I love doing time-lapses. One great accessory to improve them is a panning head for the action camera. let me show you why:
Why using a Panning Head?
I love time-lapses, especially when traveling, as they add more dynamic to the videos. This works out great when doing shots of cities or landscapes. I did a lot of them not only using action cameras, but also with a smartphone or DSLR camera.
But after a while you get a little bored when the camera is always static. A panning head adds additional motion to your videos. Furthermore they are compact and light and therefore comfortably to carry when traveling.
How it works
It basically works like an egg timer. I got a MYRMICA360TL head which I’m going to show in this review. You twist the dial in a clockwise direction and it will turn back anti-clockwise to the minute setting (and angle) desired. The head can turn a max. of 360° within 60 min. On the device you’ll find marks for 15min. (90°), 30min. (180°) and 45min. (270°).
It has a 1/4″ screw on top and a thread at the bottom, so you can mount your Xiaomi Yi directly on the device. You can use a small ball head or GoPro mounts to adjust the angle in hight. With your GoPro or SJCAM you need a 1/4″ adapter, but this way you can easily adjust the angle.
You can mount the head on any tripod with the 1/4″ thread at the bottom.
The loading capacity is max. 3,5kg so you are not limited to your action camera, you can also use a DSLR. Furthermore you can use a smartphone with this device as well.
The best way of demonstration the devices is of course a video, so here’s a video review for you:
Price Comparison:
Recommended Accessories:
Conclusion
A pan head is a beneficial, affordable accessory for your action camera, which will help you to achieve better time-lapse videos. A must have if you shoot time-lapses with your action camera.