Review: Canon TS-E 17mm f/4L

Before delving into my impressions of Canon’s unique ultra-wide tilt/shift lens, I’d like to take a moment to thank my friends at BorrowLenses.com. I know, some of you may be thinking “oh boy, here comes the sales pitch,” and yes, you are right, but . . . I stay true to my pledge: I only promote and recommend those products and vendors I use personally and find helpful in my own work. The people I worked with at BorrowLenses.com are very much an example of the kind of entrepreneurial small business that deserves recognition in these times. Dealing with real people driven to help and assist is truly refreshing. If you need that special lens for that special assignment or trip, you will not go wrong with these guys, and at the same time you will help support a small American business.

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For quite a few years, my medium of choice was the 4×5 view camera. In the early days of digital SLRs, I treated them with some suspicion; after all they still harbored the same limitations that turned me away from 35mm film in the first place. When the original Canon 1Ds came on the scene and preliminary user reviews raved about image quality, I felt ready to take the plunge. The DSLR was, at first, a companion system to my Wista, but I gradually found myself using it more and more. Image detail was certainly not up to par with 4×5 film scans, but for most professional uses, including fine prints up to a certain size, the convenience and versatility quickly won me over. Today I can say with confidence that there is nothing I miss about film. I do, however, miss the versatility and creative options offered by the view camera’s ability to adjust the lens and image planes for perspective control and depth of focus (collectively known as “movements”).

Over the years I had used Canon’s previous generation of TS-E lenses (24mm, 45mm, and 90mm) and found them to be excellent performers. While not quite allowing the same freedom of movement as view cameras, they do offer a large degree of perspective and focus control to accommodate my needs as a landscape photographer as well as the more demanding needs of architectural photographers. You can imagine my joy when Canon announced not only a new generation of these lenses with some notable improvements to both optics and operations, but also a unique new offering: an ultra-wide angle lens with a wide range of movements.

As with previous reviews, I will not bore you with specifications and lab results. Those can easily be found on other sites. Instead, I wanted to find out how well the lens fits into my style of work, on location, and making the kind of landscape images I pursue.

First impressions are important, and mine was: “this is a big lens!” Seen here next to my 17-40mm f/4L workhorse zoom, the TS-E is a beast. This is for a good reason. In order to allow movements, the lens needs to project an image circle much larger than the sensor. While the zoom lens only needs to accommodate a usable diameter of 36mm to cover a full-frame sensor, the TS-E requires a much larger one. To do so, it needs to gather a lot of light, which is achieved using a large front element that protrudes prominently from the lens barrel. The downside to this design, however, is that it does not allow the use of filters.

You may be wondering why a 17mm lens, which already offers excellent depth of field when stopped down, might benefit from movements. The answer is perspective control. When your subject and camera are not perfectly parallel, the image becomes distorted. Parallel lines tilt, horizons bend, etc., and the effect is greatly exaggerated with wide lenses. The ability to shift the lens plane allows for both correction as well as intentional creative distortion not possible when the lens plane is held parallel to the sensor.

I’ll share with you another useful tidbit: depth of field is exactly the same between tilt/shift lenses and fixed ones. The difference is that with a fixed lens, depth of field is measured in front of and behind the plane of focus. The ability to tilt the lens allows you to position this plane such that depth of field applies above and below it. This allows using larger apertures than would be required using a fixed lens while still keeping important elements within sharp focus.

Operating a tilt/shift lens takes some practice. Focus is done manually and requires an understanding of the Scheimpflug principle, illustrated below. Essentially, the Scheimpflug principle states that optimal focus is achieved when the lens plane, the image (sensor) plane, and the subject (focus) plane all converge at the same point, as illustrated below (this is explained further in my Creative Landscape Photography eBook).

But enough theory. Let’s see how this optical marvel does in the real world. And the real world for me is out in the wilds of the Colorado Plateau. After a fun night of camping, I woke up before dawn and scrambled to a favorite spot. This scene presented a double challenge: a near-far composition where I wanted to keep the sandstone patterns at my feet as well as the distant cliffs in sharp focus, as well as the tree, which in this example was quite a way below the plane of focus. For the former, the TS-E lens allowed tilting the plane of focus, and for the latter, I had to stop down to f/16. At this setting, my 17-40 zoom is starting to show softness due to diffraction.

The lens performed admirably! Not only did the tilt provide sufficient range for near-far focus, but the resulting images were wonderfully sharp and remarkably free of chromatic aberration (aka “fringing”), the lack of which is an indication of  very well-corrected optics, capable of focusing all colors accurately at the same point.

Next, I wanted to push the lens to the extreme: full tilt and full shift. Here, I was able to hit the limits of its image circle, resulting in a dark band at the top of the frame. This is something to watch out for with these type of lenses.

In addition to creative control of perspective and depth, the ability to shift the lens also allows capturing multiple frames, which can later be stitched into a larger file with great accuracy. Moreover, tilting the lens when combined with a large aperture can be used to create interesting blur effects, separating a sharp subject from its surroundings. In short, this is a wonderful tool for creative photographers.

Still, my sense is that the 17mm TS-E is really best suited for architectural photography where its unique combination of wide angle-of-view and perspective correction are truly a boon. For landscape work, I still prefer Canon’s 24mm TS-E, which, while not as wide, seems to fit better with my compositional style, as well as offers the advantage of allowing the use of filters.

If, however, you’re a fan of ultra-wide compositions and were previously disappointed with Canon’s other offerings in this focal length, this may be the lens for you.

And hey, if you’re not certain, give my friends at BorrowLenses.com a call and give it a try!

Tags: 17mm, canon, guy tal, landscape, Lens, photography, review, Shift, Tilt, TS-E

Category: Product Recommendations, Reviews