I've seen some photographers use a special filter with their MF and 35mm gear. The filter, which is often rotated, creates a sliver of sharp focus, similar to using tilt and/or swing with LF. My questions are: 1) What type of filter is this? 2) How is it made? 3) Who makes it?

Many thanks.

-- Matthew Runde (actorm@hotmail.com), February 11, 2002

Answers

It isn't a filter, it is a lens mounted in a rotating mount with a tilt and shift movements built in. The photographers are usingthe lens for an anti-Schiempflug effect.

Canon makes three Tilt/Shift lenses for the EOS cameras: a 24mm, a 45mm and a 90mm. (If I am not exact about the focal lengths I am very close).

Nikon makes a single Tilt/Shift lens right now which will fit on all Nikon F mount cameras: the 85mm f/2.8D Tilt/Shift Micro Nikkor. Very good for portraits and still life.

Mamiya makes two relatively long focal length lenses and a tilting adapter board forthe RZ67 cameras.

Hasselblad made two "mini-view cameras" for the Hasselblad system --the Arcview and the Flexbody. Neither of which I really liked.

And there is a German company called Zoerk that makes adapters for a number of bodies and lenses. looks interesting but I haven't tried one.

I guess you could make or have made a diopter lenses that has a section missing out it through which you might focus normally and the diopter portions would through everything else would be out of focus.

There are also a couple of filtration/lighting controldevices which can give or enhance the fuzziness of a given area: the Plume Ltd. Tallat and the Hosemaster Turbo filter.

-- Ellis Vener Photography (ellis@ellisvener.com), February 11, 2002.

And of course there is Adobe Photoshop or a similar image manipulation program.

-- Ellis Vener Photography (ellis@ellisvener.com), February 11, 2002.

I remember that Cokin used to have it in their catalog... they called Split-Field filter...I never use it but go here...

http://www.geocities.com/cokinfiltersystem/split_field.htm

or here.. http://www.cokin.fr/

-- dan n. (dan@egmail.com), February 11, 2002.

I wasn't aware that those lenses could rotate, that's why I thought of a filter.

It occurred to me that if there is such a filter, it may be possible to add an intersecting sliver of sharp focus. I could probably create the same effect in a few minutes with a feathered selection and a Gaussian blur in Photoshop.

-- Matthew Runde (actorm@hotmail.com), February 11, 2002.

Matthew, the feathered selection with any one of the PS blur filters was my first idea as well.

-- Michael Mahoney (mike.mahoney@nf.sympatico.ca), February 12, 2002.