Canon TS-E 24mm f/3.5L II Ultra Wide Tilt-Shift Lens for Canon Digital SLR Cameras Review

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(More customer reviews)After years of missing large format cameras with their swings and tilts, and of course their wonderful large film size that together produce incredible images, I think I have found something that will lessen my longing.
This tilt-shift lens combined with a high-pixel DSLR (like the Canon EOS 5D Mark II) enable a photographer to produce images that can rival the best from medium format cameras and even can under the right circumstances push image quality into 4 x 5 inch sheet film territory.
I got this lens, snapped it onto my camera and got excellent results right away. It helped to spend some time refreshing my memory about how to use tilts and shifts but aside from that, there was nothing mysterious about this lens other than the magical quality it possesses for producing sharp, colorful images that can be free of converging lines or offer incredible field of focus control.
Other's have described various technical qualities of this lens and most online reviews describe the several improvements this lens offers over it's predecessor.
The big ones are better control over chromatic abberation and the ability to independently control the axes of shift and tilt. Closer focus is also a bonus.
Opinion varies about sharpness in the corners but all agree this is perhaps one of the sharpest lenses in Canon's line-up. My example delivers sharp corners so perhaps my copy is better that some of the reviewers?
I had to choose between this lens and more traditional ones (I was looking at the 70-200mm) and decided that this lens offered me the things I could get with no other lens - a lens great for interiors, exteriors (architecture) and new landscape dimensions. I can get the zoom later! This lens is unique. I wasn't sure how much I would like it but now that I've had some seat time with it, I could never think of being without it.
Usual L quality - beefy, precise, and consistent behavior for all controls!
Not a bargain price but it's the old adage - you get what you pay for!


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A superb refinement to a true Canon classic, the new TS-E 24mm f/3.5L II offers enhanced functionality and image quality in its most popular tilt-shift focal length. Designed with UD glass to minimize and compensate for chromatic aberrations and specially coated aspherical elements for the highest possible glare-free image quality, this tilt-shift lens features an angle of view of 74 degrees. New TS revolving lets users freely combine tilting and shifting within the range of +/- 90 degrees in the direction of movement. It has an enhanced range of movement of up to +/- 8.5 degrees, a revolving construction for both portrait and landscape shooting modes, locking, ergonomically designed and easily operated tilt and shift knobs, uses a circular aperture for beautiful out-of-focus areas, and is constructed using only lead-free glass and has an SWC lens coating that controls ghosting and flare to a far greater degree than earlier coating technologies.

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Canon TS-E 45mm f/2.8 Tilt Shift Lens for Canon SLR Cameras Review

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(More customer reviews)I've been a photographer since the film era, and I also have previous experience with view cameras, so I'm familiar with the lens movement. Yet, TS-E has a couple of peculiar points that have its own learning curve. Image quality is also very good, but not perfect.
I use this lens mostly for tabletop product photography, food photography and creative and corrective portraiture. I think product photography is probably the most common application for TS-E45mm, although not many people talk about it online... and even less so for corrective portraiture. Anyway, if you can pay for the lens and willing to take the steep learning curve, this lens is almost essential for these things.
I found TS-E45mm tends to give inaccurate focus even when the focus is dead on on the viewfinder screen. This happens most often when tilted and shifted simultaneously, and the focus is taken near the periphery of the view. This happens on both 5D and 7D. I don't know if there's a good way to overcome this problem other than live view or tethered.
Although officially unsupported, we often see people say that TS-E45mm works fine with 1.4x and 2x teleconverters online. I think what they mean is merely that the teleconverter fits without a mechanical problem. However, this needs a caveat. If the lens is shifted while on a teleconverter, the lateral chromatic aberration worsens dramatically. Other aberration probably worsens, because focus is also not very sharp. Tilt is not as bad in this regard. Simultaneous tilt and shift is also very bad. So, if you use this lens with a teleconverter, you should limit the lens movement to a small tilt only. Since the movement is limited by the image quality, the limitation is not absolute, but certainly limits the usability of this lens with a teleconverter. Also, with a 1.4x teleconverter, I see a noticeable drop in image contrast. So, if you buy TS-E45mm with the hope of using it with a teleconverter, I think you'll eventually be buying TS-E90mm as well (and as I did), to avoid these problems.

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Normal lens featuring tilt and shift movements. The floating system and rear focusing give sharp and stable delineation from 1.3 ft. (0.4m) to infinity. Normal lens is ideal for obtaining a natural-looking perspective. Includes the EW79B lens hood and hard case. Item Specifications: Product Description: Canon TS E - tilt-shift lens - 45 mm Lens System: Tilt-shift lens Mounting Type: Canon EF Lens Aperture: F/2.8 Focal Length: 45 mm Min Focus Range: 15.7 in Focus Adjustment: Manual Lens Construction: 9 group(s) / 10 element(s) Special Functions: Tilt-shift Filter Size: 72 mm Length: 4 in Weight: 22.7 oz Case LP1216 & Hood EW-79BII

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Lensbaby The Muse for Canon EF mount Digital SLR Cameras (Plastic) Review

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(More customer reviews)If you're really looking to expand your creative possibilities, look no further (except maybe to the Lensbaby Composer). For the money and the creativity you can't find a better item. These are one of a kind and pure fun. I also bought the single-glass optic to swap out and i do like that more than the plastic..however as Lensbaby is not selling one with a single-glass optic in it, I had to buy it seperately. But now I have the plastic one in this product and the extra single-glass to have fun with.

