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Archive 2017 · With all the software available- any need for a t/s?

  
 
runakid
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p.1 #1 · p.1 #1 · With all the software available- any need for a t/s?


Just wondering...


Jun 25, 2017 at 09:28 PM
Two23
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p.1 #2 · p.1 #2 · With all the software available- any need for a t/s?


Yes. For starters, you can't do tilt in software. Second, the quality is much better from the PC-E lens. My 24mm PC-E is my favorite lens--very versatile.


Kent in SD



Jun 25, 2017 at 10:19 PM
BSPhotog
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p.1 #3 · p.1 #3 · With all the software available- any need for a t/s?


Software can't move the plane of focus...


Jun 25, 2017 at 10:32 PM
Chris S.
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p.1 #4 · p.1 #4 · With all the software available- any need for a t/s?


Two23 wrote:
For starters, you can't do tilt in software.


BSPhotog wrote:
Software can't move the plane of focus...


If one uses tilt to increase apparent depth of field, I'd submit that focus-stacking is often quicker and more effective than tilt. (Admittedly, my experience with tilt has been with view cameras, not T/S lenses on a DSLR.)

OTOH, if one uses tilt to decrease depth of field, making real-word scenes appear as miniature models, T/S lenses perhaps shine. (I've no interest in this.)

I've thought of adding a 24mm PC-E to my kit. If I were an architectural photographer, I'd do so in a heartbeat. But I'd be using this lens for landscapes, for which I'm usually chasing the light--in particular, dramatic and rapidly-changing light. Great light may last but seconds, and often requires rapid camera placement, adjustment, and shooting. So my sense is that I'm better off with the 14-24mm f/2.8 and 24-70mm f/2.8 lenses--very speedy to use, even if I must take multiple shots, bracketing focus, for later focus stacking.

--Chris



Jun 25, 2017 at 11:02 PM
runakid
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p.1 #5 · p.1 #5 · With all the software available- any need for a t/s?


Just wondering-thanks. Never used one and wanted to know. Thought I might be done buying new lenses.


Jun 26, 2017 at 03:44 AM
Two23
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p.1 #6 · p.1 #6 · With all the software available- any need for a t/s?


Chris S. wrote:
I've thought of adding a 24mm PC-E to my kit. If I were an architectural photographer, I'd do so in a heartbeat. But I'd be using this lens for landscapes,



I have a 20mm Nikon but rarely take it on hikes. I take the 24mm PC-E instead. By shooting a very quick 3 shot string I can get a perfect pano in PS that is very, very wide.


Kent in SD







Jun 26, 2017 at 07:01 AM
runakid
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p.1 #7 · p.1 #7 · With all the software available- any need for a t/s?


I notice that Nikon makes 3 different sizes. Who would use the 85 or whatever it is? I would think that only the 24 and maybe the 45 would be of use to the vast majority.


Jun 26, 2017 at 07:27 AM
rdeloe
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p.1 #8 · p.1 #8 · With all the software available- any need for a t/s?


It is a fair question. A couple people have mentioned changing the plane of focus as a major reason to carry tilt-shift lenses. It's not always about increasing depth of field. Sometimes I want to locate the plane in a particular place. I can't achieve that in software, and focusing stacking isn't an answer in those cases because I'm not looking to increase depth of field -- just put in a different place. Focus stacking also creates its own problems (movement between images, changes in light, more complicated workflow).

The other crucial function is shift. Yes, you can correct verticals in post. However, you have to develop an excellent sense for how much of the frame you're going to be sacrificing to allow for the correction, and if you don't guess right something important will be chopped off. I'm also not interested in throwing away pixels. Shift is also useful for other purposes unrelated to correcting verticals (e.g., dealing with awkward shooting positions where you need to move something out of the image; panoramas, as some have mentioned already).

