[stevebrot]

Unheard of by me, which is of course all that matters

But really, thanks for the info

I probably would not have heard of them either except that I was mildly interested in getting a T/S lens for landscape and architecture work at one point. That and I am a low-level fan of Russian and FSU photo products The desire for a T/S lens pretty much evaporated when I realized that available focal lengths are pretty much useless on my K10D and the prices are way high. The only real options are a view or press camera with a wide angle. Maybe someday!

Steve

[m8o]

Yes. I'll repeat the "thank you Steve". That was most 'edjamacational'.

....I'll let you all know how it compares when it arrives in taking shots in & of NYC to my fast 50s or Voigtlander. ...did I fail to mention that? Yes, I did. You could have implied that I took a 2nd chance offer and purchased it. But I explicitly did not state so because I didn't want anyone influenced that they were speaking to an owner and perhaps to shy away from being brutally honest. Seems this should yield 'ok, or middle of the road' performance, but maybe I'll be pleasantly surprised.

[stevebrot]

Yes. I'll repeat the "thank you Steve". That was most 'edjamacational'.

....I'll let you all know how it compares when it arrives in taking shots in & of NYC to my fast 50s or Voigtlander. ...did I fail to mention that? Yes, I did. You could have implied that I took a 2nd chance offer and purchased it. But I explicitly did not state so because I didn't want anyone influenced that they were speaking to an owner and perhaps to shy away from being brutally honest. Seems this should yield 'ok, or middle of the road' performance, but maybe I'll be pleasantly surprised.

You can probably expect pretty good optical performance. The Kiev medium-format optics used in the shift lens are supposed to be competent. Who knows about the build. Will you be shooting digital or film with this lens?

Steve

[MattGunn]

I have a K mount converted Olympus Zuiko 35mm f/2.8 shift lens. The focal length is a little long on APSC format but it is still fun to use and adds another degree of freedom. I'm sure you will enjoy you'r lens and I look forward to seeing what you do with it.

[m8o]

You can probably expect pretty good optical performance. The Kiev medium-format optics used in the shift lens are supposed to be competent. Who knows about the build. Will you be shooting digital or film with this lens?

Steve

Digital... I know, I know. I read it a few times. But my only real other option is the 28mm, and that's not that much wider (ok, maybe it is; or is enough). I've usually been using a 50mm to shoot buildings, so this'll still be a bit better than that. Besides, I'm getting pretty good @ making panoramas.

[séamuis]

you can get the PC nikkor in both 28 and the more common 35mm variants. the 35 tends to go rather cheap and is quite common. you can (semi) mount a nikkor on a K bayonet and if im not mistaken, most nikkor lenses can be converted to kmount with a little work. I have an older nonAI PC nikkor 35mm, but I have never tried it on any kmount body.

[Ben_Edict]

I have tested the Arsat Shift in the past. It was nice for the price. Mechanics are coarse and there is a strange thick plastic spacer between the lens and the camera mount. Optically it was acceptable. Not perfect, especially contrast-wise, but acceptable, if one does not use the full shift.

If you just want to try a shift-lens and don't want to invest more than necessary for a test drive that's a good buy. At this price, it is nearly a steal, though. I prefer my old Pentax 28mm shift, which has a wider angle and better sharpness and contrast for architecture, though at near distances, the Arsat is actually better!

The lens I would find much more interesting though, is the shift/tilt variety. But I haven't found one for a decent price yet.

Ben

[cyberjunkie]

Those adapters (Pentacon Six to K-mount) are well made, at least from what i see from the pictures, and with a finishing that is probably better than a custom-made adapter produced by a very good photographic mechanic (spending at least five time more money, i suppose... if you could find somebody with enough spare time, and crazy enough to work it at the lathe piece by piece!).
They even make a tilt/shift adapter, that is a very nice work of mechanics!
Unfortunately those adapters are sold with a standard lens that is not useful with a digital camera. Even with a full frame camera a 80mm has a focal that is too long for most architecture applications. The tilt movement is useful when you shoot with a wide angle, from close to the subject. With an 80mm, that becomes a 120mm with an APS-C sensor, you are allowed to shoot from a certain distance, so you're very likely to find an elevated place, from where you could shoot a picture that is mostly free of prospectic distorsions.
With an 80mm lens it would be more appropriate to use the tilt movement, if you shoot still-life and macro.
Unfortunately i couldn't find a tilt/shift adapter with no lens fitted, at least on Ebay, so there is no chance to reverse the original lens or use another one.
The tilt OR shift adapters could be a little more useful, in particular the shift adapter has a lot of appeal, because i love to take pictures of urban landscapes, but after all the researches that i've made, i couldn't find a solution that made me actually but the adapter.
I have no use for the tilt adapter (i have some bigger cameras that do it, albeit only with film), but i would be more than happy to get the tilt adapter if only i could find a Pentacon Six lens with a focal short enough to be of some use in the field.
The shorter wide angle available is a 45mm, too much, if you consider that it would become a 70mm ca. with a digital camera. At least years ago those lenses were quite easy to find, but now the price got up, and now finding a good, recent lens, with multicoating, is not so easy anymore.
There is a very nice 30mm f2.8 made in Ukraina, and still available (like) new. But that lens is a fisheye!
I even own one, cause i wanted to adapt it to a Pentax 6x7, as i have done with other P-6 lenses, but i discovered that it would cost too much, cause a radical rework of the lens is needed.
The coverage is OK to allow shifting, the FL is not so OK, but acceptable in some situations, but i am afraid that the amount of uncorrected distorsion, typical of a fisheye, would still be noticeable even if the digital sensor gets only the central part of the image.
If you have to correct barrel distorsion in Photoshop, then you could do the same with prospectic distorsion, without spending a single cent!

