Thanks! That first landscape example is EXACTLY what I want these lenses for. I mostly want the tilt so I don't have to shoot F/16 to get front to back sharpness. I know the shift would be handy for panos too, but my main interest is the tilt and it sounds like the lens would work well as is from the factory for my needs.
Reading your example though, I can see where 6 lenses would be ideal. Pretty expensive, but ideal!
Steve ... this is the statue shot I was talking about. I threw the focus on it (this is all hand held so not too precise of course) but if I had the conversion done it would have been nice in this case because the statue would have looked much more like I wanted to capture it. This was shot on my tip-toes, camera held above my head using live view btw. Better than calisthenics!
Not much of a shot ... but it gets the idea across, I think. Hmmm, I do need that 24!
What exactly does locking the tilt / shift function together do? I've never used one of these lenses, but it seems to me that they would be more versatile the way they are. Since you spent the money to have it done, I'm sure it was with good reason, so I was just wondering what the advantage was.
Shift changes perspective, tilt changes focal plane. For me, those are more often on the same plane. Pavel suggests it would be nice to have 2 copies of each lens; I would go farther and say the best solution is that each function can be independently aligned as there are times when I want the tilt to be at an angle other than vertical or horizontal.
I have been sick the last few days and the weather has been bad, so forgive my next example. This is like going from playing songs to playing a scale, and poorly performed scale at that, but here is an example of how perspective changes the relationship between foreground and background:
Thanks Pavel and Tony! Those examples are great! I think I'm going to try and get a 45PC-E sometime in the next few months. One thing I've always been a little jealous of is the way the view cmaera guys can control the plane of focus, and this seems like it's the DSLR solution. Also looks like I have a lot to learn, but that's what it's all about anyway!
One last shot from my walk a few days ago. I looked at the exif and then I realized that it was shot at 1/45th of a second hand held ... ooops. But I like it despite the small degree of imperfect sharpness.
Both are really cool, I'm really having a hard time picking which one I like best. The original with the colors is very eye-catching, but the second has an almost dream-like effect.
Pavel wrote:
One last shot from my walk a few days ago. I looked at the exif and then I realized that it was shot at 1/45th of a second hand held ... ooops. But I like it despite the small degree of imperfect sharpness.
Pavel, the colors on that first one are . . . wow! As I look at that interpretation of a face very familiar to me, I almost begin to think that the colors reveal the true nature of the statue, unknown to me until now.
I haven't been online for several days, so I saw your original post in this thread only this morning. I am especially moved by the ethereal quality of the second photo in that original post. Dreamy, ephemeral, otherworldly. What a great lens. What a great way to make use of it.
Thanks all! Well after a lot of soul searching I've decided, as much as I love the 45 pc-e (fave lens right now) that I'm going to pass on the 24. I'm going to do first what I have been putting off for too long - buy a new Mac instead. I'm going to do that first. It will bring me more utility - the 17" powerbook probably. I'm getting real tired of my four year old Dual 2GZ tower. Like I said ... more utility for the buck, right now.
I'm going to hold the line on camera gear anyhow, for the principle of it. The gear can become the reason ... and so I'm now going to spend a year or so with not a single gear purchase. I'm going to get out there and shoot instead ... and learn well my current stuff.
So as a favor, could every one of you who have the 24 pc-e please not post any pictures, don't even mention it .. until I get mine at some distant time. Thanks! ... oh ... and thanks.
Congratulations, Pavel. Just as the gear can become the reason, so the quest for the perfect image can preclude the discovery of the beautiful image. "'Tis the gift to be simple, 'tis the gift to be free."
