Anyone has experience on Tilt-Shift L lens [Archive] - AusPhotography:: Australia's Premier Photography Forum::

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andylo

09-08-2011, 12:32pm

Planning on my next toy...... :D

(Since I have promised my wife no new lenses in 2011, I will hold off for now, but doesn't mean I cannot do 4 months worth of research :p)

Would you go for the 17mm version? or the 24mm version?

I will use it mainly for landscape, and amount of details recorded and sharpness would be my first priority. I have read both reviews but neither can give me a definite answer.

Also want to check is it true that auto focus would be completely out of story?

Apart from Architectural and Landscape, what other subject would you use your Tilt Shift lens?

Thanks in advance for your opinion.

Tannin

09-08-2011, 1:15pm

I'm not convinced that they are all that useful for landscape photography, Andy. Well, not my sort of landscape work, which is essentially documentary. For a fine art 'scaper, I think they might be the very thing - hey, the really serious fine art guys all use view cameras, and a view camera is just another word for the ultimate tilt-shift lens.

Autofocus really isn't relevant to tilt-shift. Sure, you can use the focus confirmation lights, but to what purpose? Which part of the image do you want it to concentrate on anyway?

Nope. Tilt-shift landscaping is all about spending however long it takes to set your image up exactly how you want it - count on 5-10 minutes for a quickie - and then waiting for the perfect light. I imagine with enough practice it gets easier.

Xenedis

09-08-2011, 1:22pm

Would you go for the 17mm version? or the 24mm version?

I'd choose the 17mm f/4 version. I prefer ultra-wide lenses for 'scapes.

I will use it mainly for landscape, and amount of details recorded and sharpness would be my first priority. I have read both reviews but neither can give me a definite answer.

The 17/4L is quite sharp, but I have seen some softness towards the edges in my experience with one (not mine).

Still, it an extremely wide lens, so some edge softness is to be expected.

Have you read The Digital Picture's review of it?

http://www.the-digital-picture.com/Reviews/Canon-TS-E-17mm-f-4-L-Tilt-Shift-Lens-Review.aspx

Also want to check is it true that auto focus would be completely out of story?

Correct. Canon's TS-E lenses are manual focus lenses only.

Apart from Architectural and Landscape, what other subject would you use your Tilt Shift lens?

Architecture is my main application for (and interest in) such a lens, but you can also create that 'fake tilt/shift miniature effect' if you dig that sort of thing. ;-)

andylo

09-08-2011, 1:44pm

Thanks Tanin and Xenedis.

Usually I would pre-plan my Landscape shot, so I wouldn't mind to prepare for 5-10 mins for a quickie :D

The 'fake tilt/shift miniature effect' is not yet of my favorite, but never say never - I guess.

And the review of "the-digital-picture" is one of those I have read. He done the 24mm 1st, then do the 17mm... but copied 1/3 of the content from 24mm's review.

I am also trying to find a definite comparison between sharpness and details recorded. It SEEMS 24mm is sharper corner to corner (than the 17) but I am still yet to find article with direct comparison.

Xenedis

09-08-2011, 2:13pm

I tend to agree with Tony re the use of a T/S lens for landscapes. Someone I know uses one, but for what I do (mostly sescapes in natural environments), I don't tink I would use such a lens.

The application for which I want one is cityscapes and architecture. Sure, for many of my images (like this (http://www.xenedis.net/viewimage.php?i=5365151573) and http://www.xenedis.net/viewimage.php?i=5371653568), my verticals are straight because I've kept my 16mm lens's axis parallel to the ground. Tilt it up or down and you see distorted verticals.

As for the minature effect, I'm not a fan of that either, whether it's real or faked. :-)

Bax

09-08-2011, 2:22pm

Pro's and Con's of doing the fake method as opposed to buying the lens outright?

I was always under the impression that tilt shifts were like fisheyes, in that they're a bit of a one trick pony.

Xenedis

09-08-2011, 2:25pm

I suspect more people want a tilt/shift lens for perspective correction and extremely deep depth of field (picture a foreground flower amongst a field of them, with everything in the background also in focus) rather than the miniature effect.

andylo

09-08-2011, 2:50pm

Heehee... I am just after the Lust... but gotta find a reason to justify that... you know :D

davearnold

09-08-2011, 3:24pm

110 pages of review and photos from 17mm

http://photography-on-the.net/forum/showthread.php?t=701861

And 18 pages for the 24mm

http://photography-on-the.net/forum/showthread.php?t=150307

Cheers Dave

davearnold

09-08-2011, 3:30pm

Should of added to previous post, some awesome landscape shots from those lens's on those links.

some good ones from the 17mm on this page

http://photography-on-the.net/forum/showthread.php?t=701861&page=106

Since I discovered that site, I have spent way too much time researching lens's I might "need" in the futre :D

The main site that lists all lens's

http://photography-on-the.net/forum/showthread.php?t=141406

Cheers

Tannin

09-08-2011, 3:35pm

I was always under the impression that tilt shifts were like fisheyes, in that they're a bit of a one trick pony.

