This report is on the Ukranian version of the Hartblei available from Vitaliy at the tilt-shift store. It works.We finally got a break in the weather that allowed me to do a definitive field test for the Hartblei 45MM. My first test yielded poor results, but it was shot in very flat light. This series was done in partly cloudy/sunny conditions and the results were much better. Most shift lenses have resolution fall off wide open, the Hartblei is no exception. I shot the photos using aperture preference, which was fine when the lens was in neutral position, however when it is shifted, a 2/3 open compensation was needed. The Hartblei performs well starting at F8, and seems to hit a sweet spot in the F11-16 range. There is no F22, a bit strange, it jumps to F32 from 16. It looks pretty good stopped down as well. Resolution falloff at shift is the same as neutral. Lousy at F3.8 fine at F8 and above. Color rendition in a good contrast situation looks pretty good. It was horrible in flat light as was the sharpness. In my first tests last week I compared it with the 55 2.8 A. The 55 was markedly sharper in flat light. In cloudy/sun situations, the Hartblei compares reasonably well to the Pentax 45-85 zoom, but is still not as sharp or as good at color rendering. It won't show as well on the images I am posting because they are not RAW or full size, but you will get the idea. By the way, I did no sharpening or other manipulation other than some subtle exposure and color balance adjustments. So for sharpness and rendering, these are accurate
My conclusion at this point is that the Hartblei is a viable T/S alternative for the Pentax 645. I am still bothered that the mount is a bit of a tight fit, the lens does not slide on and off as easily as a Pentax lens. I should add this caveat. All of my Pentax lenses are used, the Hartblei is new, so I do not know if that is a factor. The lens is also lacks an auto-diaphragm, so you have to focus wide open and stop down to shoot. There is no communication with the camera, so your metadata will show only the shutter speed, not the aperture. If you like to record this stuff, keep a pencil and pad handy. While all of this slows the action down a bit, I am sure it is still faster than using a technical camera, although the output of the Hartblei lens probably won't match that of the Arca or Cambo, but a reminder here, they are not general purpose cameras.
Finally, my dealings with Vitaliy at the tilt-shift store have been good overall. Delivery is slow however, so expect to wait 4-6 weeks for delivery of your lens.
There are ten photos with this post. There will be a few more in a separate posting.
Last edited by Aboudd; 09-06-2014 at 06:40 PM.