Canon 24mm TS-E V Canon 17mm-40 F4

[RD400]

I`ve been reading up and watching vid`s on youtube about tilt/shift lenses and thinking of buying one but before I do .
I normally use a 17/40 f4 or 24/105 f4 for landscape would I notice a difference in using the 24 tilt/shift lens I`am using the lens on a
canon 5d mk2

 

[HoppyUK]

I`ve been reading up and watching vid`s on youtube about tilt/shift lenses and thinking of buying one but before I do .
I normally use a 17/40 f4 or 24/105 f4 for landscape would I notice a difference in using the 24 tilt/shift lens I`am using the lens on a
canon 5d mk2

If you use it like a regular 24mm, then not much unless you pixel-peep in the corners.

But if you use it as a T&S, then it will do things no conventional lens can, if that's what you want. It's not the sort of lens you buy on a whim though.

 

[RD400]

Thanks for the richard it`s not a whim buy I like all the things it can do but on a landscape picture using the tilt/shift changing the focal plain would it make some shots more sharper from front to back from say a wide shot to a tight in shot say of a stream etc

 

[HoppyUK]

Thanks for the richard it`s not a whim buy I like all the things it can do but on a landscape picture using the tilt/shift changing the focal plain would it make some shots more sharper from front to back from say a wide shot to a tight in shot say of a stream etc

Yes.

T&S lenses come in two main flavours. Wide-angles for landscape and architecture, and longer ones for product photography.

The wide ones are very sharp, and using tilt and the Scheimpflug principle you can alter the plane of focus to give (effectively) deep depth of field without resorting to very high f/numbers. This cannot be achieved in any other way. You can also use reverse-Scheimpflug to create very shallow depth of field that would otherwise be impossible, eg for the miniature effect.

The other main thing they can do is use shift to correct converging verticals in architecture, or product photography, though you can also do a lot of that in post processing.

You can also use both effects together, rotate the lens, and do some other clever stuff like panoramas, though it's depth of field and perspective control that are the two main uses.

PS I used to have an RD400

 

[RD400]

Thanks very much for that richard explains alot seen on youtube the effect it can have with the depth of field using lower f/numbers this is what I`am hoping to get out of one
plus I no there fully manual so it`ll make me think and take more with my shots I take
and as you say I can make picture`s of model trainsets etc as a bonus

 

[HoppyUK]

Thanks very much for that richard explains alot seen on youtube the effect it can have with the depth of field using lower f/numbers this is what I`am hoping to get out of one
plus I no there fully manual so it`ll make me think and take more with my shots I take
and as you say I can make picture`s of model trainsets etc as a bonus

Hire one, see how you get on. That's what a lot of professionals do, as and when, because they're damn expensive. I've not used a T&S for a while, and never owned one, but I found once the novelty had worn off there wasn't a lot that I couldn't do in other ways. How much DoF do you need? Correct verticals in post. And they don't zoom, etc.

Now though, I'd love a longer T&S for product photography, using reverse Scheimpflug and rotation to put the sharp zone in different planes. They're popular with food photographers (see Jamie Oliver's books). Fun for fashion/make-up portraits too. They're beautiful pieces of engineering, lovely to fiddle with and adjust, if you like that kind of thing

 

[Echo Johnson]

T&S lenses come in two main flavours. Wide-angles for landscape and architecture, and longer ones for product photography.

I had always wondered what the longer T/S lenses were for.

OP, I'd second the notion of renting one. It's a whole different animal compared to regular lenses; it might be exactly what you need or it might be overkill, and the only way to truly find out is to give it a shot.

 

[ausemmao]

Hire one, see how you get on. That's what a lot of professionals do, as and when, because they're damn expensive. I've not used a T&S for a while, and never owned one, but I found once the novelty had worn off there wasn't a lot that I couldn't do in other ways. How much DoF do you need? Correct verticals in post. And they don't zoom, etc.

Now though, I'd love a longer T&S for product photography, using reverse Scheimpflug and rotation to put the sharp zone in different planes. They're popular with food photographers (see Jamie Oliver's books). Fun for fashion/make-up portraits too. They're beautiful pieces of engineering, lovely to fiddle with and adjust, if you like that kind of thing

When it comes to architectural photography, the thing that makes PC lenses unbeatable at reasonable cost isn't a single shifted image (though that can be a compelling argument). It's the shift+stitch that really makes the difference - and you aren't getting that quality without either a fair bit of hassle (tripod with the ability to rotate the camera + lens about its nodal point and then further correction) or a lot of cost (you'd need to go up a format and a half in size).

(I'm looking forward to reshooting this one)

That's with a D7000. With an FX camera without PC, you get a narrower FoV and still haven't got the positioning to not have to tilt the camera and get an oval Eye. You can shoot with the 14-24, but then you have a worse image (you'd have to crop away a lot of the frame). FX camera with PC, you get a lot more. MF With PC, even more, but then you're looking at ££££

The tilt stuff is simultaneously more and less useful. More because as you said, you can get incredible detail. Less, because if your subject isn't mostly planar, it doesn't work.

 

[LongLensPhotography]

The 24 II TSE is something I really would like but versatility comes into question. 20mm TSE with filters would be personally better. It is nice to correct verticals in camera, without losing details and wideness in LR. It is also nice to have a very sharp image but shoot wide open at the same time (i.e. aurora).
I don't know just how much you need it, and maybe you could also consider 16-35II or Zeiss 21mm as non TSE alternatives to the cheapest L zoom.

 

[RD400]

Thanks for all your imput guys I`ll stick with my 17-40 for the moment but will maybe higher one to try out or if one comes at the right price buy it as they seam to hold there money think looking £600 buys a good 2ndhand 24mm one