Thinking about tilt shift in a digital world

[mattkime]

I’m a 4x5 film guy that has yet to go fully digital. I’m wrapping up a hiking trip with the wife where I shot some of my remaining stock of Fuji nps ready load and Fuji instant film. Shooting was enjoyable because I was finally able to take a ‘what the hell’ approach and not worry if the images were perfectly sharp or even good.

I’m glad to see that the film market has stabilized. I wish there was more color film out there but the fact that there’s anything is reassuring. Even Polaroid is coming back - but where the hell is 4x5 Polaroid?

Which leads me to wonder - will I continue shooting 4x5 for the foreseeable future? Obviously the dollars and sense side of things doesn’t look too good. I should give digital a chance.

If I’m going to shoot digital, I want tilt shift lens. I compose in the camera, not on the computer. How do Nikon, canon , and Sony get along with tilt shift lenses? What kind of accommodations exist for focusing? Metering ( should I stick with my hand held meter?) Are there any practical differences between the platforms? Are camera and lens reviews anything other than a pissing match?

I lean towards the Sony a7RII. Would a tilt shift lens benefit from internal image stabilization? Is there any lens correction software for tilt shift lenses? I’ve heard that lens correction software can turn a nice lens into a great lens.

And then there’s the sharing and discussion of images. Instagram leaves me cold. I enjoyed Aperture mag until they decided to go with more words.

I’ll post some images soon

[Kraniac]

Hmm,

A tilt shift lens is great..I haven;t used one in a while but I used to use one for some stuff years ago..It ain't a view camera tho...but you know that already..

Meh..there aint really anything digital that can touch the feel of a print from a 4x5 neg, IMO..btw..Fuji does make some kind of 4x5 instant product i thought? maybe it's a ready load system for regular film..not sure..

The 'Impossible Project' is not producing any 4x5 stuff...but i guess you never know what's coming..they, apparently, don't have that machinery.

focusing will be manual and you focus through the viewfinder like a regular 35mm platform lens..metering should be ok depending on the lens you pick..but..i have zero experience with the newer PC lenses from Nikon on the digital bodies etc...

Metering should be usable too..some camera designs will get in the way of these lenses..there are newer ones and older ones..i used the older (35mm i think) nikon pc lens here and there and need had this problem

I'm making some common sense leaps up there with regards o some of those tech speculations..but they should be fairly real.

As for perspective corrections in software such as lightroom or PS..I use it but i still set my camera up carefully when shooting anything critical with architecture..couple of steps that have to be honored to make 'in software' pc work properly..plus shooting things a bit loose..

[Gareth]

Canon has excellent, albeit expensive tilt shift lenses (that can be adapted to Sony FE). Sony has no native FE tilt shift lenses (though I think Rokinon might be making one?). A7R II is a great sensor for landscapes, though I don’t think the in body IS will be of much help since you’d normally use a tilt-shift on a tripod?

Sony bodies also have focus peaking which can make manual focusing easier (since all tilt-shifts are manual focus), though I think Canon just patented some AF ones, but who knows when or if those will come out. You could adapt Nikon tilt-shift to Sony also since they are manual focus (there are AF adapters for Nikon now, but they aren’t nearly as good as the Canon ones).

I doubt you'd need a handheld meter, especially with the A7R II. I shoot -2 EV a lot of the time (to preserve the highlights), and adjust exposure in post since it has such great dynamic range.

[anonymouse1]

Aren't there digital backs? Really expensive, though...and only available in smaller than 4x5.

[DP]

Here's a couple of pix to show the Perspective tool in Photoshop. The first shows the perspective prior to using the tool:



And after the adjustment:



It isn't difficult to do and, although I used it, you don't need Photoshop to do it. There are cheaper image processing programs with the ability to adjust perspective.

I'm showing that if you want your perspective to look like you've done it with shifts, tilts, and swings, it doesn't require spending a ton of money...