Rolleiflex Distortion

[morback]

Hi all,

just got back scans from my first films through the Rolleiflex 3.5 E Xenotar. The scans are a mixed bag, some negatives are out of focus at the edge some are razor sharp. They were all scanned on the Nikon 9000. I guess you get what you pay for ($6 a 4000dpi scan).

I guess I should buy one and do it myself.


Anyways, I noticed this (all images posted raw, no adjustments as you can see):

Did you see that?

I did not expect that from the Rolleiflex! I'm baffled! What am I looking at? Barrel distortion?


Here's another shot that shows no distortion:

Can anyone tell me what I did wrong? Could it be I used too wide an aperture? (No notes for that roll 🙁 ) Is it something common? Or is it something I should have looked at?

I'm very surprised and kinda disappointed. I've never had such distortion before...It's very strange...I'd be glad to hear from you how to control this in future shots.

 

[ZeissFan]

In that first shot, it appears that the camera was tilted upward slightly when the photo was taken. This results in converging lines.

In the second shot, I think the camera was titled slightly to the right (horizon isn't level). If you overlay the photo with a grid, you'll see how the photo is tilted to the right.

Some viewing screens used to have grid lines, but I don't know about the 3.5E. If so, use the grid lines to keep your horizons straight and your vertical lines straight.

With that first shot, try not to tilt your camera back when shooting landscapes.

That's how it looks to me.

 

[ZeissFan]

Barrel distortion is when straight lines bow outward.

Pincushion distortion is when straight lines curve inward.

Your photos don't have those problems. Just converging vertical lines and some tilt.

 

[Solinar]

Your perspective in the top frame is that of someone shooting tall objects from ground level.

It's called the "keystone effect". If you look at the top photo, the smokes stack on the lower left of the frame lean towards right, which is towards the center of the frame. While the FIAT Chyrsler building on the far right of the frame lean left, which is again towards the center of the frame.

I don't know how you could eliminate at the moment of capture other than with a technical or large format camera which would allow you to shift and tilt the front lens relative to the film plane.

 

[Solinar]

Post capture correction is possible with PS.

http://www.khulsey.com/photoshop_tutorials/photoshop-lens-distortion-correction.html

 

[morback]

Thanks guys, I've never noticed these "effects" before in the many happy year of photography I've had so far.

Good to know I'm causing the issue, so I can fix it. I'll pay more attention. My screen does have the grid and I am using it a lot, but sometimes in the critical moments I guess I shift a bit.

Getting a soft release for the Rolleiflex helped though.

Yes Photoshop and the Perspective Crop tool can negate those effects. I just wanted to know the source to understand what's going on.

 

[Steve M.]

This is a problem I've had w/ TLR's. It's caused from tilting the camera, something that rarely happens when I'm using an SLR or rangefinder that is held up to my eye. I've had to pay a lot more attention to holding the camera correctly when using my Rolleiflex. It's just an adjustment to getting used to looking down at a finder that is reversed right to left and forgetting to keep everything else straight..