Tilt-shift bodge on a budget

[silverJON]

I've heard many great things about tilt-shift lenses, and while I could never afford one let alone justify the spend, I thought a little bit about how to create something that has the right effect.

So I came up with this:



Now, as I understand, tilt gives you the chance to alter the angle of the plane of sharp focus. Shift allows you to correct distortion of buildings and take photos of people in the mirror without the camera being seen. Am I right or am I mistaken?

So I'm not interested in messing about with the plane of focus. I can create images that look like toys in Photoshop. But the shifting sounds very useful.

So I've come up with this little design I could knock together, using the cheapest wideish medium format lens I can get my hands on, and based on the use of two acrylic plates bolted together that can slide relative to each other, causing a shift. The box is there to maintain the correct flange-to-sensor distance to allow close and infinity focus (it may only have to be a few mm thick).

So is this a hare-brained idea or could it work? Please comment!

Thanks very much!

 

[HoppyUK]

Yeah, it's hare-brained enough though it would work fine. But it takes two seconds to correct converging verticals in Photoshop, and if you really want to take pictures of people in the mirror without the camera being seen, you could always Photoshop that out, too

It's the tilt function of T&S lenses that cannot be replicated in any other way. I've thought about doing this on the cheap by fitting a medium format lens (enlarging lens?) to a LensBaby. It's kinda low on my list of things to do though

 

[mustanir]

Yeah, it's hare-brained enough though it would work fine. But it takes two seconds to correct converging verticals in Photoshop, and if you really want to take pictures of people in the mirror without the camera being seen, you could always Photoshop that out, too

It's the tilt function of T&S lenses that cannot be replicated in any other way. I've thought about doing this on the cheap by fitting a medium format lens (enlarging lens?) to a LensBaby. It's kinda low on my list of things to do though

Fiddling in Photoshop often leads to bad results. Photoshopping stuff (like a photographer in the mirror) out of a shot is a silly idea even if you were awesome at photoshopping (which most of us aren't).

Correcting converging verticals can be done in Photoshop too, but it kills your actual resolution and detail in the image. Getting stuff done correct at the time of shooting is always the best solution (unless it is impractically difficult or expensive to do so).

 

[silverJON]

Correcting converging verticals can be done in Photoshop too, but it kills your actual resolution and detail in the image. Getting stuff done correct at the time of shooting is always the best solution (unless it is impractically difficult or expensive to do so).

Would my shift-only lens be able to correct converging verticals?

 

[HoppyUK]

Fiddling in Photoshop often leads to bad results. Photoshopping stuff (like a photographer in the mirror) out of a shot is a silly idea even if you were awesome at photoshopping (which most of us aren't).

Not as silly as wanting to shoot such a photo in the first place

Correcting converging verticals can be done in Photoshop too, but it kills your actual resolution and detail in the image.

Shifting a lens so that you are working right at the edge of an already extended image circle also kills resolution.

Getting stuff done correct at the time of shooting is always the best solution (unless it is impractically difficult or expensive to do so).

I agree absolutely. However, T&S lenses are expensive and cumbersome to use.

Would my shift-only lens be able to correct converging verticals?

Yes.

 

[mustanir]

I would not say using a T&S lens is impractically difficult to use. Expensive perhaps, which is the point of this thread in the first place. As for extended image circle? That is why the original poster wants to use a medium format lens.

I for one would like to see the original poster make his contraption and look forward to seeing results. I don't want him to give up because Photoshopping is easier. I also think that if he is capable to doing something better than resorting to Photoshop, more power to him.

 

[silverJON]

Thanks for everyone's input! I would love to make this contraption as soon as I get hold of the required materials, but I don't know how to find a dirt cheap medium format lens... like one with a broken mount that no-one wants. eBay lenses start in three figures! Any ideas?

 

[HoppyUK]

I would not say using a T&S lens is impractically difficult to use. Expensive perhaps, which is the point of this thread in the first place. As for extended image circle? That is why the original poster wants to use a medium format lens.

I for one would like to see the original poster make his contraption and look forward to seeing results. I don't want him to give up because Photoshopping is easier. I also think that if he is capable to doing something better than resorting to Photoshop, more power to him.

As a DIY project it's great, as serious picture taking solution, it's less convincing

Thanks for everyone's input! I would love to make this contraption as soon as I get hold of the required materials, but I don't know how to find a dirt cheap medium format lens... like one with a broken mount that no-one wants. eBay lenses start in three figures! Any ideas?

How about an enlarging lens mounted in a LensBaby? Or maybe something old and Russian in medium format?