The best tilt-shift lens redefines what’s possible with your camera lens. Tilt-shift lenses aren’t for everyone. If you’re shooting professional real estate, architecture, or landscape photography, it can drastically improve your work.
The Canon TS-E 24mm f/3.5L II is the best tilt-shift lens. It gives you incredible versatility thanks to the wide tilting and shifting ranges. The optical quality is truly impressive. And it has a wide aperture range for a tilt-shift lens.
What Is the Best Tilt-Shift Lens?
The best tilt-shift lens lets you capture images in ways not possible with standard lenses. The tilting feature lets you change the plane of focus. And it can maximize or minimize the depth of field. The shift feature gives you better perspective control.
Tilt-shift lenses are niche pieces of photography equipment. Not many types of photographers need them. This means the catalog of available tilt-shift lenses is rather small. It also means they can be quite expensive.
Canon and Nikon are the only camera manufacturers making their own tilt-shift lenses. They only have tilt shifts for their DSLR cameras. And they don’t make tilt-shift lenses for their mirrorless cameras yet.
Don’t worry if you’re a Sony or Leica camera user. There are third-party tilt-shift lenses with options for those brands. And there are also third-party lens options for Canon and Nikon mirrorless cameras.
You should also know all tilt-shift lenses are prime lenses. There are no zoom lens options available. And none have autofocus (AF) motors. Tilt-shift lenses require manual focusing.
We also have an FAQ section at the end of the article. Tilt-shift lenses are a complicated tool. So, we’ve answered some questions to help you understand them better. You can navigate through the article using the links below:
- Best Canon Tilt-Shift Lenses
- Best Nikon Tilt-Shift Lenses
- Best Third-Party Tilt-Shift Lenses
- Tilt-Shift Lenses FAQs
Best Canon Tilt-Shift Lenses
This section looks at all the best tilt-shift lenses for Canon cameras. All three lenses have the Canon EF mount. So they’re compatible with Canon’s DSLR camera line.
With a lens adapter, you can use these tilt-shift lenses with Canon’s mirrorless R-range cameras. The Canon EF-EOS R lens adapter is the best option.
Using tilt-shift lenses with mirrorless cameras has one advantage. Thanks to electronic viewfinders, focusing is much easier. Using the old optical viewfinders to focus a tilt-shift lens is tricky. But the mirrorless system makes it much easier.
- Superior image quality with Ultra-low Dispersion glass
- Enhanced functionality for versatile shooting
- Minimizes chromatic aberration and flare
- Offers creative, blurred highlights
- Ultra-wide 17mm focal length, perfect for landscapes and architecture
- High-precision lens elements ensure low distortion and high resolution
- Circular aperture provides creative, blurred highlights
- Floating internal focus mechanism for consistent high-quality images
- A high-performance L Series Lens
- Brings new dimension to EF lens system
- Enables high degree of perspective compression
- Includes two UD lens elements to reduce chromatic aberration
1. Canon TS-E 24mm f/3.5L II
| Brand |
Brand
Canon
|
| Lens Mount |
Lens Mount
Canon EF
|
| Maximum Aperture |
Maximum Aperture
f/ 3.5
|
| Focal Length Range |
Focal Length Range
24 mm
|
| Image Stabilization |
Image Stabilization
 |
| Tilt Range |
Tilt Range
+/- 8.5 degrees
|
| Shift Range |
Shift Range
+/- 12 mm
|
| Other Key Features |
Other Key Features
Independent rotating feature, aspherical and Ultra-low Dispersion (UD) elements
|
| Best For |
Best For
Canon photographers looking for the most versatile tilt-shift lens
|
The TS-E 24mm f/3.5L II is the most versatile tilt-shift lens on the market. It’s also one of the most affordable. It’s a precision piece of equipment with superb optical performance. And it’s a showcase of Canon’s supreme lens manufacturing abilities.
The lens has a 24mm focal length, making it a wide-angle lens with a 74-degree field of view. Because it’s a full-frame lens, you don’t have to account for a crop factor. This makes it a fantastic lens for landscape photography.
