Tilt shift lens help

[oilbeefhooked]

I just rented the canon TS-E 17mm and need some pointers. I will be using this lens on a 5D mark II. I've been playing around with it for a couple of hours and know that the lens is manual focus, but I'm having troubles with metering. Does the cameras meter work with these kind of lenses? The shots are either over exposed or under. And I'm shooting in manual mode and mostly shooting architecture and some landscape stuff. I only have the lens for a week so I want the best out of it. Any help would be greatly appreciated thanks!

[dr croubie]

I've not used the official canon-types, but i've dabbled with adding Medium Format lenses to my system using a tilt adapter. The metering is way off on them most of the time, i've always wondered if that happens to the 'real' TS-E types too.

Best i can suggest is:
- Live view metering tends to be more accurate under most conditions.
- Or if you use the viewfinder, the metering (in my experience) will always be the same number of stops over/under as long as the tilt stays the same (never used shift), if you recompose or refocus you're fine.
- Live view focussing is your friend, especially when using tilt.
- If you're using a TS-E you're hardly going to be catching action, you're forced to take your time, tripod and at least a few minutes to compose. Just take a few more shots, take them again if they're way off.
- Exposure bracketing is your friend!

[gferdinandsen]

I use the TS-E 24 and 45.  Here is some advice:

Take multiple shots.  This is not the days of filem where each shot costs money.  Take many shots, look at the histogram for the shot to determine if it's over/underexposed, ajust accordingly.  Just to be safe, bracket.

Check the previe picture on the back at 10x for focus after the shot is done (especially with wider apertures)

Always use a tripod, it's almost impossible to use TS-E lenses without one, in fact, I have never hand held a TS-E lens.

In ACR, make sure you use the lens correction feature

[neuroanatomist]

When tilt/shift are applied, it alters the incident angle of the light hitting the metering sensor so you'll get over- or under-exposure depending on the direction of the tilt/shift.  The easiest option is to use Live View, which meters based on the imaging sensor, so T/S doesn't affect it (plus, you can zoom to 10x for focusing).  If you absolutely don't want to use Live View, you'd need to meter with the TS movements at zero, then use those settings after applying T/S. 

Another thing to try is a shifted panorama (shift in combination with 45° and 90° rotation, you can stitch 9 shots together).

Have fun with the lens!

Always use a tripod, it's almost impossible to use TS-E lenses without one, in fact, I have never hand held a TS-E lens.

Handholding is possible with some practice (at least for shift, maybe not for tilt).  This shot was taken handheld:


EOS 5D Mark II, TS-E 24mm f/3.5L II, 1/20 s, f/18, ISO 100, +12 shift

[Bob Howland]

Meter in manual (which you're doing) with the lens at zero tilt and zero shift, and use that exposure. As others have suggested, bracketing isn't a bad idea but, in most cases, is unnecessary. As for the tripod, I've always used one.

Good luck!

[paulo]

I have both the new 24mm and the 90mm. For most of my shooting, I'm using tilt to control the plane of focus.  After roughly framing my shot via the viewfinder (untilted), I operate as follows:
- Envision the plane of focus that will provide the depth that you want. Note spots that are both close and far that you want in focus. For example, I may want the ground to be the plane of focus. Measure the distance from the sensor to the ground  (assuming the camera back is perpendicular to the ground).  This distance determines the amount of tilt needed.  I have made up charts that show the degree of tilt for various distances (see references below).  For example, with the 24mm and a distance of about 4 1/2 feet to the ground, one degree of tilt is needed for the ground to be in focus.  This distance is only a function of the tilt amount. 
- Set the tilt on the lens to this amount. You'll only be able to set this approximately as the manual controls on the lens are not precise.  Use Live-View to make minor adjustments in the tilt.  I do all of this with the lens wide open. 
- Focusing changes the plane of focus - either angling it up or down (as if the ground is uphill or down hill).
- Changing the f-stop to a smaller opening provides more depth at the far distance (e.g. infinity) - a wider wedge of in-focus area. 
- You can see the effects using Live View (with magnification) as well as reviewing the image after exposure (with magnification).

See this site: http://www.northlight-images.co.uk/article_pages/using_tilt.html  and Google 'Harold Merklinger' for more detailed information.   Hope this helps.

[archfotos]

I have the 17 and many tilt shift lenses.  to add to the advice you've already received. Have a black flag handy.  If I think I'm going to use that lens I almost always pack a light stand with a Mathews flag or some variation to that set up.
 
hope this helps.  jeff


p.s. I think the term black flag would be a redundancy

[ronderick]

Taming that TS-E 17mm is a royal pain (I had it for some time, but even now it still manages to give me headache  )

Anyways, like what everyone said before, you need to take your time with this lens. Live view is a must, so you'll probably have to take into consideration your battery power with the screen on most of the time.

A stable tripod is a must (up to you whether you want a cable release of timer); while ur at it, you can even consider a bubble level to check your horizons. 

Keep the lens cap handy so you can put it on when you need to move the camera to another location. The piece of glass is very delicate, so u want to be very careful when outdoors.

Finally, if you are going to spend the time setting the whole thing up, remember to shoot RAWs to leave you some room for post-processing.