For those saying this is too long, please understand that this is the level of detail someone would go into when you're in a workshop and a professional photographer is teaching you. The fact that Lester is putting this up for free on KZfaq is very kind of him. I certainly learned a lot. Thank you Les!

ha! saved me again with this video. and I was the last to comment, watched it a half decade ago and forgot the whole process. awesome thanks.

Lester, first time I have come across your videos. Also, today I received what I thought was the final piece of gear for my new tripod. I now stand corrected. I need at least a focusing rail to do the nodal point stuff you just taught me. Very straightforward and properly explained. Thanks very much.

Clear, well organized and entertaining. Not an easy task with a subject as clear as a politician trying to explain, well, anything. Cheers …

12:15 - this is where he shows how to find the nodal point on the tripod. (not a criticism, but that's all I was looking for)

Finally someone who explains well!!!!!!!

That was an amazing lesson. I made my first attempt at a pano today, and after seeing how Photoshop struggled with it, I clearly didn't know the information in this video. Many thanks Lester!

Absolutely phenomenal instruction! Really trying to get into landscape photography, and for the weeks of "instructional" videos I've watched, this is hands down the most thorough in picking a technical topic and explaining the reasons behind and methodologies for achieving desired results.

Well organized, clear and easy to understand explanation. Well done!

Thank you very much. People say it is to long, it isn't this is the best tutorial I ever have seen on KZfaq about setting up the equipment to make panorama photos and everything is well explained in detail ( finally) again thanks.

wasted a solid hour trying to set up the nodal point on a nodal ninja. then watched this video. then set up the nodal point in 20 seconds. HUGE thanks!!

Many thanks Lester, this is the clearest, most user-friendly explanation of the parallax phenomenon and how to overcome it that I've ever seen!

Nice and clear explanation, for the more techy ones just make sure that the rotation point coincide with centre of the aperture leaves. Some principles as to to set up a gimbal head where you use the centre of gravity instead of the centre of the shutter leaves to balance the camera for two completely different shooting purposes, hence two different tripod heads; one to eliminate parallax and the other to make the camera/lens unit feel weightless, 99% of cases the two setup points are different as the two centres do not reside in the same place, the “C” bracket head can be used as a gimbal with great results whilst the gimbal can be set to pivot on the nodal point but it will be awkward to use.

Hands down one of my favourite videos on KZfaq. Legend.

I was just curious about the term "nodal point". No interest in Panos or the equipment necessary. However once you started teaching I was in for the full video. VERY WELL DONE.

Best explanation of a seemingly complex procedure. You have made the complicated easy to understand and I thank you for that. This is a brilliant tutorial.

I am at the point of learning panoramic photography and you explained this fantastically clear and understandable. Thank you.

I am definitely an amateur but found this expanded my understanding of the lens / camera interaction and well worth the time spent. I think there's enough movement on the gimbal head mounts to facilitate this technique. Thanks for sharing!

Hi Les, fine explanation but it is only for 100% correct for a single row horizontal panorama and not for a multi-row or for a vertical panorama. For a multi-row you will pan your camera up/down to go from one row to another. This means that the horizontal axis where the camera turns around has to go exactly through the nodal point. In order to achieve this the central axis of your lens and the central axis of the nodal slide you use to move the camera forward/backward have to go both through the same plane that is vertical to that nodal slide. This is a little bit tricky since you have to estimate it and there are no marks on the L-bracket you use to fix the camera on the rotator to pan it up and down. Once you have determined the exact position, put a mark on your L-bracket for consistent later use. If you fail to do this, you will introduce a parallax error while panning up/down. Sorry for the complex geometric explanation.

The best explanation of. a practical method of finding the nodal point. Thank you.

You made the process so easy to understand and set. Great teacher as well as a pro photographer. Subscribed.

Thanx . Greatly. Unlike many educational video offerings, you are complete and concise.

I can hardly believe that I was getting away with my "don't worry just take lots of overlaps " ever stitched together in photoshop. Then all of a sudden in the 2021 version of photoshop everything sopped working. This was a wonderful talk, and I thank you very much Lester..Outstanding. I only have a standard tripod so I am going to be up against it, but panoramas is where I am so I must resolve things .Most of my panoramas are about eight frames wide and I usually have a3 rows, and I have been using focal length far too wide at maybe 50mm equivalent. .

Hello Mr. Picker. I watch your videos whenever I find time. These are very useful and instructive videos for us. I would like to thank you for sharing your experiences that you got with many years. There is an idiom that says: If the tree has a lot of fruit, it bends. I wish I had met and worked with you before.

