x100 distortion

Please see images attached - as you can see there is distortion (parallax error?) with he church steeple and the buildings on the right of the city scene. I've included a second church image which is not (as) distorted - I don't understand why. Also, while not attached, I had a full-length portrait image of a friend where the x100 was held vertically and their legs were distorted but the top part of their body was fine - I was about 10-15 feet from the subject. What's going on here? How can I avoid? And how can I fix such images? Thank you in advance! Damo













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keep the subject in the middle of the frame. Or buy a DSLR with a couple of Tilt and shift lenses.

Every camera/lens will give results like these whenever the sensor is not perfectly square to the subject. These effects are called keystoning and/or converging verticals. The effects can happen in both the horizontal and vertical planes. A Google search on converging verticals will reveal many useful articles.

There are two solutions.

1. Use the EVF display to hold the camera square to the subject. You will see converging vertical distortions change in the display as you move the camera orientation. The X100 has a virtual horizon option in the display. Use this option to get one of the two axes straight. Some tripod heads have levels. Using a tripod with a level will help you get both axes straight.

2. Many post-production software applications have controls that let you fix the tilt in both axes. PtLens is a stand alone program specifically designed for this sort of correction. There are many others including LightRomm, Photoshop Element and Phototshop.

Optical viewfinder may be not straight as a known issue in some of the X100's.(like mine, which I returned).

This will add to the problem of trying to get a decent image. As mentioned, using the electronic level will help, but not practical to use with every shot.

wchutt said:

2. Many post-production software applications have controls that let you fix the tilt in both axes. PtLens is a stand alone program specifically designed for this sort of correction. There are many others including LightRomm, Photoshop Element and Phototshop.

Click to expand...

And even the Silkypix RAW Converter that comes free with the camera.
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Apteryx

Thanks for your insights!

Great! Thanks a lot for your help.