John Howard Loc: SW Florida and Blue Ridge Mountains of NC.

I am thinking of getting a PC lens. (Tilt/shift) for use on landscapes - specifically waterfalls, large trees and also some panorama shots. I have been reading up on the subject and it seems a three-shot merge using the shift would make a good pano while the told would help depth of field. Is this right or do I have it all wrong?
Thanks.

John_F Loc: Minneapolis, MN

I always thought the tilting lenses were mainly used for architecture shots where an ordinary lens woud cause the verticals to tilt inwards. By placing the lens focal plane at an angle to the recording medium, film or sensor or screen, the tilt of the verticals could be eliminated. Tall trees are verticals so you could get more appealing pictures with a tilting lens. Bet they are expensive.

rwilson1942 Loc: Houston, TX

[quote= Bet they are expensive.[/quote]

Rokinon, $700 to $900, Canon/Nikon $1400 to $2000.

John Howard Loc: SW Florida and Blue Ridge Mountains of NC.

Thanks.
The trees I want to shoot are 500 year old cypress in a swamp sanctuary where I am on the board. If too far away you can't see them or the profile and if close they converge like looking up a skyscraper. So the perspective control I think will help.
Still wondering if the shift feature will make for better panoramas because the sensor does not move but the image can be up to 60 percent wider (30 on each side). That would make a 4x6 format 4x9.6 which is even wider than a 9x16. And since the sensor does not move the merge should be more pure and with less distortion.

Gifted One Loc: S. E. Idaho

My understanding of P/C lens is that they are not easy to, or impossible to use for panos. I have never used a P/C but have seen them used. Do a Google search for panos and how best to do them.

J. R.

MW

Yes. All of the above and the OP as well. The idea is to replicate to a (very) limited degree the front lens board functions of a view camera.

davidrb Loc: Half way there on the 45th Parallel

You are correct, these lenses can capture 3 different perspectives that can be stitched in post. Your later post suggests using the tilt feature to help straighten converging lines. What you seek doing is quite common with tilt/shifts or pc's. Using them is not complicated but requires attention to every adjustment you make using either tilt or shift. Be very conscious of two major differences these lens possess: 1) A much larger image circle. 2) The Scheimpflug Principle. The image circle results in sharper results as the center of the circle is larger than a normal lens. The Scheimpflug Principle shows how converging lines do not intersect where you think they should. Pay attention to this as it enables the photographer to focus to much closer tolerances, thus sharper images. Bryan Camathan of the-digital-picture.com says "The Canon TS-E 24mm f/3.5L II Tilt-Shift Lens is, optically and physically, the highest quality 24mm Canon-mount lens I've reviewed to date." The image circle and the tilt function contribute to Camathan's analysis. If you feel the lens is worth the effort it can be rented. Canon's menu offers 17, 24, 45, and 90mm versions. All but the 17mm can take round filters, the 24mm uses 82mm filters. You will be able to find many articles about the use of these lenses. The tilt feature has been around since the beginning of time, not many lenses utilize it now. Used in reverse gives a "miniaturization" effect that can lead to creative applications. Look it over and see if it might work for you. Good luck and enjoys what it gives you.

jcboy3

You don't need a shift lens, just shoot wide and correct in post.

Tilt, on the other hand, changes the plane of focus. This is useful if you are shooting a diminishing line (people, architecture, etc.). Helps keep foreground and background elements in focus (along the plane of focus, of course). This cannot be replicated in post processing (although focus stacking is a close approximation).

For a landscape, shooting a panorama helps get the extra pixels you need for perspective correction. If you are shooting vertical, or off the horizon, then you need a multi-row pano head, and you need to calibrate the lens for the no-parallax point.

Perspective shift, in camera or post, cannot actually change your point of view, so overdoing it can result in strange details. Better to raise the camera with a boom (or a tripod or monopod). I do this often, and control the camera with a Wi-Fi connection to my iPhone.

melismus Loc: Chesapeake Bay Country

I am developing an adapter to mount full-frame SLR lenses on mirrorless APS-C or smaller. In its present version it provides 8 degrees of tilt and 12 mm of shift in all directions independently. Finally a vitally important use for all your precious legacy glass.

In my experience, perspective control is not just for specialty stuff such as architecturals. The majority of shots I take can benefit.

I want to bring this invention to market. Prospective partners, please PM me and tell what experience you might bring to the enterprise.

Blessings,

Paul

Archboo3 Loc: Central Florida

Why don't you just rent one for a few days and play with it to decide for yourself if it does what you want. I to have been considering purchasing one myself. A 3 day rental runs around 65 to 75 dollars. A Nikon PC runs over $2000. new.

rmalarz Loc: Tempe, Arizona

The idea of the tilt/shift is to not need to change the camera's vertical alignment. Doing so to get a panoramic photograph could produce results that may be hard to stitch. It could also produce some very visually interesting images, but not suitable for documentation.
--Bob

Bob Boner

I use the Canon T/S lenses. They give only limited 3-shot panos, but do it well. Most of my panos are in the 5+ range of exposures. The disadvantage here is that the relationship of near/far objects changes if you cannot adjust so the pivot point is on the optical center of the lens.

studavis

I use a Canon 17mm it is 17 on my 5D and a 27mm on my 7D. Love it but the 17 mm is with out a sun shade and you can't attach one because the lens glass extend beyond the lens body. Need an external child to block the sun some times.

DaveC Loc: Illinois

I have the Nikon 85mmT/S. I have used it successfully to make a pano by using the shift ability, one image to the left, one centered, and on to the right. Depending on subject, you can keep the image plane parallel to the subject. While I have used the tilt feature often to adjust perspective I have never used it in conjunction with the shift while making a pano. Should be interesting. Not sure it would be successful.

melismus Loc: Chesapeake Bay Country

If the three images are shot with the same degree of tilt, it should work fine.