Frequently Bought Together
What Other Items Do Customers Buy After Viewing This Item?
Technical Details
- Brand Name: Canon
- Model: 2536A004
- Lens Type: tilt-shift
- Maximum focal length: 45 millimeters
Product Details
Would you like to update product info or give feedback on images? |
Product Description
From the Manufacturer
With a Canon TS-E lens, you can control the angle of the plane of focus and the picture’s perspective. The effects of large-format camera movements can be obtained with TS-E lenses for EOS cameras. Although manual focusing is required, automatic aperture control enables autoexposure and autoexposure bracketing. The tilt and shift axes intersect at a 90° angle. They can be made parallel at an authorized Canon Service Facility (modified at owner’s expense).
The normal lens in the TS-E system, and an excellent choice for product shooting and other applications calling for a natural perspective. It allows up to 11mm of shift off-center, and even more impressive, tilting of the front standard up to 8° to modify the plane of focus. Among the TS-E 45mm f/2.8’s optical highlights are a floating optical system (focusing down to 1.3 ft/0.4m), and a precise rear-group focusing system.
Product Description
With a Canon TS-E lens, you can control the angle of the plane of focus and the picture's perspective.
The effects of large-format camera movements can be obtained with TS-E lenses for EOS cameras. Although manual focusing is required, automatic aperture control enables autoexposure and autoexposure bracketing. The tilt and shift axes intersect at a 90° angle. They can be made parallel at an authorized Canon Service Facility (modified at owner's expense).
The normal lens in the TS-E system, and an excellent choice for product shooting and other applications calling for a natural perspective. It allows up to 11mm of shift off-center, and even more impressive, tilting of the front standard up to 8° to modify the plane of focus. Among the TS-E 45mm f/2.8's optical highlights are a floating optical system (focusing down to 1.3 ft/0.4m), and a precise rear-group focusing system.
Features
- EF mount; tilt shift lens
- Floating optical system
- 45mm focal length
- f/2.8 maximum aperture
- Manual focus only
Available Warranties for This Item
Customer Reviews
Most Helpful Customer Reviews
22 of 24 people found the following review helpful
Amazon Verified Purchase
I've been a photographer since the film era, and I also have previous experience with view cameras, so I'm familiar with the lens movement. Yet, TS-E has a couple of peculiar points that have its own learning curve. Image quality is also very good, but not perfect.
I use this lens mostly for tabletop product photography, food photography and creative and corrective portraiture. I think product photography is probably the most common application for TS-E45mm, although not many people talk about it online... and even less so for corrective portraiture. Anyway, if you can pay for the lens and willing to take the steep learning curve, this lens is almost essential for these things.
I found TS-E45mm tends to give inaccurate focus even when the focus is dead on on the viewfinder screen. This happens most often when tilted and shifted simultaneously, and the focus is taken near the periphery of the view. This happens on both 5D and 7D. I don't know if there's a good way to overcome this problem other than live view or tethered. (EDIT Jul 2011: Ee-S focusing screen on 5D or Eg-S on 5D mk II seems to be the solution. With 7D, live view is the only solution as focusing screen is not interchangeable.)
Although officially unsupported, we often see people say that TS-E45mm works fine with 1.4x and 2x teleconverters online. I think what they mean is merely that the teleconverter fits without a mechanical problem. However, this needs a caveat. If the lens is shifted while on a teleconverter, the lateral chromatic aberration worsens dramatically. Other aberration probably worsens, because focus is also not very sharp. Tilt is not as bad in this regard. Simultaneous tilt and shift is also very bad. So, if you use this lens with a teleconverter, you should limit the lens movement to a small tilt only. Since the movement is limited by the image quality, the limitation is not absolute, but certainly limits the usability of this lens with a teleconverter. Also, with a 1.4x teleconverter, I see a noticeable drop in image contrast. So, if you buy TS-E45mm with the hope of using it with a teleconverter, I think you'll eventually be buying TS-E90mm as well (and as I did), to avoid these problems.
I use this lens mostly for tabletop product photography, food photography and creative and corrective portraiture. I think product photography is probably the most common application for TS-E45mm, although not many people talk about it online... and even less so for corrective portraiture. Anyway, if you can pay for the lens and willing to take the steep learning curve, this lens is almost essential for these things.
I found TS-E45mm tends to give inaccurate focus even when the focus is dead on on the viewfinder screen. This happens most often when tilted and shifted simultaneously, and the focus is taken near the periphery of the view. This happens on both 5D and 7D. I don't know if there's a good way to overcome this problem other than live view or tethered. (EDIT Jul 2011: Ee-S focusing screen on 5D or Eg-S on 5D mk II seems to be the solution. With 7D, live view is the only solution as focusing screen is not interchangeable.)
