The Konova Master Pan solved a problem I didn’t know I had until I used it.
At a wedding I often have only a few minutes to film the details, the cake, the rings, whatever else is sitting on a table, and I’m rushing to set up a tripod, a slider and a camera to get them. What Konova have built here makes that faster.
I still have to set up the slider, tripod and camera. But when it comes to actually taking the shot, it is far easier than it was. The Master Pan is an attachment for their slider that reproduces the common slide-and-pan move almost effortlessly. In one fell swoop, or pan, it has replaced both my tabletop dolly and my handheld pans on the slider.
Setting It Up
The order that works, and it does matter:
- Attach the panning mount to the slider carriage.
- Tighten the red knob that locks it down.
- Tighten the adapter mount.
- Attach the two end mounts to the ends of your slider.
- Adjust the screws on the end mount, which is what sets how far the head rotates across the length of the slide.
- Put your tripod head on top.
If you’re unboxing one for the first time, that’s a separate video.
Timelapses And Parallax
The Master Pan also works with Konova’s timelapse gear. Mount the timelapse motor to the bottom the way you would on the plain slider, and now your timelapses can carry a smooth parallax rotation as well as the slide.
So if you’re shooting a fountain or a statue, something with motion in it, and you want the frame rotating slightly as it travels, that’s now easy. It also means you don’t need to mount the Smart Head to the slider to get it.
Important compatibility note: the Master Pan only works with the MS Series motors and belts. It does not work with Konova’s earlier models.
Not Just Cake Shots
Say I want a ring on a table. Rather than getting out the tabletop dolly, I put the Master Pan on a tripod beside the table and mimic exactly that move.
That matters more than it sounds, because a tabletop dolly needs an actually smooth surface to run on and venues rarely provide one. This removes that requirement entirely. Set it up once and you’re ready for ring shots, cake shots, anything, very quickly.
The Downsides
Two, and both are worth knowing.
It makes the camera slightly wobbly on top, because you’ve added another layer between the camera and the slider. Lock it down on a tripod and keep a steady hand on it and you’ll be fine, but be aware of it.
And watch the guide bar. I throw my gear around at weddings because there’s no time to pack carefully, and that bar can bend or break. Put the slider on top of everything else, or take it apart before you travel.
Worth It?
Yes. I use it on nearly every shoot, especially weddings. If you also find yourself sprinting around trying to get detail shots with no time, this is worth looking at.
And if you end up going down the Konova rabbit hole like I did, I also unboxed the Konova Stability Arm a few months after this one.