The tilt function gives you a +/- 8.5-degree range of movement. It gives you plenty of control over the plane of focus. And the +/- 12mm range gives you plenty to play with on the shift side of the lens.
You can also rotate the outer part of the lens +/- 90 degrees. The lens mount side holds still while the outer end rotates independently. This lets you use the tilt feature in any direction, giving you far more creative control.
There’s little chromatic aberration thanks to the aspherical and UD glass elements. You get very little distortion of any kind, even when you’re tilting or shifting. That’s why the Canon TS-E 24mm f/3.5L II optical quality is superb.
2. Canon TS-E 17mm f/4L UD
| Brand |
Brand
Canon
|
| Lens Mount |
Lens Mount
Canon EF
|
| Maximum Aperture |
Maximum Aperture
f/ 4.0
|
| Focal Length Range |
Focal Length Range
17 mm
|
| Image Stabilization |
Image Stabilization
|
| Tilt Range |
Tilt Range
+/- 6.5 degrees
|
| Shift Range |
Shift Range
+/- 12 mm
|
| Other Key Features |
Other Key Features
Circular aperture, aspherical and UD elements, floating internal focal mechanism
|
| Best For |
Best For
Pro landscape and architecture photographers that need a wide-angle lens
|
The Canon TS-E 17mm f/4L UD is a beautiful wide-angle tilt-shift lens. The 17mm focal length gives you a lovely 93-degree angle of view. It’s perfect for sprawling landscapes and cityscapes. And it’s useful for photographing large architectural structures.
You can expect crisp and sharp images from this lens. The barrel has one aspherical and one UD element for reduced distortion. And Canon’s Super Spectra Coating minimizes ghosting and lens flare.
You get a reasonable amount of flexibility with the +/- 6.5-degree tilting motion. And the 12 mm shift range helps you keep your vertical lines straight. The tilt-and-shift mechanism also rotates +/- 90 degrees. So you can tilt and shift in any direction.
The f/4 maximum aperture is decent for a tilt-shift lens. It gives you enough exposure control. And thanks to the tilting feature, you don’t need to rely on the aperture as much for depth-of-field control.
It has a circular aperture diaphragm that helps to give you a smooth and rich bokeh effect. And it helps to give you perfectly formed bokeh artifacts when using a shallow depth of field.
The TS-E 17mm f/4L UD has no AF motor. So, all focusing must be done manually. But the internal, floating focus system keeps your image steady when refocusing in tilted or shifted positions. It gives you a smooth, focusing experience.
3. Canon TS-E 135mm f/4
| Brand |
Brand
Canon
|
| Lens Mount |
Lens Mount
Canon EF
|
| Maximum Aperture |
Maximum Aperture
f/ 4.0
|
| Focal Length Range |
Focal Length Range
135 mm
|
| Tilt Range |
Tilt Range
+/- 10 degrees
|
| Shift Range |
Shift Range
+/- 12 mm
|
| Other Key Features |
Other Key Features
Subwavelength coating, aspherical and UD elements
|
| Best For |
Best For
Macro, product, or food photographers
|
The TS-E 135mm f/4 is a stunning telephoto prime lens with tilt and shift capabilities. The 135mm focal length gives you wonderful magnification. And it has an almost life-size 1:2 magnification ratio, making it an ideal lens for macro photography.
Edge-to-edge clarity is achieved with a combination of one aspherical and two UD glass elements. And these are just 3 of 11 exquisitely-crafted elements within the lens. The outer elements also have a subwavelength coating to give you flare-free images.
A maximum aperture of f/4 isn’t the fastest. But you still get a good level of exposure control. And the tilting lets you use the depth of field more creatively. It also has a nine-blade, rounded aperture to give you smoother bokeh.
You get a wide tilting range, with the lens tilting 10 degrees in either direction. The +/- 12 mm shift range is also handy. Both tilting and shifting mechanisms have locking knobs, stopping unwanted movement between shots.
With a minimum focus distance of 48 cm, you can get gorgeous detailed close-ups with the Canon TS-E 135mm f/4. This also helps you shoot macro, food, or product photography.