Well, well done! Panorama is one of my favorite landscape forms and the one on your wall (seen at 2:16) is truly impressive. I started out carrying a 35mm camera and a Fuji GX617 , which I remember Galen Rowell kidding me about how much I carried with me. Now it is a Nikon D800 and the Really Right Stuff pano heads - and it's a LOT faster and lighter! Great Job!

outstanding. the clearest explanation of this topic I've seen so far. Typically by the time someone is done explaining what the 'nodal point' is you really have no idea what they're talking about. good job.

Great tutorial, thank you. The best part is at the end showing the taped pole 'get back in line' while shifting the camera back. Actually I found out practicing that you should start with poles aligned in one side (left or right) of the view finder then turn the camera (left to right or vice-versa) till the poles are in the other side of the viewfinder..... Then shift the camera back/forward to realign the poles. And BINGO, there's your nodal point/entry pupil in one single move, no need to turn back and forth . 😉

I would like to thank you for taking the time to explain in detail and for the tremendous effort you put into the shooting.

Thank you for these clear and detailed explainations. All words were useful in my opinion. So many videos only talk about level adjustment or right angle marks and say nothing about the let's say "nodal point" fine adjustment. I am on my way to shoot some panos in the french Bassin d'Arcachon. So many nice views and skies to shoot there.

Finally, some one explains this process well. thanks Mr Picker !

Extremely helpful! Very well done, clear and concise with many useful hints and tips. Thanks so much!

Excellent instructions on how to find the proper adjustment. For what it's worth, I enjoyed your conversational style of presenting the subject, you came across as very friendly.

Les, Great job on this tutorial. Very clear, concise and enough variation for people that it's usable in a lot of ways. Thank you for putting it together!

I like this video and very much appreciate the effort that went into it. What follows is a thank you rather than a compliant. Nodal points come from the "Gauss thick lens theory" and require a bit of optic theory to fully understand but the key point is the there are two; and one is the exit nodal point. The exit nodal point for photographic lens is always one focal length from the sensor when the lens is set an infinity. When the lens is not set to infinity is is at the image distance, which is not what is seen on the lens mount but requires some math to get. For example if focused on a pole at 5 meters a 500 mm lens image distance is going to be 0.5mm longer than the focal length so the the nodal point will be 1/2 mm off at infinity and about 1mm off for a 70mm lens under the same conditions. Clearly these errors are insignificant but are comparable with the errors from the simple method I suggest. 1) Nodal points are points about which you can rotate the lens and the image on the focal plane will not move. This is what they do and why they make image stitching work well. This what the two pole demo is looking to do. Thgey do not have to be perfect for most stitching programs to get a good join. 2) One nodal point is exactly (by definition) one focal length from the film plane when the lens is focused at infinity and the image distance away when focused closer. . Using this you can get very close to the nodal point by using a ruler and putting the center of the camera one focal length, as marked on the lens or its zoom ring, from the sensor mark on the camera body, when focused on a distant scene.

An excellent explanation of how to ascertain the nodal point for a given lens. Thank you, Lester! Your beautiful panoramic photography wall enlargements are stunning indeed, and certainly expemplify the Image Quality obtainable using the technique you describe. As I don't have the photographic equipment in this video, I was lucky to be able to create highly detailed panoramas, but much smaller enlargements (10"x36", for example), using 4 stitched 24 MP .tif images with a very sharp Fujinon XF35mm f/2 lens on an X-Pro2 vertically mounted on a decent Oben Carbon Fiber tripod. Of course, your technique and recommendation to make use of the lens' nodal point, besides beneficial for printing large, as you stated, also avoids the unfortunate necessity of losing image information in post-processing when cropping top-to-bottom across the image! Happy Holidays to you, sir!

Thank you Lester for your details explaining. It’s a very informative video. I hope you’re well and still making beautiful photographs!!!

Its refreshing to actually learn something about photography instead of getting the latest and greatest this and that rammed at us..Thanks for the information,its much appreciated

Thanks! I'm thinking of using this strategy a lot in the future. And as I noticed the key way to actually just set the nodal point with the two stick, it may actually be possible to put it up every time on the field using two strings attached to branches in line with the center of the position of the tripod where it is going to shoot the panorama! So this way you are capable of using this technique randomly with any lens at any focal length! You also can set it up with a more inexpensive tripod head. Yet it still need a specialized camera support to make it rigid, convenient and fluid. Amazing pictures on your walls!

to be honest there are many tutorial out there that talk about shooting panoramic photo but so far this is the most ever , best explanation i ever seen . thank you very much . i wish there was a way to give your video a 5 star. thx GOD BLESS

You're a very good teacher and very kind for sharing your knowledge and time.

Great explanation, I love the story with the thumb to explain parallax. Also an easy way to do the trick with live view. Thank you very much!

Wonderful tutorial, live view tip makes it so much easier.

