sic0048 wrote:
The "secret" to using a non tilt/shift lens is that the lens must be completely level and plumb. If the lens is tilted on either plane, you will get distortion that can be very hard to get rid of in PP.
The beauty of a t/s lens is that you can tilt the lens to get the composition that you need, and then correct the distortion using the t/s feature so that you get a distortion free shot in camera.
If you are really serious about taking architectural pictures, a t/s lens is absolutely required. You might be able to get away with using a regular lens for a little while, but the t/s in invaluable for this type of photography....Show more →
+1 As the writer notes, if you are serious. And that's because you are looking at an investment of about $2k for the 24 !
"And then there's the ugly: PC-E lenses. Nikon claims the PC-E lenses are compatible. I want some of what they're smoking. To even get my 24mm PC-E on the camera I scratched the underneath of the flash housing, it's that tight. Once on, the shift lock knob is basically inaccessible, and Nikon's build quality on the PC-E lenses absolutely requires that you lock things down tight to get correct alignment. Don't plan on using PC-E's with the D7000. Of course, none of them are the focal lengths you'd really want with a DX sensor, so it's not a huge loss. Still, it's getting silly. The D700 was tight, the D300 is tighter, the D7000 is even tighter. It's as if Nikon doesn't actually want to sell any PC-E lenses to anyone."
As someone who shoots interiors and some occasional exteriors, I like to use no T/S lenses most of the time. Faster, and with modern techniques in software, there is a decreasing need for them IMO.
I have recently been using the D600 with a Sig. 12-24 (most recent iteration). It has soft corners in the extreme, but around F11 and with a teeny bit of crop, its a great lens. I plan to use it on the D7100 when it gets here.
I used to use a Nikon 10-24 on the D7000, and then a Tamron 10-24. The Tamron was about the same overall IQ but cost half.
If you were to shoot Canon, I would reco. the 17 - T/Se., but I hate to recommend any shift lens as they all seem soft in the corners and take way longer to get the shots.
BTW, any use of non TS lens really needs to be level and plumb. That is one of the cool features of these new bodies that makes my job way easier that it once was. Even when they started to put bubble levels in the pod heads it improved. Putting it in the cam body was genius for my uses.
Tommy_D wrote:
This makes me wonder if the D600 has enough clearance as it is based off the D7000 platform. Also since the D800 has an entirely new body (not a successor of the D700 body) I wonder if it has enough clearance.
The 24 PC-E works with the D800 body, but if you have fat fingers, it may be difficult to reach the little teeny tightening knob when the lens is oriented to make that knob sit under the idiot prism/flash overhang.
According to my research, the 24 pc-e is regarded as the best Nikkor for architecture, and the 14-24 is the top lens overall. But both are very expensive for a hobbyist. I can buy those if and when I sell work or go to FX.
My question was what is the best choice out there usable on DX, wide angle, lower cost, low distortion or correctable in post. As I said before, I have the D90, D7000, with the 10.5 fisheye, 18-55 dx, 20 4.0 ai for wide. I'm considering the 12-24 rather than 10-24, or the old 28mm pc. Some say the 28pc has abberations when shifted, and the 12-24 has mustache distortion.
The 12-24 could fill my wide angle gap, and with good technique in shooting and in post, yield fine results at an affordable price. It sounds like keeping the lens and camera back parallel and cropping, it will help.
Do you have Photoshop? There is so much you can do with it to remove barrel or pincushion distortion, correct CA and to some extent sharpen.
Distortion caused by aiming the lens up or down can be done with surprisingly good results. If you need more detail, less noise you can mosaic.
If you feel you can't take a breath without the best lenses---you know what they are. My suggestion is that you focus on learning how to do this and what you can bring to the party without having to buy the booze---until you know exactly what you want--and what you need for what you want to do....
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