Topic: Images shot with new Schneider Super-Digitar 28 XL Lens (Read 28210 times)

Enda Cavanagh · « **Reply #20 on:** March 10, 2011, 04:48:28 pm »

Ya it's one thing you need to be careful of with HDR expose. I do use the halo reduction set to high. I thought I had it pretty well controlled.

On another job since than I have increased the local contrast radius to a higher setting and it has improved it greatly. Beforehand I found myself having to compensate in CS5 which was a bit of a pain.

Lightbox · « **Reply #21 on:** March 10, 2011, 06:29:53 pm »

Nice one, I've been a long time user of Photomatix, or my own techniques within Photoshop, although I haven't shot a HDR image in a while now. I installed a trial of HDR Expose and it seems to run pretty slow on my 2.6GHz MBP, seems to spend a lot of time "Updating History" and then "Storing History" leaving you sitting there twiddling thumbs for minutes.

Compared to Photomatix though you have a lot better control of sharpening and contrast and the results look more natural from the base starting point.

Enda Cavanagh · « **Reply #22 on:** March 10, 2011, 06:57:07 pm »

Oh ya one other thing I forgot to say. It sucks the life out of your computer. I have quad core mac pro with 16gb ram and it's still a bit sluggish.

BernardLanguillier · « **Reply #23 on:** March 10, 2011, 07:01:24 pm »

For those looking for really natural looking HDR, my personal experience is that PT gui Pro's enfuse algo works great.

Their alignement algos are also best in class, for those images where some misalignement happened at capture (tripod movement, hand held,...).

I understand that this kind of look might be the targeted result for such images though.

Cheers,
Bernard

Enda Cavanagh · « **Reply #24 on:** March 11, 2011, 01:21:57 am »

Quote from: BernardLanguillier on March 10, 2011, 07:01:24 pm

For those looking for really natural looking HDR, my personal experience is that PT gui Pro's enfuse algo works great.

Their alignement algos are also best in class, for those images where some misalignement happened at capture (tripod movement, hand held,...).

I understand that this kind of look might be the targeted result for such images though.

Cheers,
Bernard

Thanks Bernard
Misalignment isn't an issue for me but I'll definitely try it out. Always good to try something new. Away for the weekend but I'll give it a go when I come back

Harold Clark · « **Reply #25 on:** March 11, 2011, 08:39:32 am »

Excellent work Enda, the new 28mm looks like a real winner too. What method do you use for framing & focussing with the Cambo, groundglass, laptop, viewfinder etc? So far I am using Canon with TS lenses, but I am intrigued by the new tools available in MF digital for architectural photography.

Enda Cavanagh · « **Reply #26 on:** March 11, 2011, 08:57:24 am »

would you believe it I usually use the rubbish viewfinder on the Cambo and than check the composition on the screen of the back. It takes a bit of tweaking as I always have pretty tight compositions. The view through the viewfinder is a bit of a guesstimate when you're going for greater movements. I do a lot of panoramics and I have a pretty good idea of what the stitched image will look like by just looking at the scene. Not very scientific but it works for me. It's a lot quicker than using a ground glass. I sometimes use the laptop but than of course there is the problem of lumping it around with your camera and tripod when you're shooting landscapes or working on larger architectural shoots where you are moving around a good bit. Of course with the laptop you know exactly what you are going to get, including sharpness etc.
My friend uses the Arca Swiss RM3D which has a vastly superior viewfinder. I am considering getting an adaptor made so I can connect such a viewfinder to a Cambo. I have already sat his viewfinder on my Cambo and although it is calibrated for another camera system I found it was much easier to judge the content of the scene than with the Cambo viewfinder, plus the glass itself is way superior. I found what you saw through the viewfinder was quite close to what the resulting image was. Looking into the Cambo viewfinder is like looking into a fishbowl!!

