Nodal Ninja RD16-II Advanced Rotator, 22lbs Capacity

2016-08-14T12:55:40

I originally bought a SunwayFoto rotator base, but was disappointed that the stop plunger barely worked at all. The stops were neither solid, nor audible. The main reason for having a rotator base with pre-set "stops" is that you can quickly move the camera from one stop to the next without looking at a scale. This is even more important if you are bracketing the images for HDR panoramas. I returned the SunwayFoto rotator to B&H Photo and ordered the Nodal Ninja RD16-II rotator base from Adorama and it performed perfectly. Each stop was smooth and solid - due to a larger plunger ball bearing and correspondingly larger indentations for the ball to come to rest in during rotation. It also made a nice clicking sound when it found each stop. Those two features assure me that I can quickly rotate the camera without having to even look at the rotator. Now, in all fairness to SunwayFoto, I kept several pano components that I bought which performed acceptably, including the leveling base, monopod head (for tilt capabilities during multi-row panos), and their nodal rail. Nodal Ninja makes those products as well, but they are a little pricier than Sunway. If you don't have the budget for the higher end pano head systems, SunwayFoto has most of the components you would need, at the lowest price. HOWEVER, they have yet to produce a fully functional and reliable rotating base. Go with the Nodal Ninja rotating base, or another higher-end product. You'll be happy that you did.

Robert P.