Tilt-Shift for 5D

<p>I'm looking for a tilt shift lens for my Canon 5D MKII, but I think the Canon original are too expensive.<br>

<br />I've seen the Arax lenses on Ebay but they only have a 80mm and a 35mm and I'm looking for something in the area of 45-55mm.<br>

Whats my alternatives?</p>

<p>Thanks!</p>

<p>I currently use a 17 TS-E and often use it with an EF 1.4x on my 5D II. I will eventually get a used Nikon 35mm PC manual lens (from the film days) and I anticipate being able to use it with a 1.4x as well, which would put it right in the middle of your desired range. </p>

<p>I cannot guarantee that it will take a 1.4x converter and at best it would likely have to be a third party one.</p>

<p>There are 3 or 4 versions of the Nikon 35 PC and it seems that the last version with black knob would be least likely to have mounting problems on a 5D II. Again no guarantees. The advantage of these lenses is that they are readily available in the $150 to $350 range so at least experimenting is not too costly. </p>

<p>If mounting does become a problem, ie interference with mirror, you can use liveview without any problems, which is how one would typically use one of these anyway.</p>

<p>Using any Nikon lens on a Canon body requires a cheap mechanical adapter and the use of stopped-down metering techniques. I use three Nikon lenses on my 5D II. I have owned other Nikon lenses in the past and a couple of times I have had to file off bits of metal from their mounts to fit the Canon body. Nikon users are used to these minor adaptations. </p>

<p>Some people use medium format shift lenses on Canon bodies but I see none in your focal range and they too seem to be holding their value.</p>

The Samyang 24 TS lens was just announced. If the optical quality is anything like their 14mm, 35mm and 85mm this could be a

quality, affordable wide angle perspective control lens. It looks a lot like the newer Canon 24 TS lens w/r to tilt, shift and rotation.

Perhaps you can wait a few weeks to see the price. From the forums, it seems like a lot of people think it will be in the $800 range - but with all those elements it will probably be more. And if it's anything like their other lenses you may have to return a couple to get a keeper. They have been busy too with new cinema primes so maybe that will effect availability of this new TS lens.

Oops - you're looking for something with a more standard focal length - please disregard the 24mm suggestion.

<p>The old PC-Nikkor 35mm f/2.8 with the silver knob works fine on a 5D. In fact, it's the only real reason I had for going to 35mm sensor (FX) size in the first place. It's not quite as long as you want and is shift only, of course. The PC-Nikkor always was stop-down and manual no matter what camera you use it on.<br>

Used on an APS-C body it might be more to your focal-length choice. I have had no experience with the Arax lenses, but the scuttlebutt around the old pot-bellied stove is not encouraging.</p>

<p>Having finally got some of the others of my "dream" lenses, I am now saving pennies for the TS-E 17mm, but the 45mm version is more affordable, and probably worth saving for over the alternatives.</p><div></div>

<p>You might try this : <a href="http://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/759300-REG/Lensbaby_LBCPDGC_Pro_Composer_for_Canon.html">http://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/759300-REG/Lensbaby_LBCPDGC_Pro_Composer_for_Canon.html</a> as an alternative, otherwise good luck trying to find something for under $1000 </p>

<p>I use a Mirex adapter and Mamiya lenses <a href="../canon-eos-digital-camera-forum/00WaiF">http://www.photo.net/canon-eos-digital-camera-forum/00WaiF</a></p>

<p>Thank-you for your post JDM. At least now I know I can go for the silver knob version to save a bit of money. Have you tried using it with any teleconverters?</p>

<p>No, not the PC-Nikkor with teleconverters, but I have used Nikon-mount and other teleconverters on the 5D itself, with other lenses (such as my Reflex-Nikkor mirror lenses), so I'm reasonably sure it would work.<br /> Just to make sure there was no difference in this regard to the 5D and the 5D mkii, I also just now tried out the PC-Nikkor on my 5Dmkii, and it works just fine.</p>

<p>BTW, a sharp-eyed critic at some point will note that the lens in the 5D picture is merely mounted for the sake of getting a picture. If I had been going to use it, I would have set the camera to "Av" of course.</p>

<p>I use a Mirex Adaptor (about $400) and old Mamiya M645 lenses which work very well. Mirex makes adaptors for Mamiya, Pentax and Hassy. I find that I use the 35 F3.5 the most (there is no change in magnification so this is a 35mm lens). I have to say that my Canon 17 F4 is amazing but since it costs more than all the Mirex / Mamiya lenses put together this is not unexpected. The IQ from the old Mamiya lenses is very good and hard to fault - I use a 5DII and I have not had any lens quality issues.</p>

<p>The Mirex and Zork tilt/shift adapters combined with any medium format lens is a good viable alternative. Especially since you don't even need tilt and shift lenses. It is a bit expensive for just a 50mm range tilt/shift but if you plan on adding additional lenses for tlt/shift/stitching they may make sense. </p>

<p>50mm lenses in medium format tend to be expensive themselves so you would be best to find the most appropriate lens first and then get the required adapter.</p>

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