Good god no! Anything you can do with a standard lens, you can also do with a tilt-shift. Anything. But you can do a lot more than that as well - straighten out perspective, achieve massive depth of field impossible with a normal lens, take realistic pictures from impossible angles (using the magic of the shift). But it takes a lot of time and skill. It's not for everyone.

PS: a fisheye is only a one trick pony if the photographer is incompetent to use it. Used properly, a fisheye is very versatile indeed. But that is a topic for another thread.

andylo

09-08-2011, 3:50pm

Gezz those pics..... it knocks out my 17-40L instantly on sharpness! (re the 17mm)

jjphoto

09-08-2011, 5:21pm

Yeah, the idea that t/s lenses are one trick ponies is so off the mark it doesn't even matter.

T/S lenses give you technical control that you don't have with standard lenses (primes or zooms). It's very much like walking around with a view camera around your neck, but much lighter!

The image below is typical of the control you have of the focal plane with a t/s lens (or t/s bellows in this case, the lens was an enlarging lens). The lens was shot wide open (f5.6) and the focal plane adjusted to be exactly where I wanted it to be. There is in fact quite a lot of tilt in this image and it is purely a technical control, not a party trick, and certainly not some thing you can do in Photoshop afterwards.

http://www.johnjovic.com/temp/FL58/IMG_2751_1_ScC-S135F5p6_F5p6.jpg

JJ

andylo

09-08-2011, 5:32pm

Amazing photo jj. I am so going to get 1 of this :D

(Do you have the 17mm, or the 24mm?)

Tannin

09-08-2011, 5:36pm

Without looking, I bet that is the 90mm. :)

Tricky

09-08-2011, 9:19pm

Well, I've just plunged for the TSE 17mm, so give me a month or two and I'll give you some feedback... :)

Why did I buy the TSE 17mm?

- wanted a full frame ultrawide lens that was sharp corner to corner. Had a go with an EF14mm but found it disappointingly soft at the corners and wavy distortion. The 17-40 is great value for money, but soft at the edges on a full frame. Lots of people said the 16-35 is good and that came the closest to being bought... but given I'm going to use the ultra-wide lens at its widest setting only, all the reviews and tests were pointing towards the TSE 17mm being the sharpest Canon ultrawide you can buy...

- when shifted sideways, the 17mm effectively becomes 12mm which is VERY wide on a full frame (or 10mm? I've read both and not yet had a chance to try myself)

- shift facility allows great perspective control for architecture photography, which I greatly enjoy (the EF14mm and 16-35mm both show distortion)

- tilt facility allows great depth of field control for capturing both near and far objects in focus at a relatively wide aperture (say f/8 giving depth of field equivalent to f/22, but with no diffaction downside), which is very useful for landscapes

Will I use the tilt facility to creature miniature tricks? Doubt it. Certainly wasn't a factor in my purchase.

jjphoto

10-08-2011, 8:11am

Amazing photo jj. I am so going to get 1 of this :D

(Do you have the 17mm, or the 24mm?)

Thanks. I don't have any of the Canon t/s lenses. I use various other 't/s lenses' using a view camera or a t/s bellows for close up and a t/s adapter with medium format lenses for general use where my widest lens is a 35mm.

Without looking, I bet that is the 90mm. :)

Schneider Componon-S 135/5.6 (enlarging lens) on a Nikon PB-4 bellows (bellows with tilt and shift movements) on a 5d2. It's an excellent setup for 100-150mm lenses where you can still have infinity focus, not just macro.

JJ

James Axford

10-08-2011, 4:40pm

all i'll say is,
I've had my 17mm since it came out and it's my favourite lens out of all mine.
i'm sure this doesn't help :Doh:

andylo

10-08-2011, 4:48pm

Haha... so 17mm > 24mm for me so far :D

Tricky

13-08-2011, 8:02pm

Xenedis

13-08-2011, 8:16pm

Something to bear in mind is that the TS-E 17/4L cannot support filters, whereas the TS-E 24/3.5L can.