If you have a tilt-shift lens in your arsenal of glass, you can use the shift function to achieve wonderful panorama images. There are three key advantages to using a tilt-shift lens to create stitched-image panos:
You don't need to worry or adjust for parallax
The stitching process is dead-simple for the computer
No special support gear is required.
Both Canon and Nikon make tilt-shift lenses in various focal lengths, but if your goal is to get as wide a view angle as possible, pick the 17mm or 24mm version. The image capture process is straight forward:
- Set camera to "manual exposure", image quality to "raw", and turn off "auto white balance".
- Rotate the lens in its housing so that the shift function operates laterally (i.e., side-to-side) rather than vertically (up-down).
- Compose your image so that either extreme of the shift function captures the subject you want to include in the final stitched image.
- Position the lens in the extreme left position for the first image (left or right doesn't matter, but for this example, choose left).
- Capture the first image or series of images if shooting HDR.
- Shift the lens to the right extreme position.
- Offset the shift of the lens by laterally shifting the camera to the left. The goal is to keep the front element of the lens in the same position it was in before the shift. The maximum shift of our Nikkor PC-E 24mm/f3.5 lens is 22mm. Really Right Stuff 60mm or 50mm-wide quick‑release clamps can accommodate that much shift.*
- Capture the second image or series of images.
- Process images and stitch pano in computer.
When shooting images for tilt-shift panos, be aware that the corners of the images will vignette at the extreme shift positions. You can keep the lens shift inboard 1 or 2 mm from the extreme limit or deal with the vignette in the computer via cropping or localized exposure adjustments. Other considerations are noted in the following table comparing tilt-shift pano capture versus using a system like our Pano-Elements Package to capture pano images.
*Note: only the most recent RRS clamps have a full millimeter scale laser-engraved on top of the jaw; previous generations had 24mm & 36 mm-on-center marks; the earliest clamps have no marks. If plate or clamp lacks center index marks, simply place colored tape on the plate and jaw and mark accordingly. The quick-release plates on some wide bodied-cameras or grips cover the clamp jaws enough to make it difficult to read the corresponding index marks on the RRS quick release clamp. For those cameras, it is easiest to use any of our rail systems that accommodates lateral shift. Please don't hesitate to give us a call if you need any help.
|
Pano Using a Tilt/Shift Lens |
Pano Using a Rail System |
| Equipment |
Tilt/Shift (or "PC" Perspective Controll) lens |
MPR-CL II or Pano Elements Package with any standard Lens |
| Parallax |
Not an issue if camera body is shifted to counter the lens shift. |
Eliminated with fore-aft shift of lens to the No-Parallax Point via MPR-CLII |
Distortion of
Converging Lines |
Tilt/Shift (or "PC" Perspective Controll) lens |
Final apperance managed by stitching software with varying degrees of control depending on stitching software |
Maximum Angle
of View |
Tilt/Shift (or "PC" Perspective Controll) lens |
Unlimited |
| Maximum Image Resolution |
Tilt/Shift (or "PC" Perspective Controll) lens |
Final image resolution can be greatly multiplied using a short to medium telephoto lens vs. using a wide angle lens; gigapixel results are achievable. |
Capture Left
Shift Lens to far left position. Shift camera 11mm to the right of center.
Capture Right
Shift Lens to far right position. Shift camera 11mm to the left of center.
Alternate Gear
Any Really Right Stuff gear that can deliver lateral shift can be used to shoot a Tilt/Shift Pano. In the pano image at left, our PG-02 LLR Pano-Gimbal Head was used. Note that lens stays centered at all times, and PG-02 Vertical Arm is used to shift the camera.
Gear used for image:
Nikon D3s camera with BD3-L plate; Nikkor PC-E 24mm f/3.5 lens; TVC-23 tripod, TA-2-LB leveling base, and PG-02 LLR Pano-Gimbal head.