to TS-E or not to TS-E?

[romanr74]

I have both the 17 and 24II ts-e lenses, and while I certainly agree that to get the most out of them it's best to use the tripod / live view combination, most often I use them hand held. It takes a bit more patience, but for stationary subjects the results are fairly easy to obtain. (I mostly use shift, only occasionally tilt.) One thing to note is that when shifting more than about 5mm off center, the in camera meter gets pretty inaccurate. i often meter and focus first, then shift. The image below was taken with the 17mm with about 10 mm of shift, handheld.

can only fully agree with everything in that statement!!!!

Two handheld examples from travelling Tuscany below.

 

[Random Orbits]

Using the 24-105 at the wide end using manual focusing for landscapes/architecture is also a good idea. Drop the ISO down to 100 to maximize DR/sharpness and stop down the aperture to f/11 or f1/16 to maximize DOF. If you are ok using this workflow for landscapes and architecture, then the TS-E will be a great addition for you.

I will play around this weekend MF no-IS with my 24-105 and see how i get on... good advice, thanks!

The only problem with F16 is that its diffraction territory and softens the image... F11 is as far as I would go...

Diffraction softens it somewhat but it does extend the DOF. If the lens needs a few stops from wide open to get to the sharpest setting, then the diffraction softening at f16 may be worth the additional DOF (it may be sharper at f/16 rather than wide open). See lens rentals column below.

http://www.lensrentals.com/blog/2013/03/overcoming-my-fentekaphobia

 

[Mt Spokane Photography]

I had and sold my TS-E 90mm. It was sharp and a supurb lens for the right user, but I can not focus manually without extreme measures, meaning live view with magnification on a tripod with a black cloth over my head so I can see the LCD.

A TSE is definitely not my idea of a general purpose lens.

The new upright feature in photoshop lightroom 5 automatically straightens perspective, or lets you do it manually. You do lose part of the image, so if you should always leave extra room. Its far cheaper than a TS-E and easy to use for half blind people like me ;D

Its a alternative that is cheap and easy.

 

[RVB]

I had and sold my TS-E 90mm. It was sharp and a supurb lens for the right user, but I can not focus manually without extreme measures, meaning live view with magnification on a tripod with a black cloth over my head so I can see the LCD.

A TSE is definitely not my idea of a general purpose lens.

The new upright feature in photoshop lightroom 5 automatically straightens perspective, or lets you do it manually. You do lose part of the image, so if you should always leave extra room. Its far cheaper than a TS-E and easy to use for half blind people like me ;D

Its a alternative that is cheap and easy.

I agree that its cheap and easy but it loses resolution too via resampling,their is no true substitute for tilt and shift ability.. .

You get what you pay for...

 

[scottburgess]

I bought a TS-E 24mm lens about a month or so ago, and have been playing with it since.

It takes a while to get used to how to get the most from it. Once you do so, it's incredible.

There are really four main uses for it (beyond the fact that it's a very sharp prime):
...

I found a great guide to help - you can find it here: http://oopoomoo.com/ebook/the-tilt-shift-lens/

Barney, thanks for the link and the nice exposition, I found it very helpful. I too have been looking at the 24mm TS-E and am grateful for the information, especially the link to the book.

 

[adhocphotographer]

Hi all,

Thanks again for your comments, i went around this weekend with my 24-105, AF and IS off and did ok. One thing i did notice was how much i combine street photography / candid shots with my architectural and landscape photography (went around town and for walk in the forest)... i found myself wanting to take a quick shot, and missing it without AF. I'm sure this will get better with practice, but for the time being I think i will hold off, maybe rent the version I (I found somewhere with it) a few times and see at a later date.

Thanks again, great advise! I am now re-examining my options...

John

 

[Mt Spokane Photography]

I had and sold my TS-E 90mm. It was sharp and a supurb lens for the right user, but I can not focus manually without extreme measures, meaning live view with magnification on a tripod with a black cloth over my head so I can see the LCD.

A TSE is definitely not my idea of a general purpose lens.

The new upright feature in photoshop lightroom 5 automatically straightens perspective, or lets you do it manually. You do lose part of the image, so if you should always leave extra room. Its far cheaper than a TS-E and easy to use for half blind people like me ;D

Its a alternative that is cheap and easy.

I agree that its cheap and easy but it loses resolution too via resampling,their is no true substitute for tilt and shift ability.. .

You get what you pay for...

Absolutely! The only question is what you need.

 

[Pi]

I agree that its cheap and easy but it loses resolution too via resampling,their is no true substitute for tilt and shift ability.. .

TS-E loses resolution when shifted, too, but not as much.

 

[Cannon Man]

Please buy it! =)
I use it all the time and i can't live with out it.

 

[adhocphotographer]

Please buy it! =)
I use it all the time and i can't live with out it.

hahaha, thanks, but i think i am going to skip it for the time being... now trying to decide between 24 IS, 24 1.4 and 24-70 II instead (http://www.canonrumors.com/forum/index.php?topic=15535.0)