How do you use a tilt-shift lens? | Ask David Bergman

[@johnpavan3798]

Another use for the shift function is to take a picture of a mirror without the camera showing in the mirror.

[@-globe]

Really, I believe you but at the same time, it sounds like witchcraft!

[@Papparratzi]

I’m a new convert to the tilt shift lens. Being a high end Real Estate photographer, it’s one of those purchases that you say to yourself, why did I wait so long? If you’re on the fence, rent one and give it a days work first. After a day, you’ll know if it’s a must have or just a want. If you can afford a $ 2k+ purchase for just a want, not a need, it’ll still make you enjoy your shooting experience and get you higher quality results

[@johnteague8475]

I'm a real-estate/architectural photographer, and I love my 24mm tilt/shift lens. The shift function helps me get vertical lines of houses and buildings easily. However, I have used the tilt function only once in the last 6 years, and that was just for experimentation. Still, I use the lens almost every day. And the ability to do a perfect pano is awesome.

[@JeremiahTrue]

I'm trying to get used to using the tilt feature in my RE work. I find for long rooms where you are looking down one side with foreground and distant detail (long counter in a galley kitchen for instance) that DOF and smaller apertures aren't always capable of keeping the whole area sharp. Tilt should be able to help with that but I haven't messed around with it too much yet.

[@pedroparado60]

Very well done the explanation of the basic function of tilt&shift lenses David. I suggest that you add another video to explain how to extend depth of field by applying the right amount of tilt. This is the most difficult aspect of the lens and almost always overlooked in the tutorials.

[@rodolfofranco]

Wow... the way you explained the focus plane blow my mind!!!...

[@anne-marielittenberg8950]

I photograph 2d art for people (who need documentation, images for juries, publications, etc.) When I have to shoot a mounted piece in a tight situation, I can use the tilt and shift functions to get around awkward interruptions. For example, maybe I can't place my tripod exactly where I want it. For large installations in a tight spot, using it for pannos, as you describe, works amazingly well.

[@artemis360]

Very succinct and easy to understand explanation. I love your delivery too.

[@gigiphotos6184]

Great explanation on the tilt function and focus plane. I recently shot a tall building with a tower on the side at an angle. I shifted my 17mm Tilt Shift and the building looked way out of wack, then I used the tilt and somehow by accident I got it completely straight. Looking forward to learning how to use both the shift and tilt at the same time.

[@andreak4280]

fantastic quick/easy explanation of T/S lens!!

[@videoyoplait]

Great for flat lays where you can adjust your focus along a single plane to try to get 1 subject in focus while blurring out much of everything else.

[@ImagemakerAi]

I believe you could explain any complex subject and make it understandable!

[@davecarrera]

Just bought my first TS lens , and Canon 45mm, and this video has really helped in my understanding of the basics. Thank you.

[@rajupanday6059]

Thanks a lot Devid Sir , for such a great, easy , and perfectly full illustration,how one can use T&S lenses for creativity .

[@arisskarpetis]

Hi there. A little remark about your description of using shift to make a higher resolution image if your model. You mention that each of the three sections takes advantage of the lens’s “sweet spot”. When you shift the lens, what you are doing is capturing different parts of the very large image circle the lens has to offer. The lens’s “sweet spot” is in the middle area of this large image circle. Only the middle of the three images will record it. The other two will record parts of the image circle further away from its middle. Thankfully, the lenses you are using must have really good sharpness which means the whole image circle is one giant sweet spot 😁

[@MikeJamesMedia]

Very clear examples and explanation, David. Thank you!

[@daletaylor2433]

Old Nikkor PC-35 with manual stop down and everything. Architecture. Hate keystoning. But there's another great use. Taking a square (not keystoned) picture of a mirror in a frame with no reflection of the camera in it.

[@daletaylor2433]

Should note, you have to have that lens adapted to work on modern DSLRs without damaging them.

[@miltonBanana877]

Thanks, Dave. A very timely video for me.

[@ironian24]

I use my Canon 17mm ts-e tilt shift lens for landscape photography and buildings and I use focus peeking for focusing the manual focus lens. You can also do great panoramics horizontally or portrait, I do this all the time to get the whole building in or scene and you get amazing images full of detail, I tend to tilt the lens very fractionally to get front to back focus on my landscape images. I have to say it is my favourite lens and coupled on to the Canon eos r it is a perfect combo for landscape, portraits, or buildings internally or externally. you will see me using this particular lens nearly all the time on my channel. Great video by the way and because I use one it was nice to watch.

[@diegopendinorodriguez4829]

price in japan. it is less expensive in japan?

