Cheap Tilt-Shift Lens?

[Timoris]

I'm looking for a cheap tilt-shift lens to play with for my Canon 550D (T2i) and spotted these two on eBay.

However, is there any other option?

Arax Photex MC 2.8/35mm TILT SHIFT lens Canon EOS EF on eBay.ca (item 120702213421 end time 24-Mar-11 18:47:48 EDT)

for Canon Tilt Shift TS- 80mm f/2.8 Manual Focus Lens on eBay.ca (item 110657814368 end time 22-Mar-11 09:21:49 EDT)

 

[Bitter Jeweler]

Cheaper than those? :lmao:

Considering the Canon brand TS lenses go for $2k and up.

I am curious about the quality of those for $350 and $600..

LensBaby's are around $200-$250?

 

[Helen B]

It depends what you want a TS lens for. If you want it for high quality imaging when tilted and/or shifted then you will be going for something very different than if you wanted something for blurry effects (when cheap is better than expensive). The former will be more expensive than the latter, of course. Another issue is whether or not you want auto iris operation. So, tell us more about what you want to use it for.

Best,
Helen

 

[Timoris]

Miniaturisation. So, I.E., blurring. Especially interesting considering I am a pilot.
As for Lensbaby, the tilt converter could fit on the Canon, but, due to how Canons are built, I would not be able to focus at infinity, rendering miniaturisation moot.
I am not troubled by lack of AF.

 

[Helen B]

I am not troubled by lack of AF.

You won't find an AF TS lens. Even focus confirmation is iffy when the lens is tilted or shifted. The auto iris question I asked was to do with automatic stopping down of the iris (aperture), controlled by the camera body - do you require a lens that will automatically stop down to the working aperture when the shutter release is pressed? That is what the Canon lenses offer, as well as being available in a range of focal lengths. The Canon lenses are very easy to use, and can be used as normal high quality lenses. They are probably overkill for 'miniatursation'.

Another option is to use the Zork Multi Focus System. This allows you to mount medium format enlarging lenses (usually the ones intended for high magnification like the Componon HM series - often available second hand at a fraction of their cost new) onto your Canon (check on particular models). The problem with those is that they are slow-ish (f/4 to f/5.6) and not available in the shorter focal lengths. Hartblei and Schneider make high quality alternatives to the Canon TS-E lenses, but they aren't cheap alternatives and they are also overkill for blurry effects. The Arax lenses look pretty good for their fairly low price.

Best,
Helen

 

[Bitter Jeweler]

If that's all you want a TS for, you might as well just do it in Photoshop, and save your pennies.
Oh, wait.

 

[Timoris]

Thank you Helen.

 

[SNBniko]

I've tried googling tilt-shift and all I'm getting are the mini photos and mini photo tutorials...

What are other uses for a tilt shift lens?

ETA: Scratch that. It would probably help if I typed 'lens' instead of 'pens' into the search bar. Whoops. I am reading the wiki on it now.

 

[mayhem7]

Instead of using a tilt-shift lens, you can use photoshop to edit instead? See Making-miniature-model-photos.blogspot.com ..Just an idea, since you were looking for a cheap one. It might be cheaper, if you have photoshop already.