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Schneider/Alpa 75mm/5.6 L APO Helvetar

gerald.d

Well-known member
I just shoot one LCC for the whole set, and then apply it to all.

Seems to work OK.

Totally automatic stitch that one - I didn't need to touch it at all :)
 

craigosh

Member
Ah ok Gerald, didn't realize you had the VR Drive already. If your not doing HDR spherical pano's then I don't see any problems.
 

gerald.d

Well-known member
You can also have the lens mounted in an electronic shutter (Rollei ro Schneider) and fire it remotely if that is needed...
Trying to find out more about this option (not least because until Craig's post I'd totally neglected the need to cock the shutter for each shot, which would be a pain), but struggling.

SK seems to be very old tech, and limited to 1/60th maximum speed? Rollei seems to imply a PC is required as well.

Real shame if this is the case, because it's nearly a very good option indeed.

Kind regards,

Gerald.
 

gazwas

Active member
Hi Gerald, if your going down the road of electronic shutter you need some manner of control to fire the thing. Be that in the form of a hand held controller or a PC, IMO you might as well stick to the DF as the compactness of the Alpa will be in vein. As you say also, I think all are limited from 30 seconds to only 1/60sec. Rollei was 1/500 but don't think they are made any longer. Another consideration is the shutter mount itself does add considerable bulk and weight.

Thinks are never easy.... just as you think your getting somewhere..... always compromises!
 

yaya

Active member
DHW can still sell the Rollei e-shutters. The standard one is 1/500 in #0 size and the "industrial" one is 1/1000 in #1 size so bigger and heavier. You can use the control S unit or a black box that replaces it and that is controlled buy either a PC or the digital back

but as Gareth says this makes everything more cumbersome and expensive. Probably worth the effort if you are building a business around this application....but if you're already looking in that direction then I would put the Phase One iXR/ iXA on the shopping list...
 

gerald.d

Well-known member
Yeah, I'm starting to feel that way a bit. The compactness bit is advantageous only with regards what needs to be mounted on the VR Drive. I definitely don't want to have to tether to a PC to do this.

However...

I've been doing some more investigation, and I don't actually think the Rollei does need a PC. It's starting to look like a very plausible option. If I understand correctly, if the lens is mounted in the Rollei shutter, then the handheld unit just needs to connect to the lens with one cable, and the back with another.

My search has led me to this fairly recent ad on LuLa...

Alpa Aerial camera body & lens for sale $5,200

I wonder... :)
 

dchew

Well-known member
Do you have any experience/thoughts/comments regarding the quality of that lens (unshifted) on your STC against the Phase/Mamiya options?
Well yes, but no direct comparisons. I had the 80LS with the DF for about a year. It did a fine job and no need for LCC either. I do need LCC for this lens w/ IQ180 even unshifted. Pretty sure you would need one for the SK as well, especially since it is not a retrofocus design.

I really don't think you should make this choice based on what you think is sharpest. All three (the SK72-75-whatever, 70HR-W and 80LS) should give you impeccably sharp images. You could make the argument that the 70HR is sharper in very controlled conditions, but I don't think we run into those conditions very often in the real world. As Yair points out the SK has less distortion. Not sure if that matters to you. I have the SK43 and like it very much, although it is not without its challenges...

The tech camera route is a quirky one. If you start wishing to yourself you had e-shutter, autofocus and/or a light meter you might as well go with the DF. I don't know much about the e-shutters. Dennis at Dodd has e-shutters hanging around on his desk and deals with Alpa. You might want to reach out to him to get his thoughts: 216-361-6805.

Ciao,
Dave
 

gerald.d

Well-known member
Still looking into this. Thanks all for the comments and suggestions so far - they are much appreciated.

I'm a bit of a noob when it comes to shutters, and have only just discovered that there is a "press" version of a Copal 0 shutter than is self-cocking.

Does anyone know if Alpa lenses can be ordered with this shutter?

Kind regards,

Gerald.

/edit

Answering my own question - had a really helpful reply from Alpa on this, detailing all the diffenent shutter options and their pros/cons. Press version of the Copal 0 is not reliable when used with digital backs.
 
Last edited:

gerald.d

Well-known member
Update:

Thanks for all the advice. In the end, I've gone with the 70HR. Should have it in a week, and will hopefully share some results when the weather improves towards the end of September.

Alpa incredibly helpful via email by the way. Can't praise them enough :)
 
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