First impressions of Canon’s TS-E lenses

Clearly a leap forward in Canon optical quality, the new TS-E 17/4L and 24/3.5L II are impressive optics. I’m working on a DAP writeup of both of them.

Were I to buy one, I’ve already settled on the 17/4L as something really handy in tight quarters, where even 24mm really doesn’t do the trick— think cities and buildings packed together, church interiors, etc.

Not all readers are familiar with what a shift (and tilt) lens can do, so below is an example. The quality of some photos is improved tremendously not just by avoiding converging verticals, but by eliminating extraneous foregrounds. Serious landscape photographers should have at least one shift/tilt lens in their bag, both for shift and tilt (depth of field) reasons.

The images below were shot from an identical position using a tripod. The one at left used the full shift capability of the TS-E 17/4L, and the one at right was shot by angling the camera upward (as must be done with every conventional non-shift-capable lens). The difference is dramatic.

I’ll include a number of other examples in DAP when I post my review of these two new Canon offerings, but DAP already includes many other shift and tilt/shift lenses so why not subscribe now?