Introduction 1
Basic explanation of tilt 3
Basic explanation of shift 9
Getting started 14
Tilt – in practice 19
Shift – in practice 23
Creative opportunities 28
Appendix 32
General points 33
Scheimpug principle 34
Specications 36
FAQ 39
Terminology 40
1
What is it ?
The HTS 1.5 is an accessor y for H-sys tem cam eras that great ly
expand s their usabilit y both technically and creatively. It works
by allowing a lens to be moved in tw o diff erent way s to meet
some ch allenges t ypically found in professional photog raphy. It
is compact, simple to use and can prove to be an invaluable aid
in cert ain situations.
The HTS 1.5 adapter is mounted between the lens and the cam-
era body and, by wa y of the dat abus connections, aut omatically
conveys d ata to ens ure the optimum in convenience and a ccu -
racy of exposure. This infor mation is nally st ored as metadat a
with each le tha t can then be accessed in P hocus.
And it is in P hocus th at DAC cor recti ons autom atica lly take into
account all tilt, shift a nd rotational m ovement s as well as a
long list of speci c lens data. This ability, unique to Hasselblad,
ensures the except ional quality produced by the HTS 1.5.
What does it do?
The HTS 1.5 primar ily solves problems but equally well pro-
motes cr eative oppor tunit ies to provide the photog rapher with
an almost i nvaluab le tool.
Problem solving would be m ost obviously benecial in architec-
tural work, close-up prod uct photogr aphy and c ert ain kinds of
docum entat ion, for exa mple.
Creative opportu nities would cover almost any ar ea of phot og-
raphy where a fresher app roac h is requir ed regar ding selective
focus and/or perspective manipulation.
How does it work?
It exploits established optical principles familiar to view camera us-
ers, namely ‘ ’ and ‘ ’. These capabilities are further exploittilt shift -
ed by being able to rotate the whole unit. Only basic explanations
are included here as In-depth technical descriptions are beyond
the scope of this m anual. A search on the Internet under headings
such as ‘camera movements’ and ‘Scheimpug Pr inciple’, for
example, can provide much m ore insig ht into the concepts.
To be able to allow such moveme nts using a lens from t he sta n-
dard r ange, an opt ical converter that increases lens coverage is
integr ated int o the design. In this way the ada pter expa nds the
use of a num ber of lens es that m any users a lready have ther eby
avoiding t he need for dedicated lenses.
Very sim ply put , tilting t he lens moves the orientation of the
plane of sharp focus while shifting the lens moves th e projected
image cir cle inside the cam era.
What problems does it solve?
There a re basically two ar eas that can be helped by tilt and
shift:
· Tilt is used when you w ant to change the orientation of the
plane of sharp focus.
· Shift is used to change the area selected for coverage of a
scene while retaining par allel lines in the image. It can also
used to create panorama s when used horizontally.
Although tilt is typically us ed in close-up product or lan dscap e
photography a nd shift is typically used in ar chitectural ap plica -
tions, it w ould be wr ong to hig hlight t hese areas too much .
There a re many sit uations w here some tilt or some shift or
both would go a long way in producing a competitive ed ge on an
other wise normal sh ot.
How is it creat ive?
The actions tha t produce pr actic al solut ions to problems cr eate
effects th at can also be classi ed as creative, dependent on
the intention. For example, it might be said that “st itchin g” (the
digit al combining of several ima ges) creativ ely exploits the ‘cor-
rect ’ use of movements w hile selective de-f ocusing creati vely
exploits the ‘incorrect’ use.
Hasselblad HTS 1.5 – Introduc tion
2
Compatibility
The HTS 1.5 was specically designed for use with the HCD
4/28mm and HC 2.8/80mm lenses, and these should be seen
as the pr imar y choice for maximum performance. However, the
HC 3.5/35mm, HC 3.5/50mm and HC 2.2/100mm lenses can
also be used with excellent results. Th e 13mm, 26m m and
52 mm extension tubes are also compat i ble with a ll of these
lenses. The HC 3.2/150, HC 4/210 and HC 4.5/300 can also
be used but handli ng and performanc e are compromised and
are therefore not recommended for crit ical work.
Please note that t h e HTS 1.5 is not compat ible wit h the
H1.7x conver t er, CF lens ad apter, HC 3.5-4/50-110mm, HCD
4-5.6/35-90mm, or the HC 4/120mm M acro.
The autofocus and focus conrm at ion features on t he camera
are also au tomati cally de-activ ated for a ll lenses.
Tilt
Tilt changes the orientation of the
plane of sharp focus. This creates
the appearance of an ‘increase’ or
‘decrea se’ in depth of field.
Shift
Shift allows perspective control
by preserving parallel lines in the
image. It also allows ‘stitched’
panoramas.
The integral converter in th e HTS 1.5 alt ers the an gle of view
(in eff ect, extending the focal leng th) of each lens and causes
some loss of speed. For example, a HC 2.8/80mm - HTS 1.5
combin ation will produce an image you mig ht expect from a
4.5/128 mm lens on its own, as a roug h guide. Please see
under for full d etails. Specications
For the H TS to function correctly, the rmware in the ca mera and Pho cus soft-
ware must be recent. Ple ase ensure yo u have the latest versions installed. You
can download them free of charge fro m:
http: //ww w.ha sselb lad.c om/se rvic e--suppo rt /te chnic al-suppo rt/softw are-d ownloads
Rotation
Allows the whole unit,
at any tilt and shift set-
tings, to be rotated for
further control.
20º
total
180º
total
36mm
total
TILT
– a basic explanation
A classic problem in close- up product
photography and similar areas, is the lack
of depth of eld.
Using tilt can solve many such problems
as well as offering creative solutions.
4
With a basic understanding o f the principles behind
tilt and shift, you will gain mor e confident contro l of
the HTS 1.5 and be able to exploit i ts potent ial to the
optimum.
The function of a camer a lens is to project an image o nto a sen-
sor. The senso r, being effectively two dimensional and lying in a
specic plane, can only r ecord a t wo dime nsional at plane, in
the sam e orient ation, in the subject.
In pra ctice we norma lly perc eive so me areas in front an d behind
this at plane in the subjec t as “sharp” and t his is t erm ed the
depth o f eld (which in its tur n expan ds or cont rac ts acco rding
to aper ture set tin g and subject dis tanc e).
Tilt
The lens is normally set per pendicular to t he image p lane and
there fore is ef fect ively in parallel with th e sensor as well. This
provides three planes t o consider – the sensor, the lens an d the
subject – all par allel. They a re also interrelat ed, so moving one
will have an e ffect on the others. This is where tilt is int roduced.
In the diag ram below, the imag e plane, lens plane an d subject
plane ar e parallel. This creates an ar ea of acc eptable sharp -
ness t he dept h of eld. In t his case, not all of the subject –
lies wit hin the bo undar ies of the dept h of e ld and tho se par ts
there fore appear unsharp. By tilt ing the lens it is possible to
includ e more of t he objects in th e depth o f eld wit hout having
to use a smaller aper ture.
Basic explanation of tilt
Tilt
Original scene
from camera
viewpoint In this case, the lens is
focused in front of the
yellow object.
At the given ap erture
settin g, the yellow object
is covere d by the depth
of field, the red object
partly covere d and the
blue object not covered
at all. The yellow object
will therefore be accept-
ably sharp, the red object
partly sharp and the blue
object un sharp.
Lens plane
Image (sensor) plane
Depth of field
Subject plane
