One of the best lens reviews I've seen, and I've seen quite a few. And a fantastic description of the various applications of tilt shift lenses. Thank you!
Brilliant, thanks Rob. That makes it all worthwhile! New video coming out next week on the Nikon 28mm PC lens. Hope you find it interesting. Had a lot of fun putting testing the lens. Full of surprises!
Yes sensor size does not change focal length but changes the angle of view and the depth of field according to the changed image scale. For the latters the crop factor is indeed a very important information!
Hi Durlacher, I wanted to thank you for such a thoughtful and superbly crafted analysis. Wow this is how lens reviews should be done, first with a professional mind to how the lens would be used, and then such a detailed technical discussion. I especially found the lens circle analysis chart and focal length conversion chart useful, I screenshotted them. Man this was great! Appreciate all your hard work. Shooting video with a mirrorless Nikon Z6. I am going to follow your recommendation for a studio livestream application, that is similar to a newsroom broadcast setup. The camera lens center is set at 65 inches, from the ground. Which is the eye height of the subject/talent. Right now, to attain proper framing from his top of head, down to mid torso - the camera must then be angled down quite a bit. Creating a slight distortion to his face, but more important quite a bit of parallax distortion on the tall bookshelf behind him on the set. By using your setup, I will be able to fix this with shift.. Perfect. Of note, I did make a run at this with the ROKR adapter and a kit of three Pentax 6*7 lenses I purchased from different sources, figuring the bigger image circle the better. Although the solution 'worked perfectly' to solve the purpose I describe above. Man those lenses were such junk compared todays standards! Like low contrast, low color saturation, fuzzy no matter what. Harsh stark bigtime in your face reality check when compared to native Nikon Z lenses. So I sold the kit. But with this detailed review with what appears to be an excellent lens, I'm excited about running at the solution again! Thanks!!
Hi Peter, my apologies for the belated reply and my sincere appreciation for your positive feedback - words of encouragement. Delighted to note the information was useful for your needs, and hoping the intended application resolved your bookshelf distortion problems. Once you've used the shift functionality it's very difficult to go back normal primes. Noted on the 6x7 options, I had looked into these originally but the focal lengths were too restrictive. The 645 lenses are a delight to use - I've been using the SMC Pentax-FA 645 120mm F4 MACRO fo close ups on my next video project and the image resolving is superb - it just looks better! Although the extra weight on the fotodiox adapter keeps me slightly on edge. More shift reviews to follow!
i bought this lens after watching your video, i was lucky and got one made in Japan and almost new. With the mediocre ts adaptor still works perfect for archiecture, we wait for the next videos.
Many thanks and delighted to have been of inspiration. I hope you’re enjoying the lens combination. Yes, the adapter has its limitations, but In careful use the results can be fantastic. Just posted the latest video which took longer than anticipated, next few should be a bit quicker on the turnaround.
Great review! Very high quality both in content and video shooting. A great guide for architecture photography. Looking forward to see new review of Pentax 645 33-55 and 55-110 lens.
Many thanks for your positive feedback, very much appreciated. The 645 33-55 and 35mm lenses are awaiting their turn for review - I have high expectation for the 35mm. Not sure on timing, I keep getting distracted acquiring new lenses, but will get there eventually.
This is a very well-balanced and complete review of this solution. I like in particular the parts where flaws of the system are highlighted too. In the pentax forum the user rdenney however reports quite soft performance at wide aperture. Did he just get a bad copy? PS: Would be helpful if the lens and adapter names are listed below the video.
Many thanks for the positive feedback and suggestions. Seems I was so focused on the actual video presentation that I overlooked the obvious inclusion of lens and adapter details in the video description! It's a great suggestion and I will update for future reviews - just finalising the next video! Noted comments by rdenneymy on Pentax Forums pertaining to softness wide open at the long end (presumably 75-85mm). I can see that his application was for the Pentax 645NII Medium Format film camera. Quite possible that the lens is softer as described when used with larger 120 film or medium format sensors, however I've also been advised that there can be variations in copies - entirely feasible that he had a bad copy. When adapted to full frame, using a smaller amount of the image circle, my expeirence and reviews showed (at least for my copy) that performance was excellent, sharp and consistent accross all apertue and focal length settings!
Great review. I have been looking for quite some time for a good T/S product photography solution, without the costs of Canon or Nikon. The limitations of the adaptor sound similar to the flaws in the Rokinon 24mm T/S. Honestly, a few dollars more effort and parts and these issues could have been solved.
Many thanks for your positive feedback, very much appreciated. Couldn’t agree more with you, it would seem a few very minor and simple changes would make the adapter so much more functional. I do concede that some of the frustrations I experienced were attributable to the weight and size of the zoom lens. With a lighter lens, like the 645 35mm prime, I think it will be a more useable setup. Planning to do a review of the 35mm adapted early next year - stay tuned!
Thank you so much for your feedback. Appreciate the feedback on the GFX - a superb camera! Additional reviews coming up on the 645 35mm, 33-55mm and 120mm which is a remarkable lens! Incredibly sharp and available at a fraction of the new lens price.
Many thanks for this, one of the best reviews on this technology I’ve seen on RU-vid. I have the adapter for my Mamiya lenses to my EOS R. One thing I think is wrong, but it could be me, is your stated field of view equivalence at 50mm, ie at the full 31mm shift. Surely the horizontal FoV is 67.6 degrees.
Hi Garry, many thanks for your positive feedback. Very much appreciated. Many more reviews to come. Sharing with you the reference source I used for determining equivalent angles of view. Chanced upon purely by luck, the only site I could find with a calculator! www.cambridgeincolour.com/tutorials/tilt-shift-lenses1.htm Note, functionality seems limited for iPad, tablet and phone use. Desktop or laptop is preferred.
