A week ago I finally recieved my Hartblei 65mm Superrotator tilt/shift lense. For only $350 you can get an imported Ukrainian-made lense of excellent quality, that matches, and in some ways even surpasses, the features of the Canon T/S lenses that retail for about $1100. I posted a set of photos I took with this lense right after it arrived. These aren’t by any means the greatest photos I have taken, but I want to show off some of the strange focusing effects you can get from a tilt/shift lense.
Watchung Plaza (from train bridge)
Notice the “dollhouse effect”
Watchung Train Station
Flag on the local Chase bank branch
Street sign after car crash
Notice how only the center is in focus, despite the fact that I was facing it squarely
April 5, 2006
Canon Digital Rebel w/ Hartblei 65mm Super-rotator
ah jeeze why has this weird obsession with making things look like they might be from a model swept the net? $350 could buy a lot of useful things…
It’s interesting, but I can’t quite figure out what the purpose of it really is.
Is this the lens that distinguishes artists from mere photographers?
Then there’s me: my entire digital camera collection isn’t worth $350….
A lense of this type (tilt/shift) is useful for a number of things, including gimmicky effects, extra precise control over the composition for artistic reasons, and very practical perspective correction for such things as architectural photography. The “dollhouse” look is one effect you can get through unusual manipulations of the focal area that can only be achieved by tilting the lense (and therefore the focal plane) relative to the film/sensor. The shift function lets you move the lense horizontally away from the center of the film plane, letting you get a perspective correct shot in situations where you would normally have to aim the entire camera at a different angle.
I have some good links that explain the theory, usage, and purpose in more detail that I’ll post later.
Oh, and $350 is actually well on the cheap side for almost ANY type of SLR lense, and for one as specialized as this it’s extraordinary. Pretty much the only type of lense you can get new at that price or below is a straightforward prime with no fancy features-no macro, no zoom, no high end optics, no image stabilization etc.
I think the pictures were cool MF, and look forward to more of your sweet photo shots.
Yeah they`re really good. I`d love one of those.
There`s a Japanese blog that does similar pictures called the bitter girls I found a couple of weeks ago. I can`t understand the Japanese but I like the pictures .
It`s so bizarre how they make large things seem small. I`m a big fan of their work.
Keep up the good work too 🙂
Simon
Where did you find this lense for $350??? Please email me at aaronthomason@mail.com