Interfacing Phase One 645DF and GigaPan EPIC Pro

[mrenters]

If you've got a Phase One 645DF and a GigaPan EPIC Pro but haven't been able to use them together because of lack of a shutter release cable, here are my instructions for making your own.

http://www.teckelworks.com/photography/tools

Martin

[billthecat]

Thanks for posting this. I've been wondering how to make a cable for my AFD2 and I assume it'll be the same.

Bill

[mrenters]

As far as I know the AFD2 works with the Mamiya RE401 cable release and the cable used in my instructions has the same pinout so there shouldn't be any problem.

Martin

[ondebanks]

Gosh, you went to a lot of trouble to produce such a clear and nicely formatted report!
Well done.

In a similar vein, as I described here before (and am updating now), for about 80 bucks I threw together an electronic remote/intervalometer for my 645AFD, using a JYC RS-60E3 for Canon and a Quantum 467 coiled cable for Mamiya 645AF. No cutting or soldering required - just a 2.5mm stereo socket T-junction between them. The Quantum 467 cable is "mono" so it requires 2 presses of the remote if the camera has gone to sleep. But I may "upgrade" to the alternative Quantum FW45 MD "two step" cable, which is "stereo" and the 2nd pole should provide instant wakeup. I suspect that this is what the unused white wire described in your report would have been for.

Actually, it seems that the only reason why you had to cut and solder, was because the Profoto cable you used ends in a 3.5mm jack rather than 2.5mm? In that case, using the Quantum cable could spare you that trouble. My exact approach (substituting the GigaPan Canon cable for the JYC RS-60E3 Canon cable...both are 2.5mm/2-pole) would do the trick, I think.

Ray

[mrenters]

Thanks for the heads-up on the Quantum cable(s).  I wasn't aware of that cable and was originally going to use an RE401 cable release cable and cut the switch off until a contact at Phase One told me about the ProFoto cable as a cheaper ($40) alternative.

The GigaPan comes with a 2.5mm plug and it looks like the Quantum cable also has a 2.5mm plug so you'd still need some way of connecting the two plugs together. You might be able to use a 2.5mm jack to 2.5mm jack adapter if you can find one.  I had tried to find a 2.5mm to 3.5mm converter but wasn't successful so I used the soldering iron.

The Mamiya RE401 cable release has the half-press function for focusing so I'm guessing that is what the white wire would normally be used for.  Unfortunately on my ProFoto cable the white wire wasn't connected to anything on the camera connector side.

As you've discovered, having a cable like this opens up a lot of possibilities for remote triggers. I'm thinking of building a micro controller based system with a light beam based trigger input and a delay timer for shooting water drops and things of that nature.

Martin

[FredBGG]

I think that Kapture group has Hirose to 2.5mm jack cables

sales@kapturegroup.com

[Wayne Fox]

Thanks for these instructions.  I have the gigapan and have been considering trying it with my DF/IQ back.

One thing I would mention that most miss, panos are generally best when shot with the camera in portrait position instead of landscape position.  Instead of switching the aspect ratio to 4:3, there are several options such as 0.60:1 which allows the camera to be turned vertically.  If using fairly long glass to get higher rez stitches I've found this seems to provide better seams.

I don't know if the DF with the L bracket would mount in a decent position to be close to the nodal point if vertical, and perhaps with such a high resolution back it may not offer much to shoot with longer focal lengths.  Should be fun to experiment with.

[Graham Welland]

I have the Gigapan Epic myself too. If you want to mount the DF with L bracket I highly recommend getting the replacement Gigapan platform mount and clamp bar from RRS.

[mrenters]

I don't know if the DF with the L bracket would mount in a decent position to be close to the nodal point if vertical, and perhaps with such a high resolution back it may not offer much to shoot with longer focal lengths.  Should be fun to experiment with.

GigaPan does offer the extended down struts, and those give you quite a bit more travel so you should be able to get it to the nodal point in vertical mode.  I think RSS Gigapan mount replacement would be a good idea if you want to shoot vertical. When using longer lenses the camera body ends up being pretty far back and it gets back heavy and will sag when the motors aren't holding it.  Another problem is that the back of the camera ends up hitting the top of the Gigapan base (the part with the screen) if you try to go too high.  I have this problem with the Phase One 75-150 lens, so I'm using the 80mm now.

Martin

[FredBGG]

What image stitching programs do you prefwer?

I'm looking for the best for small internal architecture. Small rooms, elevators etc

[Graham Welland]

I use Autopano Giga.

[mrenters]

What image stitching programs do you prefwer?

I'm looking for the best for small internal architecture. Small rooms, elevators etc

I'm using PTgui. I tried one IQ180 panorama with the GigaPan stitching software but it wasn't able to process the images.

Martin