Architectural Photography – Lenses for DSLR

[schrodingerscat]

Check out the Horseman LD system that basically turns a Canon/Nikon body/lens combination into a view camera. I've seen one of these in the flesh and must say it is a compelling alternative to a TS.

http://www.komamura.co.jp/e/digital/LD.html

[rainer_v]

@ scott

don´t go the mamiya-way.  i work with zoerk-panorama-adapter and pentax 70mm. 55mm is also very good as i heard. i had a pentax 35mm. it´s ok but not as brilliant as TS-E II 24.

what i´m looking for is a L-bracket. any advice?

bernhard

exactly.
i use 17 + 24tse II with 1,4 extender. also zoerk with pentax 45/55/75mm.
i have the 45tse too ( i hate it ) , the pentax 45 is better, although not as good as the excellent 55 and 75mm.
have the pentax35fa too, but canon 24tse with 1,4 extender is better.

[adam z]

Check out the Horseman LD system that basically turns a Canon/Nikon body/lens combination into a view camera. I've seen one of these in the flesh and must say it is a compelling alternative to a TS.

http://www.komamura.co.jp/e/digital/LD.html

ANyone used one of these? It does look interesting!

[Michael Perlmutter]

Very helpful and informative replies, thanks! Two related questions about lenses for shooting architecture and interiors:

Which aperture, f/11 or f/16? My heart says 16 (DOP) but my brain says 11 (diffraction).

Are UV/skylight filters needed with 35mm lenses? Never used them with LF.

[wallpaperviking]

Hi, I am brand new to this forum so apologies if this is a very basic newbie question.  I came across this thread by wondering if you were able to use either the Canon 17mm and 24mm TS-E with a 1.4x extender.. 

Basically, I can only afford one lens at the moment, so figure I have two options..

a)  Buy the 17mm TS-E and then use the 1.4x extender to get roughly a 24mm TS-E equivalent

b)  Buy the 24mm TS-E and use a Pano head for stitching for the rarer times I would need such a wide field of view..  Then also use the 1.4x Extender to get a 33.6mm TS-E.. 

The second option is definitely my preferred I think..

With the Stitching/Pano head, the query that I was hoping someone may be able to answer relates below

Was just wondering if you are using Canon TS-E lenses, whether using a front rise/fall effects the nodal point of a lens and therefore create issues when trying to stitch images together?

For example, if I was doing a 2-3 pano stitch and wanted to use front rise to keep verticals straight for architecture (keeping the front rise in the same position for each of the shots) would this work? Or does the nodal point vary as soon as you introduce any front rise/fall?

I know that by introducing tilt that this alters the nodal point and you would effectively have to realign your Pano head as soon as you introduce any tilt (obviously completely unsuitable for field work) but was just wondering if this also applies for rise/fall?

As I see it, my option for stitching for architecture would be extremely limited if I cannot apply front rise to the stitched images (can live without tilt )

Hope this is clear

Thanks so much!

Look forward to hearing from you guys and hoping someone can resolve this issue..

[Bart_van_der_Wolf]

b)  Buy the 24mm TS-E and use a Pano head for stitching for the rarer times I would need such a wide field of view..

Hi,

That is what I do. Shooting with the 24mm will also give you (even) higher resolution than with the 17mm, due to higher magnification. I stitch to make up for any lack of FOV.

Then also use the 1.4x Extender to get a 33.6mm TS-E..

 

I haven't tried that myself (because I also have the TS-E 45mm), but people have reported that that is a usable solution. Of course, when you stitch you can also use a 50mm lens or longer use a proportionally narrower aperture (recover diffraction losses by deconvolution sharpening), and down-sample the result if necessary to get practically the same DOF and resolution.

Was just wondering if you are using Canon TS-E lenses, whether using a front rise/fall effects the nodal point of a lens and therefore create issues when trying to stitch images together?

Yes, any movement of the entrance pupil of the lens can cause issues, mostly when doing multi-row stitching, especially in the foreground features. A good Pano stitching software can offset most of that.

There are differences between simple shifted panos which just use the larger image circle of the TS lens, and rotational panos.

Cheers,
Bart

[wallpaperviking]

Hi, Thanks so much for the reply, is greatly appreciated! 

Just a really quick one, so are most people stitching by using the larger circle of the 24mm TS-E to create a F.O.V close to 17mm or are people using dedicated Pano heads?  I am a little confused 

If they are using just the larger image circle approach, I imagine the resulting image might say, have a lot of unwanted foreground and then need to be copped in post anyway?  Or am I missing something here?


Ok, Thanks again, is really helpful! 

[adrian tyler]

i use the nikon 24, 45 and 85 pce's.
if i'm stiching i find that dropping a linhof multiviewfinder on the hotshoe works well to visualise the shot. you have to 'calibrate' it a bit first to the lenses but once you get it properly marked it works well and using the 24 shifted means i don't miss an ultra wide...

[Bart_van_der_Wolf]

Hi, Thanks so much for the reply, is greatly appreciated! 

Just a really quick one, so are most people stitching by using the larger circle of the 24mm TS-E to create a F.O.V close to 17mm or are people using dedicated Pano heads?  I am a little confused 

If they are using just the larger image circle approach, I imagine the resulting image might say, have a lot of unwanted foreground and then need to be copped in post anyway?  Or am I missing something here?

Hi,

I only stitch by using the larger image circle on rare occasions, when I need to travel light, or when the lower edge quality is not an objection (e.g. because the final result will be down-sampled). It's not mandatory to cover the entire image circle, only the relevant bits. With foreground detail, it also requires repositioning both the lens entrance pupil and the camera body in opposite directions, to keep the entrance pupil stationary. That can be hard with multirow stitches.

But when I have a choice, I prefer to do rotated pano stitching, as it always uses more of the center of the image circle, even when I combine it with tilt. Tilt often allows the use of relatively wider apertures, giving less diffraction and shorter shutter speeds.

On a rotation stitched pano, rise and fall are a simple operation of cropping a different part of the stitched result, without affecting the keystoning which can be perfectly corrected for, or slightly under-corrected if that looks better. It's usually easier to correct for keystoning in a Pano than it is in-camera, especially with wide angle lenses.

Cheers,
Bart