How can I photograph a product from repeatable angle increments while keeping the same camera-to-subject distance?
Asked 6/22/2012
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I want to photograph a product, such as a glass of water, from several different vertical viewing angles for stop-motion use. I need the camera to move from a top-down view toward a side view over about 90 degrees, in fairly precise increments, while keeping the camera the same distance from the subject. Rotating the object would be easiest, but that won’t work for something like a glass of water. Is there a device or rig for this, or is there a practical way to build or set up one?
Originally by Photography Stack Exchange contributor. Source · Licensed CC BY-SA 4.0
Photography Stack Exchange contributor
14y ago
2 Answers
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From your description a vertically mounted single row panorama setup would solve this problem. Unfortunately all prepackaged kits I have been able to find are designed for horizontal mounting directly to a tripod, rather than on an existing head (which would be required to mount then vertically).
Assembling your own kit from a ballhead and a bar/slide along the lines of this Really Right Stuff nodal slide (you can probably find a cheaper equivalent if you look around for one though) by attaching one end of the bar to the ballhead and mounting the camera on the other end may or may not be feasible, depending on the weight of the camera you would be using.
An alternative approach would be to replace the water in the glass with something (gelatin?) that would look like water to the camera but not spill when the glass is tipped on its side.
Originally by user9646. Source · Licensed CC BY-SA 4.0
user9646
14y ago
0
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Yes. What you want is essentially a vertical arc or single-row panorama style rig that lets the camera move around the subject while keeping a consistent radius. Prebuilt panorama gear is often made for horizontal movement, so a custom setup may be needed.
A practical approach is:
- mount the camera on a bar/slide attached to a head, so it can be repositioned along an arc,
- or build a support with several fixed camera positions along that arc,
- or, if you need all views captured at the same instant, use multiple identical cameras arranged in an arc and trigger them together.
If you only need a few shots, a simpler manual method is to move the tripod up/down and forward/back while aiming the camera at the subject each time, though repeatability is harder.
If the subject can’t be rotated because it’s liquid, another workaround is to make the liquid effectively non-moving while preserving the look, so the object can be turned instead.
So yes, there isn’t one single standard product for this exact job, but panorama/nodal slide components or a custom arc rig are the right direction.
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