The RhinoCam by Fotodiox was announced today and is so popular that it brought their server to the ground. This in my opinion is the biggest announcement since Metabones launched their speed booster. I’ve read numerous comments about this product and people are just assuming that it’s just like a gigapan. This is completely false, it is also not the same as taking several photos and stitching them together yourself. When I first read the announcement I thought it was a bit odd that it had to use a 645 format lens. The reasoning for the lens is the exact same for how it’s different than the Gigapan. Instead of moving around the entire lens and body only the Sony NEX body moves. Doing so doesn’t change perspective and keeps distortion the same for each photo. Since the APS-C sensor is so much smaller than the 645 lens a few images are required to capture the entire surface area of the glass.
To start the process you can choose a Hasselblad V, Pentax 645 or Mamiya 645 lens to attach to the RhinoCam. Then choose a Sony NEX body–preferably the NEX 7. Align your photo with the Composition Screen on the back of the RhinoCam. Then allow the camera body to be moved to several different precise positions for multiple photos. Once you have the photos all you have to do is stitch the images together.
The RhinoCam will sell for $500 and at the moment is only available for Sony NEX cameras. At this moment the excitement of the new product has brought down their server but a text only version can be found here thanks to Google cache. PetaPixel also has a great write up which can be found on their website.
