articles/Lens/shift-page3

The Shift and Tilt Lenses - part 3 of 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9

by Mike McNamee Published 01/10/2014

Setting up a T-S lens is slow painstaking work that cannot be rushed. You have to focus manually while watching the image so you need good eyes.

You can, however, use all the assists available which are: a magnifying loupe on the rear LCD screen, a magnifying view finder, or the focus assist light in the viewfinder (providing it can reach to the required area on the outer margins of your image).

Note the change of shape of the zone of focus as soon as the lens is tilted. To the beginners the change seems very large for such a small change in the lens.

An issue with tilt is that if you overdo it the tops of nearby objects can be rendered out of focus (assuming you are tilting down, the most common direction!). It is also true that, if you are standing on high ground, a landscape which is falling below you is also likely to be soft unless you rotate the camera downwards.

The relationship between the camera height and the 'wedge of cheese' is fixed by the optics and can be calculated with precision (see chart). You can approach the overall set-up in three ways: you can calculate your way out of trouble, do it by twiddling knobs while viewing, or you can use a combination of both. Understanding the fundamentals will shorten the time it takes you to get started (and in some instances prevent you from becoming discouraged!).

• The Shift and Tilt Lenses page 1
  
• The Shift and Tilt Lenses page 2
  
• The Shift and Tilt Lenses page 3
  
• The Shift and Tilt Lenses page 4
  
• The Shift and Tilt Lenses page 5
  
• The Shift and Tilt Lenses page 6
  
• The Shift and Tilt Lenses page 7
  
• The Shift and Tilt Lenses page 8
  
• The Shift and Tilt Lenses page 9
  

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