DIY Tilt & Shift lens with AF confirmation

Wilt wrote in post #5760722
Thru 'misused' of the plane of focus. In large format photography the plane of focus is often adjusted so that it is close to the plane of the ground, so that you have 'super deep DOF'. If instead, you tilt the plane of focus in the opposite direction, to 'super shallow DOF', you hit upon the 'miniature' look

But still.. why is it that the super shallow DOF tricks our eyes into thinking it's miniature? Take this photo for instance:

IMAGE IS A REDIRECT OR MISSING! HTTP response: NOT FOUND | MIME changed to 'image/gif' | Redirected to error image by FLICKR

IMAGE LINK: http://www.flickr.com …in/pool-tilt-shift-fakes/

Look closely...not far from the point of focus, both 'farther' and 'closer' our brains are expecting progressively increasing loss of focus. Instead the falloff in sharpness of focus is very very steep. Our brains are not accustomed to seeing things in this way, so it interprets it in the only way it knows....if I am very very close to something (in a miniature) my depth of focus falls off very rapidly.

Wilt describes a very interesting cognitive quirk, one that makes T+S imagery so fascinating. It really highlights that it is the brain that sees, not the eye, and vast amounts of interpretation occur before recognition does. Some of the more major processing is done so well, that we very seldom are aware of it: the initial retinal image is upside-down; much beyond the foveal region, our vision is terribly soft; our peripheral perception of colour is very poor; and we have blind spots (unlike octopusses) that are filled in by interpolation.

One other cool quirk, more a perceptive one than a cognitive one, is that we can actually directly detect light polarisation, like bees! It's subtle, but it's there. If you have an LCD monitor, look at a white part of the display and if you see a very pale yellow dumbbell about 15 mm long, that's due to the polarisation. Some can see this in the sky, but I've had no success so far.

Wilt wrote in post #5760869
Look closely...not far from the point of focus, both 'farther' and 'closer' our brains are expecting progressively increasing loss of focus. Instead the falloff in sharpness of focus is very very steep. Our brains are not accustomed to seeing things in this way, so it interprets it in the only way it knows....if I am very very close to something (in a miniature) my depth of focus falls off very rapidly.

I believe this is the correct explanation. It works from our expectations in photography too. A normal lens would not show such a tiny depth of field in a scene like that unless it were very close up, which logically suggests it must be very small. It's an intriguing effect.

i totally feel like an idiot...i thought it was a sample pic of a miniature ...

how much did this setup run?

bagtagsell wrote in post #5762071
how much did this setup run?

Bronica 75mm f/2.8 lens: $32 (ebay)
M42 extension tube set: $12 (ebay - roxsen)
Shock boot: $5 (local 4x4 shop)
_______________
total: $49

(I already had the M42 -> EOS adapter)

Cheaper than a lensbaby and with better glass, I'm happy with it.

JDubya wrote in post #5762399
Bronica 75mm f/2.8 lens: $32 (ebay)
M42 extension tube set: $12 (ebay - roxsen)
Shock boot: $5 (local 4x4 shop)
_______________
total: $49

(I already had the M42 -> EOS adapter)

Cheaper than a lensbaby and with better glass, I'm happy with it.

So, the m42(eos adapter and m42 extension tube is 2 different things right?

Just want to make sure, M42 extension tube set ---->http://cgi.ebay.com …3A12&_trksid=p3​286.c0.m14


And M42 Eos adapter-----> http://cgi.ebay.com …3A12&_trksid=p3​286.c0.m14

Azzure_7 wrote in post #5766118
So, the m42(eos adapter and m42 extension tube is 2 different things right?

Just want to make sure, M42 extension tube set ---->http://cgi.ebay.com …3A12&_trksid=p3​286.c0.m14


And M42 Eos adapter-----> http://cgi.ebay.com …3A12&_trksid=p3​286.c0.m14

That'll work but if you want to have the AF confirmation work you need to get an M42 to EOS adapter with a chip. Like this one

im going to try this, iv wanted a TS for a while (dont need one, just want one) but this is a cool and cheap way of having a go.

One question....
Whats exactly is "shock boot", Iv looked on ebay.co.uk for it, but nothing comes up, i wonder if it has another name in the uk?

And...are there any other makes/lenses other than the Bronica 75mm that i might be able to buy in the uk, and not import from the states?...or will any M42 mount lens work?

Madweasel wrote in post #5759723
JDubya, I think you sell yourself short in your description of your test pic, it looks pretty good. I like that effect, that makes you think you're looking at a little model. Well done on your ingenuity!

Oh dang! I thought that was a model!

MattD wrote in post #5766220
im going to try this, iv wanted a TS for a while (dont need one, just want one) but this is a cool and cheap way of having a go.

One question....
Whats exactly is "shock boot", Iv looked on ebay.co.uk for it, but nothing comes up, i wonder if it has another name in the uk?

And...are there any other makes/lenses other than the Bronica 75mm that i might be able to buy in the uk, and not import from the states?...or will any M42 mount lens work?

You can use any lens that is MEDIUM FORMAT (or larger), just check ebay. The only things you need in M42 are the extension tubes and the adapter. The lens can be from any mount it just has to be from a format larger than the camera you plan to use it on.

The shock boots I got were made by Pro Comp. Summit has them but I'm not sure if they ship to the UK. http://store.summitrac​ing.com …5+302289+115&au​toview=sku

A quick google search yielded this UK based site, don't know if it'll be of help though http://www.explorerpro​comp.co.uk …ShocksDampers_E​S3000.html

John_TX wrote in post #5766236
Oh dang! I thought that was a model!

haha, maybe I shouldn't be so hard on my photos. I was hoping to give it that model look and it looks like it worked!

got it, cheers JDubya

JDubya, all of the shots look like models. I'd say you did a really nice job capturing that affect.

John_TX wrote in post #5766907
JDubya, all of the shots look like models. I'd say you did a really nice job capturing that affect.

Thanks, but the shots on this page aren't mine and I believe those were faked in PS.