Why use a shift lens when software can do it all for you - What can a shift lens do differently

It's often thought that modern software lets you 'fix' images in ways that make shift lenses an expensive and unnecessary luxury.
Keith Cooper looks at some of the reasons he uses shift lenses in all areas of his work, not just architectural photography.
The original articles looking at this is
www.northlight-images.co.uk/u...
The diagonal shift mentioned for landscape photography is discussed in more detail in: • Landscape photography ...
There are lots more articles, videos and reviews covering the use of tilt and shift lenses: www.northlight-images.co.uk/ph...
Keith's book about how to use such lenses is widely available at good booksellers: PHOTOGRAPHY WITH TILT AND SHIFT LENSES
Publisher info: www.crowood.com/products/phot...
ISBN: 9781785007712

[@gaperklake]

Thank you, Keith. Splendid demonstration.

[@KeithCooper]

Thanks!

[@KarloFio]

Master Keith 🙏 thank you so much! It's easily explainable, I am a lifelong photographer but wide angle has, since I have used it during my studies never been my real point of interest. I guess, the more expirienced we get the wider we go 😂 maybe it's even true but anyway... I have started with Laowa 15 and 20mm shift lenses plus 12mm zero d some time ago because of the "fields unknown" kind of a jump into a cold water and after some time it felt like a great decision because it forced me to think in other terms and I felt left alone by the comfort pleasing features like AF and camera coupling pins and bits... But then and since I exclusively work without AF because I think manual focus is faster, even for sports with tellys 🎉 the magic happened and I found the peace in the wast field of creativity which shift lenses are making possible. And then, I found your channel and felt confirmed and I learned something new from you which is priceless and I thank you from my heart for that ❤ Watching your videos is like sitting by the fireplace with a good friend and chatting freely, a very seldom statement coming out of my mouth... Which proves, there is no excuse for the lack of articulated incompetence... Thank you again and I will keep in touch, yours Karlo

[@KeithCooper]

Thanks - I really appreciate that. Glad to have helped!

[@johnjon1823]

I have had occasion to do a faux shift method in shooting real estate. I just shot wider than I needed pointed where I needed to get more, say floor than ceiling or whatever, and then straightened the verticals in post. By shooting wider the areas lost when doing the corrections did not matter, I just cropped them out since I shot wider than I needed planning on the crop etc. For that I used, effectively a 7-14mm m43 lens that is effectively 14-28. I would love a nice tilt/shift lens though. Sometimes it can be very challenging to shoot a tall hallway and keep the stairway banister and spindles up the stairs vertical. or things of similar nature, in a smaller area. You can't always back away enough. One thing I will say, keep things level or you will pay for it with a wide lens and interiors. Unless you plan for some outcomes. If you are using wide lenses, you really need to pay attention to the verticals, then of course there is always the possibility of distortion etc. It takes practice. Great videos, keep up the good work. Thanks!

[@KeithCooper]

Thanks - glad it was of interest!

[@johnjon1823]

@@KeithCooper Oh yes, your videos are among the best for usable information and the like.

[@kevinl1492]

My favorite subject for the 24mm TSE is the interiors of vintage houses. They often have a large parlor/reception room just off the main entrance. If the room is very wide, I shift the lens, turned to landscape orientation, left, center and right and composite the three images. The camera should be on a tripod at a height half way between the floor and the ceiling. The result is a highly detailed panorama shot with minimal distortion. If the room has a tall ceiling and is not extremely wide, you can put the lens in portrait orientation and do the same thing. I don’t know how I would do it in software. Another great feature is photographing a mirrored wall without your reflection appearing in the image. Just move the tripod to the left or right of the mirror and shift the lens all the way in the opposite direction.

[@KeithCooper]

Yes, all good uses

[@RasTuft]

Thanks Keith that’s given me all sorts of possibilities for using a shift lens (I’m thinking about buying one and wondering which one). Looks like I don’t need the tilt facility so can spend less money 👍

[@KeithCooper]

Thanks - see all my tilt shift stuff at www.northlight-images.co.uk/photography-articles-and-reviews/tilt-and-shift-lens-articles-and-reviews/ and the video index at: www.northlight-images.co.uk/keith-cooper-photography-videos-index/#ts1

[@kenfournelle5517]

Thank you Keith! An excellent presentation especially showing shift in landscape images. Just ordered your book and have been going back and forth on ordering the Laowa 20 mil or the 15 R mil lens. I am leaning to the 15. I am totally an amatuer although I have been in film and video most of my career life (retired); and am doing some architectural photography just for fun. So thanks for the outstanding videos. They have been a great help.

[@KeithCooper]

Thanks - most aspects of the book now have videos. It was written before I started doing the videos (less than 2 years ago)

[@johndwilliams]

Just going to read your articles. Tilt/shift is something I would like to look into. I struggle with photographing buildings and then trying to get the verticals right. Must be a touch of OCD. Then when I go home I realise that I'm going to lose a noticeable part of the shot in editing. Or I lose the top of the building! Had never thought of using them in landscape pics. Keeping trees vertical would be good. Couldn't justify the expense of a dedicated tilt/shift lens but notice adapters for about £100. Would this work with, say, an old film camera lens on my Sony a7rii? Have a few of those lying about. Great channel. Learning so much from it.

