Re: My 2c contribution to the forum.

[Willem-Jan Markerink <w.j.markerink@xxxxx>]

On 25 Feb 99 at 20:10, Craig Woods wrote:

> Could someone please explain "distortion' as related to a swing lens camera.
> My photographic training, many years ago at the Regent St Polytechnic in
> London, tells me that there is no distortion from a swing lens camera...the
> focal distance being the same throughout. In fact the apparent dsitortion of
> U/W lenses on a flat format e.g 6x17 introduce a distortion that is not
> visually apparent. I know a good photographer must have the ability to
> pre-visualise a photograph and see as the camera sees but I personally
> dislike the image size fall-off, to coin an expression, of these lenses. I
> own an old Panon that shoots a 6x12 cm and covers 140 degrees and I can't
> see any distortion. Does a 360 camera like a roundshot have distortion? Mono
> syllabic answers please.

Panon/Noblex/Roundshot all have the same type of distortion, the 
famous sigar-shaping of rectangular objects right in front of you.

On my homepage you can find a chapter I wrote about the different 
types of distortion between rectangular, swing-lens and 
fisheye....the latter shows also in the vertical dimension the kind 
of distortion that the swing-lens only shows in the horizontal 
dimension.... 

http://www.a1.nl/phomepag/markerink/mainpage.htm

 

--                 
Bye,

Willem-Jan Markerink


      The desire to understand 
is sometimes far less intelligent than
     the inability to understand


<w.j.markerink@xxxxx>
[note: 'a-one' & 'en-el'!]