Canon 24 TS-E II - manual focusing

[Ladislav]

I bought slightly used Canon 24 TS-E Mk. II to use on my Canon 6D. I will initially use it mainly for architecture = shift function. I plan trying tilt for landscapes later. I'm not so much interested in miniature type of shots but I may try it just for fun as well.

Anyway, I played with the lens today for the first time and I'm quite excited but I struggle with manual focusing a lot. There is no problem when I have the camera on tripod and use live view with magnification but trying to focus through view finder didn't work for me so far - especially if focusing on more distant object. It is probably not such a big problem when using smaller apertures but still - I just want to nail the focus

So the main questions are - do you even use manual focus through view finder with this lens? Do you use this lens hand held? How do you manually focus without live view?

 

[Loswr]

I use manual focus through the viewfinder if I'm shooting 'in neutral' (using the TS-E as a standard prime with no shift or tilt). I manually focus just like I would for any lens, although admittedly the split prism/microprism collar that was common on film SLRs made it easier. As best as I can describe it, I rack the focus back and forth and stop in the middle – manual focus technique is less about finding the sharpest point directly and more about a steady motion for a steady rate of focus change that enables you to find the midpoint between the same level of bluriness on either end. It's something not many people practice in these days of AF.

For shots with lens movements, those affect viewfinder metering, which is problematic for handheld shooting because you'd need to meter before applying movements to get a proper exposure. Live view metering is unaffected.

I do shoot handheld with shift on occasion, and in that case I use it like a big P&S in Live View. Here's one such shot:

"Liu Rong Temple" – The Temple of the Six Banyan Trees, Guangzhou, China

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

The focus-tilt-refocus-repeat that is needed when applying tilt makes it very challenging to use handheld.

On the whole, I'm usually shooting architecture with my TS-E lenses, and in that case generally try to be shooting at blue hour or with a 10-stop ND filter to blur out people, and in either case that means long exposures and a stable tripod.

Enjoy your new lens!

 

[Ladislav]

I use manual focus through the viewfinder if I'm shooting 'in neutral' (using the TS-E as a standard prime with no shift or tilt). I manually focus just like I would for any lens, although admittedly the split prism/microprism collar that was common on film SLRs made it easier. As best as I can describe it, I rack the focus back and forth and stop in the middle – manual focus technique is less about finding the sharpest point directly and more about a steady motion for a steady rate of focus change that enables you to find the midpoint between the same level of bluriness on either end. It's something not many people practice in these days of AF.

For shots with lens movements, those affect viewfinder metering, which is problematic for handheld shooting because you'd need to meter before applying movements to get a proper exposure. Live view metering is unaffected.

I do shoot handheld with shift on occasion, and in that case I use it like a big P&S in Live View. Here's one such shot:

"Liu Rong Temple" – The Temple of the Six Banyan Trees, Guangzhou, China

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

The focus-tilt-refocus-repeat that is needed when applying tilt makes it very challenging to use handheld.

On the whole, I'm usually shooting architecture with my TS-E lenses, and in that case generally try to be shooting at blue hour or with a 10-stop ND filter to blur out people, and in either case that means long exposures and a stable tripod.

Enjoy your new lens!

Thanks Neuro. I quickly tried the midpoint technique now and it seems to work much better than what I tried before. This will be the way to go for me. I also thought about going for Eg-s focusing screen but the lens itself is f3.5 and I have two other even slower so that would probably not work very well.

Why does the lens movement affect metering? Shouldn't metering work with what is coming through the lens? Does it also mean that when using shift focus before applying shift and after applying shift may be different?

 

[Loswr]

The -S focus screen won't really help with an f/3.5 lens.

The movements affect metering because the metering sensor located within the pentaprism housing requires the incident light to be aligned with and orthogonal to the sensor surface. Shift and tilt alter the alignment/orientation of the incident light, leading to over- or under-exposure depending on the direction of the movement. Focus is not affected by shift (but is by tilt).

 

[Ladislav]

The -S focus screen won't really help with an f/3.5 lens.

The movements affect metering because the metering sensor located within the pentaprism housing requires the incident light to be aligned with and orthogonal to the sensor surface. Shift and tilt alter the alignment/orientation of the incident light, leading to over- or under-exposure depending on the direction of the movement. Focus is not affected by shift (but is by tilt).

Thanks for explanation.

It means that using the lens handheld will work the best with manual mode by setting exposure before the shift or as you've already suggested using the camera as P&S with live view.

 

[Hector1970]

It's worth persevering with the lens. I use live view quite alot with it.
I've used it manually too, I'm blessed currently with very good eyesight.
I use tilt to get a big dppth of field in landscape photographs.
It's a lens that slows you down and improves your technique.
Alot more care than normal is required.
Enjoy it, embrace it's difficulties, it will improve your photography in the long run

 

[Random Orbits]

Agree with the others. I tend to use it with LV handheld, magnify to confirm focus and then take a burst. Shift isn't too bad, but tilt is a pain without a tripod.