[@KeithCooper]

Lens adapters with normal 35mm lenses don't usually offer much shift on full frame sensors. I use adapters with old medium format lenses, which works OK. Never tried any Sony gear - they (and Fuji) are the only two companies who won't lend me gear to test :-(

[@johndwilliams]

@@KeithCooper if I go ahead I’ll keep you posted. Good tip about the medium format.

[@jw48335]

Really interesting video! Tilt and shift is where I think micro four thirds really has an advantage. A couple years ago I had some fun adapting a 14mm Samyang EF to a $300 em5ii Olympus to take some 64mpx shots. I think if I wanted to do this photography on a regular basis that is the route I would go, but I am most definitely not a professional :-) At the moment I do have an adapter that allows me to shift my bronica lenses on my EOS R, and I do end up using it more than I thought. I had never seen an example of diagonal shift before, that was really interesting. Thanks!

[@KeithCooper]

Thanks - Yes, M43 certainly lets you add movements to a lot of bigger lenses. Diagonal shift is definitely something to explore - or more, it's the horizontal component and how it changes perceived horizontal perspective. The vertical component is in a way the 'easy bit' with a level camera ;-)

[@7Boots]

Thanks for the very helpful comparison and your great videos!! I also don’t like to do the software correction very much. Usually I use the TS-E 24 mm but once I needed more wide angle and had used my 16-35 mm. But instead of using it to match the view, I aligned the camera and cropped the desired view instead of stretching the image. If the resolution is sufficient, this can work also for getting vertical lines, but of course shifting is the optimal solution. But this leads me to a question: which way would you recommend for aligning the camera? A good spirit level on the hot-shoe, the digital in-camera level (if it is 2-axis) or a spirit level on the base plate / tripod? I always get different results. To me, the tripod spirit level seems most precise but it’s complicated to align… Thanks, Ron

[@KeithCooper]

Glad it was of interest. For levelling I currently use the levels in my Rogeti geared head (see the Laowa shift support video for more) If I'm using a TSE frame for my 24/17mm I'll use the bubbles in the TSE frame - they are good quality ones. The internal level of my EOS RP seems pretty good - I'll use it hand-held. I've found hot-shoe levels very variable in quality - where I need precision for multishot panoramics, I'll use a full survey tripod and tribrach for accurate levelling. I can also swap it to a total station for surveying locations very precisely. www.northlight-images.co.uk/use-a-survey-tripod-for-the-gigapan-epic-pro/

[@messylaura]

they are a great tool indeed, never used one myself yet

[@KeithCooper]

Do have a go if you get a chance to try one!

[@messylaura]

@@KeithCooper well i have a mirrorless crop so i could make a shift lens from a fullframe lens as it will have a wider image circle a question, if i understand it correctly the ef shift lens produces a bigger image than the normal ef size lens would do? this is what allows the lens to shift? or is that amount of image there anyway with a fixed lens?

[@KeithCooper]

Yes, the normal EF lenses have an image circle usually just large enough to cover the 24x36mm sensor size. The TS-E lenses have a larger image circle. Different EF lenses have different actual image circles, but it's not normally in the specifications

[@johndwilliams]

Have been doing the research over the last few days, Covid positive, so have the free time! Even downloaded your ebook today. I've come to the conclusion that the shots I had visualised using my 16-35mm Sony for, are going to much more attainable by using a tilt shift setup. I'm starting to think of where I want to go already. Lately, I've hardly used the 16-35 so it might be time for a change. The idea of being able to take photos that most photographers are unable to do, also appeals. So, if I had a modest amount of cash burning a hole in my pocket, what would your opinion be? Pick up the Samsung 24mm tilt shift. Looks like a nice package, 24mm is a nice focal length and I've used a Samsung 16mm manual before, along with plenty of old manual lenses. Buy a tilt shift adapter and good, older, medium format lens as you suggest. Although, looking at the cost of a decent adapter and a good, widish MF lens, there's not a lot of difference cost-wise. Any other suggestions. This is a new game to me and I would value your ideas on it. Thanks.

[@KeithCooper]

The Samyang is not a bad lens. Did you see my review? www.northlight-images.co.uk/review-samyang-24mm-tilt-shift-lens/ The MF route is hindered by the lack of affordable good wide MF lenses at 24mm My own first T/S was a second hand TS-E24 (the original) They are lenses which hold their value, should you then decide to get a 'better' one...

[@johndwilliams]

@@KeithCooper Good review. Covers it all really. It looks like a new Samsung would cost around the same as a good Mk1 Canon. Which would appear to have better optics and hold its value better if looked after. I had a 16mm Samyang on a Fuji with no issues but I remember that some said that image quality could vary between individual lenses. More to think about.

