Experience with Samyang/Rokinon tilt shift on Fuji X

Sjeupie wrote:

Would you mind posting/referring to some of your images? As per my initial post, I originally discarded the adapters idea (including the Kipon) as I deemed it finicky and not working well as I barely see people using it. So I'm intrigued about your positive feedback.

Here's a couple of examples taken with a Kipon Nikon F to Fuji XF TS adapter. Posted before. One uses the AIS 20/2.8, the other the 28/2.8 AIS. Which demonstrates a good thing about TS adapters - you can change focal lengths easily where TS lenses only come in limited options. I'll go back to my earlier statement and say that TS adapters are really no more finicky than a TS lens once you've got the lens mounted. Which is not to say that TS lenses aren't finicky - they take some practice and patience.

Shift is easier to understand and easier to use than tilt. The Kipon TS adapter (and every other TS adapter) will run a non-TS FF lens out of image circle quite quickly. The adapter offers 12mm of shift, but you won't get that with a non-TS WA lens because their image circles weren't designed to offer it. You might get 8-10mm of shift before it vignettes. You could double adapt to put a 645 legacy lens on the your FF TS adapter, but your problem then is that the FLs are significantly longer - you'll have trouble finding lenses with FLs shorter than 35mm.

Tilt is more complex. The good news is that tilt is less demanding of image circle than shift and the adapters provide all the degrees of tilt you will probably ever need. (This is of course true for TS lenses in general - it doesn't just occur with TS adapters.) On the downside, it is more complex to master in the first place. Secondly, and seriously, the tilt angles required for the very short FLs used for WAs on APSC sensors involve fractions of degrees.  They can be used but are very fiddly and finicky.

Note that with most TS adapters, the shift and tilt axis are locked at 90 degrees to each other. Meaning that you almost always can only either shift OR tilt. (Some of Kipon's medium format TS adapters allow adjustment of the T and S axes).

If you're going to get into architectural photography long term for a profession, consider buying the full FF DSLR and TS lens outfit.  Or a view camera. Alternatively, if you want a very good solution to get you out of an occasional hole, a TS adapter may well be your solution. You won't see many people using TS adapters or TS lenses - it's a specialised technique. Not seeing them in use doesn't mean that there's anything wrong with them generally or with Kipon's products in particular. The adapters are well made and smooth. And if you have queries, my experience is that Kipon will respond fairly promptly to e-mails (and in good English). I wouldn't buy the Nikon F - XF TS adapter again. I'd buy the Nikon G - XF TS adapter because it does both G and F type lenses. It costs a few bucks more but offers more choice of glass.

Hope that helps. Anyway, here are two edited images.... Note that the centre of the image is well above the camera in both cases - the buildings needed correction for significantly converging verticals.

Regards, Rod

XT1, Kipon TS adapter with Nikon AIS 20/2.8 lens

XT1, Kipon TS adapter with Nikon AIS 28/2.8 lens