My company needs opinions on digi back vs. SLR

[trixshooter]

My firm is considering purchasing a P25 back and Arca Swiss F Metric

6x9 to shoot architectural projects. Based on what I have read here I

asked them to consider a Canon 1DsMkII with T&S lenses.

 

The office manager does not have a great handle on this issue and

neither do I as most of my work has always been film based.

 

Any qualified opinions would be very helpful, especially from

professional photographers using these puppies to make a living as

the demands may not be the same as fine art image makers.

 

Thanks

[joeb]

The qualifying questions I would ask are:

 

How big do you need to print?

 

Is the reasoning for the Arca Swiss based in the movements possible or image size?

 

Would a lower cost benefit you? Do the risks of recomending a less expensive solution outweigh the gain?

 

The TS lenses can not duplicate all the movements of the Arca Swiss. Are the TS lens focal lengths the ones you need?

 

You will save some cash going with a 1DsMII or a 5D solution. At 300 DPI the P25 is 18.1" x 13.6", the 1DsMII is 16.6" x 11.1", and the 5D is 14.6" x 9.7". What size is large enough? The sensor site size has some relation to image quality. Different generations from the same manufacturer or different technologies (CMOS vs. CCD) have more impact on quality. The P25 has the largest sites at 9umx9um, the 5D is 8.2umx8.2um, while the 1DsMII is 7.2umx7.2um.

[ellis_vener_photography]

The problem with a DSLR + shift /tilt lens solution is that you are limited to lens

movements only and don't have back movements. Lens movements only affect distribution

of focus while back tilt and swing movements control perspective rendition and also focus

distribution. An Arca-Swiss FC will let you combine both front and rear standard

movements. It will also let you combine say a front tilt and a front swing and a either a

lateral or vertical (rise/fall) shift. The Canon lenses only either tilt or swing and only in a

direction that is 90 degrees from the shift direction.

 

In architectural works a tilt movement is rarely necessary for architectural work, but I often

use swing on either the front or rear standard (or both) to control both perspective

rendition and depth of field (focus distribution).

 

Another positive aspect of using an Arca-Swiss 69FC is if you want to tile several images

together to make a really large image or a panoramic. With the A-S 69FC you move the

back vertically and /or horizontally (vertical = rise/fall, horizontal = shift) and the lens

stays in the same position. This makes tiling images together much, much easier as the

point of view doesn't move the way it does when you shift the position of the lens.

 

The DSLR solution is certainly easier to set up and use and and more compact. A medium

format back to be used to best advantage really requires the camera/back to be tethered

to a computer. There are a couple of reasons for this but by far the most important is that

it is a lot easier to inspect an image and check for details and focus on 15" or 17"

Powerbook screen than it is on a small LCD screen. This also applies to the DSLR as well.

 

Another aspect with architectural work is how does the back or DSLR deal with long

exposures? The Phase One is pretty noiseless down to 30 second exposures.

 

Another thing to consider is your choice of lenses. Canon offers three focal lengths of

lenses -- 24mm, 45mm and 90mm. With a view camera you have a much, much larger

choice of glass and many of these out perform the Canon lenses -- and the Canon lenses

are no slouches to begin with.

 

Another factor is how either the DSLR or the back deals with Chromatic aberration issues

-- fringing, color splitting, etc.

 

With the DSLR solution when you are ready (if ever) to upgrade you have to buy an all new

camera. With the Arca-Swiss FC + Phase One P25 back solution you just replace the back

and Phase One is very aggressive about providing a reasonable upgrade path when you are

ready to upgrade to maybe their forthcoming 39mp back. Still, you can probably buy 3

EOS 1Ds mk.2/3/4 cameras for the price of a single Phase One P25 back

 

Software considerations aren't an issue -- either way you'll want to be shooting "raw' and

using Phase One Capture One pro software and Adobe Photoshop CS2.

 

The two downsides of the Arca-Swiss FC + Phase One P25 back solution are substantial:

there is the very high initial cost and carrying and set up are more cumbersome.

[ellis_vener_photography]

These are my qualifications to answer your questions: I am a workign professional

architectural photographer and I review this leve lof equipment for Professional

Photoggrapher and a few other magazines. I have used exactly the set ups you asked

about.

[peter_phan]

You might also consider getting the new Canon 5D, which has 13mp and is full frame. Plus, it's only $3300. For that price, you can get two of them for less than the price of a single 1Ds MKII. Or get the 5D, plus the Canon 24mm TS-E, 45mm TS-E, and 90mm TS-E all for the price of a 1Ds MKII body alone. I have the Canon 24mm and 45mm TS-E. Great for architectural photography. You get plenty of lens movement and perspective correction. It's also easy to transport, set up, and take down. Plus, the instant feedback and quick turn-around you get with digital is fantastic and very cost effective. For the price of a P25 and Arca Swiss F Metric 6x9, you can get a few 5D bodies and a couple sets of TS-E lenses to shoot multiple projects at different locations concurrently. Heck, for the price of a P25 and Arca Swiss set-up, you could do the same with 1Ds MKII bodies. Or get a 1Ds MKII body and a 5D as a back-up. And of course, you can also add some non-tilt shift lenses for various other shots you need to get, too.

[peter_phan]

<i>The Canon lenses only either tilt or swing and only in a direction that is 90 degrees from the shift direction.</I>

<p>

No, Canon tilt-shift lenses can do tilt AND swing at the same time. And you can have them configured to tilt/shift along the same axis or perpendicular to one another.

[peter_phan]

Sorry, I meant "tilt and SHIFT at the same time" which I assume is what you meant also.

[andrew robertson]

You can emulate back movement to a degree by... ta dum... tilting the camera back!