[@KeithCooper]

Thanks - I've been doing the written articles for nearly 20 years and the videos (to supplement them) for 2 ;-)

[@torkalovolodymyr5097]

I think tilt shift was relevant on film. In digital is outdated. First time i was excited by ts-e 17. But later i made comparison with 16-35 f4. I was very suprised that i got exactly same result with 16-35 with 3 shots panorama. Quality also is better. Angle of view even wider. It's so easy to stich panorama and correct geometry in lightroom that it's very hard justify such specialized lens.

[@KeithCooper]

Well... Hard to justify unless you need such a lens... ;-) Firstly tilt and shift need to be seen as two different things, not the generic [and often incorrect] term 'tilt shift' Tilting the focal plane is not something you can do in post production. The effects of shift can indeed be mimicked with a sufficiently wide angle lens and correction/crop or simply moving the camera and stitching. However using shift to correct convergence, using a suitable lens, gives accurate framing and is an essential for architectural photography. It's surprisingly useful in many other areas too - the use of shift lenses for panoramic photography is a relatively small part of their use. I use them to give control over apparent perspective - difficult to reliably visualise without doing it in camera. That said, the capabilities are not of use to everyone, so sure if you don't have the uses, buy cheaper and fix in post.

[@torkalovolodymyr5097]

@@KeithCooper why then no other major camera and lens companies don't bother to produce tilt shift lenses? Like sony, fuji, olympus? Even canon last ts dated 2009 and still to TS released for RF system? It takes less time to draw guide lines in lightroom then manually focus and adjust tilt shift lens. I even can do it on site using android phone and even shitch panorama for extreamly wide angle of view. Sure for film you cannon do it in post. Also when you point up UWA lens you symetrically use best middle part of image circle - which compensates loss due to stretching of pixels

[@KeithCooper]

No - I disagree, but If you don't see the uses, then you don't see the uses... It's why I wrote the book about all what you can do with them - so much more than many think. Expecting to get a Fuji 30mm t/s within a few months for the GFX100S to test - they see it as a pro lens. It's why they've asked me to test their ones. TS lenses from Canon and Nikon are specialist lenses - no significant benefits of RF for manual focus and the current ones work fine with adapters.

[@jamesm8935]

Nice video thanks. Does the focal plane come into it at all for you or does everything tend to be in focus?

[@KeithCooper]

Thanks Concerns over the focal plane are more about using tilt. Shift just changes which part of the image circle you fit over the sensor. Focus is just the same as a normal lens You can use selective blur tools to give a faux 'small world' look (a tiny part of what tilt can be used for) but selecting where a plane of focus runs when using tilt cannot be replicated from a single shot in software (not unless you have a light-field camera)

[@ddsdss256]

Depending on the scene (I suppose one could preface almost many comments regarding photography with that), IMO, there are cases where some perspective "lean" looks more natural than having all of the verticals perpendicular to the horizon (real or perceived), as the nearer you are to base of a building, the more perceived the convergence, but I get the either/or approach. Certainly, slightly unlevel shots (relative to the real or perceived horizon when it's obvious, such as a seascape) just look wrong. Now, I understand that even sophisticated programs like DxO Perspective Efex aren't a 100% substitute for a tilt/shift lens, but unless you need them professionally, T/S lenses are a significant investment for many people. Regarding the black triangles or keystones, if I know I'm going to be losing some sensor (or negative) real estate, I take that into account when I compose the image, leaving extra "negative" space on the top and sides so I don't lose any essential visual elements when I crop those black areas out. I often shoot city scenes at 16mm (107° AoV) so in cases where I want verticality (I often prefer the radical wide-angle geometry) that means quite a lot of cropping, so no arguments that a tilt-shift would be better than a software-based approach in those cases. My problem is, the widest angle T/S lenses I see are 15mm and I primarily shoot MFT, so that 2X crop factor means that I can't get adapt anything wider than a 30mm eq, which isn't nearly wide enough for many of the shots where I'd want a T/S (re Jeremy's comment below). Therefore, for me to get a wider-angle T/S lens would require a larger-format camera (read: too bulky/heavy for field use with a full FL range of lenses--that's why MFT is such an amazing system). If I went that route, I may as well get a view camera (if I can find or convert to a digital one--I don't want to go back to film)--what are your thoughts regarding the difference between a view camera vs T/S? Thanks again for posting these great videos!

[@KeithCooper]

Thanks - yes, very much a choice of what suits. I've used 35mm full frame since 2003, so even APS-C seems oppressively small to me ;-) This video was more aimed at those who see no real point for shift lenses at all ;-) For myself the effort and expense of a view camera have no interest, other than a purely technical one (if someone lends me something to review!) I can't justify the considerable expense for the business. If I had a full technical camera (beyond the 5x4 MPP I have) I don't think I'd use it enough - the challenge of mastering it would keep me going for a while (and no doubt produce a string of articles/videos) but then the new-toy effect would wear off ;-)