I'm strongly considering getting one of canon's tilt-shift lenses as my next purchase... they look like loads of fun. However, I'm having trouble deciding which one to get. I lean towards the 24, because I tend to like wide angle... If anyone has any of these lenses, has thoughts about them, and best of all has sample shots, they would be greatly appreciated! Thanks!
EOS20 is correct. You really need to pick the lens based on your need though.
Architectural type shots - The 24 is nice since you normally prefer (or don't have the option) to be too far back.
Product/Portrait/Macro -- The 90 is a very nice lens for any of these purposes.
The 45 is more of a good general purpose lens. It can be used for a number of things. I keep thinking about picking one of these up for certain types of portraiture that I am interested in.
The 24mm is a good lens, but you have to use it right. Wide open on full frame can be very soft in the corners, especially wide open.
I have the 24 & 90 (I would like a 45 but don't have the 'need' at this point). I use the 90 more simply because I am doing more with product shots.
The question is (as Brian said), what are you going to use it for? Architecture? Landscape? Panoramics? When using the TS-E for panoramics, you only get a shot that is roughly (or just over) twice the width of a normal lens, because the rest is cross over between the shots. It does make it easy to merge/stitch them though
Using it on any camera is a challenge, but on your 1.3 crop Mk2N I recommend buying the Angle Finder C to go with it, otherwise some of the adjustments may be hard to see through the view finder (they can be a challenge on FF too). Using this lens takes practice, so don't be discouraged if you don't get the results you were hoping for on the first shot....
I own and enjoy using the 45mm TS-E. It's very sharp and very useful for landscapes that are somewhat far away and products (I think the manual recommends it for photographing tools!). For example, you can photograph a mirror without having your reflection showing. It allows you to recompose an image to eliminate distractions with tilt-shift.
munckee, check out the excellent articles on FM about TS-E lenses. They are very comprehensive.
Edit: I forgot to mention that I chose the 45mm because:
1) it was tested as very sharp optics
2) its effective focal length on my 20d is 72mm. When I need to shoot at 45mm I shoot with a film SLR!
Edited by gpfmartin on Dec 29, 2005 at 07:37 PM GMT (Reason: my aging brain forgot stuff)
I have each focal length, use each, and cannot claim any are bad. The "soft" rep on the 24mm is mostly Internet mythology in my own experience. All wide angle lenses require a bit more diligence than many people understand, and the 24mm TS-E is no different.
But as others noted, select the one that best fits your application. 24mm is best for architecture and landscapes. 45mm is ideal for most product and layout work. 90mm is often used for portrait-oriented work, although I use mine mostly for creative images (as I rarely shoot portraits).
As noted in another recent thread, the December issue of EOS Magazine (a UK publication) has a very nice article on the TS-E lenses. You may be able to find a copy at a photo store or even online at their site. CPS Europe also has a nice Flash article on the TS lenses at:
Addendum: I should also note that I did a series of sample images with the 90mm for a fellow FM'er quite some time ago. He specifically wanted to see the lens used with a 10D. These samples can be found here.
People say the 24 is the worst TSE lens compared to the 45 and the 90 but I use the 24 fairly regularly and have sold numerous images taken with it with no problem. While it may perform not quite as well as the 45 and 90, it's still a great lens.
mediahound wrote:
People say the 24 is the worst TSE lens compared to the 45 and the 90 but I use the 24 fairly regularly and have sold numerous images taken with it with no problem. While it may perform not quite as well as the 45 and 90, it's still a great lens.
Yep.... 'worst' is a relative term. It's still a damn good lens !
I went to B&H and bought a 24mm TS-E and I love it. I have tried several other wide angle lenses and nothing compares. I had a sigma 15mm fisheye which was fine but not exciting, I had a 35mm f/1.4 which was fine but nothing I thought was so special, I had the 17-40mm f/4 which was nice but not much nicer than the 18-55mm kit lens. I think the 24mm TS-E is great. Here is a picture I took today without using tilt or shift, it works just fine. http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v521/StinkBret/IMG_5683.jpg
Thanks for the advice all. I've heard about the 'softness' of the 24, from what I understand it is basically comparable to the 16-35, which I have no problem with. Wow, Ken Tanaka, from looking at that CPS article you sent, I think I am sold on the 24... I'll do more research though. Thanks everyone!
I too have both 24 and 90 TS-E, and love both. Everytime when TS-E is brought up to front, people will say 24 is not sharp, and 90 is the best. But look, when you set your eyes on a tilt shift lens, you are really attracted by its speical functions, not how sharp it is. So for architecture or landscape, go for 24 or 45, for portrait, closeups, get 90. Even 90 is sharer, it can't really replace 24, and vice versa.
lexybeast wrote:
, from looking at that CPS article you sent, I think I am sold on the 24... I'll do more research though. Thanks everyone!
Same here, I was going with the 45mm for my 20D and future FF as an architectural/landscape lens. I know I would suffer a little with it (45mm) currently because of the 20D's cropped sensor. But as many pointed out. The 24mm is not soft. It less sharp than my 135 L for example. But the 135L/200 1.8 are on different levels.
Also wide angle lenses do a good job of resolving power actions to be able to capture such a wide FOV. All lenses have limited resolving power. Wide angles in particular have the hardest time. So the flaw is not with the TS-E 24mm, its with the technology or limit of technology that is at flaw. In fact, the Ts-E is technically the best out of all in regards to glass. Its an L series lens.
I have also the 24 & 90 TS lenses. While I am still pretty new with the 90TS, I have been using the 24TS for some time and never have had any problem with its image quality. I used the 24TS mainly for landscape and pano shots, usually at f11 or f16, with both my 1DMk2 and 1Ds.
I still don't understand why and how people claims the 90 (or the 45) is a better lens than the 24. They are so different and what does it prove to compare the sharpness of a wide angle lens with a medium tele (or regular lens) . The 24 can do something the 90 cannot and vice versa.
Internet can be a very dangerous place to learn . I wish that people with no actual experience with certain subject will refrain from providing advise. Just buy the lens that most suits your need and shooting style, and you should be happy.
The following is one of my test shots with the 24TS with front tilt on my 1Ds. Nothing exciting but it provides me with some of the features can only get from a field camera: http://www.pbase.com/stephenl/image/36032074/original.jpg
I am thinking of picking up a 24 TS-E or a 45 TS-E. Everyone always said the 24 TS-E was a poor performer, But now I've seen all your samples it gives me more confidence to take the plunge for the 24 TS-E. I do alot of landscapes and architecture so this lens will come in handy.
Whatever focal lengths you decide for be prepared that it will take some time until you can master a TS-E lens.
Especially if you have never used a view camera before it can be very helpful to google for 'scheimpflug rule' for understanding what a lens tilt is actually doing.
I find it easier to critically judge focus (making use of tilt) with the 90 compared to the 24, as you would expect due to lesser DOF. Even using a magnifier, you will get eyeball strain with the 24. So I put in the Brightscreen microprism/diagonal split prism viewing screen. much better. the last step will be to add some vertical/hoizontal grid lines to the screen. Unfortunately, brightscreen doesn't provide them if you choose the microprism, so it's off to the workshop.
. The 24 can do something the 90 cannot and vice versa.