Tilt-shift on a budget?

Fenster

Bear with me on this - I am not after the faux top-and-bottom blur for the fake miniature effect. I am interested in the perspective-correction features of tilt-shift for both landscape and interior still photography.

What are my options if I am interested in this side of tilt-shift? An adapted film lens? Lensbaby? Photoshop?

Fajitas!

You can get Russian optics that are a bit cheaper than what you're going to be paying for Canon gear.

Or do it right, and go large format. :pac:

Fenster

How much is large-format these days?

DK32

Do you have any more info or links about Russian optics?

Ghost Train

this looks fun
http://www.creativepro.com/article/build-a-tilt-shift-camera-lens-peanuts

Fajitas!

Here's two examples of the Russian glass, you might find it cheaper elsewhere;

http://www.rugift.com/photocameras/mc-35mm-tilt-shift-lens-canon-eos.htm

http://www.rugift.com/photocameras/mc-80mm-tilt-shift-lens-canon-eos.htm

How much is large-format these days?

How long is a piece of string, tbh - You could be lucky and find something on eBay at a good price.

Keh.com is another handy source.

http://www.keh.com/Class-Products/1/LF/2/79300/WG.aspx

Along with having the basic frames-on-a-rail-and-a-lightproof-bellows, you're going to need a lens (or two if you want, but start handy), a lensboard, a few darkslides, ground glass, and a good tripod, along with the facilities to dev your own film.

If you're buying second hand, and find bargains, you could have a fairly good kit for about 500 quid.

It's definitely something to do your research for, but is worth it.

charybdis

You can buy adapters for lenses that generate a larger-than-35mm image circle (such as those intended for use with medium format film) that permit tilt-shift adjustments, but if I recall correctly, it's not much cheaper than some of the low-end dedicated tilt-shift lenses once you buy all the components.

If you just care about the perspective correction (shift) aspect of these lenses, and your subject is fairly static, you can shoot a series of images with the desired angle of perspective correction, merge them, and crop out the intended framing. I've done this to surprisingly good effect with architectural photographs using a series of images taken with my 18-55 at 18mm shot in vertical orientation.

Or, yeah, large format with bellows etc. if you're into the whole "right way" of doing things.

sensi-tive

Are you planning on using this only with digital, or with film?

I own and have used the Olympus 35mm Shift lens. Its results are outstanding, and it is easy to use once you get the flow right. There's a review here: http://www.16-9.net/lens_tests/35mm_shift/35mm_test1.html

You may be able to use an adapter to fit it to a Canon Digital or Film Camera and maybe other digital cameras.

It is a shift lens only, no tilt. For tilt you might be better off with either medium or large-format view-camera type things.

I have rather too many of them. In summary, the lighter medium format versions can use roll film in 120 or some in 220 film. Easier to get processed, cheaper, but not as easy to visualise the image on the ground glass.

4x5" sheet film is a joy to view, and the results should be jaw-dropping. More expensive, but only slightly because so many people are selling off their 4x5 stuff.

If you are in Dublin and would like to feel the difference between these systems, feel free to get in touch.

By the way, a Graflex Speed Graphic or Crown Graphic in any of its sizes might be interesting to you. I see from the link in your signature that you like to be a bit different in your approach. (I think so!). Doing portraits with a Graflex is great fun, and the results can be incredible.

Check out the results with the Aero Ektar lens on the Speed Graphic: http://www.xs4all.nl/~lommen9/ and google Aero Ektar and Speed Graphic for more.

The original SLR (4x5") is easy to get your hands on, and will give you a whole new perspective on your work. If you haven't already seen them, search for Graflex SLR. http://graflex.org/articles/series-d/

Barname

Fajitas! wrote: »

You can get Russian optics that are a bit cheaper than what you're going to be paying for Canon gear.

Or do it right, and go large format. :pac:

or quit fukkin around and go Nikon! :pac:

seanmcfoto

Get lucky and find someone selling the one they don't use anymore?

Bulldog do self assembly LF cameras: http://www.bulldogcameras.com/LargeFormat.html

DaireQuinlan

I got this tilt adapter ages ago:
http://araxphoto.com/specials/

And a 65mm Mir 38b. Just got it to mess around with it, selective focus on portraits and the like. The lens itself was unexpectedly good (optically, the build quality is crap, the aperture ring for example keeps on coming loose) , and the adapter did the job, reasonably well constructed.
The shift adapter is probably similar in terms of construction. The 65mm isn't a particularly wide lens though which I assume you'd want for architecture. There are wider lenses available, at least a 45 IIRC, but anything wider than that is probably a fisheye.

Of course what you REALLY want is this:
http://www.usa.canon.com/consumer/controller?act=ModelInfoAct&fcategoryid=156&modelid=18175



Tell you what, I'll sell you this at a good price. I'll knock maybe 50% off the price of that canon above, hows about it. I just have to hack off the nikon mount and glue on a canon one

Fajitas!

Now now, Daire, if you're shooting interiors on an EOS, there's only one man for the job, and one man only;

http://www.usa.canon.com/consumer/controller?act=ModelInfoAct&fcategoryid=216&modelid=18174

Fenster

Fajitas! wrote: »

Now now, Daire, if you're shooting interiors on an EOS, there's only one man for the job, and one man only;

http://www.usa.canon.com/consumer/controller?act=ModelInfoAct&fcategoryid=216&modelid=18174

When I had a go of that lens in Las Vegas, I seriously pondered trying to steal it.

charybdis

Here is an example of the technique I described above:

• Take a series of photographs at the desired angle of perspective correction:
  
  
  
  
• Merge
  
  
  
  
• Crop
  
  
  

Not the most architecturally interesting building in the world, but the technique is effectively free, given that you presumably already have a camera and a computer.

It also has the added benefit of removing people from the areas of the final image in which the constituent images overlap.

DaireQuinlan

Yeah, in terms of shift, I don't think there's anything that a shift lens will accomplish that you can't do in photoshop, assuming that you don't mind wasting some pixelage with the distortion and subsequent cropping. I guess tilting for selective focus or massive DOF is really the only thing you can't replicate in post.

sensi-tive wrote: »

Check out the results with the Aero Ektar lens on the Speed Graphic: http://www.xs4all.nl/~lommen9/ and google Aero Ektar and Speed Graphic for more.

That page must have been written a while back. I looked into getting an Aero Ektar some time ago, and even beat up examples without any accessories go for considerably more than $75

charybdis

DaireQuinlan wrote: »

Yeah, in terms of shift, I don't think there's anything that a shift lens will accomplish that you can't do in photoshop, assuming that you don't mind wasting some pixelage with the distortion and subsequent cropping.

Actually, you end up with resolution out the proverbial wazoo as you are merging full-resolution images from your camera to create a very high resolution image even with distortion correction and subsequent cropping.

DaireQuinlan

charybdis wrote: »

Actually, you end up with resolution out the proverbial wazoo as you are merging full-resolution images from your camera to create a very high resolution image even with distortion correction and subsequent cropping.

In your example yeah. I was thinking more in the case where you're taking just the one shot and then doing a perspective distort on it in PS to straighten the verticals.

Actually, on the LF train of thought, the best bet for these multiple stitched perspective would probably be a 4x5 or an 8x10 view camera with one of those shifting DSLR backs. AFAIK though they set you back an arm and a leg. It's probably not really budgety