X2D with tilt shift lens

[JCM-Photos]

I use a lot my Nikkor fisheye zoom 8-15 that is able to give a 180° diagonal angle on the square cropped (33x33) X1D what is a unique feature in digital MF.

As the digital square format 33x33 is heavily cropped from 33x44 there is no vignetting in the pictures and the 180° diagonal can be easily adjusted with the zoom ring and the outlined square in the viewfinder.

Most of the time my Nikkor 8-15 is in my Hasselblad bag, stuck at f:11 on a Novoflex adapter

[MGrayson]

I just did an interesting test.
1) Shoot 9 frames on tripod with Mamiya 645 50mm/4 Shift lens
2) Shoot 9 frames hand-held with XCD 45

All frames 1/250, f/8, ISO 100. Stitched them both. Perspective corrected, matched colors and contrast.

Verdict:
in the center, the Mamiya was a bit sharper (it *was* on a tripod).
Everywhere else, the XCD 45 stitch had more detail. Sometimes drastically so.

These are 100% crops on 13,000x13,000 pixel images!
XCD 45 on left, Mamiya 50 on right

BTW, I'm not arguing against shift lenses. I loved using a tech camera. This is more a comment on modern optics and 100MP sensors. It's also possible I have a bad copy of the 50, or it doesn't adapt well to the X2D.

I can only compare at 50 Mpix,
I found really a tiny difference in finest details @100% between my Mamiya 50 Shift and the XCD45 in favor of the XCD but a bit more difference in micro contrast.
And after post in Phocus no visible difference on a large print.
I guess your 50 shift or adapter has a problem, why is your whole frame a square ?

I took square crops of the panoramas. No real reason. The Mamiya is really beautiful near the center - I worked hard to get the 45 to match its rendering! I don't know where the problem lies. I've noticed that adapted lenses have a lot more fringing on the X2D than on the S3. But if it's the lens, camera, adapter, or user, I'm not sure, and it would take a long time to figure out. I also notice that I can't quite focus at infinity with this adapter. At f/8, infinity is sharp, but it suggests a sub-par adapter.

[GAFvanBaalen]

I also have a question related to the use of non XCD (so manual) lenses. How do you guys use/control the spod-meter in manual or aperture priority mode? In my case I can tab the screen to move the metering spot, but it doesn't show a circle on the back screen (*like it does with XCD lenses). So I don't know where I am metering related to the image. Next to that, metering seems very crude in the sense of it changing in very big steps (where I want to do subtle changes). Do any of you experience the same issue?

[Michael H. Cothran]

1. I have a Nikon 24mm PC-E lens adapted to the X1D/X2D via a Novoflex adapter. Rise & falls are fine, but horizontal shifts do have a bit of vignetting after 8mm of shifting.

Interesting set up, but how can you make it work?
PC-E lenses have electronic aperture, once upu mount them on a Novoflex adapter you cannot change aperture. You need a separate Nikon body with electrical aperture contacts to change the aperture, than unmount from the Nikon and mount on the adapter. Not a practical solution indeed.
Or, did you find a better solution?

Novoflex makes an adapter which allows you to adjust the aperture via the adapter. It does not indicate what actual f-stop you're using, so I adjust it to the middle range, so I can presume I am shooting in the neighborhood of f8 or f11. Whatever my aperture, it's plenty sharp, and good DOF. I believe there is one other adapter that will allow aperture changes also, maybe the Techart.
In all candor, I normally use the PC-E lens on a Nikon D850 body, but sometimes it's just fun to play with on the X2D.
I did consider using the HTS adapter, but the adapter+HC24mm lens cost over $13,000, and could not find any from used markets.
I could buy a new Fuji GFX 100s+their new 30mm TS lens for less money. And in all candor, I'm considering it!!

[Sandro]

1. I have a Nikon 24mm PC-E lens adapted to the X1D/X2D via a Novoflex adapter. Rise & falls are fine, but horizontal shifts do have a bit of vignetting after 8mm of shifting.

Interesting set up, but how can you make it work?
PC-E lenses have electronic aperture, once upu mount them on a Novoflex adapter you cannot change aperture. You need a separate Nikon body with electrical aperture contacts to change the aperture, than unmount from the Nikon and mount on the adapter. Not a practical solution indeed.
Or, did you find a better solution?

Novoflex makes an adapter which allows you to adjust the aperture via the adapter. It does not indicate what actual f-stop you're using, so I adjust it to the middle range, so I can presume I am shooting in the neighborhood of f8 or f11. Whatever my aperture, it's plenty sharp, and good DOF. I believe there is one other adapter that will allow aperture changes also, maybe the Techart.
In all candor, I normally use the PC-E lens on a Nikon D850 body, but sometimes it's just fun to play with on the X2D.
I did consider using the HTS adapter, but the adapter+HC24mm lens cost over $13,000, and could not find any from used markets.
I could buy a new Fuji GFX 100s+their new 30mm TS lens for less money. And in all candor, I'm considering it!!

