an ARSAT tilt lens, from Ukraine. The poor man's tilt option, only about 200USD/EUR.
The lens is an 80mm 2.8 with 8 degrees tilt possibility in all directions.
Optical quality is amazingly good for the price (I might have a special copy), and it is a lot of fun to play with.
Extremely interesting. Thanks for posting these--especially the tilt lens. It will be very interesting to see the additional pics you promise for later.
During a bit of Google searching, it appears that Arsat has tilt-shift lenses as well (as opposed to tilt-only). It will be good to learn more about this brand.
Thanks again, Guy--for this post and the promise of more images from this lens.
There's a place in Atlanta, GA, US, that is apparently a distributor for ARSAT lenses, which are cheaper than the Arax lenses in the above link. It's called KievCamera. But, his resellerrating, with only 4 feedbacks, is a 5........
I'll keep looking and maybe take a chance on Kiev with the 80mm tilt lens for $200.
Oh, its fun to see what you can get cheap. I got a Cambo 4x5 for under $70 bucks a few ears back, and its turned into the best tilt/shift I have ever had.
I really want (no need i guess, just want :P ) a t/s lens. That and a macro, and I should be set (I know i will think othervise when those are here :P )
I don't really see the point of a 80mm tilit shift lens. Yes you can use it for specific shots but most landscapes are done with wideangle lenses. Just to state my point i use a 240mm lens with 4x5 (which is close to 80mm in FX) and a 90mm (which is about 28mm i think). I need a lot of movements with the wide lens but hardly any with the 240mm. The toy "legoland" look that these mild-tele T/s lenses give get old fairly quickly.
Hmm, I do most of my landscapes with 85-200mm on fullframe. For me and my use i think a 80mm t/s is the best.. People are different, your point might be perfect for you, while my "point" is perfect for me. People like different looks. Some people think that thin dof or selective dof gets old fairly quickly, others think that f/11 dof in portraits suck. We are all different
Landscapes and architecture aren't the only use for Tilt/Shift lenses.
Not too long ago I picked up a Hartblei 80mm f/2.8 Super-Rotator:
Unfortunately it's notorious for flaring issues, and indeed I've found it pretty useless stopped down past f/5.6 or so. I use tilting for abstract macro nude stuff, so I'm typically around f/8, so it's a bummer. The Arsat is a bit less expensive, so I'd definitely be interested to hear if it performs better there.
The Arsat/and other russian lenses were originally made in the Urkraine for use on the Kiev 88 (120/220) 6x6 and the Kiev 60 645 SLR. They are great values. The cameras were really spotty quality although the Kiev 88 was used in space by the Russia cosmonauts. The is only one really reliable place to have the cameras and the lenses serviced is Kiev USA in CN. The can completely rebuild the cameras to virtually Hasselblad quality and service any of the lenses. The optical quality is extremely good and the lenses have adapters availalbe for Mamiya, Hasselblad, Canon, and Nikon. My favorites include:
- the 80m 2.8 shown
- the 30m fisheye 3.5 - absolutely unbelievable - Hasselblad charges $8000 for an equivalent lense
- the 65m 3.5
- the 150m 2.8
the lenses are available on the cheap from KievCamera in Atlanta. If you need services KievUSA as discussed above.
Sam Bennett wrote:
Unfortunately it's notorious for flaring issues, and indeed I've found it pretty useless stopped down past f/5.6 or so. I use tilting for abstract macro nude stuff, so I'm typically around f/8, so it's a bummer. The Arsat is a bit less expensive, so I'd definitely be interested to hear if it performs better there.
heh, I'd be more than bummed, if the war department found out I was doing abstract macro nudes........ She'd kick my ugly ass all the way to Florida.... and then sell my gear........
If I get a response from the guy running kiev camera in Atlanta, I'll probably buy one of those lenses. Can't hardly beat the prices that he has. Assuming he's legit and I get a working lens, I'll post some stuff on it. Guy's copy is different than the T/S model I'm looking at, so dunno how much they'd compare.
?? I'd love to have one for skiing!