Although officially unsupported, we often see people say that TS-E45mm works fine with 1.4x and 2x teleconverters online. I think what they mean is merely that the teleconverter fits without a mechanical problem. However, this needs a caveat. If the lens is shifted while on a teleconverter, the lateral chromatic aberration worsens dramatically. Other aberration probably worsens, because focus is also not very sharp. Tilt is not as bad in this regard. Simultaneous tilt and shift is also very bad. So, if you use this lens with a teleconverter, you should limit the lens movement to a small tilt only. Since the movement is limited by the image quality, the limitation is not absolute, but certainly limits the usability of this lens with a teleconverter. Also, with a 1.4x teleconverter, I see a noticeable drop in image contrast. So, if you buy TS-E45mm with the hope of using it with a teleconverter, I think you'll eventually be buying TS-E90mm as well (and as I did), to avoid these problems.
13 of 14 people found the following review helpful
Amazon Verified Purchase
This lens gets five stars if for no other reason than it has no competitors in the EF mount. However, it is a pricey lens designed for specialist applications and is not for most general purpose photographers.
Optics: Shooting wide-open (not really the intended use of this lens), the center is very sharp with the corners falling to good. Tilting or shifting results in even more drop-off in the corners. Shooting at working apertures (f/8 or smaller), the sharpness across the frame is excellent and there is no real vignetting and very, very little distortion. The only problem at working apertures is a bit of CA in the corners, but this cleans up very easily in post.
Ease of Use: Well-damped focus ring (as it should be for a MF only lens). Tilt and shift are easy to apply and lock, though the knobs are probably smaller than they should be. You should also note that it is possible to end up with one of the knobs under the viewfinder housing, which makes operation difficult, but this can be avoided and as is a common "feature" to all of the TS-E lenses. Lens cap is a bit better than the Canon standard and the lens hood is good quality plastic and locks on securely, unlike many Canon hoods.
These lenses are said to be "hard" to use, but with a liveview and a little knowledge, they are stupid simple to use. Just remember to use the DOF preview button to stop down the lens so you can see the final composition on the screen. It will take a bit before everything clicks, but you can master the ins and outs in an afternoon.
While there are many great resources on using tilt/shift lens, as a basic overview:
Shift allows you to change the perspective of the lens. If you shoot architecture and need buildings to have straight lines, this will be handy feature. You can of course accomplish the same task in most image manipulation programs, but you do sacrifice some of the frame to computer perspective correction.
Tilt allows you to change the field of focus from being perfectly parallel to the sensor. Thus, you can get near and far objects in perfect focus, which is an important ability for landscape or product photographers. Yes, you can get landscapes that are reasonably sharp from near to far by taking advantage of the hyperfocal focus distance, but this only puts near and far in "good-enough" focus. If you consider the cliched meadow in front of mountains photo, with hyperfocal focusing, you will find that the nearest flowers are annoyingly defocused and the mountains aren't as sharp as they could be. However, with a TS-E lens, you can avoid this and more or less have the entire scene in sharp focus.
Of course, the price you pay for this ability is a that you have to purchase a big, heavy, expensive, and manually focusing lens, meaning that this lens is not for everyone. However, if you want to shoot truly great landscapes (assuming you already have a good eye for things), then a TS-E lens is the way to go (unless of course you drag a LF camera out there, which is really the way to go). And if you shoot a lot of products, then this is really the way to go.
As a general note, tilt and shift are perpendicular to each other, so if you have the lens tilted up or down, you can only shift left and right. This is probably the behavior you want, but if you want to be able to tilt up and down while shifting up and down, you can either pay Canon to change the lens, or you can do it yourself with a screwdriver and a bit of care. The newest TS-E lenses allow you to do this yourself without tools, but for most users, this limitation will not be a problem.
Oh... build quality is also excellent. It feels like a tank and I have yet to have any problems with mine. I will of course keep everyone updated.
Also, these lenses mount the Canon series of extenders, so you get a great 60/4 and 90/5.6 as well if you already own the extenders. Optical quality drops off a bit with the 2x, but at working apertures, it is more than good enough for professional quality big prints.
Optics: Shooting wide-open (not really the intended use of this lens), the center is very sharp with the corners falling to good. Tilting or shifting results in even more drop-off in the corners. Shooting at working apertures (f/8 or smaller), the sharpness across the frame is excellent and there is no real vignetting and very, very little distortion. The only problem at working apertures is a bit of CA in the corners, but this cleans up very easily in post.
Ease of Use: Well-damped focus ring (as it should be for a MF only lens). Tilt and shift are easy to apply and lock, though the knobs are probably smaller than they should be. You should also note that it is possible to end up with one of the knobs under the viewfinder housing, which makes operation difficult, but this can be avoided and as is a common "feature" to all of the TS-E lenses. Lens cap is a bit better than the Canon standard and the lens hood is good quality plastic and locks on securely, unlike many Canon hoods.
These lenses are said to be "hard" to use, but with a liveview and a little knowledge, they are stupid simple to use. Just remember to use the DOF preview button to stop down the lens so you can see the final composition on the screen. It will take a bit before everything clicks, but you can master the ins and outs in an afternoon.