I do have a Novoflex adapter, but the aperture closing flange is mechanical, it doesn't work with the pce lenses, where the aperture is in fact electronic. Are you sure you are not simply shooting at full aperture? Exposure could be right, also depth of focus at large distances could be enought with a 24mm, so it could be an acceptable solution depending on the pictures you want to take.

[JCM-Photos]

I can only find in the Novofles catalog the HAX/NIK adapter that is not able to control the aperture of Nikon E lenses !

This adapter is for non E lenses and controls only manually the mechanical aperture preselection on non G lenses and a guessed aperture value on G lenses

The only way to use an E lens on this adapter is to use the workaround blocking the aperture on a chosen fixed value on a Nikon body before mounting it on the adapter.

This adapter gives heavy mount vignetting with all Nikon F glass. I use it for MP square cropped images where there is no vignetting. My favorite Nikon lens on this adapter is the Nikon fisheye zoom with the focal length fitted to the 33x33 cropped sensor format.

[yvette]

Does anyone know what the Mamiya 645 50mm lens would be equivalent to on the X2D?  I'm also wondering about the Pentax 45mm and 55mm.  I'm needing a wider angle tilt shift for the X2D but getting confused about the focal length conversions from these cameras to the Hasselblad.  Can anyone explain?  Thank you!!

[MGrayson]

Does anyone know what the Mamiya 645 50mm lens would be equivalent to on the X2D?  I'm also wondering about the Pentax 45mm and 55mm.  I'm needing a wider angle tilt shift for the X2D but getting confused about the focal length conversions from these cameras to the Hasselblad.  Can anyone explain?  Thank you!!

The focal lengths don't change. It's a 50mm lens with shift. I have one, and my copy is not great (I've ordered another one). It's fine unshifted, but gets smeared in the corners with small amounts of shift. The best wide angle solution I've found is the Pentax 645 35mm A (manual focus only) lens on a tilt-shift adapter. The Mamiya 645 35mm lens is also not great (again, my copy). For adapted 645 lenses, I'd go Pentax 645 for lenses 150mm and shorter, and Mamiya 645 for anything longer (or any ULD or APO lens). Ok, the Pentax 645 400/5.6 ED-IF is sharp and light. Old Hasselblad V lenses and Pentax 67 lenses also work well, but the former are more expensive and the latter are heavy.

[yvette]

Thank you for the info.  This helps a lot. I appreciate it!  .  Btw - I just got an email from Laowa that they are planning to release a 15mm and 20mm tilt shift lens for the X2D later this year.

[MGrayson]

Thank you for the info.  This helps a lot. I appreciate it!  .  Btw - I just got an email from Laowa that they are planning to release a 15mm and 20mm tilt shift lens for the X2D later this year.

That's good news. I had the 17mm Laowa for the GFX and it was a very good lens. Their early 15mm shift lens wasn't as sharp, but I think they've updated its optical design.

[mroe]

Will Hasselblad release a X-system version of the H-system HTS 1.5 tilt shift adapter?

I'm considering building out a setup for my X2D using the H-system adapter as shown in this mathphotographer video:

[mar-ko]

Thank you for the info.  This helps a lot. I appreciate it!  .  Btw - I just got an email from Laowa that they are planning to release a 15mm and 20mm tilt shift lens for the X2D later this year.

Does anyone happen to know if such a lens would/could have a built in central shutter? My gut feeling says no ... (Without an in-lens-shutter it could only be used with e-shutter, which I would like to avoid.)

[MGrayson]

Thank you for the info.  This helps a lot. I appreciate it!  .  Btw - I just got an email from Laowa that they are planning to release a 15mm and 20mm tilt shift lens for the X2D later this year.

Does anyone happen to know if such a lens would/could have a built in central shutter? My gut feeling says no ... (Without an in-lens-shutter it could only be used with e-shutter, which I would like to avoid.)

Disclaimer: I have no real info.
I'd be surprised if it did anything more than communicate its focal length to the camera. And even that's not a given. I'd still get the 20mm if it were sharp when shifted, even if it were fully manual. IBIS makes the ES usable, if not ideal, hand-held. I don't shoot a lot of moving subjects that wide anyway.

[Mudlup]

Has anyone tried the Canon TS-E24 mm f3.5 II lens with a TECHART TCX-01 autofocus adapter?

[Mudlup]

Is there a TS lens built for medium format cameras that will fit on the X2D?