{"id":149647,"date":"2022-06-20T14:45:26","date_gmt":"2022-06-20T13:45:26","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/other.kelsey.host\/amateurphotographer\/?p=149647"},"modified":"2022-06-20T14:25:36","modified_gmt":"2022-06-20T13:25:36","slug":"what-are-the-best-tilt-shift-lenses","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/other.kelsey.host\/amateurphotographer\/buying-advice\/what-are-the-best-tilt-shift-lenses\/","title":{"rendered":"What are the best tilt-shift lenses"},"content":{"rendered":"

Take control over the perspective and plane of focus in your architecture and interior photographs with one of the best tilt-shift lenses<\/strong>. You’ll find that tilt-shift lenses help with not only architecture and interiors, but also product photography.<\/p>\n

How-to choose a tilt-shift lens<\/h2>\n

Focal length<\/strong><\/h3>\n

24mm wideangle lenses tend to be ideal for architectural exteriors, while wider optics are great for interiors.<\/p>\n

Tilt<\/strong><\/h3>\n

Tilting the lens can be used to extend the depth of field without having to stop down the aperture, letting you use faster shutter speeds, and avoid diffraction. Alternatively it can provide a \u2018fake miniature\u2019 effect.<\/p>\n

Macro<\/strong><\/h3>\n

Longer focal-length tilt-shift lenses are often designated as macros. They\u2019re mostly used for studio-based product photography, and help improve depth-of-field.<\/p>\n

Shift<\/strong><\/span><\/h3>\n

Shifting the lens upwards allows the camera back to be kept upright when shooting architecture, to eliminate converging verticals (buildings appearing smaller the further away they are).<\/p>\n

Rotation<\/strong><\/h3>\n

Tilt-and-shift lenses allow the shift movement to be rotated relative to the camera, for switching between landscape- and portrait-format shooting.<\/p>\n

Tilt-shift lens options for mirrorless?<\/h3>\n

The majority of tilt-shift lenses are made by Canon and Nikon, for their DSLR cameras, however, these can be used on mirrorless cameras, with an appropriate adapter. There are also options from other companies such as Laowa and Samyang.<\/p>\n

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Best Tilt-shift lenses by manufacturer:\"\"<\/h2>\n

Best Tilt-shift lenses for Canon<\/strong><\/h3>\n

Canon<\/a> currently offers five tilt-shift lenses, all with the full-frame EF mount: the TS-E 17mm f\/4L (\u00a32,259), TS-E 24mm f\/3.5L II (\u00a31,999), TS-E 50mm F2.8L Macro (\u00a32,439), TS-E 90mm F2.8L Macro (\u00a32,439) and TS-E 135mm F4L Macro (\u00a32,439).<\/p>\n

Of these, the Canon TS-E 24mm f\/3.5L II<\/strong> is the \u2018go-to\u2019 lens for architecture photography because its angle of view is suitable for photographing large buildings without having to go too far back. It enables up to +\/-8.5\u00b0 and +\/-12mm shift, plus +\/-90\u00b0 rotation is available for each movement independently. It\u2019s supplied with a large bowl-shaped hood and accepts 82mm filters.<\/p>\n

Thanks to its \u2018normal\u2019 field of view, the TS-E 50mm F2.8L Macro<\/strong> also holds appeal, but naturally, you have to step further away from a building to get it all in the frame compared to the 24mm lens. However, it also has a closest focusing distance of 27.3cm at which it gives half life-size reproduction, making it attractive for product photography as well as architecture.<\/p>\n

Meanwhile, the TS-E 17mm f\/4L<\/strong> is useful for photographing skyscrapers and cramped interiors. Its tilt movement is more limited than the 24mm lens at +\/-6.5\u00b0, but the shift is the same at 12mm and there\u2019s independent rotation available for each to +\/-90\u00b0.<\/p>\n

Thanks to their longer focal lengths, the TS-E 90mm F2.8L Macro<\/strong> and TS-E 135mm F4L Macro<\/strong> are more suited to macro, product and portrait photography than architecture.<\/p>\n\n

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Best Tilt-Shift lenses for Nikon<\/strong><\/h3>\n

Nikon<\/a> currently offer four tilt-shift or perspective control (PC-E) lenses in Nikon\u2019s lineup: the PC-E 19mm f\/4E ED (\u00a33,199), PC-E 24mm F3.5D ED (\u00a31,739), PC-E Micro 45mm f\/2.8D ED (\u00a31,709) and PC-E Micro 85mm f\/2.8D (\u00a31,499). They all have the Nikon F mount and cover a full-frame sensor. In principle, they can also be used on the firm\u2019s Z-mount mirrorless cameras via the FTZ mount adapter.<\/p>\n

Again, the 24mm focal length of the Nikon PC-E 24mm F3.5D ED<\/strong> makes it an appealing option for architectural photography. It can tilt by up to +\/-8.5\u00b0 and shift by 11.5mm, plus there\u2019s up to +\/-90\u00b0 rotation available, allowing the correction of converging verticals with either portrait or landscape format images. Helpfully, it comes supplied with a lens hood and has a thread for 77mm filters.<\/p>\n

Nikon\u2019s PC-E 19mm f\/4E ED<\/strong> is useful for photographing very tall buildings or tight spaces indoors. It\u2019s the only Nikon PC-E lens that has a dual rotation mechanism to enable the axis of the tilt function to be altered relative to the shift on a shot-by-shot basis.<\/p>\n

However being an E-type lens, it lacks a mechanical aperture ring. If you want a tilt-shift lens with a \u2018normal\u2019 field of view, there\u2019s the PC-E Micro 45mm f\/2.8D ED<\/strong>. It has a closest focusing distance of 25.3cm which delivers the maximum reproduction ratio of 1:2, or half-size, making it useful for product and still-life photography. Meanwhile the PC-E Micro 85mm f\/2.8D<\/strong> is ideal for portraits and product shots, but it doesn’t come cheap.<\/p>\n

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Best tilt-shift lenses from Laowa<\/strong><\/h3>\n

Laowa<\/a> has a few interesting optics for architectural photographers. Firstly, there\u2019s the 15mm F4.5 Zero-D Shift lens<\/a><\/strong> (\u00a31,249). It\u2019s a full-frame lens available in Canon EF or RF, Nikon F or Z, Pentax K, Sony FE and L mounts. It\u2019s the widest shift lens currently available, which means it\u2019s useful for photographing very tall buildings or tight interiors.<\/p>\n

However, there\u2019s no tilt movement available, just shift of up to 11mm with 360\u00b0 rotation. The 15mm F4.5 Zero-D Shift produces a 65mm-diameter image circle which means that in theory it can be used on medium format cameras like the Fujifilm GFX100S. As yet it\u2019s not available with the GF mount, but the Canon EF and Nikon F versions can be fitted onto GFX cameras via the requisite mount adapters.<\/p>\n