[@irampotter]

I recently bought a second hand TS-E 24mm for shooting architecture, it is a really great bit of kit and I have been having a lot of fun shooting with it. One shot which I am going to use the shift movement for is a building which has a great big metal pole in front of the middle of it, by shooting the image twice with the lateral shift movement I can then line up the images as layers in photoshop and erase the pole while still having all the building detail which would normally be hidden from the camera, if I tried to do this just using photoshop, it might work to some extent but would probably be noticable that something wierd was going on, I am just waiting for a nice day with sunshine and good clouds to take the shot.

[@johannestan6878]

Thanks a lot! Very useful info about T/S lens!

[@nelsonclub7722]

Nice job David I would also add that with many commercial photographers such as myself also use rear plane tilt - where the plane of the lens is kept in the normal view but the rear of the camera is moved - one might think they do the same thing but they don't and for a bit more advanced - use both front and rear standard tilt

[@thierrygillard6896]

Pentax cameras (K1 series, K3 I think) would have a tiltable sensor.

[@RonK]

excellent info, thanks a lot

[@richpaul8132]

Outstanding video! I always knew the "how's and why's" of shift-lenses. I've never used one and up until now, I straightened out buildings (or whatever tall targets I was shooting), by using post-editing techniques. However, to do it correctly and convincingly in post takes time, especially if you haven't done it often enough to get good at it. After watching this video, I may just go ahead and rent a tilt/shift lens one day very soon. As for the "Tilt" part of the lens info, that was definitely something I needed to learn about! I've been doing serious photography since the mid-80's and I've never even tried to find out what a tilt lens was used for! I guess I thought if I ever need to use one, I'll look it up, but yes, I know that logic doesn't really work because if you don't know what a tilt lens does in the first place, then how do you know when you'd need to use one?! LOL. Anyway, thanks again for the video and adding another new fact to my ever-growing photo-education! Rich

[@irabrucelevine]

Very clear explanation, David. Mystery solved.

[@marchinderickx8193]

The Canon Tilt-Shift lenses are indeed manual lenses. However, when the focus is correct you see the red dot in the view finder and you hear a beep. I am using for architecture, panorama and food photography. I really enjoy my 24mm TS-E.

[@DavidBergmanPhoto]

Focus assist on the mirrorless is great too!

[@otavioleitefotografia]

Straight to the point. Great!

[@DanielBrown01]

This was so well explained, thank you!

[@liarunaway]

Are there coming some rf tilt-swift lenses?

[@ontheflywithryan5611]

Fantastic explanation 👏

[@drfaustens4504]

Good video. Very informative. I'm using a Nikkor 35mm ai-s shift only lens for panoramas and lightweight architectural. It is completely manual. One method I use to determine exposure is set it to the aperture I want to use as the aperture in for the lens in non-cpu. So if I want to shoot at f/8 it is a f/8 non-cpu 35mm lens and so on up and down the scale. Does it work? lets say it comes close. I can readjust in camera with exposure compensation. That way I get additional +or- fractional compensation. The lens itself is really sharp, it just takes a lot of mental focus to get mileage out of it. It's also one of the least expensive shift lenses I've found. Works best on a tripod for panoramas, but can be hand held. I also use a Pentax Digital (1 degree) Spotmeter, if I remember to bring it.

[@darrenleigh201]

Great info - thanks for sharing!

[@samixsamixsamix]

Thanks David!

[@kurtozan251]

I have the older Canon 45 TS and use it for creative portraiture.

[@dodger2876]

Great video, David. 👍 I considered buying such a lens two times in the past. But: I am using a APS-C D7500. My favorite lens is a new Tamron 10-24mm and often shooting architecture below 24mm, maybe mostly between 10-20mm. So, I am quite uncertain if a 24mm tilt shift lens would work for me.

[@DavidBergmanPhoto]

If you can get everything in the frame while keeping the camera straight to the ground, then you won’t have any distortion and don’t need the shift function. But if you can’t back up far enough to get everything in without tilting the camera, a T/S lens will allow you to get it all in without distorting the image.

[@dodger2876]

@@DavidBergmanPhoto Thanks for the reply. I know and I try to get it in the frame keeping the camera straight. But question is: can a 24mm T/S capture the same frame on APS-C as a 10-24mm UWA lens would do? Hard to explain what I mean. 😕

[@DavidBergmanPhoto]

@@dodger2876 Ah gotcha. Well at 10mm, that lens is a 16mm equivalent. At 20mm, it’s a 32mm. So yea - the 24 would work if you normally shoot on the longer end of the lens. Now if you want to do a pano of multiple images using the shift function? Not sure exactly how much wider it would get but I would guess it would be wider than the 10mm (but not as tall, if that makes sense).

[@gregsullivan7408]

So regarding shifting only, it's really just a lens with a really large image circle, that allows one to move the sensor around - yes?

[@karlaquinonez8894]

Hi, Nice video!, If I want take portrait and buildings too, what distance focal you can tell me is the best 24mm, 40mm, 85mm on Tilt shift? What is the best for that works?

