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 GFX100S II Pixel Shift | |
I started dabbling with pixel shift features of the a7R V over the years I've had it. I don't do it very often, but I've find it can be a fun challenge and works well in the right circumstances. This morning I thought I'd give it a shot with my Fuji, shooting the Pennsylvania State Capitol Rotunda.
The pixel shift implementation is pretty much the same between Fuji and Sony. You can choose either 4 shot or 16 shot, and the camera pretty much does the rest. It uses electronic shutter, but does give you an option in the time delay between each shot. You take the resulting files, which each can be processed on their own as just a normal single shot exposure. But using the Fuji Pixel Shift Combiner software, you can combine these shots together and it outputs a linear DNG file. The resulting file is well over a gigabyte.
You can take the DNG into Lightroom, or other software that can process DNG files. I used Lightroom Classic, Photoshop and Topaz on the file below.
One of the biggest challenges to shooting the rotunda is getting the camera on a flat plane, centered underneath the dome. I can never get it perfect, and frankly, I'm not sure all the elements around the rotunda are in perfect position. I just try to get close and then adjust in post as best I can. This particular shot, I think I was able to get it about as centered as any attempt I've made.
I used a small tabletop tripod and sturdy ballhead, as shown here:
While this isn't the first time I've done pixel shift shots of the rotunda, it is the first time with my Fuji. I did learn some idiosyncrasies with the Fuji that I need to kind of research a bit. I tried using the Fuji app on my iPhone, but it seemed to kick me out of pixel shift mode when I use it. I couldn't see an obvious way to put it in pixel shift mode using the app. (First thing on my list to research). So I tried using the LCD, but when you put it in pixel shift mode, it seems like it forces the more detailed LCD display, which adds so much clutter it makes it very hard to try to center the camera under the rotunda. So I'd go back to regular shooting mode, try to center it, and then go back into pixel shift mode. But when switching into pixel shift mode, the images seems to shift to the left a bit. Also, when I bring the file into Lightroom, as soon as I interact with it, it seems to crop the image a bit. I can't seem to undo it and I have no explanation for the behavior.
So it's a bit of trial and error, but that is sort of part of the challenge and the fun in it.
Here's one of the resulting photos I was able to produce using the approach above, taken with my Fuji GFX100S II and 20-35mm lens. It's about 396 megapixels, and has a pretty amazing amount of detail.
Detailed Symmetry by Tim Devine, on Flickr
Here is a 100% resolution crop of the upper left quadrant.
Sony does have some capability to handle movement in the individual shots that are being combined, which it doesn't produce miracles, it does work somewhat well if you are shooting outdoors and it isn't absolutely calm. Would be nice if Fuji could do something similar.
Anyway, just thought I'd share.
-Tim
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