Using Shift to Create A Pano

[Scott Rosenberg]

hey fellas, i just saw in another forum where jerry greer used the shift on his tilt/shift canon digi lenses to create digitally stiched pano.

assuming the head and camera were both nice and level, is there any reason why this same method wouldn't work with a view camera?

thanks!

[Sam Crater]

Works best if using back shift so the lens doesn't move. Also beware of moving clouds!

[Sam Crater]

Another problem is that the scanner software and/or operator will adjust colors and brightness/contrast settings differently on your two 4x5 scans making it hard to get the two images back together. This has been a problem for me in using this technique, perhaps others have had better luck.

[Will Strain]

sam - helps to use scanner software that allows you to fix an exposure.

Alternately, if using 4x5 and a scanner with a big enough transpency head, scan the two together and break them apart in PS.

Personally - I find that a properly aligned pano head, and the rotation method, if done incrementally (and carefully) makes for a more natural pano (to my eye).

[John Hennessy]

My current camera is a Technikardan which, due to the way it folds up, has more shiftiness than most cameras. I use both shift and pan methods. Shift won't work much with shorter lens because of smaller image circles but with Nikkor M's or other lenses with huge image circles shifting works. It does produce more overlap than one might for a panned panorama. An advantage is that with long lenses on 4x5 one cannot get the rear nodal point over the panning axis anyway so by shifting instead that problem is avoided.

Sam's comment about different scanning parameters for different sheets has an obvious solution: don't use different settings. Use the same setting for all sheets. That's tricky if there is a great tonal range difference from the film on one end to the film on the other end but it must be done otherwise the stitching software will not be able to cope.

[CXC]

Some of the Ebony models, including the 45S, have this description:

"60mm+60mm back shift, enabling panoramic photography without lens movement. "

So I guess people do it.