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All Lensbaby\' selective focus SLR camera lenses provide photographers with a new way to control depth of field by bringing one area of a photo into sharpest focus with that Sweet Spot surrounded by graduated blur. By bending the Lensbaby lens, the photographer moves the sharp area around the photo for customized creative effects.

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Canon TS-E 17mm f/4L UD Aspherical Ultra Wide Tilt-Shift Lens for Canon Digital SLR Cameras Review

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(More customer reviews)First the lens itself is an excellent wide angle prime. Very sharp edge to edge even wide open. Virtually no flare. But it should not be bought for that purpose. The 14mm f2.8 is cheaper (at $2,000!) and faster. The 16 to 35mm f2.8 zoom is even cheaper and much more versatile. Also, this lens does not auto focus and has a big unprotected bulb in front that requires special care in handling.
What the lens does is produce wide angle shots that cannot be obtained from any other lens. In a normal wide angle, tilting the camera so it is not parallel to the ground makes the vertical lines tilt strongly open or closed. The more you tilt the camera, the stronger the effect. Sometimes you want that effect. It can enhance the height of things. But other times you don't. This lens offers the ability to control line tilt or eliminate it altogether. Set the camera so lines are all straight or tilted to the extent you want then shift the lens itself up, down or sideways to capture the desired field of view. The effect is amazing.
But that is not all. Because lines can be kept straight, shooting two or more shots by shifting the lens instead of the camera facilitates stitching multiple shots into very wide angle images. It is possible to get a shot wider than a fish eye lens with no linear distortion.
And that is still not all. The ability to tilt the lens helps depth of field. I won't try to explain the principle (there are plenty of sites on the internet that describe it) but with the camera on a tripod, it is possible to set the basic shot, shift the lens to the desired point, tilt the lens until everything is in focus up to within a very short distance from the lens, take that shot, then shift the lens the other direction with no or the opposite tilt and take a second shot, then stitch the two shots to get an image wider than a fish eye in focus from inches to infinity even with the lens wide open.
This lens is mostly useful for architectural and landscape photography. You will not use it to photograph the kids or carry around town on vacation (unless you take photographic vacations). It takes a lot of work. Basically, the shot has to be set up in manual exposure and focus before the lens is shifted. A tripod is not absolutely necessary but will be useful for most shots, especially if you plan to stitch multiple shots. It takes those of us old enough to remember back to the days when everything had to be set manually. For those not that old, it will be a shock to have to make so many settings. But for certain shots, there is no substitute for this lens.
It is probably a professional only lens. The cost, effort and basic photographic knowledge required means this lens will never hit the mass market. But for those who like to take landscape panoramas, it is almost a necessity.
UPDATE
I recently had a chance to photograph a slot canyon. It was narrow and tall and I thought a perfect place to try out this lens. I did get some good shots but I was much more impressed with the 16 to 35mm f2.8 II. It was a sharp as the 17mm, easier to use and a lot more versatile. Part of the problem with the 17mm was the work required to set up a shot. It took forever and the results were uneven. This was not a place where tilting lines were a problem so I had the highest hope for shooting multiple shots shifting from side to side to create very wide angles. I found that the 17mm would produce a shot that appeared to be wider angle because I could get closer but the 16mm would get the same shot just not as elongated. The 16mm shot was the more impressive for that particular place. At another site I was shooting an arch and found I could easily get the whole span in the 16mm. A two shot stitch with the 17mm was no more impressive and had a problem with darkening at each end.
Bottom line, the 17mm is no substitute for other lenses. It is a highly specialized lens useful when you have to stitch multiple shots or keep vertical lines straight. The 16mm to 35mm zoom and the 15mm fisheye will be better choices for 95% of all the landscape panoramas and canyon shots.
SECOND UPDATE
I recently tested this lens agains the 14mm II and 16-35 II zoom in a simple landscape panorama with the sun in the upper left quarter of the frame. The 16-35 flared the most, to the point the photo was ruined. It had a high quality filter that may have added to the effect but I was surprised with the amount of flare, which was mostly thick uneven rays emanating from the sun and not multi colored shapes across the frame. The 14mm also flared badly around the sun but less than the zoom. It had no filter. The biggest surprise was the 17mm. It had virtually no flare. Slight rays around the sun but a nice effect. Shifting the lens to both sides then stitching the shots together produced a stunning shot, very wide and clear. This will be my choice for that kind of shot in the future.

