Which system to buy into for architectural photography?

Hi,

Which system, if any, should I be looking into for architectural

photography? Do any recent systems include good enough tilt/shift

lenses? I would also need a minimum film size of 6x7 and a macro lens

for some close detail work (1:1 on architectural models).

Many thanks in anticipation.

Probably a Fuji 680 or a mamiya RZ with the shift tilt adapter.

I bought a second hand view camera, which was far more cheaper then buying a shift lens

for my RZ.

The best way to do architectural photography is with a 4x5 view camera. You really need the ability to move the lens around easily to keep things parallel. All the tilt-shift arrangements for medium format cameras are second rate adaptations. You can get a used monorail and a couple of lenses for a reasonable price. I assume in your case weight is not relevant since you're not hauling it into the woods. A 4x5 will be cheaper and give better results than a medium format machine. The only downside, is the need for a 4x5 enlarger and it's accompanying lens.

 

Good luck.

http://www.tomwestbrook.com/Photography/arca_swiss.html

 

If you ever handle one of these with geared Orbix and an Arca Swiss binocular viewer on it

... you will sell your car and walk to get one. That's what happened to me although I also

saw one with a Mamiya motorized 6 x 8 cm roll film back as well and life will have no real

meaning for me untill I get one.

see this thread - http://www.photo.net/bboard/q-and-a-fetch-msg?msg_id=00Ayv6

 

good discussion there, and some really good choices if you are willing to use a tripod-based solution.

 

i have used a 4x5 for the past 20 years, and am moving down to a MF system for architecture to do some book projects when i retire. frankly, i am tired of messing with sheet film. i also wish to be able to hand-hold the camera for other types of work, which rules out the very nice fuji 680, the horseman, linhoff, and alpa cameras.

 

none of the shift lenses available for MF are quite wide enough for me. the little mamiya 50mm shift is fairly useable, but it is a 645 format, whereas i would prefer a 6x7 format machine. the pentax 67 has a 75mm shift lens that i owned many years ago - nice setup but again, not wide enough for many shots. same with teh 75mm shift for the RZ67.

 

from discussions with others doing this kind of work, it appears that using quite wide lenses on a good 6x7 system, and then correcting perspective using photoshop can yeild good results. this is the way i am currently leaning - a pentax 67 with a 55mm or 45mm, scanning the CTs, importing into photoshop and using the imagefactory plugin to correct perspective. another avenue is to use a 40-50mm lens on a leveled hasselblad 6x6 and crop as needed.

Hasselblad Arcbody is first class quality, affordable and designed for architectural work. Unfortunately they are not made any more. Sometimes, although not so often, you see them for sale as secondhand.

 

Kerkko K.

"Hasselblad Arcbody is first class quality, affordable and designed for architectural work" no - it only has movements in 1 axis. 5x4 cameras will give you many more movements which are essential for getting the job done.

For total view camera flexibility for architectural photography, combined with rollfilm convenience and somewhat less weight, consider a 6x9 view camera, such as Arca, Ebony or Linhof (Technikardan or the newer M679cc/cs). The Arca and Linhof also readily accept digital backs, though prices for those are still sky high. A drawback, for some, to the small 6x9 view cameras are the correspondingly small groundglass viewing area, but that seems a matter of personal preference.

For the price of an Arcbody, you'll find many affordable 6x9 or even 4x5" cameras. And more movements.

Thanks so much for all responses to date. I'm still unsure about my best options relative to what I can afford but have a few further questions that narrow down my options and would be very grateful to get any responses on them.

 

I have been considering buying the Canon TS E 24mm lens so that I have the option to shoot architectural images on film or digital. I?m trying to establish whether I?d get better results (in terms of image size and quality) using this lens with either (1) a good 35mm SLR like the Canon A3 and hi-res scanning negs or (2) a high-end Canon digital (anything in the range from the 20D up to the 1Ds mark II). I?m getting mixed comments from people ? the Canon website help say digital is best; a very helpful gent from Calumet maintains that shooting on 35mm slide film and drum scanning will get better results than ANY digital option (except for digital backs for MF). If he is right, how can digital compare with MF?

 

I also wonder if I am over complicating things and don?t really need the tilt-shift options. I am very comfortable in p?shop and enjoy tweaking images in post-production ? I?m definitely not from a traditional photography background so would struggle with LF! I have experimented with specific lens correction plug-ins in p?shop so I can work with images as long as the quality is high enough. Maybe I should be going for a safe MF option, scanning negs in hi-res and doing the rest in p?shop??