Harold Clark · « **Reply #27 on:** March 11, 2011, 10:33:57 am »

I know what you mean about viewfinders, I have looked at the Cambo viewfinder and it was very distorted. For natural light architecturals I don't use an assistant, so the laptop would be very cumbersome to lug around.

I think a sliding back would be ideal, Arca RM3 for example. I used 4x5 for many years and got very used to ground glass viewing. The main reason I haven't gone MF so far is that my clients probably wouldn't appreciate the difference, or be willing to pay for the additional quality.

archivue · « **Reply #28 on:** March 27, 2011, 04:52:50 pm »

i'm making more and more stitching to obtain a 36x72 "virtual sensor"...
the first day i've done it was with the Arca view finder... then i have switch to the rotaslide with a 36x72 mask... and i improve the composition by a wide margin ! but that's a personal taste !

By the way, how is the image on the ground glass compare to the 35 XL digitar ? brighter ?

and did you tried the 28 HR also ?

Enda Cavanagh · « **Reply #29 on:** March 28, 2011, 08:21:51 am »

I never used the ground glass so I can't say. For me it's too time consuming, especially when shooting architectural work where I'm working to a deadline. I'm just gotten used to shooting with the viewfinder. I plan to get the Cambo viewfinder at some stage for more accuracy and get an adaptor made to accommodate the different connections. You have to buy the viewfinder with the rm3d camera when buying it directly from Arca Swiss but you can buy it separately from 3rd parties.

I have actually never used the 28mm HR lens.

archivue · « **Reply #30 on:** April 04, 2011, 03:07:06 am »

"For me it's too time consuming, especially when shooting architectural work where I'm working to a deadline."

i think exactly the opposite... with the rotaslide, i make shure that my framing is accurate, then i shoot... from my experience, that's quicker and my framings are better ! But that's a point of view...

Enda Cavanagh · « **Reply #31 on:** April 04, 2011, 05:28:28 am »

Quote from: archivue on April 04, 2011, 03:07:06 am

"For me it's too time consuming, especially when shooting architectural work where I'm working to a deadline."

i think exactly the opposite... with the rotaslide, i make shure that my framing is accurate, then i shoot... from my experience, that's quicker and my framings are better ! But that's a point of view...

That's why I said for me it's too time consuming. I can set it up quite quickly on the viewfinder. Every one to their own. It would be a boring world if everyone did it the same way.

archivue · « **Reply #32 on:** April 05, 2011, 09:30:22 am »

"Every one to their own. It would be a boring world if everyone did it the same way."

you mean 5D mark II and TSE lenses ? ;-)

Enda Cavanagh · « **Reply #33 on:** April 05, 2011, 09:33:19 am »

Quote from: archivue on April 05, 2011, 09:30:22 am

"Every one to their own. It would be a boring world if everyone did it the same way."

you mean 5D mark II and TSE lenses ? ;-)

I'm a firm believer in making my life as complicated as possible. Unfortunately using the 5d Mark II will not enable me to do that!!

archivue · « **Reply #34 on:** April 05, 2011, 11:38:27 am »

your iphone wake up you in the morning time for a cup of Nespresso©...
in your Smart©, your GPS tells you where to go
you arrive just in time for your photo session with your Canon,
you stay in the car, you have a nice trans standard zoom...
...
...
...
a perfect life for a robot ;-)

PaulSchneider · « **Reply #35 on:** April 18, 2011, 04:48:20 pm »

Hi Enda,

thank you so much for the descriptions. I'd be very glad if you could comment on these questions regarding the 28 XL:

1) Do you get color shifts when the lens isn't shifted on a full frame sensor?

2) Did you consider the 32 HR and if so, why did you go for the 28 XL? Would you say that those 4mm make a huge difference? I'm thinking about the 32 HR because it is another design that supposedly creates less color cast and because you can get an analog center filter for it.

