travisdeland Loc: deland, FL

Thinking about picking up one of these lenses and was looking for opinions based on using this lens-worth buying, or go for something else? I primarily shoot a 7D2. I've not used anything like this and thought it might open up some new shooting possibilities-landscape, trains, family, etc.

davidrb Loc: Half way there on the 45th Parallel

Tilt-Shifts are fun to shoot. Are you sure about the 45mm? The 24mm gets me both inside and out, emphasis on "in". Your 7D 2 will take you out to 72mm fov. Are you planning on landscape? Great lens! You might use it for portraiture, moving the sensor in a portrait can be fun. My lens is the 24mm and i am not sure how much difference there is, but the tilting and the shifting of the sensor can lead to some great possibilities for any focal length. Regardless of that length these two features require lots of concentration. If you leap at the chance I hope you have fun, I did and the results were very pleasing. If you look at "the-digital-picture.com web site you can see the difference in the 4 lenses Canon offers. Their main critique in on the 24mm and they show the user different views of the lenses. It gives a fairly good breakdown of tilt-shifts. Hope you enjoy and good luck.

CHG_CANON Loc: the Windy City

For about $100 for 5-days to a full week, you can rent a copy and find out how you like it for yourself. See Canon Lenses / Specialty at LensRentals.com. The president, Roger Cicala, gives review comments on nearly every lens they rent too.

amfoto1 Loc: San Jose, Calif. USA

I have the 45mm and original 24mm TS-E... also have used the 90mm at times, though I don't presently own it... and I sometimes drool over the 17mm, although I haven't found a good enough excuse to drop a chunk of money on one yet.

On a 7D II or any other APS-C camera, the 45mm TS-E will behave as a short telephoto (angle of view equal to about what a 72mm lens gives on full frame). As such, it's super for small product photography, studio work. Maybe some portraiture, too.

On an APS-C camera I wouldn't think the 45mm ideal for landscape and architecture, only because I typically use a wider angle lens for those purposes. I use the TS-E 24L more in those cases (both on crop and FF) and would be inclined to add the 17/4L if and when I did more of this type shooting.

For real life, full size trains, you could use the lens to produce that "miniature" effect using the control over the plane of focus... or use it to shoot actual miniature model train sets up close.

The 90mm and 24mm II are especially close focusing and higher magnification (the original 24mm and 17mm are not). The 45mm is in between and on it's own focuses as close as 1.3 foot (.4 meter) to only give 0.16X magnification, but it works well with macro extension tubes to focus closer and increase magnification. Canon recommends no more than 12mm extension with it.... but I think that's based upon full frame usage and have found that on a crop sensor camera it can be used with longer extension tubes for higher magnification (I've used 20mm and 25mm tubes on it). Though the TS-E 45mm isn't a macro lens per se, it certainly is very good for close-up work (hence, the model trains).

All the TS-E have a rotational plane to allow the movements to be re-aligned with the camera as needed. This rotation locks at 90 degree intervals (also, some of the TS-E interfere with the pentaprism protrusion on some cameras.... the rotation can allow them to be fitted or, in at least one case a smaller knob can be installed to avoid the interference).

The TS-E 45mm and 90mm (and the original version 24mm) are all a design dating back to 1991 that have a semi-permanently fixed relationship between the tilt and shift movements. Normally the two movements are set 90 degrees out of phase with each other. It is possible to disassemble the lens and align these, but this really should be done professionally so that the calibration of the lens can be checked afterward (Canon service dept. will do it).

The two newer models (TS-E 17/4L and 24/3.5L II... both intro'd in 2009) have an second rotational plane allowing the user to change the relationship between the tilt and shift movements quickly, easily and at any time in the field.

All the Canon TS-E lenses are manual focus only, built like a brick (mostly metal and a lot of it...they ain't lightweights!) and generally very high quality. There is no "build quality difference" between those that are L-series and those that are not. (The 45 and 90mm simply don't "qualify" to have a red stripe because neither requires any exotic glass elements, which is part of what defines an L-series lens according to Canon.)

The 45mm uses 72mm filters (same as the the original 24mm TS-E, while the 90mm uses 58mm, the 24mm Mark II uses 82mm and the 17/4 cannot be fitted with a screw-in filter due to it's strongly protruding convex front lens element... some third party clamp-on filter holders are offered for the 17mm).

The image quality of 45mm and 90mm is superb. I believe that of the 24mm II and 17mm is too. The original 24mm TS-E tends to show some chromatic aberration at certain settings and the more extreme movements. The Mark II is supposedly quite an improvement, though I haven't upgraded to it yet. The original 24mm's movements are a bit more limited and it's a bit more susceptible to vignetting, too.

All the TS-E have typical, full aperture control of Canon lenses. (There are some third party tilt-shift lenses that do not... have strictly manual aperture, in addition to manual focus).

If you have never shot with movements, it can take a bit of study and practice to learn what's possible with them. TS-E lenses on smaller format cameras do not offer near as many different movements or as much possible movement as large format cameras (i.e., 4x5, 5x7, etc.). Those large format cameras typically have movements on both the lens and film planes, that can be combined for greater effect. On roll film and DSLR cameras of all formats, movements are only at the lens plane.