[@christiankaiser5961]

say I'm looking to get fairly close to the subject, like say 6ft away or closer, and they are taller than 6 ft. will I be alright with a 24mm, 19mm, or 17mm ts lens to get a head to toe shot in your opinion ?

[@kapilbhallafoto]

That was informative

[@p.burley4533]

Since I have a TS-E 24, I’m wondering how a Laowa Zero D (distortion) might work, since I do real estate photography. That would be a welcome tutorial!

[@DavidBergmanPhoto]

I could be wrong, but I believe the “zero d” just means that it’s a rectilinear lens. That means that the edges don’t bow out like a many wide angle or fisheye lenses do. Canon makes quite a few of those like the 11-24. Your lines will be (mostly) straight when holding the camera straight to the ground. But it’s not the same as the shift function in the fisheye.

[@inevitablecraftslab]

@@DavidBergmanPhoto exactly it means zero distortion

[@alex0589]

I knew this (roughly) but was curious to see you explain, it's always funny trying to explain how these work to beginner photographers especially when they're just starting to understand how their optics work, it feels like explaining theoretical physics to a toddler. (the reverse is also true when starting out) You did a solid job explaining it all, i only wish i had closeup inserts of the lens while you explained certain things since i've never had the chance to mess with any TS lenses.

[@boogada]

Very well explained! I want one now, even though I have limited use for it. Haha.

[@terrellcwoods]

I just know if you would have been my intro physics prof. I would've stuck with it. I'm thinking this would be awesome for environmental sports portraits. If it was you what focal length would you like to use more than the other. I'm just gonna get a used one either way. Thanks again

[@DavidBergmanPhoto]

Ah thanks! For portraits, I like longer lenses so the 90 would be perfect. But if you want to show the environment, then you might want something wider. Just depends what non-T/S you’d normally use.

[@terrellcwoods]

@@DavidBergmanPhoto thanks. I didn't think about it that way

[@michaelharmon7162]

Tilt shift lens are great but they are expensive. Instead just use a 4x5 or larger view camera to accomplish the tilt and or shift.

[@skillexe_tv4794]

Does prallax effect not just set in if u shhot with a mirror cam

[@krishnansrinivasan830]

Awesome & Thanks :)

[@srennielsen9141]

Aditional info on Tilt: its also called the Scheimpflug principle. And the dof around the plane of focus forms a wedge

[@superfluidity]

For a panorama, instead of keeping the camera in place and shifting the lens, wouldn't it be better to keep the lens in place and shift the camera? Then it's like you kept the same focal length and got a bigger sensor.

[@DavidBergmanPhoto]

Yes it would. But I’d say that’s harder to accomplish for most people - especially if working on a tripod.

[@superfluidity]

@@DavidBergmanPhoto Right, I forgot that these lenses won't generally have tripod mounts. And I suppose unless you have a very close subject or foreground then the difference between the two is going to be almost impossible to detect.

[@ponyonyo3805]

stitching, be able to use sweet spot on lense ? it's just center frame isn' it?

[@MrWiseinheart]

Yeah I think you're right doesn't make sense in that particular phrase.

[@harveymanfrantinsingin7373]

@@MrWiseinheartit’s correct. In the example he showed, the center of each frame is the “sweet spot”, so by shifting, he’s created an oblong sweet spot once the images are combined.

[@oldtomsphotos]

I have used it to take straight on photos of shop fronts, shift it to onside and I do not get my reflection in the window.

[@wojciechwilimowski985]

The list of $3k things I have no use for but desperately want continues to grow

[@harveymanfrantinsingin7373]

lol.. true. But you can get cheap TS lenses if it’s just for fun. 7artisans is sharp at F4 and up, and it’s $225.

[@derekp13]

Get to the info!

[@deweysellers1452]

Thanks David This video will end up costing me some coin can't wait to try one at the airplane grave yard

[@inevitablecraftslab]

See, that's why i use a Flexbody, so every lens is a T/S lens :)

[@MrJohanswa]

it's all about het Scheimplfug rules...:)

[@nimmira]

ah.... "the dream" -_-

[@johnoehrle5973]

i don't think a shift lens always uses the sweet spot in the lens, rather the opposite.

[@amaitra]

Take anold MF lens and use til shift adapters!

[@thierrygillard6896]

Or...you buy an adapter. This will require to have a wider image circle than your camera would usually require, let's say medium format for an APSC, but it does the trick for much cheaper than these overpriced Canon TS lenses.

[@chrisreich40]

The title is misleading. This showed WHY to use a tilt-shift lens. I want to see it on a tripod-mounted camera. Show me how you first adjust the t/s, THEN show me how you focus, THEN show me how you adjust the aperture. I already know how to press the shutter button, thank you.

[@harveymanfrantinsingin7373]

It doesn’t really sound like you do…