Alright, I get the nodal point pretty close compared to what everyone is showing on the other threads except that one of the quarter slices is off slightly. The thing is, its the final position and its where the TCPS tends to stick a little bit on mine. Now I take it outside and get this garbage.

http://www.10remingtonrun.com/hercloset.html

Any ideas on what is going wrong?

Okay, same situation but I shot it inside. Notice how the image appears to be split into hemispheres? On the top right side of the rope there is a split, but not on the top left. The top left would be the #4 position photos right side.

http://www.10remingtonrun.com/hiscloset.html

Your nodal is out to buggery. You need to achieve a perfectly round circle. It is best to set up with a Plumb Bob as I have explained in another post.

You must set the "sideways" movement first. Getting the centre of the lens directly over the tripod centreline. Eyesight or eyeballing is not good enough!

Once you are close take shots every 1mm stitch and compare. To save time take only "small" .jpg and stitch at web 1400x700 also stitch preview is enough to view - pan down and take a screen capture.

Bring into Photoshop and and text write the settings and then move on to the next mm setting and do it all over again. You should get it nutted within about 10 goes.

Do NOT re-level between shooting your shots or you will be there forever. Only position (1) one needs to be perfectly level. Be careful not to kick or move your tripod.

Good luck.

Regards, Smooth

I got the left/right down tonight I think. I used a different method for the left right by bisecting the center line by taping over the 3 hex screws and drawing the line. once I had run a few stitches, I found the center.

All of this because I thought I had no fishing line laying around. Tonight I found an old reel with some on and just now used the 2 loop method. The left right is on, but since its 3:30 am here in San Antonio, the front back will wait until later today

Good luck in the morning -err maybe afternoon! LOL

Regards, Smooth

OK.Blacktip. its 0757am Central Texas Time the next day  - didn't realize you were just South of us in San Antonio.

Sun is just comming up.. so I figure you should have the 'Forward Backwards thing figured out by now.

Still here in Fort Worth

Oh I'm quite the night owl. I was getting ready to photo shoot some fireworks tonight, but we've got a huge storm heading our way out of the hill country. Looks like a wet 4th of July night.

Do you ever post at texasphotoforum.com?

Recycle Bin > empty > Do you wish to delete these 92 objects?

92 divided by 4 equals 23 tries to get the F-ing back/forward set.

I got the forward back dialed in on one pano earlier today. Great. I take it outside and shoot a 4+T, come back inside, stitch it and its all f-ed up.

So I shot another 4 inside and its off again, but not nearly as bad as outside. I move it a few times, and then notice I'm way off the gold line by at least 3 mm, but the damn pano shows it being pretty close.

I decided to shoot one more using the same settings, and everything is all f-ed up. I mean way off the mark.

I start over with the gold ring right on the center of rotation. First pano, off by a good 2" or so on the rope line. Adjust forward, a little different. Adjust more forward, pretty close. Just a hair forward, all f-ed up.

Know what I figured out? The POS quick release sucks.

So by accident I got a pano set right on the money. All the seams look fine. The gold line is about dead on with the center of rotation using a plumb bob.

I removed the camera from the quick release and the next stitch is off the mark again. I stitched 4 sets of photos with the only difference being I flipped the switch on the quick release, and I put the camera right back on using the same amount of tension. Nothing was moved, no adjustment was made.

Result? 4 f-ing different results. Majorly different results. I mean the rope I used as a diagnostic line in the image is right on in the first stitch, off by a full diameter of the rope (1/2 inch) in the next too far forward, 1/4" too far forward in the third, and then off by about 3/8" on the final.

WTF? I'm so far beyond frustrated by this crap. I'm taking this POS off the tripod and not looking at it until I get my S3.

The Entrance Pupil what most people are confusing with the "Nodal Point" has no fixed position in a fisheye lens. So there is no absolute correct position.

The gold ring on the Sigma is close to approximate to the "Entrance Pupil" on the Sigma 8mm where there are no objects closer in one to the next.

Currently I have the gold ring about 3mm behind the centreline because I have calibrated the Entrance Pupil to the room I'm shooting. If I have left it at the gold ring I still could manage a reasonable stitch but would require some clean up in Photoshop. Setting/Calibrating the Entrance Pupil to the scene will result in a better and closer to perfect stitch and require next to no Photoshop clean up.

Other things come into the equation also. Like keeping the lens level (this is where a hot-shoe level comes in handy) The quick release can also offer some small errors because it is not a precision "repeatable position" piece of equipment. (What brand do you have?) Though is close enough for general panorama photography.

I'm not sure what you expect from your set up nor have you this time offered up a series of photographs showing the tripod/pano head shots for us to compare.

There are plenty here who are using a very similar system to yourself and we do manage to find the right position to shoot panoramas successfully.

As you have found 1mm or even less can make a huge difference to the stitch. Nobody here will ever say that they haven't felt the same frustration. But with help and perseverance usually we come up with a successful combination.

Regards, Smooth

Agreed.