I am not an expert of optics, and i have no chance to be able to borrow an adapter, fit the 30mm on it, and make a few pictures with the lens fully shifted.
So i'm asking if somebody did a similar experiment, or has enough scientific preparation to be able to guess what could be the result.

have fun

CJ

[Clicker]

Aren't there tilt shift/ a specific camera lens mount to PK adapters available for some of the Russian lens mounts? That's something that might be worth looking at, can't remember if it was the Zenit website or the Arsat website though.
Here you go LBA on a grand scale
Arax Photo | Accessories for medium format cameras and lenses.

MC 80 mm Tilt & Shift Pentax lens

MC 35 mm Tilt & Shift Pentax lens

[Ben_Edict]

Those adapters (Pentacon Six to K-mount) are well made, at least from what i see from the pictures, and with a finishing that is probably better than a custom-made adapter produced by a very good photographic mechanic (spending at least five time more money, i suppose... if you could find somebody with enough spare time, and crazy enough to work it at the lathe piece by piece!).
They even make a tilt/shift adapter, that is a very nice work of mechanics!
Unfortunately those adapters are sold with a standard lens that is not useful with a digital camera. Even with a full frame camera a 80mm has a focal that is too long for most architecture applications. The tilt movement is useful when you shoot with a wide angle, from close to the subject. With an 80mm, that becomes a 120mm with an APS-C sensor, you are allowed to shoot from a certain distance, so you're very likely to find an elevated place, from where you could shoot a picture that is mostly free of prospectic distorsions.
With an 80mm lens it would be more appropriate to use the tilt movement, if you shoot still-life and macro.
Unfortunately i couldn't find a tilt/shift adapter with no lens fitted, at least on Ebay, so there is no chance to reverse the original lens or use another one.
The tilt OR shift adapters could be a little more useful, in particular the shift adapter has a lot of appeal, because i love to take pictures of urban landscapes, but after all the researches that i've made, i couldn't find a solution that made me actually but the adapter.
I have no use for the tilt adapter (i have some bigger cameras that do it, albeit only with film), but i would be more than happy to get the tilt adapter if only i could find a Pentacon Six lens with a focal short enough to be of some use in the field.
The shorter wide angle available is a 45mm, too much, if you consider that it would become a 70mm ca. with a digital camera. At least years ago those lenses were quite easy to find, but now the price got up, and now finding a good, recent lens, with multicoating, is not so easy anymore.
There is a very nice 30mm f2.8 made in Ukraina, and still available (like) new. But that lens is a fisheye!
I even own one, cause i wanted to adapt it to a Pentax 6x7, as i have done with other P-6 lenses, but i discovered that it would cost too much, cause a radical rework of the lens is needed.
The coverage is OK to allow shifting, the FL is not so OK, but acceptable in some situations, but i am afraid that the amount of uncorrected distorsion, typical of a fisheye, would still be noticeable even if the digital sensor gets only the central part of the image.
If you have to correct barrel distorsion in Photoshop, then you could do the same with prospectic distorsion, without spending a single cent!

I am not an expert of optics, and i have no chance to be able to borrow an adapter, fit the 30mm on it, and make a few pictures with the lens fully shifted.
So i'm asking if somebody did a similar experiment, or has enough scientific preparation to be able to guess what could be the result.

have fun

CJ

Actually I have one of these shift-adapters (but since I also have the Pentax shift lens, I don't use it...) The mechanics are okay, but a bit loose. The finish is not perfect, but what you expect from a low cost post-Soviet product. Anyway, better than cheap plastics from China... It is made of a lightweight Aluminium.

The Arsat 30/3.5 fish-eye is the obvious choice, for a matching lens, if you only consder focal length. BUT it is very big and contrast is on the low side (I have that lens, too ad use it for film on the Mamiya 645). A better choice is the 45/4 Zeiss Jena lens for Pentacon Six, which is a very good lens.

Ben

[Nick Siebers]

The Zeiss is 50mm f/4; there is a Russian/Ukranian MIR 45mm f/3.5 which I have with a tilt-only adapter. It isn't as wide as I'd like, and the lens I got is NOT multicoated, so flare is an issue and contrast is low. Plus the lens is HUGE and heavy. The whole set up cost me just over $200, but this may be a case where a little more money gets you a lot more performance. I think the OP's 35mm should be good - I would jump at a 35mm tilt lens in K mount at that price.

[Ben_Edict]

The Zeiss is 50mm f/4; there is a Russian/Ukranian MIR 45mm f/3.5 which I have with a tilt-only adapter. It isn't as wide as I'd like, and the lens I got is NOT multicoated, so flare is an issue and contrast is low. Plus the lens is HUGE and heavy. The whole set up cost me just over $200, but this may be a case where a little more money gets you a lot more performance. I think the OP's 35mm should be good - I would jump at a 35mm tilt lens in K mount at that price.

That's correct, I meant the 50/4, jut a typo…

Ben