SO ... these two buildings walk into a bar ...

[DonSchap]

Yep, they sure look a little droopy with the standard lens aspect, eh?

Then, you take out your T/S lens,

SHIFT it to the max and retake the image ...

EXIF: SONYa850 w/ MC 35mm f/2.8 T/S
@ f/2.8 - 1/250 sec - ISO-200 - CP-Filter - M - Natural Light - Tripod - Full SHIFT

Folks, this lesson in "glass management" is over!

[OsmosisStudios]

The image quality of the first image is terrible. Its terribly soft.

That being said, the second is much sharper. That being said, the left building is still slightly leaning over. Compositionally, the power lines and lightpost are extraordinarily distracting, but as an (unwarranted) example of TS lenses, it works well enough.

[LeeR]

I saw a program the other day called "No Wires" that will remove those ugly wires for you. You may want to check it out.

[DonSchap]

Here is a newer shot of the pair ... wires removed.

Zurich Towers


EXIF: SONYa850 w/ MC 35mm f/2.8 T/S
@ f/11 - 1/400 sec - ISO-200 - M - Natural Light - Tripod - Full SHIFT - +/- 2Ev [bracketed] HDR

[OsmosisStudios]

That's a completely different image, but sure.

I've also just now noticed how terrible SOFT the upper corners were on the first shifted image and how bad it vignettes, especially compared to the second shifted one.

Too bad the EXIF is completely missing, so there's no way of even verifying things...

[DonSchap]

Originally Posted by OsmosisStudios

Too bad the EXIF is completely missing, so there's no way of even verifying things...

I placed the "EXIF" base line exposure information under both the initial image and the subsequent one.

I have to admit that after the initial series of shots, I sat down and took a lot of things into consideration. Items that had been discussed in a couple forums, when I posted the first shots on Monday night. I used those ideas along with some of my own estimations and correction ideas when I approached the building, this time.

1. I took off the CP-Filter, to eliminate the inherent addition of vignetting, in the SHIFT'ed position. It just caught too much of the CP-filter's edge, at the top.
2. I backed up about twenty feet, to give myself some more background. Unfortunately, I believe that some other "photographer" planted a tree in the "correct" position for this 35mm shot, so I had to move over, off center, in order to clear the tree branches and get the shot. (I have heard of people doing things like this, before, especially for architectural shots. They get THEIR shot and another tree gets planted .. in front of or on the spot where they stood to get it.)
3. Due to the glare and sunlight, without the CP on, I also bracketed this image, then created a suitable HDR, limiting the white point and trying to bring out the highlights and sub-shadows with tonal curve adjustments.
4. Finally. I cropped the image to size, framing it to have it truly dominate and impose itself in the frame.

The previous shots were simply demonstration of what the T/S can do on its own, with its widest aperture (f/2.8), without any assistance from the computer. Once you determine what you need to improve the shot, the second series usually looks better, overall.

Thank you for your evaluation of the shot.

[autofocus]

...got pretty much the same results in Photoshop as you corrected image using Edit>Transform >Perspective without the cost of what I imagine can be a costly lens. Maybe not perfect, but did an admirable job of correcting it. And thanks Lee, for the wire removal tip...looks like an interesting plug in

[autofocus]

didn't attach it to my last email, but here it is...like I said, maybe not perfect, but OK for a 30 second edit

[DonSchap]

I'm not sure how you did it ...

Skewed Untilt-1.jpg

but, it would appear that your "30-second edit" found a way to skew the building on the left towards the one on the right. The gap between them is not quite vertical and they are forming a trapezoid! I, honestly, do not believe the designers had that in mind, originally.

[autofocus]

OK...a 60 second version...better? Unless you have a particular need for a tilt shift lens, it probably won't find it's way into too many people's bag...kind of a luxury item for most