Best Nikon Tilt-Shift Lenses
Now, we look at the best tilt-shift lenses for Nikon cameras. The lenses in this section have the Nikon F-mount. This means they are compatible with Nikon’s full-frame DSLR cameras.
You can still use these tilt-shift lenses if you’re a Nikon mirrorless user. But you’ll need the Nikon Mount FTZ adapter to do so.
- Offers reality-bending views for landscapes and architecture
- Controls perspective, focus, and depth like never before
- Optimized for high-resolution, combating distortion and glare
- Features new perspective control (PC) rotation for creative uses
- Superior perspective control with tilt, shift, and rotate capabilities
- Extra-low Dispersion (ED) glass for sharp, color-corrected images
- Nano Crystal Coat minimizes internal reflections for greater clarity
- Rounded 9-blade diaphragm for natural out-of-focus elements
1. Nikon PC 19mm f/4 E ED
| Brand |
Brand
Nikon
|
| Lens Mount |
Lens Mount
Nikon F
|
| Maximum Aperture |
Maximum Aperture
f/ 4.0
|
| Focal Length Range |
Focal Length Range
19 mm
|
| Image Stabilization |
Image Stabilization
|
| Tilt Range |
Tilt Range
+/- 7.5 degrees
|
| Shift Range |
Shift Range
+/- 12 mm
|
| Other Key Features |
Other Key Features
9-blade rounded aperture, rotates 90 degrees, fluorine coating
|
| Best For |
Best For
Nikon users who need a wide-angle tilt-shift lens
|
The Nikon PC 19mm f/4 E ED is a sensational piece of equipment. It isn’t a cheap lens by any standards. But you pay for a quality lens, which can revolutionize your landscape or real estate photography.
The 19mm focal length gives you a beautiful wide angle. This equates to a 97-degree viewing angle, perfect for broad landscape photography. It’s also useful for professional real estate photographers who recommend this lens.
The 7.5-degree and 12-mm tilt-and-shift range gives you plenty of flexibility and creativity. You can adjust the focal plane in unique ways. You have incredible depth-of-field control. And you can control the perspective, keeping vertical lines dead straight.
You also have a rotation mechanism, allowing you to turn the outer lens section 90 degrees in either direction. This means you can tilt and shift in any direction you need to. So, you have complete creative control.
Optical quality is rarely a problem with Nikon prime lenses. The PC 19mm f/4 E ED lens is no exception.
The barrel contains three Extra-low dispersion (ED) elements and two aspherical elements. These work together to eliminate lens distortion. And the fluorine coating on the outer glass keeps it clean and protected.
2. Nikon PC-E FX 45mm f/2.8D ED
| Brand |
Brand
Nikon
|
| Lens Mount |
Lens Mount
Nikon F
|
| Maximum Aperture |
Maximum Aperture
f/ 2.8
|
| Focal Length Range |
Focal Length Range
45 mm
|
| Tilt Range |
Tilt Range
+/- 8.5 degrees
|
| Shift Range |
Shift Range
11.5 mm
|
| Other Key Features |
Other Key Features
9-blade rounded aperture diaphragm, Nano Crystal Coating, ED element
|
| Best For |
Best For
Nikon users who need a standard angle tilt-shift lens with a fast aperture
|
The Nikon PC-E FX 45mm f/2.8D ED is a versatile tilt-shift lens with quality optics. The standard-angle 45mm focal length makes it a good choice for anything from landscape to portrait photography.
Within the lens, you find nine beautiful glass elements. And one of these is an ED element, meaning you experience fewer aberrations. The glass also has Nikon’s Super Integrated and Nano Crystal coatings. So your images are crisp and free of glare.
You get a decent range of movement for both tilt (+/- 8.5 degrees) and shift (11.5 mm). And the rotation mechanism lets you turn the lens 90 degrees clockwise and counter-clockwise. This means you can tilt and shift in any direction.
The f/2.8 max aperture is one of the lens’s top features. It’s a fast aperture, giving you excellent performance in low light. And it lets you use depth of field in more creative ways.
