Lacking columns - not to mention scheduling - of any sort, ohm appears randomer than it actually is. So, to hell with the chimera of obscurity.
… and hail Scheimpflug Thursday. Or Thursday Scheimpflug. As I’m publishing this first instalment under my audiophile blog, I’ll not rag on about the maths involved in utilising Scheimpflug. (As a former English Literature major, I’ve got to be honest: I’ve really nothing but applied physics - a term Martin Irwin taught me - under my belt anyway.)
I’m the sort of headphone geek that loves strong branding, comfort, and good sound - in that order. Over the last few years, I’ve become a Grado head. I now own the original PS1000, the RS1, the GR10, the GR8, and the GR8e.
The above image shows off my RS1, recently purchased though Yahoo! Auctions. Originally it smelled of natty head and tobacco smoke. In the intervening months, I’ve sorted most of that out. A new set of pads is the last thing on order. The RS1 cleaves to the house Grado sound: close, intimate stage, flat field, and speedy. It’s great. Of course, it’s old enough that if I were to write about it at Headfonia, I’d have to Back to the Future it.
But let’s get to Scheimpflug.
This image was shot with a 7º tilt, and 7º swing of the front standard.
In the companion image below, I both tilted and swung the front standard of my Linhof M679cs, allowing me to use a single exposure to capture the wood face in perfect focus. Note: that face is slanted away from the camera. A proper use of Scheimpflug allows the photographer to bend the focal plane to the subject. You can bend that plane away from a subject, and make it look toy-like. Or, you bend it to match angles.
Note the defocused table below the headphone, and the defocused cup and headband behind it. Only the wood cup face is in focus. Camera movements greatly speed up certain types of photography. Had I used a movement-locked camera such as a Pentax 645 or Leica S, I would have had to first shoot a focus stack, process the photograph in 3rd party software, and then remove artefacts post-hoc, even if shot apertures of F/16 or smaller. This image was shot at F/11 (FF equivalent F8; APS-C equivalent F5,6).
This is the power of Scheimpflug. And the power of this obviously battered headphone is illustrated by the speed at which it is becoming a personal favourite.
Relevant links:
ohm image: For non-rockers - Grado PS1000
ohm image: A wide angle on Ocharaku's Sakura Plus
ohm image: Still life tip: flags
ohm image: How big is the Lear NS-U1 earphone?
ohm image: Sinaron Digital Macro 120mm F/5,6 and extreme movements