Bottom-line: it's a tool, and millions of people get by just fine without it. However, I use it all the time. Remember that you're not limited to tilt-shift (or shift-only) lenses. There are some Cambo Actus fans on the forum. Lots of people use Mirex adapters with full frame cameras (that's what I did with an A7R and SMC Pentax-A 645 lenses). I'm now using a Kipon OM-FX adapter on my X-T2 to tilt and shift a set of Olympus OM lenses. I have an evolving set of notes over here: http://www.robdeloephotography.com/Pages/Tiltshift-on-APSC



Jun 26, 2017 at 07:34 AM
rdeloe
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p.1 #9 · p.1 #9 · With all the software available- any need for a t/s?


On full frame I regularly used 35mm, 55mm, 75mm and 150mm lenses. Now that I've switched to APS-C (see the link I posted above), I use similar angles of view (but with 21mm, 24mm, 28mm, 50mm, 100mm and 135mm lenses). In urban settings, especially, I really like the short and medium telephoto focal lengths with shift capability. I use tilt less frequently with longer focal lengths -- but there are cases where it's the answer to the problem I'm having.


runakid wrote:
I notice that Nikon makes 3 different sizes. Who would use the 85 or whatever it is? I would think that only the 24 and maybe the 45 would be of use to the vast majority.





Jun 26, 2017 at 07:38 AM
kaplah
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p.1 #10 · p.1 #10 · With all the software available- any need for a t/s?


runakid wrote:
Who would use the 85 or whatever it is?


Mostly product photography.



Jun 26, 2017 at 12:55 PM
DeverPhoto
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p.1 #11 · p.1 #11 · With all the software available- any need for a t/s?


I used a variety of software to get what i need, but nothing touches the TS-E 24. I prefer to frame it in camera and have less distortion vs shooting wide and then using software. While the software can be really good, there are times the TS is much better.

Plane of focus change
shift for panos
quicker post processing not having to tweak perspective and distortion as much.



Jun 26, 2017 at 01:00 PM
ckcarr
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p.1 #12 · p.1 #12 · With all the software available- any need for a t/s?


I own and use all three of the PC-E lenses. As a matter of fact, anymore the 24mm PC-E is used less than the 45mm. I use specifically for landscapes although the 24mm was the first one I bought. And if I were limited in my kit when heading out, I would only pack these three lenses. It also seems that one gets used more often in different seasons by me, depending on subject matter. I use the 85mm PC-E a lot in the fall when I'm in the woods and photographing fall colors. Then it gets put away until the next year...

I originally bought the 24mm PC-E for one purpose, being able to photograph the desert southwest towers and showing them as they actually stand - not all cockeyed or distorted, as being in a precarious location and getting everything "straight" in the frame was impossible. Software was not a satisfactory solution for me. I prefer using shift to finalize my composition after leveling the head 100%. As I progressed in learning I then began to shoot at far lower f/stops than before. Where I would previously shoot at f/16 I now shoot at f/4 - f/5.6 and tilt accordingly. I like the results I get with them, and my procedure, so I keep using.

They aren't for everybody, but I also like the manual focus and process of setting shots up with them.. It's just a thing, some may like and some may hate. You do have to have a purpose, or they can be frustrating and you may not even notice a difference if you have no need for the lenses due to your subjects.






Jun 26, 2017 at 01:29 PM
Monika C
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p.1 #13 · p.1 #13 · With all the software available- any need for a t/s?


If you've ever tried to focus stack multiple shots of a field of flowers that are moving, you would see the benefits of a tilt-shift very quickly! There is definitely a learning curve for focusing them. I have the TS-E 24 & have been thinking about adding the 90.


Jun 26, 2017 at 02:24 PM
the solitaire
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p.1 #14 · p.1 #14 · With all the software available- any need for a t/s?


Whoever used a large format camera (Kent, I know you know what I'm about to say) learned, most likely the hard way, that messing around with the focal plane in various axis is as much about consciously deciding what will be in focus as ut is about deciding what is not in focus.

To simply say that wide angle T/S lenses are for architecture and medium telephoto or standard T/S lenses are for product photography is as shortsighted as saying the 35mm is a journalism lens, the 24 a landscape lens and the 85 a portrait lens.

Tilt and shift are photographic tools that can be used for creative photography as well as for accurate reproduction work. I would love to take an 85mm PC-E out on the street for some street and close up photography.




Jun 26, 2017 at 03:34 PM





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