Using tilt with m4/3 - example (long, with all the words).

A quick explanation of using a tilt lens adapter with m4/3 camera.

Tilt adapters were a bit of a fad a couple of years ago, most often being used for a "miniature" effect, which can look particularly good on timelapse video. The effect can be approximated in software, but for other than flat scenes (ie, scenes with a vertical component lke tall trees of buildings) may not be convincing enough.

Miniature effect applied in Snapseed (G7, 100-400)

Tilt miniature effect, (tilt adapter, G7, 28/2.8PK Sigma).

The fad has died down a bit now (a bit like HDR ) but it is still useful when applied for its intended purpose (a bit like HDR ).

A tilt adapter allows you to control the focus plane in the scene being photographed. This can be useful for landscape, but is commonly used for product, macro and closeup photography.

Traditionally, and especially for product or food photography, a large format view camera with movements would be used (often with a Polaroid back for validation), but now we use sensors and such large sensors are not available for mere mortals with such cameras.

Today's budget alternative; we've never had it so good.

While some seem to be continually on the hunt for more shallow depth of field, and complain that m4/3 can't provide this, others have the opposite requirement, and need as much depth of field as possible, and complain that even m4/3 cannot provide enough.

Fortunately we have some remarkably cheap options here, in the form of inexpensive tilt adapters and legacy lenses that work well with m4/3 and are great for closeup and macro photography.

G7 with MicorNikkor 55/2.8 mounted on m4/3 to EF tilt adapter, EF to Nikon adapter. I can use the same tilt adapter with Olympus (OM) and Pentax (PK) mount lenses with the appropriate adapter.

These adapters generally have 8° of tilt available, but that allows huge adjustments to the focus plane, depending on the lens being used. Infinity focus is available, and the adapter can be used as a straight adapter by reducing the tilt to 0°.

The adapter I use here has a tilt adjustment in one plane only, and the whole adapter rotates to move that plane around. This means the lens may at times be upside down. Others use a ball and socket approach that allows tilt in any direction, but that may mean that it is harder to reproduce specific tilt angles.

A close up example.

Scene taken with a 0° tilt, f1:2.8 to show the focus plane clearly.

The scene above shows the focus plane parallel to the sensor. f2.8 for clarity - you can see the plane is at the rear of the nasal cavity and intersects the background horizontally in this image. Even with aperture reduced to f11, the entire skull cannot be shown in focus.

Grid shows the focus plane clearly

Focus plane aligned with the skull (about 45° to the sensor)

The scene above with the focal plane aligned with the skull, at f2.8 for clarity. The plane hits the front tooth, the nasal cavity and the centre of the back of the skull. The focal plane is about 45° to the sensor, even though the tilt is less than 8°

Scene at f11

Scene above at f11 - usable focus over the entire skull.

The final example, at f11. Pretty much the entire skull is in focus

The final result at f11 on the original background.

Using an inexpensive adapter gets a fast and usable result.

Focus stacking.

Focus stacking to improve DOF .

There is an option to use focus stacking to improve DOF, and for some subjects this is definitely the way to go - however it can be more time consuming than the method shown here, and often the result shows perspective and other anomalies and may not be as clean as a single image from a tilt adapter. It is of course the most appropriate option if only using native lenses.

And of course, there is no reason not to consider using tilt and focus stacking together.

Other uses.

Tilt can be used to control the focus plane, which can be used to get more of a subject in focus, but it can also be used to get less. It is reasonable to use it not for a miniature effect, but in a more controlled way to improve subject isolation.

Cost.

The adapter I use cost about $30, which is quite good value for the amount of fun to be had.