PC NIKKOR 19mm f/4E ED

[ben730]

Maximum sharpness in the center is at F5.6.
But when shifted 5mm, F11 is best. F8 is not good enough in the corners and not
visibly better in the center.

Sorry, but I can't share these pictures.

[Ghibby]

These performance characteristics come as no surprise. I see similar behavior on Canon 24 and 17 TS-E's.  Best at F5.6, F8 is a good compromise aperture to maintain the micro-contrast with mild to moderate shifts but as you start to use more extreme movements F11 or so is required for detail.  I'm sure for such similar packaging / production cost constraints facing the designers of these lens types that they must end up arriving at quite similar designs and compromises in the end. 

[wallpaperviking]

Hi Ben730,
 
Just wondering if you were possibly able to answer this previously unanswered question?

Do you know if this lens behaves the same as other Nikon PC lenses and only allows aperture control via electronic communication?

Would love to have a wide angle lens that enabled movements to be used on my Hcam master and also allowed aperture control.  This is possible with normal Nikon G lenses and an adapter but not with the PC lenses right?

Thanks in advance!

[ben730]

Hi Ben730,
 
Just wondering if you were possibly able to answer this previously unanswered question?

Do you know if this lens behaves the same as other Nikon PC lenses and only allows aperture control via electronic communication?

Would love to have a wide angle lens that enabled movements to be used on my Hcam master and also allowed aperture control.  This is possible with normal Nikon G lenses and an adapter but not with the PC lenses right?

Thanks in advance!

Sorry, I don't know, but the 19 PC has no aperture ring compared to the other PC Nikkors, that's why I think it works like a G lens.
You are welcome to come with your Hcam at my studio and check it out.....
Regards,
Ben

[wallpaperviking]

Thanks for the reply back, much appreciated!

My guess is that it still needs electronic communication with the camera but might have to wait until I can get my hands on one to rent..

Would love to drop by your studio but might be a bit of a long journey from Australia

[ben730]

After some weeks and several jobs of architectural photography with this Nikkor I'm now sure that I can recommend this lens
with my best knowledge and belief. With this lens I can solve certain problems in a better way than I was able with my equipment
before. In the shorter direction at F11 you can unconcerned shift at the maximum 12 mm and sharpness stays great over the whole picture.
That's huge an is rarely needed!
To focus (with D800 and also 810) is very time consuming, here I really prefer the Schneider Digitars with MFDB. CA has to be and can be corrected in post.
I don't know why Nikon doesn't offer a professional lens hood for this lens. It is necessary in many situations and I strongly recommend to use one.

Regards,
Ben

[kers]

...
To focus (with D800 and also 810) is very time consuming, here I really prefer the Schneider Digitars with MFDB. CA has to be and can be corrected in post.
I don't know why Nikon doesn't offer a professional lens hood for this lens. It is necessary in many situations and I strongly recommend to use one.

Regards,
Ben

Ben, do you ever use spitview in the d810?I find it a very nice way to get control over the whole image...
It is not implement in the best possible way but it gives me some help especially when i use tilt...

Pieter Kers

[Shinichi Sato]

Hi Ben,
I totally agree with you! The professional lens hood like a matte-box is a necessary item for the lens!

best regards,
Shinichi

[ben730]

Ben, do you ever use spitview in the d810?I find it a very nice way to get control over the whole image...
It is not implement in the best possible way but it gives me some help especially when i use tilt...

Pieter Kers

Pieter, yes I use it and it's great but I would also like to have split view of the bottom and top in horizontal position.
I can only split left and right in horizontal position, right?

[kers]

Pieter, yes I use it and it's great but I would also like to have split view of the bottom and top in horizontal position.
I can only split left and right in horizontal position, right?

Yes you are right

I would like to have ti up and down to but also left -centre-right   ( so 3 splits instead of 2)
and would like it if it could remember the last used zoom and position...
now it takes too much time to set it up... a one button option would be nice...

[Dominique_R]

Thanks for these very interesting exchanges about the 19mm tilt-shift. I've had the 35mm PC in the 1980s, I have the 24mm now and I'm hugely bothered by the fact that I have to choose between tilt and shift on the same axis, or on different axes, with mandatory pit stop at Nikon Service in between. The 19 would be a huge improvement over this, not to mention the new shift mechanism which looks like a big improvement over that in the 24.

So, I'm seriously contemplating this 19mm, but there isn't a lot available online in terms of reviews and I was glad to find firsthand account on LL. What I have read here reinforces my interest for this lens. I already own the 14~24, the 24/1.4 and the Zeiss 15/2.8, but nothing replaces a good tilt-shift for architecture.

Thanks again for your help, and if another LL member also owns this lens already, let them contribute their input to this thread, thanks in advance.

[alan_b]

It's a great lens - distortion, CA, sharpness, microcontrast are all excellent.  It's vulnerable to veiling flare from stray light sources, even a bright sky/window - keep it shaded with flags, hand, etc.  The mechanics are more versatile and sturdier, if a little slower to operate (worm drive shift vs rack & pinion).

I haven't done thorough comparisons at multiple distances, but quickly at medium distance: (my single copies only)
14-24 @ 19mm: center is comparable to PCE19, corners are softer than unshifted PCE19.
17-35 @ 19mm: center slightly softer @ 5.6 than PCE19, corners softer at best aperture than unshifted PCE19 at any aperture.
PCE 24mm: similar at center, softer everywhere else than PCE19.

I don't have the Zeiss 15 or Nikon 24/1.4 to compare.  Let me know if you want  to know anything specific.

[Blue439]

Thanks Alan for this valuable information. I would use that lens mostly at infinity, or close to, it being for landscape (stitching) and architecture work.

Considering the amount of money to fork out, I will of course appreciate any kind of reviews that will finish to convince me that it is indeed worth it.

[kers]

As you probably already found out ; there is more information here:

http://forum.luminous-landscape.com/index.php?topic=115125.0

[marc aurel]

You can use the Canon TS-Es on non-Canon cameras with dumb adapters by setting the aperture on a Canon body and detaching the lens. Aperture will stay at the setting used last. Does anybody know how the PC-E 19 behaves when you do that? Does it behave similarly or does it jump to wide open or smallest aperture or whatever?

[BernardLanguillier]

You can use the Canon TS-Es on non-Canon cameras with dumb adapters by setting the aperture on a Canon body and detaching the lens. Aperture will stay at the setting used last. Does anybody know how the PC-E 19 behaves when you do that? Does it behave similarly or does it jump to wide open or smallest aperture or whatever?

I imagine the frustrations of Canon and Nikon engineers whose bodies end up becoming only aperture changing devices for other usage.

Cheers,
Bernard

[marc aurel]

I imagine the frustrations of Canon and Nikon engineers whose bodies end up becoming only aperture changing devices for other usage.

Cheers,
Bernard

Maybe. But if they are cool the lens designers at Nikon could as well take it as a compliment that people even think about such an inconvenient way to work with their lens. The PC-E 19 is really amazing for such a wide shift lens.

[alan_b]

You can use the Canon TS-Es on non-Canon cameras with dumb adapters by setting the aperture on a Canon body and detaching the lens. Aperture will stay at the setting used last. Does anybody know how the PC-E 19 behaves when you do that? Does it behave similarly or does it jump to wide open or smallest aperture or whatever?

Yes, removing the lens with the DoF button held down keeps its aperture stopped down (just tested with a D810).

[marc aurel]

Yes, removing the lens with the DoF button held down keeps its aperture stopped down (just tested with a D810).

Thank you!

[mcnash]

Does anybody know of a filter solution for the pc-e 19mm yet?
thx