Robert (OntheRez), what Jim's graphs show is that if you are shooting from standing height or above with the 24 mm, you'll need less than a degree of tilt (not shift) to get the focal plane parallel to the ground. Greater tilt is needed when the camera is not level, when you shoot from very low, and other situations.
Shift anywhere up to the maximum (8.5 mm, if I remember) is very useful for many things, including the tree you described attempting. The best approach to exposure, IMO, is manual mode. Spot metering your highlights and shadows can tell you whether you can get everything in, just as with any wide range scene, but unless you are combining HDR series with stitching, you'll want the same exposure value for just the reason you discovered in your sky.
By the way, were you changing tilt as well as shifting for that series? That could cause problems with the overlap. I'm sure you'll work it out, and the other thread that Jim linked probably addresses all this stuff in more detail than I can.
As far as copyright goes, no worries. The copyright simply provides a basis for action if somebody should try to sell them. You're welcome to copy, print, and/or distribute them.
As far as copyright goes, no worries. The copyright simply provides a basis for action if somebody should try to sell them. You're welcome to copy, print, and/or distribute them.
OK, here's a recent real world failure. Trying to shoot a dramatic tree such that it is in focus from root to crown. I took 3 shots shifting (probably too far down) for the root, level for mid-section, and then up (again probably over shifted) to get the crown. I then tried to combine (in PS) but found that the exposure to be so varied that, for example, the sky at mid-section and at crown had very different blues ruining the picture.
Any thoughts on how to approach a problem like this. (Other attempts have included cliff faces, wide canyons, and so on. I love this lens and will figure it out, but it sure can be dang frustrating at times. I sure have taken some odd pix so far.
Thanks,
Robert
BTW this is a superb thread. I'm grateful to everyone who has contributed.
(I've been reading everything I can find and there are a number of new links here. Thanks for that, also.)...Show more →
My suggestion is to
1) put the camera on manual (as opposed to shutter or aperture priority),
2) get the exposure right for unshifted ( histogram to right without too much blinkies)
3) set the aperture to f11 or f16 (like f16) in this case since you want the depth of a close tree
4) then take the pictures on extreme down, middle, top
I think there are 2 things that screw you up if you are off manual:
1) That the eposure is rechosen by the camera and if you have a bright or darker scene based on the shift it will be differently exposed and then the merging will show a gadient
2) The camera does not seem to meter the same shifted as in centre, even if you put it in aveage across entire scene exposure (this could just be a different variation of 1)
