Setting aside the tilt-shift functions for a moment, it is a fundamentally stellar optic: incredibly sharp minimal flare despite its bulbous front element minimal chromatic aberration and NO corner softness or vignetting in an unshifted, untilted configuration.
#Canon ts e 17mm full#
Looked at in this light, this lens (along with the Canon 5D Mk II) is at least 10 stars! View full ReviewĬanon has hit a home run with this lens. If you compare this len's capability shooting digitally as opposed to using a digital view camera solution, your savings in weight and cost are measured by several pounds and tens of thousands of dollars. Last but not least, to suggest that the price/value is less than 5 stars due to the high price tag requires that you don't take into account the amount of gear required to set-up and shoot conventional 4x5. I haven't talked about keeping verticals vertical, but the gain in image quality by doing this in camera is reason enough for me to own this lens. This eliminates at least three steps in post production. And yet, there is near zero barrel distortion or chromatic aberration.
4x5 wide-angles typically do very well with just 8 elements arranged symmetrically as opposed to the retro focus design employed for SLR cameras. If you ever look at the cross section of a conventional 4x5 wide-angle lens designed without the constraints of a mirror box and lens flange, you will be further amazed at what this lens is capable of. Image sharpness gained with using the 17mm Tilt-Shift lens this way will far surpass any conventional lens on the market. Employing tilt to ensure sharp detail from foreground to infinity using f/8, as opposed to stopping down to f/16 or f/22, will yield far superior images. For the landscape photographer willing to carry the additional weight of this lens, the benefits will be astounding. There are many light weight zooms available for a handheld approach and I think would be better tools for the job if you want to shoot this way. With the lightweight carbon fiber tripods available today, taking the handheld approach simply doesn't make sense to me. Hiking long distances to shoot scenery and carrying the bare minimum of weight might eliminate this lens, but be aware that there are many landscape photographers willing to carry extra gear to ensure the best possible image. If you are planning to shoot without a tripod this is not your lens. Some have suggested that the lens is heavy, bulky and therefore difficult to use handheld. In fact, I just upgraded to a larger rolling case to accommodate the additional Canon Tilt-Shift lenses I will soon own. That being said, the Canon 24mm Tilt-Shift will be in my gear case very soon because it is a very necessary focal length also. My specialty has always been architectural interiors and too often 24mm just isn't wide enough. Quite honestly, until this lens came along, I had little inclination to invest in a 35mm or digital solution that got no wider than 24mm.
There are abundant resources to help understand the whys and wherefores of using tilt to manipulate the plane of sharpest focus if you don't have experience. Product, tabletop and landscape shots will benefit the most from using tilt. In shooting architecture, shift (Rise & Fall is all you will use 95% of the time. Without 4x5 experience you will have to spend some time getting familiar with the Scheimflug principle in order to use the tilt feature correctly, but the shift feature alone will be usable right out of the box. Others have suggested that there is a steep learning curve in using this lens effectively. I suspect having to tilt that lens up when shooting exteriors contributes to this problem. I've had extensive experience with the Canon 17-40mm zoom and it has far worse flare issues regardless of the focal length used. Setting the camera up with illumination directly overhead has never been a problem. In every instance so far I've been able to shade the lens with my hand and eliminate the flare completely. 5 or so degrees behind, that will occasionally cause minor flare. There is a certain angle approximately 20 to 30 degrees in front of the camera, and. I'm often required to shoot interiors with light cans recessed in the ceiling overhead. Some people on other forums have suggested that the bulging front element would cause endless flare problems. With extensive 4x5 film experience, this lens gets me back to 99% of the capability of a 55mm lens on 4x5 using film.
#Canon ts e 17mm professional#
I'm a professional architectural photographer and a semi-pro landscape photographer.
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