It is very likely that you have ever heard or read something about decenterable lenses or about Tilt & Shift and you are left wondering what they are for. They are not objectives that are seen frequently, which does not help their popularity, that is why today we are going to dedicate an article to them, so that you know them and you can know if they are for you or not 😉 At least so that you do not stay with face of #asientoperonotengoniideadequemehablas
These objectives have a clear use, they are designed for architectural photography. Now, does that mean that those who are not dedicated to architecture cannot benefit from them? Of course not, they have other uses that we will see throughout this post. What is clear is that whoever is seriously dedicated to this type of photography clearly needs one.
How do they work?
If you’ve ever read anything about these lenses, you may have read or understood that they correct perspectives. Yes and no. If we talk about the result yes, if we talk about the process, no. I’ll explain. When you’re shooting a building that’s too big or too close and from below, the position you’re shooting from isn’t perpendicular to it, so eventually the lines tend to converge. If you manage to place the camera in a completely perpendicular position to the construction, it does not matter what lens you take the photo with, the lines can be completely straight. What happens is that this is very difficult in most cases, because of the size of the building, because of the space you have to move away, because of the focal length of your lens, etc. What these lenses do is change the plane of focus to avoid perspective deviations. Scrolling up or down can change the point of view without having to tilt the camera.
Shiftable lenses allow vertical movements and horizontal movements with respect to the optical axis. Lateral movements allow panoramic views and the fact of making a movement not parallel to the sensor allows a blur in different planes of the image, achieving that visual effect of miniature or model. Let’s take a closer look at both.
shift movement
The shift it is a displacement of the lens (vertical and horizontal) parallel to the focal plane that allows different shots to be taken without moving the camera. In this way, panoramas can be created that are joined in post-production without problem of lines and without the need to correct any perspective.
It is not only useful for panoramas, as you have seen in the comparison of the photo above, moving the lens upwards allows you to capture straight lines, without distortion.
tilt movement
The movement Tilt or tilting is a tilted movement not parallel to the sensor. It does not affect the depth of field but it does allow you to fix the focus area on a specific point. To understand this, it would be necessary to explain the so-called Scheimpflug’s principlebut the idea is to make your task easier, not to complicate it, so we are not going to go into these more technical details (you can expand the information on the web if you wish).
The important thing is that you know that this movement allows you to achieve photographs with a mock-up effect or miniatures. I leave you a very interesting video of this effect:
Applications
Well, as I have told you, it is ideal for architecture, but it is not only used in these cases.
Here are other uses:
- Panoramic: I’ve already advanced it, but the panoramas are not only limited to architecture 😉 . If you are passionate about panoramic, horizontal, vertical, city or nature, this lens is waiting for you. In addition, with this lens you can achieve higher resolution panoramas with the consequent possibility of making large enlargements.
- Scenery: your urban landscapes will gain in impact with one of these lenses, although they are also widely used in nature landscapes, and even nature photography. Panoramic, blur and perspective are the three keys that come together to make it a desirable objective in this type of photography.
- Wedding: yes, yes, you read right. You may be wondering what this lens will have to do with weddings, but wedding photography is no longer what it used to be, it has taken a giant step (luckily) and is now much more creative. With this lens, the most interesting effects can be achieved, such as, for example, to achieve out-of-focus parts of the image and not only as is achieved with depth of field, but also a more artistic approach, a banded or uneven blur. Do not lose sight of this objective to give a different touch to a really special day for its protagonists. Put aside technical perfection and allow feelings to be the protagonists. Here are two examples:
- Interiors: Architectural photography is not only focused on the exterior. Interiors and decoration also benefit from offset lenses. If you are dedicated to photographing interiors, work for a real estate agency or a decoration company, this lens should be part of your photographic equipment.
- Mockup effect: We have also talked about it. You can achieve that effect that has become so fashionable of miniatures or scale models with these objectives. That there are programs that imitate it, yes, but if you want something more professional, the result is completely different.
- Other uses: the imagination has no limits, surely with a lens of this type in your hands you will find many more uses, but I am going to give you another one that you had not even thought of. Especially when you photograph indoors, many times you can’t avoid your reflection in a mirror, right? Well, this is something that you could avoid with this objective 😉
And if you’ve been left wanting more, don’t miss this gallery article with Tilt-shift images to fill you with inspiration.
Why an off-center lens when you can do it in Photoshop?
It is normal for you to ask yourself this question. And the answer will depend mainly on the use you are going to give it. It is not the same as wanting to “fool around” with these effects, taking a panoramic photo one day because it gives you the hoot, or playing for a while. If it is for that, obviously it is not worth buying a lens at this price. Now, if it is to take it seriously, Photoshop will not give you the same results, not even close. The program will have to fill in gaps when it comes to correcting perspectives, you will have to work on perspective deviations when joining different images for panoramas, the blur will not have the same effect, not even remotely, and you will not get photos with a resolution like the one you can achieve directly with a decentralized in panoramic, for example.
Tilt & Shift Objectives
I present some of the off-center lenses that you can find on the market.
for Canon
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You save: €369.01 (39%)
10 new since €579.990 2nd hand
(* = Affiliate Link / Image Source: Amazon Affiliate Program)
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1 new since €2,151.000 2nd hand
(* = Affiliate Link / Image Source: Amazon Affiliate Program)
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0 new0 2nd hand
(* = Affiliate Link / Image Source: Amazon Affiliate Program)
for Nikon
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8 new since €590.000 2nd hand
(* = Affiliate Link / Image Source: Amazon Affiliate Program)
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0 new0 2nd hand
(* = Affiliate Link / Image Source: Amazon Affiliate Program)
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0 new0 2nd hand
(* = Affiliate Link / Image Source: Amazon Affiliate Program)
For Pentax
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5 new since €980.050 2nd hand
(* = Affiliate Link / Image Source: Amazon Affiliate Program)
By Walimex Pro (Author)
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0 new0 2nd hand
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