Kit
Senior Member
Tilt/shift lenses are essentially movement cameras made more mobile and easy to use. As its name suggests, these lenses five you tilting and shifting movements.
As in most cases, the sensor of the camera and lens are parallel to each other. If your subject (plane of focus) is relatively flat and parallel to both the sensor plane as well, then the entire frame should be in focussed. If the plane of focus is not parallel to the sensor, only a portion of the subject will be in focussed. Tilt movement allows you to alter the lens so that the sensor, lens and plane of focus can all meet at the same point. This will then allow a subject which is not parallel to the sensor of the camera to be entirely in focussed. Tilt movement is especially useful for genres such as product photography where the depth of field required often exceeds what the minimum aperture of the lens can give. Truth be told, I never felt the need to use tilting movements to this extend for my field of work. Tilt left or right? Depends on which plane your subjects is on. Tilt/shift lenses come with a rotating mechanism so that you can alter the movement orientation. You can tilt left, right, up and down. I hope I haven't lost you yet but its really hard to explain how tilting works in words.
As you already know, tilt movements can also be used to do selective focussing and simulate the miniature effect. The stadium shot you saw was done by tilting the lens to the max (I can't remember if it was left or right though) and using the largest aperture. I focus on whatever I want to be in focus, in that instance, the flag pole.
The ability to do shifting is probably the only reason why I these lenses. Its critical for architectural photography as shift movement can eliminate keystone effects. Strraight lines remain straight. In essence, its still about lining up the plane of focus with the sensor. Shift movement displaces the lens, allowing the sudject to be adjusted into the frame. As with tilt, you can also shift left, right, up and down. I focus on the intended subject and meter before doing any shifting.
As in most cases, the sensor of the camera and lens are parallel to each other. If your subject (plane of focus) is relatively flat and parallel to both the sensor plane as well, then the entire frame should be in focussed. If the plane of focus is not parallel to the sensor, only a portion of the subject will be in focussed. Tilt movement allows you to alter the lens so that the sensor, lens and plane of focus can all meet at the same point. This will then allow a subject which is not parallel to the sensor of the camera to be entirely in focussed. Tilt movement is especially useful for genres such as product photography where the depth of field required often exceeds what the minimum aperture of the lens can give. Truth be told, I never felt the need to use tilting movements to this extend for my field of work. Tilt left or right? Depends on which plane your subjects is on. Tilt/shift lenses come with a rotating mechanism so that you can alter the movement orientation. You can tilt left, right, up and down. I hope I haven't lost you yet but its really hard to explain how tilting works in words.
As you already know, tilt movements can also be used to do selective focussing and simulate the miniature effect. The stadium shot you saw was done by tilting the lens to the max (I can't remember if it was left or right though) and using the largest aperture. I focus on whatever I want to be in focus, in that instance, the flag pole.
The ability to do shifting is probably the only reason why I these lenses. Its critical for architectural photography as shift movement can eliminate keystone effects. Strraight lines remain straight. In essence, its still about lining up the plane of focus with the sensor. Shift movement displaces the lens, allowing the sudject to be adjusted into the frame. As with tilt, you can also shift left, right, up and down. I focus on the intended subject and meter before doing any shifting.