3) When you stitch, what would is the maximum amount of shift one would be able to use before sharpness and light falloff correction makes the part of the image less useable? The condition being, that the edges really remain pin sharp? One reason to get lenses with large image circles is to be able to stitch and create even higher-res images; I'm now just wondering how many perfectly sharp and noise-free pixels I can gain by using this lens for interior panos?

Thank you very much for your comments!

Kind regards

Paul

Enda Cavanagh · « **Reply #36 on:** April 19, 2011, 03:07:54 pm »

Hi Paul
I do get colour shifts with the lens, irrespective of the lens movements. I also take my calibration shot with a white plastic card. They eliminates the colour cast later on in phocus using the scene calibration tool. I also need to take note of the lens movements (including when there is no shift) and this is removed using the digital centre filter plugin in CS4 (not yet available in CS5. Grrrrr

)

I guess the extra 4mm available to me with the 28mm was important in my choice over the 32 HR. I already have the 35mm Schneider so the focal lengths are very similar. I shoot more and more panoramics and that extra 4mm with the huge movements on the 28mm just suit my style. On saying that I would have looked closer at the 32 HR if I hadn't already got the 35mm.

I have shot panoramics with huge movements on the lens. You have to do a bit of work at getting a final image you are happy with because of some noise caused by the light fall off (which must be removed digitally). This is more of an issue with the underexposed images (which are to be used for the sky of a landscape for example). I have shot panoramics with 19mm left and right with about 8mm vertical shift and I was happy with the end result. Considering it's a 28mm lens. That's pretty incredible. I would not be happy shooting with such movements on the 35mm.

If you look at the images I shot of Dublin Airport Terminal 2 all bar the 5th and 7th airport are stitched images using the 28mm. You just get this incredible range of options with the lens. I find the 23mm Rodestock focal length is a bit too wide angle for me personally (before some people say it is not I did say personally

) and the lens movements on the 23mm are less than the 28mm anyway.

I can easily say it's my favorite lens. It's not the perfect lens but it is pin sharp and has incredible movements. This for me is almost worth the pain in the ass caused by the digital centre filter

I hope that's of help to you.

Shinichi Sato · « **Reply #37 on:** May 04, 2011, 11:04:41 am »

Hi Enda,

This is my first post on the luminous-landscape.
I am now considering a "belated shift" to the MF digital (now I still use 35mmDSLR) and while researching about the Super-Digitar 28 XL, I found your review.
When I saw your website, I really love your pictures especially the atmosphere.
I am just wondering if you can let me know about a distortion of the lens.
I saw the pictures of the Dublin airport, but the terminal building is very curved shape so I couldn't prove the distortion of the lens. I would like to know your personal impression about the distortion, but a technical information from Schneider.

Thanks and Best,

Shinichi

Enda Cavanagh · « **Reply #38 on:** May 17, 2011, 05:36:44 am »

Hi Shinichi
Apologies for the late reply. Things can look a bit stretched. You're right about the airport, everything is curved anyway so it's not easy to judge. The lens has some distortion when you use greater movements. This is pretty unavoidable I guess when you consider the focal length and the movements possible. It takes a bit of getting used to know what will and won't work.

Shinichi Sato · « **Reply #39 on:** May 21, 2011, 09:24:32 pm »

Hi Enda,

Thank you very much for your reply and sorry for my late reply as well.
Your impression as an architecture photographer has been real help for me. The sensor size has been getting bigger so I consider the 28mm has larger image circle. You mean that you don't feel the distortion very much when you use small movements, right? Do you use any plug-in to correct the distortion of the lens?
We sometimes value whether it's worthy to buy, then your opinion for the lens is "it's worthy to buy" isn't it?!

Anyway, I have to consider the focal length corresponding to the sensor size, the size puzzled me

. From my experience, the angle of field of 28mm for 37x49 is preferable for me. The new IQ backs is so fascinated for me as you mentioned, but the series only have 33x44 and 40x54. Come on Hasselblad!

Author Topic: Images shot with new Schneider Super-Digitar 28 XL Lens (Read 28210 times)