ago.
Sinar P. With all of the various extensions, macro lens and digital back I would bet it's pushing 30 to 40 lbs.
With that kind of investment, I suggest a new heavy duty panning head rated for 50 lbs.
You might consider video heads.
But you can still mount the new head with a bolt run through your existing studio stand plug.
What is your stand?
An Arkay studio stand is not as HD as it looks. The horizontal arm is a fragile aluminum casting. Don't ask me how i know...
With that kind of investment, I suggest a new heavy duty panning head rated for 50 lbs.
You might consider video heads.
But you can still mount the new head with a bolt run through your existing studio stand plug.
What is your stand?
An Arkay studio stand is not as HD as it looks. The horizontal arm is a fragile aluminum casting. Don't ask me how i know...
I would love a heavy duty tilt/pan head, but it needs to be geared. I have yet to find one that has good range of motion. I was very excited about the majestic because it seemed perfect -- excellent range of motion, very smooth (and cheap!). But no panning?!
My stand is pretty heavy duty -- it's called "Mono Stand RDA". It's ancient and looks like it could be used to lift the motor out of a car.
I would love a heavy duty tilt/pan head, but it needs to be geared. I have yet to find one that has good range of motion. I was very excited about the majestic because it seemed perfect -- excellent range of motion, very smooth (and cheap!). But no panning?!
My stand is pretty heavy duty -- it's called "Mono Stand RDA". It's ancient and looks like it could be used to lift the motor out of a car.
Macro is an expensive sport. Let us know how you solve the problem.
Good luck.
Alan Gales
9-Dec-2014, 15:58
Sinar P. With all of the various extensions, macro lens and digital back I would bet it's pushing 30 to 40 lbs.
For a Sinar P you can't beat one of these: http://www.surpluscameragear.com/servlet/the-12/Sinar-Pan-Tilt-Tripod/Detail
They show up used occasionally on the for sale section here and Ebay.
Thanks for the suggestion, although I wish it were geared.
Tracy Storer
10-Dec-2014, 08:59
"Out of the box" idea:
Put your subject on a mill table. You can pan the subject instead of the camera.
Tracy Storer
10-Dec-2014, 13:47
Like this:
http://littlemachineshop.com/products/product_focus.php?Focus=X-Y%20Tables
Tin Can
10-Dec-2014, 14:43
Like this:
http://littlemachineshop.com/products/product_focus.php?Focus=X-Y%20Tables
He may not understand how heavy duty those are and how to clamp anything to one.
It's good idea, but I would mount my camera to it, unless shooting digital with tether where you could live view while moving object.
You could also mount bigger stage to the XY table.
Tracy Storer
10-Dec-2014, 16:32
He may not understand how heavy duty those are and how to clamp anything to one.
It's good idea, but I would mount my camera to it, unless shooting digital with tether where you could live view while moving object.
You could also mount bigger stage to the XY table.
He was talking about shooting straight down, so I thought it might make some sense.
Tin Can
10-Dec-2014, 16:54
He was talking about shooting straight down, so I thought it might make some sense.
I missed that. He needs a Horseman. Honest guys I had this already setup.
Here I have a 4x5 Horseman on a Majestic on a Arkay Studio stand. I am not shooting macro but I could. I am shooting straight down on a still life.
The Horseman has the advantage over a Sinar here as it has a geared tripod mount. Meaning I can move all 3 parts connected to the rail independently. Lens standard, rear standard and tripod mount.
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cjj2003
11-Dec-2014, 07:45
I missed that. He needs a Horseman. Honest guys I had this already setup.
Here I have a 4x5 Horseman on a Majestic on a Arkay Studio stand. I am not shooting macro but I could. I am shooting straight down on a still life.
The Horseman has the advantage over a Sinar here as it has a geared tripod mount. Meaning I can move all 3 parts connected to the rail independently. Lens standard, rear standard and tripod mount.
126342
That looks a lot like my setup (including the camera stand; is that an "RDA mono stand"?). The Sinar has geared movements as well and shooting straight down isn't really the problem. The problem is that the head can not pan, so when I'm shooting at an angle, the only way to make fine adjustments is to move the subject, or loosen the post that the head is attached to and try to move the camera but that doesn't work very well for fine adjustments.
Tin Can
11-Dec-2014, 08:18
That looks a lot like my setup (including the camera stand; is that an "RDA mono stand"?). The Sinar has geared movements as well and shooting straight down isn't really the problem. The problem is that the head can not pan, so when I'm shooting at an angle, the only way to make fine adjustments is to move the subject, or loosen the post that the head is attached to and try to move the camera but that doesn't work very well for fine adjustments.
I have 2 of these stands and one says Arkay and the other something else, but are identical except for paint.
I have had Sinar and I didn't notice geared movement of the tripod mount.
Maybe you need to tilt your subject stage and let the camera move straight line.
We are running out of options...
I shoot 11x14 macro 1 to 1 of people.
How close in are you going? 5-1, 10-1?
Most macro camera movements are done XY and not with panning.
Have you read any books on macro? There is one I just read and I cannot find it. It is the bible of macro. It had lots of DIY tips, but I don't recall your particular issue being addressed. The book was very thorough.
You may have to make what you want. Make it very strong. McMaster Carr is a great source for DIY parts of all kinds. No order too small. I buy from them weekly.
cjj2003
11-Dec-2014, 09:15
I have 2 of these stands and one says Arkay and the other something else, but are identical except for paint.
I have had Sinar and I didn't notice geared movement of the tripod mount.
Maybe you need to tilt your subject stage and let the camera move straight line.
We are running out of options...
I shoot 11x14 macro 1 to 1 of people.
How close in are you going? 5-1, 10-1?
Most macro camera movements are done XY and not with panning.
Have you read any books on macro? There is one I just read and I cannot find it. It is the bible of macro. It had lots of DIY tips, but I don't recall your particular issue being addressed. The book was very thorough.
You may have to make what you want. Make it very strong. McMaster Carr is a great source for DIY parts of all kinds. No order too small. I buy from them weekly.
You are quite correct; the Sinar does not have a geared movement of the tripod mount, but since the stands are geared I haven't really needed it.
I shoot jewelry so almost all of my macro work is 1:1. I use the Sinar and a Leaf Aptus 22 for digital capture. I don't do a lot of panning -- you are correct that most of the time it's better to fine tune placement by moving the piece in X-Y -- but sometimes I do need to change where the camera is pointed... I can't believe that no one does this!
If you find the book, let me know the title.
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