Control depth-of-field and selective focus with a simple tilt of the lens. Lightweight, compact, and rugged, the Zörk Multi Focus System provides continuous focusing from infinity to macro range. Fits most SLR cameras, including 35mm, medium format, digital, and specialized mounts.

Tilt – for precise control of the image plane for stunning selective focus in portraiture.

Overview

The Zörk Multi Focus System (MFS) belongs in every serious photographer's camera bag. This compact, versatile, precision-built device is the perfect answer to some of the most challenging photographic applications: portraiture, macro, table-top, fashion, landscape, and travel – to name a few.

The MFS is the core of Zörk's modular tilt/shift/macro system, consisting of shift adapters, pinholes, extension tubes, and the Makroscope dual aspherical element auxiliary lens. Together, the Multi Focus System provides true view camera capability, without the bulk, weight, and expense. 

The Zörk MFS uses an ingenious Tilt Tube® that provides up to 30° of tilt / swing along any axis, through 360° of rotation. This range of movement is unattainable in dedicated tilt lenses for 35mm or medium format cameras. Only the MFS offers view-camera level adjustment. 

The MFS uses our helical focusing tube  (the Mini Makro Mount) in conjunction with an enlarger lens or large format lenses (for cameras requiring an in-lens shutter, such as Hasselblad, Rollei, and Mamiya RB / RZ series cameras). This combination offers continuous focusing from infinity to 1:2 (using the 80/4 APO Rodagon on the 35mm or digital SLR format). Add extension tubes, and the MFS will provide up to 3:1 image magnification, along with tilt / swing adjustments (with the Makroscope Type I added, the MFS provides up to 5:1 image magnification). 

• Image plane control: Extend effective depth-of-field without changing the lens aperture. Bring any parallel or inclined image plane into focus by tilting the lens. Hand-held close-up photography becomes possible  without a camera support or artificial lighting.  

• Selective focus control: Tilt beyond the point of extended depth-of-field and you can render selective areas of the subject in or out of focus. Portions of the subject can be blurred to varying degrees, according to the amount of tilt you use. 

• View-camera adjustability: Take the MFS into the field on a 35mm or medium format camera, and enjoy the tilt / swing adjustments of a view camera without the bulk, weight, and expense. 

• Macro range focusing - included: With an 80mm lens (shortest focal length recommended for infinity-to-macro range on a 35mm camera), the MFS focus from infinity down to 1:2 (1/2 life-size). Macro photography benefits hugely from the ability to increase effective depth-of-field through tilt adjustment.

• Expand functionality with Zörk system accessories: The MFS can be turned into a mini-view camera with the Panorama Shift Adapter or Pro Shift Adapter, extend the close-up range with the Makroscope or a set of extension tubes, and get even more depth-of-field with our Pinhole set. All of these accessories were designed to integrate fully with the Multi Focus System. Please consult us for details on appropriate lenses and compatibility with your camera system. 

• Versatile and multi-purpose: The MFS can be used on virtually any   SLR camera, simply by selecting the proper mount adapter and lens. Works on video and cinema cameras, too. 

• Works on your enlarger: Correct converging verticals as well as horizontals (in any direction), unlike conventional enlargers, which restrict tilt to a single axis.  

Image plane control - how it works

First, consider the relationships among three "planes" when we photograph an object: 1) the subject plane (the angle of the subject relative to the camera position) 2) the image plane (the image inside the camera that is projected by the lens onto the film), and 3) the film plane (where the film lies in the camera). For the sake of discussion, both the subject and film plane are fixed; the image plane can be moved around its axis by tilting the lens. 

When you tilt the lens in the direction of the subject you plane,  you also move the image plane relative to the film plane. A tilted image plane brings the projected image (of the subject) into a parallel relationship with the film plane. As a result, the subject appears sharp on the film (and through the SLR viewfinder). This is know as the Scheimpflug effect. This effect is aperture-independent: it occurs no matter what aperture is used. 

When the subject, image, and film planes are parallel to begin with (such as when we photograph a wall, positioning ourselves so that the camera film plane is parallel), the subject will appear sharp. We do not need to stop down the lens or tilt, because depth-of-field is not a factor in image sharpness. However, when the subject and film planes are at an angle, relative to each other and we want the image to appear in focus, we either stop down the lens or tilt it – to bring these planes into alignment. 

Tilt  – for effective increase of depth-of-field in table-top applications, without stopping down!

Tilt  – to make the most of lighting with macro and clinical photography

For more examples of images using the MFS, please visit our gallery.

The Scheimpflug effect

The "Scheimpflug effect" allows you to increase effective depth-of-field simply by tilting the camera lens along its axis in the direction of the image plane (as illustrated above).  This technique of sharpness distribution control - normally only possible with the swing and tilt movements of a view camera - allows you to align the lens with any subject plane, without changing  the camera position or stopping down the lens. This means that you can use a wider aperture and a faster shutter speed, reducing or eliminating the risk of camera shake or blur due to subject movement, or simply have greater overall depth-of-field for a given aperture.

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