Les, Great job. When you mentioned the vertical poles, I realized a similarity with aiming posts used by field artillery in the pre GPS day. Once a gun was pointed on the correct azimuth, a primary (an optical instrument.set close the the gun) and, secondary aiming points (two metal poles) were established. The aiming points allowed the gun to shoot a mission based on rotating to the left or right of the azimuth on fire. The gun then returns to the azimuth of fire. The vertical line in the gunner’s optics would be placed beyond the far vertical pole. We used the acronym NFL - Near Far Line - to help remember the order of the lines. Thanks. Jim

Sir: Thanks you made my Day. You’re the best Teacher I found in KZfaq

Very good presentation with great information presented in an easy to comprehend manner - thanks for taking the time to share your knowledge

Bango! You have enriched my life. Thank you sir. I now understand this subject.

A really helpful, easy to understand video - on a subject that can otherwise get confusing in a hurry. Thanks much.

Thank you Lester. Very informative and useful. All the best. Simon

SO MANY FANCY USELESS VIDEOS OUT THERE. HERE IT GOES, SIMPLE, CLEAR AND DIRECT TO THE POIN... THANKS!

Hi Lester, your video was wonderful. I found the explanations easy to understand and will certainly help me a lot in this new phase of producing 360 panoramas. What I found coolest was the fact that I knew that you prefer to use telephoto lenses, I thought wide-angle ones would be better. Thank you very much for sharing your knowledge.

This is the most helpfull video about the Nodal point. Thank you Mr.Picker

Excellent instruction! Hate to get more equipment but it looks like panos are more that just swinging the camera across a view and taking some clicks. Thanks again.

The best explanation on how to find the nodal point so far that I`ve come across. Thanks for taking time to do this. Hope i get some good shots this time around

Lester - great video, thanks so much! I may add that I am using a Mamiya RB67 which has its tripod thread right in the middle of the camera body, vertically below the optical axis. So, no sideways adjustment needed. Also, the portrait orientation is achieved by just rotating the film back with the camera body still upright. That's a no-brainer so far. It does need of course the forward/back adjustment, for which I use a simple rail. Beyond that, my recommendation is to use aiming objects that are much closer (believe it or not, I use chopsticks). I have to focus then to a closer distance, increasing the lens extension which changes the nodal point again. But the RB67 has a scale from which I can read the lens extension in millimeters, and just correct the camera position by that amount because the lens will be focused at infinity for the real shot. The closer position of the aiming objects makes the process more accurate and easier, because the sideways movement is more pronounced when the camera rotates about the wrong point. Just a recommendation for those among us who use such old "basic" cameras!

Wow! I had no idea about nodal points but I have just recently become interested in panos. I do real estate photography and some houses call for a pano. Not able to justify a tilt shift so panos have been a lifesaver.

Great demo ... have a monfroto 303plus and forgot how to determine the nodal point ....you nailed it for me ... cheers

Lester, Thank you very much for your video! Very well explained and demonstrated!

Very well done, the live view pro tip at 19:15 is brilliant!

Lester, great demonstration. Using live view function makes this so much easier. Many thanks!

What a cool wall with the panorama! I once thought I'd take a huge panorama by walking down Main Street about 1/4 mile, taking a shot across the street about every 10 steps. It took quite a bit of time and effort. Of course, it didn't work out because of the parallax. So I put all the frames into a neat hyperlapse video.

Thanks for posting this video. Here's an alternative way to locate the lens center. Set the dslr to live view and adjust the camera's position to center the image of the pano head's pivot point onto the camera's viewer area. Most cameras have view finder center marks for metering, focus micro-prisms, etc. Rotating the camera a full 360° will confirm that the camera is at 90° to the base and that you have located the center of the lens if the image stays centered. If there is no obvious mark or bit of hardware to determine the pano head's pivot point, the 360° test will help locate it for you.

Brilliant explanation Lester. Thanks a million for putting this together .........Thank you

Thank You very much for this tutorial, is very helpful even we speak different languages is clear to understand.

Thanks a lot buddy, now I've gotta update my B&H photo cart with all this gear!!! LOL. Excellent, clearly explained instructions. Didn't even know I didn't know.

Superb! ...And, as always, fine equipment makes a big difference. Add to that, waiting for the ideal time at exceptional locations and you're a pro. Thanks so much.

Lester that was super helpful, I have a Nikon D750 and I was going to upgrade simply as I crop all the time and I loooove Pano's but now am convinced that I don't need to upgrade and that I will go out and purchase this system. THANK YOU!

After watching your video I thought you're so logical, I mean your mind is. Absolutely beautiful. Thank you so much for the explanation of what the nodal point is and how to achieve it.