Any thoughts on how to get this rig onto the Nikon Z mirrorless bodies? Looks like I would have to mount the shift adapter to the "ftz" nikon adapter that lets F mount to Z mounts. I've been looking at the newest Laowa adapter called "Venus Optics Laowa Magic Shift Converter MSC" and was thinking of pairing with the Zeiss Milvus lenses - the 18mm & 15mm. This adapter has. 1.4 crop factor. I could only find one review of this adapter that said it has strong vignetting for any lens wider than 20mm . Curious to get your thoughts on all this as you seem to understand the technicals & engineering! Thank you,
Hi Phil, regrettably unable to provide any guidance on adapting to Nikon Z mounts. With regards to the Magic Shift Converter, I purchased one a few years back with optimistic intentions of being able to create 3x3 stitched panoramas with the Canon TSe 24mm - the vignette made it impractical. Based on my experience, I would expect adapted to wider lenses will compound the effect. The Laowa is on my list for a video review, will get there eventually.
Words of encouragement! Thank you so much! More on the way, have a long list of lenses and obscure equipment to review and videos to upload. Look forward to sharing with you in the months ahead.
Primary difference I believe is manual vs auto, although when adapted auto functionality is lost. Both A and FA are highly rated, although in user reviews the FA is reported as being slightly sharper. The A is certainly even better value! I’d need to research differences in optical design. Sounds like the topic for another review!
Thank you kindly for your feedback, it’s greatly appreciated. With regards to the 33-55 Pentax, yes, preliminary tests done and video to follow (along with the 645 35mm prime - which is a very impressive lens, more so with tilt shift functionality). Stay tuned! Presently distracted finalising a review of the Topcor 58mm F1.4 - hopefully it will be an interesting video on what is a relatively obscure lens.
Hi Gerry, appreciate the positive feedback and happy to hear similar findings on your acquisition of the 45-85mm. I haven’t tried the 80-160. However, I have the 645 33-55mm awaiting its review turn and the 120mm macro. The 120 macro is astounding, incredibly sharp and yet great value. Under appreciated and highly recommended. Reviews to follow, distracted the past few months researching the full history of Tokyo Kogaku. What was meant to be a fifteen minute review of the Topcor 58mm 1.4 is now a five part series starting in 1932 and over an hour and a half long.
Hi Durlacher. I found this review absolutely fantastic, very well researched and really very informative. Thank you for sharing! I'm making a break into professional architecture photography with my Fuji XT3 and will require Tilt Shift capabilities covering somewhere from 18mm focal length to 85mm. I think after watching this I am going to invest in this lens, as well as the 33-55 version. Can you also suggest a good wide angle lens to complete the kit? Many thanks and keep up the amazing work!
Apologies for the belated reply and many thanks for your positive feedback. Shift lens functionality is ideal for architectural applications, however if you’re using the XT3 you’ll need to factor in a crop factor for the lens angle of view equivalent. 45mm is already tight for most architectural applications, on an APSC sensor it’s going to be closer to 68mm - closer to a portrait lens! The 33-55 is better, but still not very wide when used on APSC. Ideally a 16mm lens as a starting point is needed (24mm equivalent) but they simply don’t exist in 645 format - unless you count fisheye lenses. I may have another solution for you that I’m working on, a shift zoom option for 35mm format lenses that will open up a huge variety of lens possibilities - if it works! Stay tuned, video coming up.
@@durlacher3524 Thanks for the comment. I order and tested the 33-55 with the Fotodiox convertor and returned both of them immediately as there image quality was very poor. I'm not sure the best way to describe it, but there was an effect similar to diffraction on the highlights of the image, giving it a blue tint. I have instead opted to pair the Canon TSE 24mm with a Fringer smart convertor. This will arrive tomorrow and I will let you know the result.
@@user-zf9kg4mo5f Very sorry to hear the 33-55 didn't work out, I have yet to test this lens setup. Quality is reported not being as good as the 45-85mm, however the problems you experienced are of a concern. That being said, where you've ended up (despite the inconvenience of having to return lenses) is probably the best outcome. The Canon TSE-24mm II is a great performer and the focal length is much better suited for architectural appliactions. I haven't used the fringer adapters and would be very interested to hear how it performs.
@@durlacher3524 Yes I have heard several places that both the 645 prime lens and the longer focal length zoom are much better than the 33-55 but thought I'd see for myself. I am still in the market for a longer focal length as I find I often have good use for my 50mm lens whilst photographing exterior details and larger interior spaces. That being said I will see how the 24mm set up performs before investing anything more. I will let you know how I get on with the Fringer adaptor as soon as I test it
Thank you @durlacher3524 for the review ! @@user-zf9kg4mo5f Hi ! I'm currently in the same situation of yours. I'm looking for the best shifting solution for a Fuji X-H2 and thinking about the Canon 24mm TSE + Fringer adapter. After using it for a few months, would you say it's a good setup ? Thanks in advance for your help !
Hi Damian, are you aiming to double the shift movements. Have a look at the Laowa Magic Shift Converter (MSC). Might be a solution to your needs. Aiming to do a review of this in the months ahead with the tse 17 and 24mm lenses.
I may have misinterpreted the objective. I was thinking the intention was to use the fotodiox adapter with the 24 TSE, which would in theory provide 15mm of shift with the fotodiox plus the 11mm of the Canon. I would anticipate that at 26mm shift, one would mostly be photographing the internals of the lens barrel. Using the fotodiox with non shift ef lenses is a different matter, although I expect there will be limitations due to image circle size constraints. Medium format lenses provide the breathing space and should reduce vignetting.
