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Has anyone seen or tried an HTS 1.5?

tashley

Subscriber Member
Just since you were asking if anyone has seen it, I saw it yesterday -- two German photographers were using it at Jökulsárlón, the iceberg lagoon in the east of Iceland. They said they had rented it, so they did not know yet how good it was. Anyway, I thought it was an interesting place to see one! I think they may have been using it more for its teleconverter possibilities than for its shifting -- there were some seals resting on an ice floe and it did not look like they had a very long lens.

It was in this place, though this is an old photo...I have not gone through the ones I took there yesterday yet.

Aaah, sigh, that cool, flat but not flat Icelandic light... me like...
 

harmsr

Workshop Member
Another link - this one to a members only forum so it may or may not work:
http://www.hasselbladdigitalforum.com/index.php/topic,423.0.html

It's interesting that the user was dissatisfied (color shifts and it doesn't work well with the 100 - but Hasselblad doesn't claim that it is compatible with the 100!) and returned it to the dealer.
Woody - His other issue is that using the new 50 MP back, he doesn't have live view yet. So focusing was take a shot and see then adjust and see, etc... I wonder if he would have been happy with the corrections and live view on the 39 MP back?
 

mark1958

Member
Well i got the HTS but my camera is in for a repair--- scratched the sensor filter -- so probably another week or two until i can give it a spin.
 

Woody Campbell

Workshop Member
So . . . a bit of time has passed here. Is anyone using the HTS 1.5? Reactions? I'm interested mainly in IQ issues (it has to be very, very good to be competitive with digitar glass on an Arca or Horseman).
 

fotografz

Well-known member
So . . . a bit of time has passed here. Is anyone using the HTS 1.5? Reactions? I'm interested mainly in IQ issues (it has to be very, very good to be competitive with digitar glass on an Arca or Horseman).
I didn't get the impression that it was in competition with tech cameras ... but rather a portable way to use your existing lenses. For one thing you can't go nearly as wide as with a tech camera.
 

ptomsu

Workshop Member
really from users? or is thsi just more internet 'noise' hmm?
I am just using my grey cells for this: you put a lens between the lens and the camera to allow for these adjustment you want to achieve. No matter how good this lens is, it first has to amplify what the original lens produces in order to offer its service.

This cannot be really good quality. Just all my experiences with teleconverters from different brans tell me this.

Better would be a TS lens. Or tech camera.
 

carstenw

Active member
Peter, do you really think it is fair to say that you heard bad things about it when you just think that there must be a quality loss?

For sure there is a quality loss, but I have not heard anyone who can see it. It is not uncommon for good lenses to be able to handle a good 1.4x converter without noticeable loss of quality, and this is a 1.5x converter.

IMO the biggest problem with the HTS is not quality, but the fact that there are no lenses with which you can stitch to get more coverage than without the HTS. In other words, if you put the 28 on this, it becomes a 42mm. If you then stich up, down, left, right, you get 28mm back. That renders it useless for some purposes. Not for others though.
 

ptomsu

Workshop Member
Peter, do you really think it is fair to say that you heard bad things about it when you just think that there must be a quality loss?

For sure there is a quality loss, but I have not heard anyone who can see it. It is not uncommon for good lenses to be able to handle a good 1.4x converter without noticeable loss of quality, and this is a 1.5x converter.

IMO the biggest problem with the HTS is not quality, but the fact that there are no lenses with which you can stitch to get more coverage than without the HTS. In other words, if you put the 28 on this, it becomes a 42mm. If you then stich up, down, left, right, you get 28mm back. That renders it useless for some purposes. Not for others though.
Carsten

you always can amplify and also in optical! But with any amplification you also increase distortions, which are always there.

WRT good lenses - I used converters with Leica glass, Nikon and Canon and while you get certain advantages I never liked the real final IQ.

This is even worse wit MF glass. I am not saying that this solution is useless, what I say is that I doubt it coms close to the IQ of a real TS lens.

PS: BTW I also heard about these issues from folks who should know, because they deal with it day in day out! So it is not just my humble opinion ....
 
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fotografz

Well-known member
I am just using my grey cells for this: you put a lens between the lens and the camera to allow for these adjustment you want to achieve. No matter how good this lens is, it first has to amplify what the original lens produces in order to offer its service.

This cannot be really good quality. Just all my experiences with teleconverters from different brans tell me this.

Better would be a TS lens. Or tech camera.
Which different brands? Please be specific because there are teleconverters like those from Leica and some from Zeiss that are better than those from Canon or Sigma.

I'd agree on the tech camera being better for all the reasons a tech camera excells at over any MF solution. Can't say about the T/S lens verses this ... depends on the lens.
 

eleanorbrown

New member
I am also possibly interested in the HTS 1.5 for use with my H2 primes. However I tried the H 1.7 teleconverter with one of these top H primes (with 45+ back) and ended up sending the teleconverter back to B&H for return....on critical examination, the TC results just didn't match the resolution of the primes by themselves. Eleanor

Carsten

you always can amplify and also in optical! But with any amplification you also increase distortions, which are always there.

WRT good lenses - I used converters with Leica glass, Nikon and Canon and while you get certain advantages I never liked the real final IQ.

This is even worse wit MF glass. I am not saying that this solution is useless, what I say is that I doubt it coms close to the IQ of a real TS lens.

PS: BTW I also heard about these issues from folks who should know, because they deal with it day in day out! So it is not just my humble opinion ....
 

ptomsu

Workshop Member
Where did you hear this? Specific links please. Thank you.
Well,

I do not have this information from the Internet, but I know some folks around who are using this type of equipment and they told me.

I think in the end of the day you need to make your own judgement if the HTS 1.5 is what you want and need. Restrictions will never go away, the question is if you need more and better quality.
 

ptomsu

Workshop Member
Which different brands? Please be specific because there are teleconverters like those from Leica and some from Zeiss that are better than those from Canon or Sigma.

I'd agree on the tech camera being better for all the reasons a tech camera excells at over any MF solution. Can't say about the T/S lens verses this ... depends on the lens.
I mentioned in a previous post that I do not exclude ANY brand. I had Leica with Leica TCs, Nikon with Nikon and Canon with Canon.

I was especially unpleased with the Leica ones, especially for the money they were asking. And I used the TC with 180 APO glass. So no bad combination, but it simply did not come up to my expectations - even in film days.

I must say that the new Nikon TCs and Canon TCs if used in combination with the right lenses are better. As long as you use no zooms! But they are still not what I want to see and why I carry such heavy and expensive equipment around.

So in the end of the day they most tome were staying in my backpack and this is definitely not the place where they belong :toocool:
 

Stuart Richardson

Active member
I liked the Leica 180mm f/2.8 and 2x APO TC. Here are two shots -- no problems with sharpness:





100% crop with no sharpening...


I think it is definitely possible to make a TC that is an acceptable compromise of convenience and sharpness. Of course it will not be as good as a dedicated lens, but in most cases it is a very good substitute.
 

ptomsu

Workshop Member
Sure, a TC can have its benefits and lower your travel and working weight.

But finally it is not the quality I like.

Which does not mean that it cannot be a very valuable a great asset for others.
 
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