Tilt/shift experts...
Discussion
Looking to experiment with tiltshift to get the 'miniature/toy' look
Was hoping someone could let me know what to look for in a lens to achieve this, ie is there a min rise/ fall / tilt level that i should be looking for?
Im aiming to ultimately use a medium format film camera , and at the moment thinking of the Hasselblad flex body (as i already have a Hasselblad 503CX) or perhaps a Fujifilm GX680
But im not sure if there are limitations on being able to create the model look with either of these, or perhaps someone has an alternative suggestion?
I am aware you can fake it in Photoshop, but given im using film, faking it is not allowed in my rules
Basically any tilt shift advice welcomed!
Was hoping someone could let me know what to look for in a lens to achieve this, ie is there a min rise/ fall / tilt level that i should be looking for?
Im aiming to ultimately use a medium format film camera , and at the moment thinking of the Hasselblad flex body (as i already have a Hasselblad 503CX) or perhaps a Fujifilm GX680
But im not sure if there are limitations on being able to create the model look with either of these, or perhaps someone has an alternative suggestion?
I am aware you can fake it in Photoshop, but given im using film, faking it is not allowed in my rules
Basically any tilt shift advice welcomed!
The Flex Body and the GX680 both have way more then enough tilt available for the miniature look. Critical focus will be tricky, you might need to play with magnifiers for the hoods and from memory the Flex Body takes special focusing screens for big tilts though I've no idea how necessary they really are. Metering and exposure is best done manually with no tilt or shift and a bit of bracketing will be needed too.
Should be reasonable to do on medium format, I couldn't get the focusing on 35mm film, just too small a viewfinder/focusing screen and not got the eyesight to do it. Focusing large format was easier in a way but with so many other things to make it difficult that it's a bit of a moot point.
Lens wise, probably looking at something like a portrait length, say 150mm on 6x6 or 6x8.
Confession; I haven't shot any film for many years but I do use tilt shift lenses a lot on digital.
Have fun with it.
Should be reasonable to do on medium format, I couldn't get the focusing on 35mm film, just too small a viewfinder/focusing screen and not got the eyesight to do it. Focusing large format was easier in a way but with so many other things to make it difficult that it's a bit of a moot point.
Lens wise, probably looking at something like a portrait length, say 150mm on 6x6 or 6x8.
Confession; I haven't shot any film for many years but I do use tilt shift lenses a lot on digital.
Have fun with it.
The easy way is to buy a shift tilt lens on a digital camera... but if you want to shoot film and do it the hard way....
Yes the GX680 of Flex body will work. I have only played with a Flex but IIRC there is a 1.5X extension to the focal length, some lenses don't achieve infinity focus and the wider the lens limits how much tilt you can use. Hasselblad made another system called the Arc body which you could mount film backs too, but used 3 Rodenstock lens options, but 3,4,5 times the cost... if you can find one.
Another option is to find a cheap 6x9 view camera with a Hasselblad plate to mount the back on or even mount the whole camera on so you can use the viewfinder, but you would obviously have to choose another lens on the front.
A well known photographer in the States, Mark Tucker, back in the film days made what he called 'Plunger Cam'. I can't find any pictures of it bit IIRC it was an enlarger lens clued to the camera with a bit of old inner-tube, so you could manually twist it to different angles. IIRC this was a portrait of his Dad, which may have been shot on it. https://www.marktucker.com/PHOTOGRAPHS/218/caption
However that was on a 2000 series Hasselblad which had a FP shutter in the body, so not possible with the 500 series lens. There is a technique called 'lens whacking', more used in video, where you dismount the lens and hand hold in front of the body, tilt it, let flare in etc. The problem with the Zeiss V lenses is tripping the shutter, it maybe possible to trip the shutter pin on the lens with a bit of plastic?
Yes the GX680 of Flex body will work. I have only played with a Flex but IIRC there is a 1.5X extension to the focal length, some lenses don't achieve infinity focus and the wider the lens limits how much tilt you can use. Hasselblad made another system called the Arc body which you could mount film backs too, but used 3 Rodenstock lens options, but 3,4,5 times the cost... if you can find one.
Another option is to find a cheap 6x9 view camera with a Hasselblad plate to mount the back on or even mount the whole camera on so you can use the viewfinder, but you would obviously have to choose another lens on the front.
A well known photographer in the States, Mark Tucker, back in the film days made what he called 'Plunger Cam'. I can't find any pictures of it bit IIRC it was an enlarger lens clued to the camera with a bit of old inner-tube, so you could manually twist it to different angles. IIRC this was a portrait of his Dad, which may have been shot on it. https://www.marktucker.com/PHOTOGRAPHS/218/caption
However that was on a 2000 series Hasselblad which had a FP shutter in the body, so not possible with the 500 series lens. There is a technique called 'lens whacking', more used in video, where you dismount the lens and hand hold in front of the body, tilt it, let flare in etc. The problem with the Zeiss V lenses is tripping the shutter, it maybe possible to trip the shutter pin on the lens with a bit of plastic?
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