ggibson
Well-known member
I've been shooting some MF film on my Hasselblad 503cx recently, and I'm curious to use the lenses on my Sony A7rII. The crop factor with just a simple adapter isn't particularly inspiring though. I have been researching shift adapters, allowing one to take advantage of the larger image circle either for straightening converging verticals or making a larger image by stitching multiple images in post--a build-your-own MF digital back. I've seen a couple ways available to do this:
RhinoCam adapter - seems purpose-built for this use and allowing capture of a large 66mm x 66mm image (if the lens allows), even larger than a typical 6x6 frame (at 56mm square). Includes ground glass screen for composing the full image, plus markers to help with alignment. Tripod foot on the lens side ensures the camera is shifting, not the composition. Large and a bit unwieldy-looking though.
Tilt/shift adapters - Smaller and more flexible than RhinoCam with the option of tilt also. I see many by fotodiox (TLT ROKR), but these only seem to have +/-10mm shift, limiting your coverage to a 44 x 36mm image or 56mm x 24mm x-pan-like panorama. Kipon adapters shift +/-15mm, so you can get a 54mm x 36mm, getting pretty close to 645 or even maybe 66mm x 24mm panorama. There are also shift-only adapters out there which seem to be easier to find with +/-15mm shift.
A further challenge with the tilt/shift adapters though is that you need the lens to stay put while you move the camera, not the other way around. So you need a tripod mount on the lens end of the adapter which I can't seem to easily find. One solution would be to combine two adapters--find a basic Hasselblad V to SLR mount with a tripod foot, and then get a shift adapter for the intermediate SLR mount to Sony E. As long as the adapter throats play nicely with each other to avoid vignetting, I don't see why this wouldn't work.
I'm just looking into this as a hobby, but the cost isn't terrible for being able to give it a try. So before I go and buy one of these solutions, I'm curious--has anyone here has already gone down one or both of these roads before? Are there other options to look at or things I haven't considered? What are your thoughts on a setup like this, other than the limitations around moving subjects? Thanks!
RhinoCam adapter - seems purpose-built for this use and allowing capture of a large 66mm x 66mm image (if the lens allows), even larger than a typical 6x6 frame (at 56mm square). Includes ground glass screen for composing the full image, plus markers to help with alignment. Tripod foot on the lens side ensures the camera is shifting, not the composition. Large and a bit unwieldy-looking though.
Tilt/shift adapters - Smaller and more flexible than RhinoCam with the option of tilt also. I see many by fotodiox (TLT ROKR), but these only seem to have +/-10mm shift, limiting your coverage to a 44 x 36mm image or 56mm x 24mm x-pan-like panorama. Kipon adapters shift +/-15mm, so you can get a 54mm x 36mm, getting pretty close to 645 or even maybe 66mm x 24mm panorama. There are also shift-only adapters out there which seem to be easier to find with +/-15mm shift.
A further challenge with the tilt/shift adapters though is that you need the lens to stay put while you move the camera, not the other way around. So you need a tripod mount on the lens end of the adapter which I can't seem to easily find. One solution would be to combine two adapters--find a basic Hasselblad V to SLR mount with a tripod foot, and then get a shift adapter for the intermediate SLR mount to Sony E. As long as the adapter throats play nicely with each other to avoid vignetting, I don't see why this wouldn't work.
I'm just looking into this as a hobby, but the cost isn't terrible for being able to give it a try. So before I go and buy one of these solutions, I'm curious--has anyone here has already gone down one or both of these roads before? Are there other options to look at or things I haven't considered? What are your thoughts on a setup like this, other than the limitations around moving subjects? Thanks!