I have the $89 shift adaptor for Alpha. The real problem is that when you get 24 megapixels, cropping will generally beat shift. You can buy a top-grade 14mm or respectable zoom like the Sigma 12-24mm (probably the best lens in its class, whatever people may say about Sigma). At 12mm, if you crop an APS-C size 10 megapixel rectangle out of the forthcoming A900 full frame, you are able to get the equivalent of an 18mm lens on full frame with 9mm rise and 6mm cross (assuming a vertical shot). The actual figures are a 12mm on APS-C with 6mm/4mm movement.
The best you can get from the Russian adaptors is 11mm displacement on a 35mm custom mount lens, or 10mm displacement using any Kiev-Hasselblad1000F-Exakta 66-Pentacon 6 mount lens. The shortest true wide angle made by the Russian factory is 45mm; the 30mm fisheye is not suitable. Schneider made an excellent 40mm for the Exakta. Even on full 35mm frame, these lenses have limited architectural uses. Alternative shift adaptors to take Mamiya 645 lenses open to door to a 35mm wide-angle of modest cost, but the ARAX/ARSAT type custom made 35mm is probably better.
I found the cheapest way to have a shift lens on Alpha was a vintage 35mm PC Nikkor converted to fit Pentax screw, with an adaptor. But 35mm is just not wide enough to be useful. I have used TS lenses on 35mm since 1975; my first was the Variostar, an Austrian-made assembly fitted with a Schneider 90mm Angulon, used for studio still life work.
I've used the 24mm PC-E lens on the Nikon D3, and 24mm with that amount of shift and tilt is very useful. However, the tilt and shift are opposed in axis, meaning that you can't (as delivered) use a drop front for a traditional Scheimpflug foreground to background focus plane with the lens axis re-centered on the sensor. Nikon will, when you place an order for the lens, switch the assembly round to align the axis of the tilt and shift. Canon's TS-E lenses are permanently fixed with opposed axes, and quite useless for many purposes. The ability of Nikon to customise their PC-E lenses is one reason why many pros are switching. Another reason is the exceptional optical quality of the PC-E 24mm (I have not tried the longer focal lengths).
If Sony wanted to make a tilt-shift, they should make it a 24mm, and have a rotatable intermount so that the axis of tilt can be freely changed relative to the direction of shift. So far this basic requirement - found on any view camera - has eluded 35mm system TS lens designers.
An exception is the freely maneouvrable Lensbaby 3G, which with a small aperture plate can become a fairly sharp tilt lens with minimal PC functions:
http://www.photoclubalpha.com/2007/06/1 ... wing-lens/
And a cheap way to get workable 35mm focal length PC without tilt is the Lens-in-a-Cap:
http://www.loreo.com/pages/products/loreo_pccap.html
While checking this out I found that on August 18th, Jeff Wulf posted an entire set of 3D images shot on Sony Alpha using a new Loreo 3D lens.
I am starting a new thread on this.
David
