[MattGunn]

There are club threads for almost every make and type of lens but there is no definitive thread for information and photos of and from tilt and shift lenses. As this is something I have a particular interest in, and there has been quite a bit of general interest in tilt and shift photography here recently, I though I would start a new club thread.
Although the effects a of shift (and tilt in some circumstances) can be recreated with post processing, it is much more fun and satisfying and technically better to do it all optically before the image is recorded.
Please provide as much information as possible about your lenses and the conditions / settings at which they were used so the rest of us can learn how to make the most of these fascinating techniques.

Big Dave has presented some useful links to tutorials on tilt and shift here: https://www.pentaxforums.com/forums/pentax-lens-articles/27375-tilt-shift-lens-tutorial.html
As tilt and shift are commonly used with large format view cameras there is a wealth of information about camera movements available from large format photographers, in particular I found the articles and books by Merklinger particularly useful. The books are available on Merkilnger’s site here: Merklinger's Photo Books
And some Shutterbug articles on Scheimpflug’s principle on another page of his site here: Merklinger's Magazine Articles 91-97

[MattGunn]

I can’t claim to have done anything particularly interesting or impressive with my tilt and shift lenses but to get started here are some photos of them and some examples from them (all presented before though).

Ilford Monobar 35mm view camera converted to take a K mount DSLR in place of the film back:



Details of the conversion here: https://www.pentaxforums.com/forums/pentax-slr-lens-discussion/80872-ilford-m...onversion.html

And a couple of photos showing the effect of the tilt movement:




Olympus Zuiko 35mm f/2.8 shift lens converted to K mount:


Details of the conversion here: https://www.pentaxforums.com/forums/763966-post19.html

And a few photos showing the effect of the shift movement:
Aberystwyth University physics building taken with no perspective control:

User Photo Gallery - Architecture

And with the converging verticals corrected:

User Photo Gallery - Architecture

And with the perspective exaggerated (shifting the wrong way):

User Photo Gallery - Architecture

[panoguy]

Well, at least I can join here!

I put together a budget tilt/shift setup on the advice of RawHeaD (member around these parts), using a medium-format wideangle lens (which becomes a medium-long lens on Pentax APS-C) and two Ukrainian adapters.

The parts below are:
- a very sharp Carl Zeiss Jena 50mm f/4 Flektogon (in Pentacon-six mount)
- a Shift adapter from Pentacon-six to Pentax K
- a Tilt adapter from Pentacon-six to Pentax K

All acquired on "the bay" for ~$350 USD.


(The "speckling" visible behind the Flektogon front element is very common, but has no effect on the image quality.)

The adapters preserve infinity focus of the medium-format lens perfectly, and allow for a range of movements - up to 8 degrees of tilt or 10mm of shift in any direction. The "any direction" part is because each adapter (with tilt or shift) can be "rotated" around the lensmount in 15 degree increments while shooting. This is sometimes called the "Hartblei" design, since it is similar to their Superrotators.

Full tilt!


Shifted!



Produces some interesting effects, even though the 50mm focal length is a little long for a cropped-sensor camera. Still finding my way with tilt/shift, but I'm liking the effects so far.

[MattGunn]

Nice setup! $350 may not be all that budget but for two adapters and a medium format Zeiss Flektogon it seems very reasonable. 50mm is still quite long on APSC but for tilt it should be very effective and its still a lot shorter than my tilt setup. Nice shot, thanks for posting. I look forward to seeing more from this setup.

[kkado]

Sorry to cross-post a little, but I really want to see more DIY tilt-shift stuff take off.

This is my high-end dual-range focus, elastic band suspended, 100% recyclable tilt shift It's based off of an Olympus 50mm f/1.8.









Oh, and it cost me $45 including the lens and all the nuts and bolts

[eigelb]

Volna 80mm F2.8+P6/K TILTAdapter

[SquintyEyes]

Hey Panoguy I have the exact same tilt adaptor as you, and an older 50mm flekkie (zebra type). I like the result I get from that but it's not as flare-resistant as most of the modern lenses. The lens shade is HUGE (I can almost wear it as a hat haha) and so I don't usually carry it around. Do you find the shift adaptor very useful for the 50mm? I think for architectural shots 50mm is too long and that's the only purpose I can picture the shift adaptor being useful (yes, limited artistic imagination).

Have you considered the ARSAT 30mm fisheye in P6 mount? I have it and it's handy for when you need a wider field of view. The distortion isn't so bad. Actually I do have some examples:

---

Last edited by SquintyEyes; 03-09-2010 at 06:59 AM. Reason: adding images links

[panoguy]

Do you find the shift adaptor very useful for the 50mm?

No, not terribly useful at 50mm on APS-C, but I didn't know that until I tried it out!

BTW, my MC Flektogon is pretty much flare-proof when the adapter isn't tilted or shifted (using only the very center of the lens). However, at extreme movements I do sometimes have to shade the lens with my hand - not because the lens is flaring, but because the strong sunlight from the rest of the image circle is bouncing around inside the (unflocked) adapter!

Have you considered the ARSAT 30mm fisheye in P6 mount? I have it and it's handy for when you need a wider field of view. The distortion isn't so bad. I'll remind myself to post some examples.

I've considered it primarily for shift, but I've no idea what the distortion is like when shifted. Let me know if you'd consider loaning yours out for a while, since we're in the same town!

[SquintyEyes]

Oh, never thought of the interior of the adaptor as the cause for reduced contrast. I guess it would be difficult if not impossible to flock the inside of the adaptor with all those moving parts.

RE: Arsat fisheye, check your PM!

Here's another baby of mine:

65mm is pretty long on APS-C sensor, but this is what it can do:

[panoguy]

Volna 80mm F2.8+P6/K TILTAdapter

Sweet. My next MF lens, I think. Is that at 2.8?
Gotta love that infinity-focus miniature effect...

[eigelb]

Sweet. My next MF lens, I think. Is that at 2.8?
Gotta love that infinity-focus miniature effect...

@f4
the effect comes from the pentacon 6 to k tilt adapter

[panoguy]

@f4
the effect comes from the pentacon 6 to k tilt adapter

Yah, what I *meant* to say was "miniature effect at infinity focus." With tilt we don't need to use aperture or focus distance in the traditional way.

[tuco]

I don't know if this counts because it is inherent to the camera. But this was front lens tilt for focus across the top and rear film plane tilt to make the lens more round.

Wisner, Caltar-S II MC 210mm f5.6, Kodak Portra 160VC, Jobo C-41 Press Kit

[panoguy]

Wisner, Caltar-S II MC 210mm f5.6, Kodak Portra 160VC, Jobo C-41 Press Kit

So the image was shot with a large-format camera? I guess that's as tilt/shift as you can get.

[Clicker]

Anyone use either the MC35 or 80 T/S K or M42 from Zenitar?