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The widest tilt-shift lens in Canon's lineup, the new TS-E 17mm f/4L lens expands shooting possibilities exponentially on EOS Digital cameras. Designed with UD glass to minimize and compensate for chromatic aberrations, with specially coated aspherical elements for the highest possible glare-free image quality, this tilt-shift lens offers an angle of view of 93 degrees. New TS revolving lets users freely combine tilting and shifting within the range of +/- 90 degrees in the direction of movement. The lens also has an improved tilt & shift knob with an enhanced range of movement of up to +/- 6.5 degrees and revolving lenses for better operability, it uses a circular aperture for beautiful out-of-focus areas and has an SWC lens coating to control ghosting and flare to a far greater degree than with earlier coating technologies.

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Nikon 85mm f/2.8D PC-E Micro Nikkor Lens Review

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(More customer reviews)The lens is very sharp at all apertures. It works very well for portraits with good bokeh (nice out of focus areas and transition, close-ups and of course anything that requires tilt/shift capability.
I use it on both the Nikon d300 and d700 bodies and am very pleased with the images that it produces. The lens is smooth and easily worked for all operations and the manual focus is smooth and precise.
Unlike the previous reviewer, I don't have a big problem with the tilt/shift configuration. It works fine the way it is, for the vast majority of applications. I don't disagree that it would be nice to be able to easily switch the alignment back and forth, but I don't think that is a big deal.

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The PC-E Micro NIKKOR 85mm f/2.8D Perspective Control (PC) lens corrects linear distortion in order to better replicate images assen by the human eye, including straightening the converging lines of rectilinear objects such as buildings, while also introducing welcome command over depth-of-field. Their versatility makes these the perfect lens complement for a myriad of applications, including photographing architecture, nature, interiors and still-life especially product photography. When shooting subjects, such as tall buildings with a conventional lens, composition often calls for tilting the axis of a camera. This typically results in a significant distortion of converging lines, impacting the desired visual accuracy of the image. A PC-E NIKKOR lens' "shift" control provides correction for this type of distortion. "Shift" control can also give a photographer the ability to "effectively" move the apparent position of the camera providing further perspective versatility, allowing, for example, the ability to avoid unwanted reflections in an image. A PC-E lens' "tilt" control gives photographers additional creative control over depth-of-field. Known as the Scheimpflug principal,tilt-shift lenses are capable of modifying the focal plane of the lens, allowing the extension or limitation of the point of critical sharpness in the image. The combination of "tilt" and "shift" controls featured in all PC-E NIKKOR lenses gives photographers extraordinary control over perspective control which simply is not possible with conventional lenses. A special tilt/shift mechanism gives users up to +/- 11.5mm shift for perspective control and +/- 8.5-degree tilt control for creative focus. The Perspective Control lenses correct distortion and vanishing point issues with convenient side-mounted controls at 1mm / 1-degree intervals that will adjust the fo

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Nikon 45mm f/2.8D ED PC-E Micro Nikkor Lens Review

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(More customer reviews)I own both the 45 and 85 PC-E lenses and both are excellent, sharp lenses that produce great images. Both are great for close-ups, landscapes and of course anything that benefits from tilt/shift capability, like table-top product photography. Properly used, these lenses give the user tremendous depth of field control and some very unique images.
I was initially concerned with the high price of both lenses and the fact that they are manual focus, but their quality in all aspects is worthy of the price and manual focus turned out to be extremely easy and precise on my d300 and d700 cameras.

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The PC-E Micro NIKKOR 45mm f/2.8D ED Perspective Control (PC) lens corrects linear distortion in order to better replicate images assen by the human eye, including straightening the converging lines of rectilinear objects such as buildings, while also introducing welcome command over depth-of-field. Their versatility makes these the perfect lens complement for a myriad of applications, including photographing architecture, nature, interiors and still-life especially product photography. When shooting subjects, such as tall buildings with a conventional lens, composition often calls for tilting the axis of a camera. This typically results in a significant distortion of converging lines, impacting the desired visual accuracy of the image. A PC-E NIKKOR lens' "shift" control provides correction for this type of distortion. "Shift" control can also give a photographer the ability to "effectively" move the apparent position of the camera providing further perspective versatility, allowing, for example, the ability to avoid unwanted reflections in an image. A PC-E lens' "tilt" control gives photographers additional creative control over depth-of-field. Known as the Scheimpflug principal,tilt-shift lenses are capable of modifying the focal plane of the lens, allowing the extension or limitation of the point of critical sharpness in the image. The combination of "tilt" and "shift" controls featured in all PC-E NIKKOR lenses gives photographers extraordinary control over perspective control which simply is not possible with conventional lenses. A special tilt/shift mechanism gives users up to +/- 11.5mm shift for perspective control and +/- 8.5-degree tilt control for creative focus. The Perspective Control lenses correct distortion and vanishing point issues with convenient side-mounted controls at 1mm / 1-degree intervals that will adju

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