This is still one of my favorite videos on youtube for setting the nodal point! 👍👌

Thank you Mr Lester, u helping amateurs getting some useful knowledge, for now on ill make panos only based on the nodal point so i get the best stiching. But still i thought using the widest lenses like 16mm or 18mm would be better, you say 50-70mm one more point! Thinking to buy online a 360 rotation head plus ball head and slider so i can push back and forward and an L bracket so i can go vertical. Hope it all comes together and work. Because a gimbal head is too expensive nowadays!

The best explanation I have seen on this topic!

Awesome video! Lengthy but never boring. Thanks!

Lester, I just found you and your videos... This is the first one that I've watched. I must say that it was very informative and well produced. Thank you and your team, I'm looking forward to watching the rest.

Excellent presentation and explanation. Thanks for sharing such valuable information.

You get a like and a sibscribe for this, just for your clarification on 'Nodal point'! This is the level of detail i really appreciate - thanks!

Thank you for posting this in-depth explanation.

Lester, Thanks for the tuition, your video is brilliant and easy to understand, I put the information into practice and I am now producing better images, thanks very much for sharing.

Excellent video thank's. As a bonus for me. I had never thought of stacking pano's before. What an epiphany. I always stuck with a single line of images. Guess what I'm doing this weekend.

WOW... What a fantastic video Lester!! I have a 7.5mm fisheye arriving tomorrow, and will be purchasing a nodal head soon. This has been such a huge help.

Hello Lester, Appreciate your time and sharing the knowledge with simple explanation and the tips to hold on to the measurements.

You are a gifted teacher! Very clear and to the point! Thank you for sharing your knowledge!!!

Thank you. I lost the paper I had all my calibration info on so this "refresher course" was helpful. This time, I'll add it to a note on my phone.

Hi Lester, Thank you for putting this together. Excellent clip, simplicity at its best. You have cleared the forest from the trees (Y)

Thank you very much Mr. Picker for presenting this instructional video. The explanation is very good, easy to understand for me and your calm voice very pleasant. Now with this knowledge I hope to take better landscape Panoramas with an interesting foreground, which so far was not possible for me. Thank you very much.

Damn! That's one of the most usefull videoinstruction I have ever seen! Thank you so much Lester!

A wonderfully thorough explanation. Thank you very much for this tutorial. It was immensely helpful.

Awesome practical stuff! I now know what a nodal point or pupil point is and am certain I will take better panos in the future.

Wow this video was the best most detailed video I’ve seen yet. Thank you for sharing such great content and expert knowledge.

Fantastic and detailed explanation! Thank you for sharing,

So well explained. A trully lesson on photography. Thank you very much for sharing such important knowledge and most important explaining it in a simple manner. Huge fan from now on.

Brilliantly informative and a very complex issue explained very well.

Very good explanation. You have some very nice equipment. Thanks for taking the time.

Dear Mr. Picker thank you for this video. I learned a few tricks. I watched another video on youtube by Mr. Gough. I enjoyed that as well. I left a comment to Mr. Gough`s site that watching your video first then his. Would make a nice pair of teaching videos. With regards to these scenic shots. As the more information the better. Thank you for your time and effort.

excellent video. I have a feeling I'll be shooting a lot more pano's . thx

Hi, Lester! Thanks for your way of finding a nodal point! It's awesome! I set up my panoramic head in a few seconds. And this after a week of wandering on the Internet. Tnx a LOT!

Thank for such great and well explain info! Grettings from Patagonia, Chile.

I know it's now 4 years later, but thanks Lester, very informative!

I think what you are getting at is what you do with a pair of binoculars when you move each tube closer or further from each other, adjusting the distance so everything is in focus, Newtonian telescopes ( with mirrors) do the same when they 'collimate' the scope bringing the eyepiece and the scope into sharp focus.

Well done Lester! ... I too have a Nikon D810 with the 24-70mm lense and have tried my first pano without this information with some success. That being said, I am always interested in doing this the right way and looking for the pano package for my setup.

Thank you for a very thorough and interesting video. Planning to buy a basic nodal slide set up; RRS kit is getting lots of good reviews so yours gives it another endorsement. Thanks again.

FWIW, to make it easier and allow for even more precision, use *one* pole (a cross would be better for adjusting both horizontal and vertical at once), a wall behind it, and a bright light source at the nodal point. Mark the shadow on the wall with a contrasting colour, then mount your camera and make your adjustments. (The rays of light travelling past the edge of the pole to the nodal point are at an angle to the axis of the lens, so the farther the second pole is behind the first pole, the wider the second pole would need to be to fit exactly within the shadow of the first pole. Positioning two poles of differing widths would be *FAR* too fiddly when you can use a literal shadow to accomplish the same thing.)