tilt-shift question

[arcanej]

Thanks for the advice, all!

I pulled the trigger on the 24mm last night. This weekend I intend to wander the city and have some fun.

Tron: How well aware of that I am!

[neuroanatomist]

I pulled the trigger on the 24mm last night. This weekend I intend to wander the city and have some fun.

Congrats!  Bring your tripod... 

Some random TS-E tips:

• use Live View to focus (tilting/shifting messes with the metering when focusing through the VF, but Live View is fine)
• when tilting, focus on the distant subject (10x live view), then tilt until the close subejct is sharp (may need to do that iteratively a couple of times
• TS-E lenses do well with extenders (even though Canon does not indicate they are compatible), but aperture will not be reported correctly in the EXIF

Have fun!

[wcksmith]

Remember that you can shoot pano with the 24 using the shift function.  If what you are shooting is not moving, then you can get some super hi-res photos.  Shift the lens to the left & capture an image, then the middle, then the right.  Stitch the three together & you've got a stunning image.  Since the camera sensor doesn't move, there are no alignment issues. You can do the same in vertical format, shifting up & down rather than left to right.  In either format, you can still use the tilt function, as it's on an independent axis and can be rotated separately from the shift mechanism.

I've got the 24mm & it's super sharp!

[Jesse]

Actually, apparently you're supposed to shift the camera, not the lens.

[scrappydog]

A couple more tips: if you don't have a level in your camera, bring a bubble level and shoot level.  Also, if you do a shift pano (which is very cool value-add to the lens) and use Photoshop, use Photomerge because it saves time.

[SJTstudios]

For landscape tilt-shifting, you will need to fork in money in order to get those awesome shots, I thing the 17, just because you can always crop, and getting the 24 for a tighter shot wouldnt be smart, because it's mf.

Also, I think it's rokinon that is working on a 24mm 3.5 model ts-e for like $800 bucks, and they make harp glass!

[tron]

Actually, apparently you're supposed to shift the camera, not the lens.

Yes but to do that the lens and NOT the camera must be steady. So the lens has to be fixed to a tripod somehow. In order to do that you need a special Canon TSE Tripod Collar from HARTBLEI.

See: http://www.hartblei.de/en/canon-tse-collar.htm

However, it is very expensive and there is something that is often neglected. If you shift a lot you will reduce the sharpness in one side (if you shift close to lens shift limit). In addition, depending on the aperture it may cause vignetting (although this is less of the problem since a closed aperture will probably be used).

[Random Orbits]

Actually, apparently you're supposed to shift the camera, not the lens.

Yes but to do that the lens and NOT the camera must be steady. So the lens has to be fixed to a tripod somehow. In order to do that you need a special Canon TSE Tripod Collar from HARTBLEI.

See: http://www.hartblei.de/en/canon-tse-collar.htm

However, it is very expensive and there is something that is often neglected. If you shift a lot you will reduce the sharpness in one side (if you shift close to lens shift limit). In addition, depending on the aperture it may cause vignetting (although this is less of the problem since a closed aperture will probably be used).

Sometimes, but really only when you have prominent near and far objects (parallax).  For scenes that only are dominated by distant objects (i.e. skyscraper) or if you can get the strong foreground object easily within one frame, it doesn't really matter.

I'm curious as to how many people use something like that lens collar.  I think I'd be tempted to get a pano setup that I can use for all my lenses rather than something that is so specific.  A pano setup would also allow one to get an AOV wider than the shift limits of a lens.

[neuroanatomist]

I think I'd be tempted to get a pano setup that I can use for all my lenses rather than something that is so specific.  A pano setup would also allow one to get an AOV wider than the shift limits of a lens.

That's what I do.  The problem is that if you do a shift pano, for example to capture a tall building, you lose the ability to use shift to correct the perspective, and that's one reason for using a TS-E lens in the first place.

I do have a multirow pano setup, but I haven't yet tried it with a vertically-shifted lens (I've done single rows like that, though).

[Jesse]

So just shifting the lens also works fine? Probably gonna be buying the 24 TS-E next month....

[neuroanatomist]

So just shifting the lens also works fine? Probably gonna be buying the 24 TS-E next month....

As pointed out above, it depends on the scene.  Parallax becomes procressively more evident with closer subjects.  If there are no close subjects in the scene, then just shifting the lens can work.

[Random Orbits]

I do have a multirow pano setup, but I haven't yet tried it with a vertically-shifted lens (I've done single rows like that, though).

RRS?

[neuroanatomist]

I do have a multirow pano setup, but I haven't yet tried it with a vertically-shifted lens (I've done single rows like that, though).

RRS?

Yep.  I have the PG-02 LLR side mount gimbal head for the 600 II, and that just needed an MPR-CL II to make it into a multirow pano setup.   

[tron]

I think I'd be tempted to get a pano setup that I can use for all my lenses rather than something that is so specific.  A pano setup would also allow one to get an AOV wider than the shift limits of a lens.

+1 That's why although I am aware of the TSE collar I didn't get it. It's much better to spend the money on a generic solution.

[pwp]

RRS?

Hah! Yes we're drowning in acronyms. RRS=Really Right Stuff  www.reallyrightstuff.com  Brilliant gear.

-PW