Don Libby
Well-known member
I had originally begun this as a response to Paul from Optechs Digital, responding to his excellent series of videos. It soon became apparent to me this response was going way far away from a simple response regarding being a traditionalist and the use of software. Not wanting to take away from Paul's post I decided to separate this to a thread by itself. I'm still uncertain what to title this (venting?) and may just call it an editorial if I may all the while knowing I'm not in the same league as Jack or Guy nor am I connected in anyway other than being a mere member so the use of the term editorial is a stretch.
I'm somewhat traditional myself to a point. Being a landscape photographer this allows me a certain amount of leeway in what I do and how I do it. I used a t/s lens for a short time while I was still shooting 35mm then went away from that when I moved to MF. Now I'm shooting strictly with a technical camera and using a combination of hardware and software to achieve my goals.
Change is good and needed however I now have a difficult time wrapping my head around what camera manufactures are doing in order to achieve a tilt/shift/swing. Maybe I'm just too dense (just ask my wife) however there's got to be a better solution to this problem than what is being currently offered. In every case I've seen (speaking strictly technical camera) the solution at first blush appears to be simple till you dig deeper; change lenses to short barrel or retrofitting the lensboard - all of which is going to cost a lot more money. Reminds me of the cure being worse than the cause...
I no longer feel the need nor desire to have a T/S capability for what I do. Maybe this is partially due to the fact that if I take my time, plan it out, I can produce an image where it is in focus from my toenails to infinity; yes that requires several frames and a kickass imagery software program to put everything together but it simply works. Period.
I also admit there are photographic applications (such as architectural) photography where you might really need the ability to tilt/shift.
What I'd like to caution folks against is running out and jumping into the deep end of the pool just because your technical camera manufacture has suddenly brought out the latest and greatest for tilt/shift because with proper planning (reminds me of the 6-P Principle) you can do almost the same effect and save a bundle of money.
There I've had my say and will kindly craw back under my rock ...
Don
I'm somewhat traditional myself to a point. Being a landscape photographer this allows me a certain amount of leeway in what I do and how I do it. I used a t/s lens for a short time while I was still shooting 35mm then went away from that when I moved to MF. Now I'm shooting strictly with a technical camera and using a combination of hardware and software to achieve my goals.
Change is good and needed however I now have a difficult time wrapping my head around what camera manufactures are doing in order to achieve a tilt/shift/swing. Maybe I'm just too dense (just ask my wife) however there's got to be a better solution to this problem than what is being currently offered. In every case I've seen (speaking strictly technical camera) the solution at first blush appears to be simple till you dig deeper; change lenses to short barrel or retrofitting the lensboard - all of which is going to cost a lot more money. Reminds me of the cure being worse than the cause...
I no longer feel the need nor desire to have a T/S capability for what I do. Maybe this is partially due to the fact that if I take my time, plan it out, I can produce an image where it is in focus from my toenails to infinity; yes that requires several frames and a kickass imagery software program to put everything together but it simply works. Period.
I also admit there are photographic applications (such as architectural) photography where you might really need the ability to tilt/shift.
What I'd like to caution folks against is running out and jumping into the deep end of the pool just because your technical camera manufacture has suddenly brought out the latest and greatest for tilt/shift because with proper planning (reminds me of the 6-P Principle) you can do almost the same effect and save a bundle of money.
There I've had my say and will kindly craw back under my rock ...
Don