Real tilts and shifts ...

[gstark]

How about a Horseman adapter for your DSLR?

Turns DSLR into Large Format Type View Camera

Ah yes ... the wonders of marketing-speak!

Still, it would be a nice-to-have, but at US$2K ?????

[sirhc55]

Do you not read my posts

[Murray Foote]

It's a pity there is no picture. There has to be a Nikon mount for the camera and I infer from the description that it would use Nikon lenses rather than large format ones (?). I presume there are no electronic connections so everything would be manual.

I'd hazard a guess that most people likely to be interested in this would have used large format cameras in the past. If you happen to have one lying around, there's a much cheaper DIY option that Keith Cooper explains.

Maybe I'll try that myself sometime. I have two 5x4 cameras but the wooden field camera is probably too light to hang a D3 off the back. On the monorail, I could replace the ground glass with a plate to hold the camera. Because the D3 would be displaced from the back of the monorail camera, the lenses would have to be closer than normal to the rear standard which would probably preclude using wide angles. Not high on my list of priorities to attempt, though, I must admit.

Regards,
Murray

[DaveB]

It doesn't use Nikon SLR lenses. It's a camera (lens and bellows) that you connect your DSLR body up to.

And yes there are pictures.

[Murray Foote]

Ah, OK, thank you for that. That makes sense then. And I would think that the $2,000 doesn't include the pictured lens.

The camera probably can swivel on the rear bracket to get vertical rear tilt but it looks as though you can’t get horizontal rear tilt. It appears that the back is designed to integrate with the DSLR more closely than the $10 method so you’d be able to use somewhat wider lenses.

My monorail is an Arca-Swiss from probably the 60s and it's very solidly built so I can’t see a problem hanging a DSLR off it. Obviously the main reason for doing so would be for movements but it would also be interesting to see how the centre of a 5x4 lens on a full-frame sensor would compare with a Nikon lens in normal operation.

Note for people unfamiliar with view cameras: You can use vertical and horizontal shift to correct perspective in buildings, for example. Tilt changes the plane of the front and rear standards. The front standard is what the lens is mounted on and the rear standard is the sensor plane. The ultimate in tilt is Scheimpflug effect which enables you to get seemingly infinite depth of field because you are focusing on a plane that is not perpendicular to you. Say you tilt the front standard forward and the rear standard back. If you extend the line of both standards down in your mind they will meet at a point. You can focus around any plane that runs through that point and your depth of field will operate around that plane. Thus you could have a railway line with the snail in the foreground in focus as well as the train in the distance….

Regards,
Murray

[gstark]

The camera probably can swivel on the rear bracket to get vertical rear tilt but it looks as though you can’t get horizontal rear tilt.

The original article I read suggested that this had full movements. The camera can rotate on the rear standard.

It appears that the back is designed to integrate with the DSLR more closely than the $10 method so you’d be able to use somewhat wider lenses.

That's only a $10 method for those already in possession of a 4x5.

Do you not read my posts

Three minutes, man. Three minutes.

[Murray Foote]

It appears that the back is designed to integrate with the DSLR more closely than the $10 method so you’d be able to use somewhat wider lenses.

That's only a $10 method for those already in possession of a 4x5.

Well yes, but you can pick up a 4x5 monorail and lens for a lot cheaper than $US2,000. For example, here's one that sold recently on ebay for $A220.

Regards,
Murray

[gstark]

It appears that the back is designed to integrate with the DSLR more closely than the $10 method so you’d be able to use somewhat wider lenses.

That's only a $10 method for those already in possession of a 4x5.

Well yes, but you can pick up a 4x5 monorail and lens for a lot cheaper than $US2,000. For example, here's one that sold recently on ebay for $A220.

Which is still significantly more than $10.