Control converging verticals or create
stunning wide field-of-view images

The Panorama Shift Adapter allows you to create seamless 3:1 aspect ratio panoramas. Effective angle of view is 120 degrees (using a 35mm focal length medium format lens)—equivalent to a 17mm wide-angle, but without the geometric distortion.		Stitch two horizontal shots and double the effective field of view with the Zörk Panorama Shift Adapter. Replicate the look of medium and large format with the natural perspective provided by longer lenses. Taken with 35/3.5 Pentax 645 lens on Zörk PSA. Photo courtesy of Jeremy Jachym—www.newworldphoto.com

The Panorama Shift Adapter uses lenses from medium format camera systems such as Hasselblad, Pentax 67, and Mamiya (manual focus only) and Pentax 645 (auto and manual focus) systems. Only the PSA offers a true view-camera range of adjustment on digital and film SLRs.

PSA, above, is tripod socket version show with optional PSA L Bracket (see our Product Guide for pricing)

Panorama Shift Adapter Overview

Superior range of adjustment: The Zörk PSA brings true view-camera-like shift adjustments to digital and film SLR cameras. Ideal for architectural, scenic, landscape, and many other applications, the PSA goes far beyond a dedicated PC lens. Unlike most PC lenses, the PSA permits up to 20mm of shift, whereas most dedicated PC / TS lenses allow 8-10mm, maximum. Enjoy even illumination and center-to-edge sharpness with the large image circle provided by medium format system lenses (Hasselblad, Pentax 67 / 645, and Mamiya 645).

Versatility and Flexibility: The Zörk PSA provides traditional perspective control with medium format system lenses as wide as 35mm. The range of adjustment is nearly double that of dedicated PC / TS lenses. Moreover, the PSA is designed for precise multi-shot stitching, allowing you to create create impressive, perfectly aligned 3:1 aspect ratio panoramas (on full frame, 24x72), impressive 'stacked' vertical shots (48x36 to 72x36) as well as stitching in other orientations (turn your camera vertically and stitch your vertical shots together). The PSA's precise alignment of each shot allows for quick, easy, and seamless stitching in Photoshop or other image editing software. The stitched images double or triple your image area, allowing you to make enormous enlargements and still retain image quality.

Create a medium or large format 'look' with your digital or 35mm film camera: Why do wide angle shots from medium or large format cameras have such a natural looking perspective? Because the larger format allows for longer focal length lenses. On smaller format cameras (APS or full frame digital) much shorter lenses must be used to get an equivalent wide field of view. These lenses introduce distortion and have much greater depth of field. With the PSA you can use a lens in the 35-75 mm. range and by stitching together multiple images recreate the elegant, stately look of classic landscape, scenic, and architectural photographs.

PSA versions: The Zörk PSA is available with front mount to accept lenses from either the Hasselblad, Pentax 67 or 645, and Mamiya (manual focus only) medium format camera systems, with rear mount to fit your digital or film SLR camera (mount is not interchangeable, but our Cross-Platform Adapters allow you to use the PSA on multiple camera bodies).The 645 systems offer lenses with the shortest focal length available (35mm), whereas lenses from 6x6 or 6x7 systems are limited to 40 and 45mm, respectively. The Zörk PSA for 645 system lenses (Mamiya or Pentax) can also accommodate lenses from 6x6 and 6x7 cameras, using one of our Specialty Mount adapters

We offer two versions of the PSA: standard and with integrated tripod socket. Combined with our PSA L Bracket and mounted on a tripod, you can keep the front of the PSA and lens stationary while moving your camera. This allows you to maintain the nodal point of your lens, which may be important if you have both near and far objects in the field of view. Use of the tripod socket requires an L bracket in order to allow full range of movement.

