The Advanced Rotator RD8-II from Nodal Ninja is compatible with the Ultimate M2-series heads, which assists you to create panoramic or spherical photographs. The head rotates 360° with detent plunger knobs that screw into any of the increment selections. The click-stops move 30, 15, 6, 5, 4, 3, 2.5, and 2° per rotation, and the 1.3" tall RD8-II supports cameras with a lens up to 700mm horizontally and vertically with a lens up to 465mm.
- Height: 1.3"
- Panning Range: 360°
- Rotator Locking Knob
- Detent Knob for Increment Selection
Nodal Ninja RD8-II Overview
Nodal Ninja RD8-II Specs
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Nodal Ninja RD8-II Reviews
Rotator Moves After Being Positioned
I have been using this Nodal Ninja M2 Giga w/RD8-II rotator for the past couple years and it has caused me numerous failed panoramas. As you are probably aware it has these spring loaded balls that drop into detents inside the device. I have noticed that after rotating to a new position that it takes time for it to fully settle into the detent and thus moves sometimes for 2-3+ seconds after being positioned into a new position. I have learned that I need to watch for the movement to stop before shooting. I recently shoot a set of images of an incredible sunrise were I was shooting at a low shutter speed (1/13th sec.) that exacerbates the problem. I suspect that there is still movement occurring long after it appears to have stopped in the viewfinder. When shooting the images I was rushing it trying to capture the light. Net result is that out of some 120 shoots, about 6 of them had excessive motion blur that ruined the whole panorama.
Top Quality
All of Fanotec's stuff is top notch. I do wish it had some bigger stops too like the RD-16 since I don't always do stitches with super long lenses. The RD-16 works for everything up to 200mm lens in vertical orientation. Got this for my 100-400 lens and it really is most convenient for that lens only. With shorter lenses you'd have to keep track of rotating multiple times to get a bigger increment, like 10 or 12 degrees. Not the end of the world but it's one more thing to keep track of.