Arax 35mm F/2.8 Tilt & Shift Backlit Photos

Abbazz · Joined: 23 Jun 2007 Posts: 1098 Location: Jakarta

I have been using the Arax 35/2.8 tilt & shift lens for a few years now and I love this lens. Of course, its tilt & shift abilities make it a precious lens for playing with depth of field or perspective. But I have learned that this lens also shines in all kind of situations as an all purpose lens.

I have been told that the optical formula of the 35/2.8 was first designed for a lens destined to equip a 4.5x6 camera. It makes sense, as a tilt & shift lens needs a very large circle of coverage in order to accommodate the lens movements. As a consequence, the lens exhibits very good sharpness on the whole frame on a 24x36 camera, and even more on a crop format DSLR. Of course, F/2.8 is not the sharpest aperture but when stopped down to F/5.6 or more everything is sharp right to the corners of the frame.

What also amazes me is the capacity of this lens to record very high contrast scenes, like backlit objects against a bright sky. Even with the sun in the frame, there is almost no flare. Here are a few samples that I took today in the mid afternoon, under the brightest tropical sun of Borneo (all pictures taken at F/6.3 and F/8.0, except the last one at F/16) :

Too bad the iris has only six blades...

Cheers!

Abbazz

Shiladitya · Joined: 31 May 2008 Posts: 306 Location: New Delhi, India

Transluscense of the second and third is amazing..... Banana leaf Question

kds315* · Expire: 2021-03-09

Indeed amazing results!! I was mumbling and grumbling about getting that lens once (or the sisters ist has) - that makes it very easy now!!

Cheers,

Abbazz · Joined: 23 Jun 2007 Posts: 1098 Location: Jakarta

Thanks everyone for the kind words.

mkleywegt · Joined: 29 Sep 2008 Posts: 142 Location: netherlands

earlier yesterday i found one for sale locally so was already curious to see some results. Thanks Abbazz for the very good timing and nice results.

(came home with an angenieux r11 though)

patrickh · Expire: 2011-11-18

Extraordinary - thanks Abazz.

patrickh

Orio · Expire: 2012-12-04

I love the unusual and refreshing composition in the first and the last pictures.

robertro · Joined: 14 May 2009 Posts: 61

The frangipani in slides 1 and 4 reminded me of a potted tree that I once bought at a greenhouse sale in Montreal, Canada.

It never flowered, and eventually succumbed to the relentless onslaught of my pet cockatiel, who would enjoy biting the leaf stems and watching the leaves fall. I tried to replace the plant once, buying a packaged section of a branch in Hawaii, but Australian customs confiscated it, and told me I could retrieve it on the way out of the country.

Since then, I have not thought about it, but perhaps I'll try to find one on my next journey south.