When using a tilt-shift lens you will find it adds a whole new dimension to everything you knew about the principles of photography. Even the simplest of cameras have two basic steps for use. This particular tilt-shift lens model used in the video released in 1972, the same year as Atari's release of the infamous 'Pong' video game.Īs I mentioned in the previous article, a tilt-shift lens has 6 unite applications. This is possible by additional design features that allows the lens to physically tilt, shift, and rotate. What do you think of the tilt function of the tilt-shift lens? Would you have another good application for this unique possibility of the tilt-shift lens? If you do, and you know other ways to use the tilt function, please share this in the comments below.A tilt shift or perspectivecontrol lens is a specialized lens that has the ability to moderately rotatethe image focal plane with a pitch or yaw, as well as skewthe image perspective. It can be very handy in product photography, and perhaps for the use of the miniature effect on real-world scenery.
Nevertheless, I think the practical use of tilt is very limited. Using the depth of field takes special care also, because of its wedge shape. Although there are rumors of autofocus on the coming Canon RF tilt-shift lenses. This is also the reason why autofocus is never present.
Focussing when tilt is applied is difficult and requires a special technique. But it is difficult to use and it needs a lot of practice. It brings almost total control over the plane of focus. The tilt function allows a unique way of photographing. Due to the orientation of the plane of focus I managed to achieve a very small depth of field. But it is not tilted the same way as the plane of focus.Ī forest with bluebells, shot with a Canon TS-E 17mm f/4L tilted upwards. When the plane of focus gets tilted, the depth of field area will also be tilted. We all have seen such drawings about depth of field. Having the plane of focus exactly parallel to the sensor you know that the depth of field is also parallel to the sensor. Although it is a bit more complex than this, I won’t get into the details on how depth of field works. What if you introduce a larger depth of field?ĭepth of field is an area in front of, and behind the plane of focus that is also in focus. As you have seen, the pieces of paper are in focus, but the top of the books are out of focus. Up until now I have ignored depth of field and regarded the plane of focus as the only thing that is sharp in the picture. But with tilt the top of the book cover is completely out of focus, while the pieces of paper are in focus from front to back. In a normal situation the plane of focus is vertical, just like the sensor orientation. But also the focal length of the tilt-shift lens will determine the amount of tilt. The more you tilt the lens, the more the focus plane will tilt. I won’t try to explain the physics behind this principle, but it is imperative to understand how this principle affects the place where the focus will be. It tells us how much the focus plane will tilt. This effect is called the Scheimpflug Principle. If you could tilt the lens far enough, in theory, the focus plane would even become horizontal. As you can see in the drawing below, the focus plane will tilt in the same direction as the lens. The focus plane will no longer be parallel to the sensor plane. What Happens When the Tilt-Shift Lens Is Tilted?īy tilting the lens something strange happens. I used the Canon TS-E 24mm f/3.5L II for this setup with an aperture of f/3.5 to keep the depth of field at a minimum, but it also applies for every other focal length. Just imagine the plane of focus to be a flat surface that is exactly parallel to the sensor. But no matter how large or small the depth of field is, it is always parallel to the sensor, just like the focus plane itself.įor now, I will ignore the depth of field. A normal situation shows a plane of focus that runs parallel to the sensor plane.īy closing the aperture it is possible to get an area in front and behind the focus plane within an acceptable focus.