Nodal Point (continued)
What is it and how do I find it?
Step 2: Fore-Aft Adjustment
This step is most easily accomplished out of doors. Find a vertical edge or line, such as a doorway or edge of a building. Position your camera and tripod about
a multirow head such as the QuickPan III Spherical, set the swing arm to a level horizontal position (zero degrees).
Looking through the camera’s viewfinder, find another vertical edge or line that is far away, such as another building or telephone pole.Align the two objects and rotate the pan head so they are in the left hand side of the viewfinder.
Rotate the pan head so the two objects move over to the right hand side of the viewfinder. Unless you’ve managed to unwittingly locate the right position, you should notice the two objects will
Looking through the viewfinder align a close object (brick wall) with a faraway object (telephone pole).As you rotate the camera from
If, as shown above, the two objects move with respect to one and another in the viewinder, slide the camera fore or aft in order to eliminate this movement. Here, the telephone pole has moved behind the brick wall.
move with respect to each other as you rotate the pan from left to right. Slide the camera to the front or rear as required to eliminate
this relative movement.
Step 3: Record Your Results
After you’ve discovered the two location dimensions, be sure to record the settings.The QuickPan
IIIhas convenient indicator scales for this purpose.These numbers represent the nodal point for this given camera and lens combination. If you change cameras or lenses, this procedure may have to be repeated
Step 5: How About Rangefinder Cameras?
A rangefinder camera is a camera where you look through a separate viewfinder and not through the actual lens. The process is basically the same. Locate the