The PC-E FX 45mm f/2.8D ED also has a nine-blade, rounded aperture that improves the quality of background bokeh. This looks fantastic in portraits!
Best Third-Party Tilt-Shift Lenses
Third-party manufacturers also make tilt-shift lenses. They don’t quite get the same marks in terms of quality and results. But there are some excellent tilt-shift lenses to choose from. And they are often more affordable than Canon or Nikon lenses.
Third-party lenses are often available for other camera brands as well. Below, you’ll find tilt-shift lenses for Sony and Fujifilm cameras. There are also tilt-shift lenses compatible with Canon and Nikon mirrorless cameras.
Our main highlights are for specific camera mounts. But we list options for all camera brands.
- Available for various camera systems
- +/- 11 mm shift range
- Zero-D elements reduce distortion
- 110-degree field of view
- Affordable for Nikon F mount and Canon EF mount
- Excellent for precision architectural photography
- Constructed with 16 elements in 11 groups
- Manual focus with 24mm fixed focal length
- +/- 8-degree tilt range
- Rotation mechanism rotates 90 degrees left and right
- High refraction index glass reduces distortion
- No focus breathing and silent aperture changes for optimal video recording
1. Laowa 15mm f/4.5 Zero-D Shift for Canon EF-Mount
| Brand |
Brand
Laowa
|
| Maximum Aperture |
Maximum Aperture
f/ 4.5
|
| Focal Length Range |
Focal Length Range
15 mm
|
| Tilt Range |
Tilt Range
N/A
|
| Shift Range |
Shift Range
+/- 11 mm
|
| Other Key Features |
Other Key Features
Available for different camera brands, Zero-D element
|
| Best For |
Best For
Photographers with a camera from any main brand looking for a shift lens
|
The Laowa 15mm f/4.5 Zero-D Shift is a reliable lens with a reasonable price tag. It’s only a shift lens. So, it has no tilting capabilities. But it’s still a useful tool for landscape and architectural photography. It’s also available for a wide range of cameras.
The 15mm wide-angle focal length gives you a wonderful 110-degree viewing angle. Its field of view is similar to a fisheye lens. But you don’t get any distortion at the edges.
The lens’s Zero-D glass elements reduce aberration and distortion, giving you a nice and clear image. It does suffer from lens flare when working in direct sunlight. But it does a great job in most lighting conditions.
You get a shift range of 11 mm in all directions. This gives you excellent options when shooting architecture or creating panoramic landscapes.
One of the best things about the Laowa lens is it’s available with different lens mounts. The one in the highlight above has a Canon EF mount. But you can select the lens you need from the links below:
- Laowa 15mm f/4.5 Zero-D Shift for Canon RF
- Laowa 15mm f/4.5 Zero-D Shift for Nikon Z
- Laowa 15mm f/4.5 Zero-D Shift for Nikon F
- Laowa 15mm f/4.5 Zero-D Shift for Sony E
- Laowa 15mm f/4.5 Zero-D Shift for Leica
2. Rokinon 24mm f/3.5 Prime Lens
|
|
|
| Tilt Range |
Tilt Range
+/- 8.5 degrees
|
| Shift Range |
Shift Range
+/- 12mm
|
| Key Features |
Key Features
Rotates 90 degrees, available for Canon and Nikon, two aspherical elements
|
| Best For |
Best For
Nikon or Canon users looking for an affordable tilt-shift lens
|
The Rokino 24mm f/3.5 for Nikon F Mount is a fantastic option if you’re on a tight budget. Branded lenses are expensive. There are no two ways about it. But this Rokinon lens brings the joys of tilt-shift lenses to photographers with smaller budgets.
It gives you a wide range of movement, with +/- 8.5 tilt and +/- 12 mm shift functionality. The lens can be rotated 90 degrees left or right. And you can also set the rotation at 30-degree intervals. This gives you plenty to play with.
Despite the low cost, you still get excellent image quality. It doesn’t match the pro-level lenses from Canon and Nikon. But with 16 elements arranged into 11 groups, the pictures are crisp and clear. Two of those elements are also aspherical to reduce aberration.
