HTS at Kew Gardens

[David Grover / Phase One]

Dear All,

Its rare I post any of my own photographs as I consider myself a technical photographer as opposed to a creative one!

But on Friday I spent my Day at Kew Gardens courtesy of Hasselblad UK. They had booked a conference room and full run of the gardens to simply explore the use of the HTS an architectural / outdoor environment.

Kew Gardens is a vast area in central London - one of the Royal Gardens. At Kew they have several Victorian Green House on a grand scale.

Some images of the day are attached.

What I learnt from the day (for me of course!)

1) You wonder how you coped without the HTS before

2) Manual focussing is much easier than I thought. Very few images were not in perfect focus.

3) Only a few degrees of tilt makes a mile of difference with regards to depth of field

4) Perspective control is great in camera!

5) Creative control adds in no end of possibilities.

So, just a few images... (JPEGs)

- The main Greenhouse. 28mm + HTS

-The HTS, shot with an HTS!

- The Temperate House

- The Main Greenhouse again. 80mm + HTS

- My award winning climate change image... maybe!

There is also a 100% view of the Temperate house attached...


Best,



David

 

[fotografz]

Hey David, can you send me the RAW file for Temperate house?

I'm seriously thinking about the HT/S and would appreciate a first hand look.

You can use www.sendthisfile.com

My e-mail is:

[email protected]

Thanks,

Marc

 

[David Grover / Phase One]

Will do Marc.

I did use the Exposure controls extensively in Phocus 2.0 so make you are running that version.

I also did a bit of Pshopping, so it might look a bit different! ;-)

D

 

[anGy]

Thanks for those pictures. I'm still interested in the HTS. How will a H3DII-31 react with the HTS ? I think I saw in the doc. that HTS can be used with the 31mpix too, but I suppose the microlenses of the sensor will give the same color issues than on a technical camera (when movements are applied). No ?

 

[David Grover / Phase One]

We have quite a few people who have tried out the HTS with the 31 to great success.

It is less of an issue with this kind of setup as the lens isn't so close to the sensor.

However, there is a chance (as with any of the H3D's) that you might see some colour cast - but it is easily fixed in Phocus. You don't have to be tethered either.

David

 

[thomas]

However, there is a chance (as with any of the H3D's) that you might see some colour cast - but it is easily fixed in Phocus.

we have that with all kind of sensors without AA filter on all cameras/lenses ... actually this is a non-issue.
Or maybe: an issue you just have to live with. Color cast correction is an easy fix though.

We have quite a few people who have tried out the HTS with the 31 to great success.
It is less of an issue with this kind of setup as the lens isn't so close to the sensor.

infact this is somehow a unique strength of the HTS... that you can use it in conjunction with highres microlenses sensors. Admittedly with the HTS you are not really wide. But still I'd consider this as a real benefit of the HTS.

 

[anGy]

Thanks for your answers, this is great news.
Color Cast is a non issue with Phocus 2 correcting both color and light intensity, but I was worried that the microlenses could let some special chromatic abberation showing up. Great news that they don't with the HTS.
I'm using a Cambo Utima right now. My widest lens is the Schneider Digitar 48mm.
If I'm not wrong, the H3DII-31 will crop the 28mm to a 31mm. And adding the HTS will finaly give a 46.5mm focal lens equivalent. This is just a bit larger than my schneider(Schneider 24 & 35mm have too limited movements (tilt) so I do not consider them).

I will certainly loose IQ (the 47mm schneider is sharper and give more contrast than my HC 50mm lens). Adding the HTS 1.5 glass will make an even bigger IQ difference. But I think it will easily be compensated. The HTS seems more quick & easy to manipulate than the Cambo and is definitively more easy to carry outside of the studio. Nice !

 

[anGy]

By the way, strange that there is no bubble level on the HTS, this is very handy on the Cambo standards.

 

[David Grover / Phase One]

By the way, strange that there is no bubble level on the HTS, this is very handy on the Cambo standards.

Probably more a case of where to put it!

I use a level on the hotshoe of the camera body.

I would also disagree with your point about adding the HTS glass will diminish quality. There is no real visible difference.

David

 

[Woody Campbell]

I will certainly loose IQ (the 47mm schneider is sharper and give more contrast than my HC 50mm lens). Adding the HTS 1.5 glass will make an even bigger IQ difference. But I think it will easily be compensated. The HTS seems more quick & easy to manipulate than the Cambo and is definitively more easy to carry outside of the studio. Nice !

I have an HTS 1.5 - it is very well optimized for the 28 - there is little if any loss of IQ. Shifted your Schneiders will outperform it but balanced against this is the fact that with the HTS you can compose and adjust tilt, shift and focus through the large, bright viewfinder. The question is is it good enough, and it generally is for my purposes. I use mine with the waist level finder which, lacking a pentaprism, is brighter than the eye level finder. In portrait orientation I look through it sideways.

 

[anGy]

Thanks for your input.
When speaking about IQ with the HTS I think we should always consider t&s in the equation. I saw your post with test pictures Woody, and these are not looking as good as the 47mm + shift on my Cambo as I said.
Not trying to reduce the 'sex appeal' of the very clever HTS here, just believing that a tech cam with digital lenses is the cream of the crop, for pure IQ only.
But a system left home because it is too heavy or too slow to operate will do less for IQ than a system we can use all the time. This is the spirit of the HTS I think.

I will certainly use it with the waist level finder - so no level on the hotshoe will be possible. Maybe a level accessory than can be attached somewhere on the HTS should be a good idea (or an electronic level à la Nikon DSLR) showing on the lcd screen...

 

[PeterA]

Hi David,

thanks for the post - I guess you went very easy on the sharpenning for presenting on web - the images look a tad soft to me - on screen anyway..

Pete

 

[David Grover / Phase One]

Hi David,

thanks for the post - I guess you went very easy on the sharpenning for presenting on web - the images look a tad soft to me - on screen anyway..

Pete

Indeed Pete, plus I think PhotoBucket does something unpleasant to them as well!

 

[fotografz]

Hi David,

thanks for the post - I guess you went very easy on the sharpenning for presenting on web - the images look a tad soft to me - on screen anyway..

Pete

I have the RAW file Peter ... it is sharp. The lighting is a bit flat but the detail is astounding when viewed at 100%.

-Marc

 

[yaya]

Just a friendly, informative (and cheeky) note to say that Kew themselves have been shooting Leaf for several years with multiple units. Anything from promotional material on Aptus 22 and Mamiya AFD to high end archival stuff on Aptus-II 10 and Cambo technical cameras, including during expeditions to remote locations in challenging conditions.

Happy holidays, off to shoot some snow just now

Yair

 

[PeterA]

Thanks for the feedback re raw file.
Pete