A solution for architecture photography for Fuji X-Pro 1

A theoretical approach

Taking pictures of high buildings requires some perspective correction. There is an ongoing discussion, if it is necessary to have PC lenses and not do everything in post processing. I belong to a school that prefer to get everything right in the camera. How nice it is to have PC ability in camera lenses I fully appreciated, when I started to use 4x5 Tachihara view camera.

I could never afford to buy a perspective correction lens. Too expensive for my little use - architecture is just a minor interest for me.

However, with recent market offering it could be possible to obtain a proper optical perspective correction solution without robbing a bank.

 

Samyang perspective correction lens

Samyang announced 24mm perspective correction lens. While it almost certainly will not cost peanuts, it is expected to be significantly cheaper then Nikon or Canon.

It will not be available in Fuji X mount, but adding a Nikon F adapter will not increase the cost significantly.

Of course, the world is not perfect. 24mm is very good for full frame cameras, whereas for X-Pro 1 APS-C sensor it is equivalent of

I would prefer something that is equivalent of 28mm.

 

 T/S Adapter

 

I noticed that you can buy a Tilt or Shift adapters on ebay. The idea is, full frame lenses have a bigger circle of view than APS-C ones - it should be feasible to apply a little tilt or shift.

Kipon shift adapter. From http://www.dl-kipon.com

For Fuji X only Nikon F adapters are available. Those adapters are only shift, not tilt. However, I believe that shift is much more important for a camera like X-Pro 1. Tilts are necessary for 4x5 to control focus, but an APS-C camera should do well with controlling depth of field with aperture only.

When you use a lens like Nikkor 18mm 3.5, it would provide an angle of view of a lens of aproximately 27mm - probably as good as it gets. I think it is quite an interesting option.

This solution can be probably cheaper then Samyang, but not much. The shift Kipon Nikon-Fuji X adapter is about 100 EUR, depending on where you buy, then Nikkor 18mm is a few hundred.

Double shift

Interesting point, if you put a Samyang PC lens in such shift adapter, it should be possible to get "double shift" - maximum shift on full frame lens should still cover much more than required for X-Pro sensor.

 

Conclusion

There are some options for using Fuji X-Pro for architectural photography, which I am going to explore further when I have funds available. 

Hint: Fuji X100 charger with lost widget adapter

One of the peculiarities of Fuji X100 camera is the charger, which require a plastic widget adapter for the batteries to be blocked in the charger and charged. It is a part, which is easily lost.

What to do, when it is lost? The best is to use something that you already have with you. I always have one or more USB cables for external disks or cameras. I use a USB standard plug to block the battery in place. It works perfectly.

Photo picks #1: X-Pro 1 married with Leica lens for macro shot

I am starting a new series of posts. I would like to simply share impressions on the interesting photos I have found on photo communities websites, and to suggest my friends to see those photos for themselves.

Below I am presenting a very nice macro shot. Macro photos could be outstanding, and can be quite boring. This one is very pleasent to my eye, I like the colors of the leaf starting from red and going through yellow to green, with wonderful light reflections. It looks wet - maybe the rain just stopped? The background is very nicely blurred.

The gear used to shoot it is another reason for me to highlight this picture. The camera was Fujifilm X-Pro 1, and the lens was Elmarit-R 90mm 2.8. The author of this photo did, what I think I will do - buy a longer non-Fuji lens until Fuji releases nice tele lenses. This photo is a proof this approach actually works.

It gives me confidence that my impressions about the Fujifim X-Pro 1 camera were correct, and when I finally get it, I will not regret it.

NATURE IN TRIO by iHuraba