Camera compatibility: The PSA for Mamiya 645 and Pentax 645 lenses will work with most Canon professional and some Nikon professional camera bodies (D3 and D3x digital and older pro film bodies, such as F3, F4, F5, as well as FE, FM, etc.). The PSA is compatible with a great many older film cameras from the 60s, 70s, and 80s. For some cameras you will need the PSA for Hasselblad or Pentax 67 lenses, which allow more space between the PSA and the camera. This space is necessary in order to clear the prism or flash housing that may protrude too far over the camera's lensmount to allow full rotation of the PSA. Prism overhang (usually part of a nonfunctional flash housing or nameplate) may be filed down to allow the PSA for 645 system lenses to rotate fully (note: Zörk does not authorize or officially support such modifications, but we will gladly explain to you what is required). When inquiring or ordering, please specify your medium format system lens and digital or film SLR camera.

Combine the PSA with the Multi Focus System and a 100-105mm or longer enlarger or large format lens (requires mounting tube) and your digital or film SLR becomes a Zörk Mini View!

The Panorama Shift Adapter is part of the Zörk Modular Photographic System. Combine the PSA with our Multi Focus System to create a true view camera with up to 20mm of rise / fall and 25 degree of tilt / swing. PSA with optional tripod socket and L bracket adds rear shift adjustments, allowing you to keep the lens stationary to maintain an exact nodal point. Limitations? Shortest focal length for infinity focus on PSA for 645 system lenses is 100-105mm. For Hasselblad and Pentax 67 versions, shortest focal length is 120-135mm (to retain infinity focus).

How the Zörk Panorama Shift Adapter Works
Every lens produces an image circle that projects the subject image back to the image plane (in an upside down orientation). The image circle of standard lenses is slightly larger than the film format or digital sensor area it is intended to cover. Shift lenses, however, must have a larger image circle than standard lenses because they move off axis relative to the image plane. Shifting the image relative to the image plane allows you to compensate for converging vertical lines and other types of perspective distortion.

In order to cover the intended format area when the image circle is moved, a shift lens must have an image circle much larger in diameter than the target image area of the film or sensor (for more detailed description of this, please see www.luminous-landscape.com/reviews/accessories/zork.shtml). For this reason we use medium format lenses, as these lenses were designed to cover an image area larger than standard 35mm and digital camera image areas.

The PSA shifts the lens up, down, or sideways ­ using a micrometer for fine setting or quick-release for coarse adjustment ­ and rotates through 360°, with 30° stops along the way. There are precise alignment marks for left and right panorama shots. (For an expanded operational description of the PSA, please see our User's Guide)

An additional advantage of using the medium format lenses on cameras with a smaller image area is that the center area of lens is usually sharper than the edges. As a result, a medium format lens on the PSA produces superior edge-to-edge sharpness than most dedicated PC lenses.

Control of converging verticals is the most obvious application of a shift lens. If you keep the camera level (the Zörk PSA is available with or without a tripod socket) and shift the lens up, you can include the top of tall structures while keeping converging vertical lines straight. Typically, a medium format lens of 35-50mm is used (35mm is the widest available), which provides a natural perspective and gives professional quality results. This focal length is somewhat longer than that of a standard PC lens for 35mm or digital cameras (usually 28-35mm). However, the 20mm shift provided by the PSA helps overcome the narrower angle of view these longer lenses offer. 

Changing viewpoints and straightening horizontals may call for a sideways shift ­ for instance to photograph a painting in a gallery when a direct, frontal viewpoint is impossible. To see 'around' the obstruction, set up the camera to one side, then shift the lens on the PSA. This will allow you to take a photograph from an angle, while keeping the object square and undistorted. A more flexible choice of viewpoint can be useful in portraiture and landscape photography as well.

For panoramas, shift the lens fully to the left for one exposure and then fully to the right for the second (after rotating the adapter from one alignment point to the other). Once combined, these shots provide an undistorted 3:1, or 'wide screen,' aspect ratio. The perspective of each frame is exactly correct, from the foreground to the background, because only the lens has moved; the camera has remained fixed at one location. More elaborate 360° panoramas are possible by combining the panorama shift with a rotating pan head on the tripod.

This vista consists of left and right images taken with a medium format lens on the Panorama Shift Adapter.

Large field-of-view images from a mosaic of stitched files may be create by stitching together 3 or more images, either in horizontal or vertical orientation.