You can use this lens with APS-C DSLR cameras. But you get optimal performance when paired with a full-frame camera. Also, we list the lens above for Nikon F-mount cameras. But the Rokinon 24mm f/3.5 is also available for the Canon EF mount.
3. TTArtisan 50mm f/1.4 for Nikon Z-Mount
| Brand |
Brand
TTArtisan
|
| Maximum Aperture |
Maximum Aperture
f/ 1.4
|
| Focal Length Range |
Focal Length Range
50 mm
|
| Image Stabilization |
Image Stabilization
|
| Tilt Range |
Tilt Range
+/- 8 degrees
|
| Shift Range |
Shift Range
N/A
|
| Other Key Features |
Other Key Features
90-degree rotation mechanism, high refractive index glass
|
| Best For |
Best For
Photographers and videographers looking for an affordable tilt-only lens
|
The TTArtisan 50mm f/1.4 is a creative yet affordable lens. It only has a tilt function and can’t be used for shifting. But it delivers good results for photography. It has also been optimized for videography cameras. So filmmakers can use this lens, too.
It’s the smallest lens on the list. But it still gives you an +/- 8-degree tilting range. You can also rotate the lens 90 degrees in both directions, letting you tilt the lens any way you need to.
The low price means you can put this in the budget lens category. But you still get strong picture quality. The barrel consists of seven elements in six groups. And they’ve used high refractive index glass, which minimizes distortion.
When tilting, you might experience some vignetting on the unfocused side of the image. But this isn’t always noticeable. And it’s a common feature with tilt-shift lenses.
Videographers will appreciate the smooth manual focus and lack of focus breathing. And the aperture ring makes no noise when you turn it up or down a stop. So you can record smooth video footage with no audible interruptions.
The lens listed above is compatible with Nikon Z-range cameras. If that is not the lens for you, select the correct lens from these links:
- TTArtisan 50mm f/1.4 for Canon RF
- TTArtisan 50mm f/1.4 for Fujifilm X
- TTArtisan 50mm f/1.4 for Leica L
- TTArtisan 50mm f/1.4 for Sony E
Tilt-Shift Lens FAQs
A tilt-shift lens is a specialist piece of photography equipment. With the ability to tilt up and tilt down and shift from left to right and up and down, it works like no other lens.
It might seem like it adds more complication to an already complicated discipline. But tilt-shift lenses can revolutionize the way you work. The answers to the questions below will help you better understand tilt-shift lenses.
What Is the Tilt Function? What Does the Titlt Function Do?
The tilt function lets you tilt the front of the lens up and down. The mount-end of the lens and the camera stay in position. But you can tilt the main section of the lens. The tilting movement is measured in degrees.
Tilting the lens changes the plane of focus. The plane of focus, or focal plane, is the point of perfect focus within your image.
With a camera that’s perfectly horizontal to the ground, the focal plane is a vertical line. The depth of field determines how much in front and behind the focal plane is in focus.
With an ordinary prime lens, the image plane (sensor), lens plane, and plane of focus are all parallel. So, if you want to change the focal plane, you must move the camera and lens.
A tilt-shift lens lets you change the focal plane without moving the camera. When tilted, the focal plane moves closer to further away from the camera, depending on which way you tilt.
Tilting the lens down lets you extend the plane of focus on a horizontal axis. This means many objects can be in focus simultaneously, even if positioned far apart. And it gives you an infinite depth of field with any aperture.
Here’s an excellent video that helps explain lens tilting.
What Is the Shift Function? What Does the Shift Function Do?
The shift function lets you move the outer part of the lens up, down, left, and right. The mounted section of the lens and the camera are stationary. But you can shift the lens in any of those directions.
Doing so gives you a bigger field of view to work with. You can still only see a full-frame field of view at one time. But by shifting the lens, you increase the area you can photograph without moving the camera.
This lets you take several images in one place from slightly different perspectives. These images can then be stitched together easily using photo editing software. The results are spectacular panoramas.
