Move or zoom? Composition [architecture/landscape] with shift lenses at different focal lengths

Do you move or do you zoom? Keith looks at shift lens photo composition at different focal lengths. Although shot using shift lenses, the observations apply whatever lens you are using.
Just as with a zoom lens, image composition and perspective is a combination of both position and field of view. Using a range of shift lens focal lengths, including dedicated tilt/shift lenses as well as adapted medium format lenses.
There is more about the lens adapter at:
• Fotodiox tilt-shift MF...
and there is a lot more detail about how you use tilt and shift in the accompanying article at www.northlight-images.co.uk/fo...
The video is one of Keith's series looking at different aspects of using tilt/shift lenses. For much more information, articles and reviews go to:
www.northlight-images.co.uk/ph...
Keith's book about how to use such lenses is widely available:
PHOTOGRAPHY WITH TILT AND SHIFT LENSES
Publisher info:
www.crowood.com/products/phot...

[@RasTuft]

Really very useful and interesting video Keith, thank you very much.

[@KeithCooper]

Thanks - I need to do a few more outdoor videos

[@jw48335]

Bronica ETR PE 45-90mm or 100-220mm with a Fotodiox adapter will give you an affordable zoom:) Both were released in 1998 and have modern optical formulas. I've not used the longer zoom, but I own the shorter and it's surprisingly good. This was another great video sir!

[@KeithCooper]

Thanks - that's a good zoom solution. One of the reasons I like doing these tests is that they force me to go out and actually take photos rather than just assume I know what I'm doing ;-)

[@messylaura]

yep, i always recommend beginners on the M series canon cameras get an 18-150mm zoom, its a great lens but it also is a useful focal tool when you need to frame up for buying / selecting primes That M42 to eos-m tilt shift adapter came other day, really is a nice piece of kit, rotates too so full movement all around, done a couple of in door tests and it does what its supposed to, its a nice entry into using tilt and shift for someone not needing the high end lenses for work, the adapter was £100 so its a lot more affordable than the dedicated pro lenses great video Keith

[@KeithCooper]

Thanks - it seems obvious stuff, but I forget how often people think that zoom does everything ;-)

[@thomaseriksson6256]

I like the 35mm picture on the house. I use to have a 35mm shift lens but I sold it and got a 24mm PC. I will get a AFS 24-70mmF2.8 E VR Zoom for free hand use otherwise I use primes, tripod and filters.

[@kevins8575]

Crop with focal length, compose with your feet.

[@KeithCooper]

Yes - it still needs repeating...

[@Lance_Magillicuddy]

Keith, I'm glad that you are considering shift as applied to "landscape" photography, although here in the context of architecture. This may be ranging a little beyond the scope of this particular video, but I sometimes experiment with shift for doing shifted panorama landscape shots. I would be interested in your discussion of how you would handle say a two or three-panel horizontal stitch of a set of three vertical stitched images. Would parallax issues be a nightmare? Of course, the files would be rather large. Or would you say trying to do that makes no sense? I have sometimes gotten the impression from landscape photographers that they see no point in needing a tilt-shift lens to do stitched panos. I have the Rogeti frame for the Canon TS-E 24mm to prevent parallax problems, although I must say I'm not sure I really ever noticed a problem with that at that relatively wide angle. I am not aware of any frame for the Canon 90mm TS-E, so I wonder if that would be an issue. I try to make it a point not to always do landscape-type images at wide-angle for reasons you suggest in this video. Thanks!

[@KeithCooper]

I do sometimes do left/right stitches, but I'm often inclined to include a vertical shift as well i.e. two shots shifted diagonally up/left and up/right. The problem is always that with such shifts you bring in the worst performing parts of the lens coverage into your corners, which may or may not be an issue I also use the camera in portrait mode shifted upwards and rotating the camera. These shifted images stitch normally and I have a choice of image projection. See a brief mention right at the end of my tilt/shift webinar kzbin.info/www/bejne/nZm4g6R6m5qZg7s With longer lenses I'll mount the camera on a slide rail, so I can offset it back and rotate the lens/camera about its nodal point. There does need to be a subject (near/far overlap) that will cause parallax issues for me to go to this trouble though. I'll look at covering this in a new video some time ;-)

[@michaelvandahl3766]

Hi Keith, good explanation! Thanks! Am I right if I suppose that you take a lens around 50 mm if you have the requirement of a ,natural‘ look? And if distance is no problem, the so called compression effect, what difference does it make if I for example use 50mm and a 85mm lens?

[@KeithCooper]

Thanks. Sure, the ~50mm is often touted as 'natural', but that's entirely dependent on the subject, the distance and the size of prints you make ;-) Wide angle lens prints/images tend to be looked at from too far and tele shots from too close. This is what causes some of the compression/wide-angle look. Focal length varies the crop if you don't move, and the perspective (in terms of near/far size relationships) if you do move. Next time I get a large printer to review, I'll look at some of the effects of print size (with 24" x 36" prints)

[@michaelvandahl3766]

@@KeithCooper Thanks Keith! My problem is lacking experience! I just got a used 85mm Nikon TS lense and I’m not sure whether it is the right for I want to do. I took it because the price was really good and I could say no:-) But I need really to experiment now in order get experience! As additional support, your articles, videos help really a lot!

[@KeithCooper]

Oh, and not to mention my book about tilt/shift lenses ;-) :-) Unfortunately, the Nikon 85 s the only one I don't have a detailed review of, since Nikon UK didn't have one anywhere they could lend me.

[@michaelvandahl3766]

@@KeithCooper Sorry forgot to mention, I ordered your book as well! It arrived last week, but took a long time from Britain to Germany! I guess because of Brexit and COVID! Will start reading now!

[@Callmedstone]

So I wonder how well a medium format teleconverter would perform - especially for tilt shift - when coupled with a 35mm sensor lens. My thinking is that since teleconverters are designed to enlarge the central portion of the image circle, that we are more limited with a standard teleconverter as we are further restricting the usable image circle. How flawed is this theory? If we discard autofocus, the larger question is whether teleconverters have improved - so would a newer teleconverter enlarging a smaller image circle on a 35mm lens outperform an older medium format teleconverter coupled with the same 35mm lens? Also, is parallax adjustment a constant depending on subject distance and/or focal length? I’m exploring the idea of using two cameras simultaneously (with tilt shift) as a means of rivalling medium format (similar to how stereo cameras are setup). My thinking is that using two tilt shift lenses would offset the inherent parallax problems of shooting with two cameras . For some reason I have a feeling this wild theory of mine has a massive flaw - but could this flaw be solved by stitching the overlap or utilizing a keystone correction? I haven’t seen much talk about this approach I’m considering, but surely I can’t be the only one who has entertained this idea. If there is a problem with parallax (using two cameras), I’m thinking that if my theory has flaws, that those would largely be dependent on my subject distance. In other words, can two full frame cameras be rigged as a poor man’s Hasselblad (without using a beam splitting)? I find this whole area of tilt shift fascinating. I always snubbed it thinking it was primarily used for the miniature effect , but now I’m beginning to think it’s one of the most underrated and powerful things in photography.

[@KeithCooper]

You have the potential of parallax the moment you shoot with the lens at two positions. See the examples I have connected with the laowa 20mm shift lens (no 'tilt' available of needed). That miniature world thing is a tiny part of using lenses with tilt and shift - I believe I devote just a few pages to it in my entire book about using such lenses ;-)