Before I purchased the CY Zeiss I used a Leica r 19mm which I was happy with,
although slightly soft in the corners on my 1ds. Upon purchasing the 21mm it became apparent the Zeiss is a superior lens to the Leica so the Leica moved on.
Set-up is critical when using alternative lenses to get the very best performance.
Almost all my alternative lenses are shimmed.
My current alternatives are: Zeiss 21mm. Zeiss 35-70. Olympus 35 shift. Leica r 28mm. Nikon 14-24
All purchased before Canon produced their excellent 17 and 24 TS-E optics.
Moeraki boulders. New Zealand
Canon 1ds3 Zeiss 21mm
Great shot Robin!
Which ND filter did you use on this shot to slow down the shutter? I just got the Heliopan 82mm for my ZE21 but have not yet tried it. There are not too many options in this large a filter size and >4 stop ND.
Carsten -- I'd noticed the lens didn't seem to have much "focus breathing" (expanding or contracting image size when making minor adjustments of focus), so I decided to put it to the test.
Even though I was using f/8, the distances ran from about 2.5 feet to around 12 feet in that shot you commented on -- too much depth for everything to be sharp.
I tried my first shot with this method on the magnolia tree and walk ramp in a 4-shot pano, getting the blossom sharp, and incrementally adjusting the focus with each subsequent shot in the series (@ f/11, for safety), just enough that the DOF consolidated the detail sharpness at the overlap areas. I'm sure I'm not the inventor, but it was nice to figure out the concept.
For the first shot here, the "interior", I had a "U" shape with the distant area in the middle of the scene, and close-ups on the right and left. It was a simple matter to get start on one side with the close-up mostly in focus, then extend the focus in an arc toward center, then back again to close focus on the opposite side. I shot three images this way and it all proved out fine. Sort of a bargain basement focus stacking strung out through the shifting imagery. These were really very minor changes in focus, assuring plenty of proper overlap.
Yes, it is hot here in Southern California in summertime. But these were taken when it was only about 75-80F, just after the coastal fog had burned off of the inland area in early afternoon. I think that "heat" comes thru in my photos, just as the cool moistness comes through in yours.
Could be. The effective exposures are slightly different, even though I tried to equalize them a bit. Since I didn't process them the same way, but rather tried to equalize as much as possible, you should mainly compare the look, and the sharpness.
Interesting technique, Jim, thanks for the outline. I will have to try it at some point. It seems that it would require careful planning to avoid arriving home with two neighbour images which just won't stitch.