Shifting the lens also gives you more perspective control. And it can help with the parallax problem. When taking pictures of vertical structures with a standard lens, the structures can look like they are leaning back. Shifting the lens upward removes this parallax problem and keeps all vertical lines vertical.
Check out this video that demonstrates how lens shifting works.
Which Photographers Use Tilt-Shift Lenses?
A tilt-shift lens is a niche piece of camera equipment. You won’t find one in every photographer’s camera backpack. But tilt-shift lenses are used in many ways. And a wide variety of photographers at the top level use them.
Landscape and Cityscape Photographers
Many professional landscape photographers use tilt-shift lenses. By controlling the focal plane, you can create an infinite depth of field without using a tiny aperture. It can also give you a more vertical perspective without turning the camera downward or losing the wide depth of field.
It’s also great for shooting cityscapes from an elevated viewpoint. You can keep more of the city in focus. Or you can have a narrow depth of field and focal plane by tilting the lens upwards.
The shift feature is useful for landscapes with many vertical structures, like trees or cliffs. Shifting the lens upwards prevents parallax, where the verticals appear to lean back. It keeps the verticals erect, making the scene more true to life.
You can also use the shift feature for epic panoramic landscapes. You can take one image when the lens is shifted all the way to the left, one in the center, and one on the extreme right. It’s then easy to stitch them together in Photoshop.
It’s much easier than creating panoramas by moving the camera because all images are perfectly aligned. You don’t have to play with the alignment digitally when stitching the panorama together.
Portrait Photographers
Portrait photographers are known to use tilt-shift lenses because of the incredible depth of field control they give you. You can have your subject in focus when they otherwise would not be in the focal plane.
You can also keep your subject in focus while other objects in the standard focal plane are out of focus. This lets you create an image with areas of rich bokeh while you’ve got a pin-sharp subject!
Helen Bartlett has an excellent article on using tilt-shift lenses for landscape and portrait photography.
Architecture and Real Estate Photographers
As with cityscape photography, the tilting focus helps you focus on buildings within a larger urban scene. It’s really helpful when shooting from an elevated angle.
But the shift function also helps to keep the building looking straight. When shot with a standard lens, tall buildings can look like they’re leaning backward or forward. The shift function removes this parallax effect, keeping all vertical lines vertical.
Tilt-shift lenses are also useful for interior real estate photography. The tilting and shifting functions help photograph large interior spaces and capture true perspectives. This is why we’ve included tilt-shift lenses in our list of the best lenses for real estate photography.
Product and Food Photographers
As discussed, tilting the lens gives you incredible control over the focal plane and depth of field. It’s very useful when you’re shooting product photography or food photography.
You can arrange several objects on a flat surface like a table. And by tilting the lens down, you extend the plane of focus to include everything on that surface. All the objects are focused, and you don’t have to use a tiny aperture.
You can also use the tilt function for precision depth of field control. As with portrait photography, you can keep your subject in sharp focus while creating a bokeh effect in other areas. This is not always possible with a standard lens.
Should I Use a Tripod When Using a Tilt-Shift Lens?
Yes. A tripod is essential when working with tilt-shift lenses. A tilt-shift lens is a complicated piece of camera equipment. And using them should never be rushed. Setting up the perfect tilt or shift positions can take time. So, having your camera mounted on a tripod is best.
Using a tripod gives you the freedom to tweak and adjust the angles. You don’t have to find the same composition time after time. The camera is firmly positioned, letting you work best with the lens.
You can see our full article on the best tripods for photographers. Or, if you’re using a heavy camera setup, you can read our list of the best heavy-duty tripods. We also list the best tripods for food photography.
Conclusion: The Best Tilt-Shift Lenses
The best tilt-shift lens can revolutionize your photography. You can play with the focal plane and the depth of field in ways not possible with standard lenses. And you can capture enormous structures with true-to-life results. They also give you the best panoramic landscapes.
The Canon TS-E 24mm f/3.5L II is the best tilt-shift lens. It’s professional-quality equipment to tilt, shift, and rotate the lens. And the exquisite glassware gives you sharp optical quality even when tilting and shifting!