While there are many great resources on using tilt/shift lens, as a basic overview:
Shift allows you to change the perspective of the lens. If you shoot architecture and need buildings to have straight lines, this will be handy feature. You can of course accomplish the same task in most image manipulation programs, but you do sacrifice some of the frame to computer perspective correction.
Tilt allows you to change the field of focus from being perfectly parallel to the sensor. Thus, you can get near and far objects in perfect focus, which is an important ability for landscape or product photographers. Yes, you can get landscapes that are reasonably sharp from near to far by taking advantage of the hyperfocal focus distance, but this only puts near and far in "good-enough" focus. If you consider the cliched meadow in front of mountains photo, with hyperfocal focusing, you will find that the nearest flowers are annoyingly defocused and the mountains aren't as sharp as they could be. However, with a TS-E lens, you can avoid this and more or less have the entire scene in sharp focus.
Of course, the price you pay for this ability is a that you have to purchase a big, heavy, expensive, and manually focusing lens, meaning that this lens is not for everyone. However, if you want to shoot truly great landscapes (assuming you already have a good eye for things), then a TS-E lens is the way to go (unless of course you drag a LF camera out there, which is really the way to go). And if you shoot a lot of products, then this is really the way to go.
As a general note, tilt and shift are perpendicular to each other, so if you have the lens tilted up or down, you can only shift left and right. This is probably the behavior you want, but if you want to be able to tilt up and down while shifting up and down, you can either pay Canon to change the lens, or you can do it yourself with a screwdriver and a bit of care. The newest TS-E lenses allow you to do this yourself without tools, but for most users, this limitation will not be a problem.
Oh... build quality is also excellent. It feels like a tank and I have yet to have any problems with mine. I will of course keep everyone updated.
Also, these lenses mount the Canon series of extenders, so you get a great 60/4 and 90/5.6 as well if you already own the extenders. Optical quality drops off a bit with the 2x, but at working apertures, it is more than good enough for professional quality big prints.
18 of 21 people found the following review helpful
By Bill Thomson
Amazon Verified Purchase
I bought this lens to take advantage of the ability to alter the depth of field for landscape with tilt and create seamless panoramas. I was skeptical this lens would have enough resolution to keep up with both my 5D MK II and 7D but those concerns were quickly put to rest. This lens is -sharp- on both cameras with just a very small touch of chromatic aberation in really glarey conditions on the 7D.
So, on the 5D MK II I have a 45mm lens while on the 7D I have the equivalent of a 72mm lens. I guess that means I bought 2 $650 lenses ;)
On my eye level tripod if I just level the camera and dial in a little under 2 degrees of tilt the focal plane runs parallel to the ground which makes getting the depth of field one wants for landscape a snap. Just keep in mind the DoF runs in a vertical wedge with the narrow end at your feet to watch for DoF in the vertical direction. Live View with depth of field preview and 100% zoom is your friend for checking critical sharpness.
Only caveat is I would NOT recommend this lens if your camera doesn't have live view. Live view really is essential for working with this lens in my opinion.
Also, there is an excellent tutorial on:
[...]
So, on the 5D MK II I have a 45mm lens while on the 7D I have the equivalent of a 72mm lens. I guess that means I bought 2 $650 lenses ;)
On my eye level tripod if I just level the camera and dial in a little under 2 degrees of tilt the focal plane runs parallel to the ground which makes getting the depth of field one wants for landscape a snap. Just keep in mind the DoF runs in a vertical wedge with the narrow end at your feet to watch for DoF in the vertical direction. Live View with depth of field preview and 100% zoom is your friend for checking critical sharpness.
Only caveat is I would NOT recommend this lens if your camera doesn't have live view. Live view really is essential for working with this lens in my opinion.
Also, there is an excellent tutorial on:
[...]
Most Recent Customer Reviews
3.0 out of 5 stars
I thought I would use it more
This is a nifty lens but I thought I would use it more than I would. My only qualms is that it's still a manual focus lens.
Published 4 months ago by Binh Nguyen
5.0 out of 5 stars
Amazing quality product
I bought this for my son, well, we bought it together for his photography business. He has only been able to borrow this lens on photo shoots before this purchase. Read more
Published 6 months ago by By Jane d.
5.0 out of 5 stars
This lens is great!
This is a great lens, and it somehow even seems to make the color better on my shots. I would get this one over the 90mm TS.
Published on September 27, 2010 by Scout
5.0 out of 5 stars
Awesome...if you can nail focus
I've had this lens for a few months now and it is rad! Nailing the focus when tilting is a challenge, but once you get used to it, you're able to get more creative with it. Read more
Published on March 25, 2010 by C. Parreira
4.0 out of 5 stars
Canon TS-E 45mm Tilt Shift
Excellent build quality. The photographs it produces are really nice. Certainley does not replace a camera with more movement, but a good addition to my 35mm kit.
Published on January 21, 2009 by Jackson Smith
5.0 out of 5 stars
One of my favorite lenses
Amazing lens. The learning curve is a little steep, but if you stay with it then you will be really happy with the results.
Published on October 30, 2008 by Jacob W. Morrow