The movements can be used for perspective correction (such as reducing "keystoning" of buildings), to better align the plane of focus with a particular subject or to deliberately mis-align it ("minature" effect). They also can be used for multi-exposure panoramic shots, to avoid reflections (i.e. accidental "self-portraits" ), or to "shoot around corners" or dodge an obstruction between you and a subject.

Of the four that Canon offers, on an APS-C camera the 45mm is my "go-to" lens for small product, table-top studio work in particular and also might serve for architectural details and some portraiture. I also use the 24mm as more of a landscape/cityscape lens (perspective correction is generally more useful with man-made objects). I don't currently have, but might use the 90mm for higher magnification work and portraits, and the 17mm for wider landscape/cityscape shots or architectural interiors.

On a full frame camera, the 45mm is a bit less useful to me for small products, I'd be more inclined to use the 90mm. But on FF the 45mm is more useful for landscape/cityscape/architectural. Of course, the 24mm and 17mm behave even wider for similar purposes. The 17mm is particularly interesting for architectural interiors.

There aren't a lot of alternatives to the Canon TS-E. Nikon was one of the first to offer this type lens for 35mm roll film cameras, with their 35/3.5 PC lens introduced in 1961 (which, incidentally, didn't meter very well on any of the Nikon cameras at the time... but it was found would meter more accurately on certain Konica models, so a lot of Nikon shooters who used the lens also carried a Konica and a lens adapter for that purpose). They later offered other versions of 35mm PC and 28mm PC lenses. Nikon now makes several PC (Perspective Control) lenses: currently 24mm, 45mm and 85mm (the 45 and 85 are natively closer focusing than Canon TS-E).

Schneider is now making 28mm, 50mm and 90mm in several different mounts (and 120mm for Mamiya MF).

Samyang makes one of the least expensive 24mm Tilt-Shift lenses (manual focus and aperture, also sold under Rokinon, Bower and several other brand names).

Pentax, Minolta and Olympus have all dabbled in PC lenses in the past, but AFAIK aren't making any now.

Hartblei, Arri and ARRAX all have made various PC lenses, including some for medium format.

Several MF camera manufacturers have offered them, too.

Some of the above can be pretty easily adapted for use on Canon EOS/EF cameras. Since all are manual focus anyway, the only loss of functionality is that adapted lenses also will only offer manual aperture control (camera can only be used in Manual or Aperture Priority exposure modes... and viewfinder will dim down when lens is stopped down).

When shopping for any of the Canon TS-E, you might want to consider used. A lot of them are bought for a special purpose, then sold off when the job is done. They're a rather specialized type of lens, not cheap, and if not something one uses regularly, might tie up a lot of money. You'll regularly see TS-E selling on certain auction sites and in the used equipment division of many of the online retailers, as well as refurbs on Canon USA's own website.

Note: If looking at the TS-E 24mm Mark II, in particular, be a little bit careful. Early on in production there were sometime issues with it, adjustment knobs that might get stuck or something like that. Canon can fix it, but it's at some expense if the lens is out of warranty. If buying used, ask about the build date code and, if it's any early one, if the lens has been serviced by Canon. I assume Canon has fixed the problem because there no longer seem to be any discussions about it. But I don't know at what point in production Canon might have implemented a fix or "silent upgrade". Best guess is that lenses produced 2010 or 2011 or later should be fine, but I can't guarantee that. And the "problem" didn't occur on all copies, anyway... and from the description might have partially be user-caused.

Edit: I also agree that it might be worthwhile to rent and try, before you buy. For five days, Lensrentals actually only charges $58 + shipping for the 45mm, and $83 + shipping for the 24mm II. However, I'm not sure if five days will be enough time for someone who has never used lens movements to learn to use either lens well and effectively. If you rent, you might want to study up on how to use these lenses before-hand, plan some shoots and then really hit the ground running with the lens to shoot a lot for the short time you have it.

rlscholl Loc: California

I have one of the 24mm t-s lenses, and find it a joy to use (on a full-frame camera). I got it primarily for architecture photos, but am often finding other uses. There is a lot of valuable info in the earlier responses. I agree that you might not find the longer lens as useful as one of the wider ones.

travisdeland Loc: deland, FL

To all that replied-I greatly appreciate the input and advise. As suggested, I think I'll pursue a rental to do some experimentation. And as suggested by Alan, I'll do some studying, and wait until I can put together 4 or 5 days off to really get in depth with the lens. Thanks again-this was exactly the kind of info I was looking for.

rlscholl Loc: California

In that case, you may find this of interest:
Northlight-images.co.uk/cameras/lenses/ts-e_24_f35_l_ii.html

travisdeland Loc: deland, FL

Thank you-an informative link-as well as an interesting site

travisdeland Loc: deland, FL

Wanted to thank all whom responded to this thread, a while back. I found a 45mm TS-E, locally, that I was able to borrow and use. A pretty cool lens, but long learning curve as far as usage and application. I'm glad I didn't go ahead and buy one of these-for me, I'd be lucky to have a NEED, or good use, for this lens once a year. It is a pretty cool lens to play with, but not a justifiable expense for me.
Thanks again for all of the responses and suggestions.