Canon TS-E 24mm 3.5L II
Canon TS-E 24mm 3.5L II
A collection of review information and links for the TS-E 24mm 3.5L II
The new version of the Canon 24mm tilt and shift lens with +/- 8.5° Tilt and ±12mm Shift
The TS-E24mm has been one of my most useful lenses for architectural and interior photography for many years. The lens, whilst excellent, did suffer from a degree of softness at the extremes of its shift range. It also had the shift and tilt axes fixed relative to each other.Whilst the axes could be moved it was not a job to do in the field. I documented the procedure in a short article about modifying the TS-E90.
I’ve also written lengthy articles about using a tilt/shift lens and one on focusing with tilt lenses.
There are some comparisons between the new and old TS-E 24mm further down the page. Suffice to say, that as a manual focus 24mm lens, the new version is absolutely superb. We’ve got the new TS-E 17mm and have several tests of this excellent lens.
TS-E 24mm related info
- Focusing with tilted lenses – an iterative approach
- Canon TSE ‘Concepts’ (4.2MB PDF)
- Canon US Info -24mm | Canon article on T/S
- ISO test chart images at TDP -comparing MK1 and Mk2 lenses
Latest News
2013 October TS-E24 too expensive? See Keith’s Samyang 24mm t/s lens review which includes some direct comparisons.
April Test of a specialised TS-E lens mounting bracket for parallax free stitching (17mm and 24mm).
2009 July 20th
Bad weather and a server crash delayed the pics a bit, but I’ve carried out a quick comparison between the new 24mm and the old one.
The images here are from outside my house and are of the same view as when I had a quick look at the 17mm.
All shots are at f/8 on a 1Ds3
The Mk1 24mm
The Mk2 24mm
100% top left hand corner (Mk1)
100% top left hand corner (Mk2)
100% top left hand corner (Mk1) – after fixing CA in Photoshop (ACR)
Stitching L-R images together will show up vignetting and distortions
Mk1 24mm
Mk2 24mm
Two details from the top left hand corner at 100%
MK1 lens fully shifted (11mm)
MK2 lens fully shifted (12mm)
So a quick test shows far less chromatic aberration (effectively none) and a generally sharper lens.
This is one sweet lens… :-)
Here’s a stitch from the TS-E 17mm for comparison
17th
Our 24mm turns up. As when the 17mm turns up, it’s raining, so no outdoor testing today.
Here it is with the old 24mm and the 17mm.
Hopefully we’ll have a few quick tests tomorrow, comparing it with the ‘old’ TS-E 24.
Notice the difference looking into the top of the lens (both illuminated by a halogen spot in the ceiling)
The Mk1
The Mk2
16th DPR tries it’s hand at reviewing the 24mm lens ;-)
We have a 24mm on its way.
We’ll have some tests once it’s here…
June 24th Some 24mm lenses turn up in the US and Japan, but we’re still being told that Canon are not giving any accurate estimates for the UK.
13th No estimate of a 24mm delivery from one UK dealer and ‘maybe next month’ from another.
8th Our TS-E 17 turns up – sample TS-E 17 images
The 24mm still has no shiping date. Keith has written an article about focusing tilt shift lenses.
May 20th Early June is the best estimate we’re getting at the moment for delivery – however Canon are being a little obscure in giving dealers any hard info…
April 29th A sighting of the new TSE lenses and a description of their performance (no pics) in a DPR post.
March 13th A DPR ‘preview’ that doesn’t unfortunately add much to the released information, but does have some shots showing the relative movements of the lens.
February
27th A useful LL article on understanding more about the squigly lines in the graphs below…
26th More Canon CPN info on the new T/S lenses
From Canon Japan, we have MTF charts that show just how good the lens should be at f/8
Below is the MTF for the original TS-E 24mm
and the MTF for the EF24 1.4L II
Buying a TS-E lens – We make a specific point of not selling hardware, but if you found the articles and information here of help, please consider buying a lens, or any other items at all, via our link with Amazon.
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It won’t cost any more (nor less we’re afraid) but will contribute towards the running costs of our site
or, if you’d prefer, you can look at
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How the lens is constructed.
More info to come
The US press release points to a May shipping date at ‘street prices’ of US$2199 and CDN$2699.99.
The UK says 17mm f/4L for May 2009 priced at £2749.99 / €3049.99 RRP inc. VAT. and the 24mm f/3.5L II from May 2009 priced at £2399.99 / €2659.99 RRP inc. VAT.
However a comment via Canon Germany points to prices of 2399 euro for the 17mm and 2099 euro for the 24mm, and that’s including 19% VAT – quite a bit less than the prices in the UK press release. – Ready in April too…
MTF Chart
- Focal Length & Maximum Aperture 24mm 1:3.5
- Lens Construction 16 elements in 11 groups
- Diagonal Angle of View 84° (without tilt or shift)
- Image circle diameter 58.6mm
- Focus Adjustment Manual focus, overall linear extension system
- Closest Focusing Distance 0.69 ft./0.21m (maximum close-up magnification: 0.34x)
- Filter Size 82mm
- Max. Diameter x Length, Weight 3.5 x 4.2 in./88.5 x 106.9mm, 27.5 oz./780g
Initial info puts the price at ~2300 euros
According to a German online dealer the lens will be available in April
Press Information (both lenses)
| Amstelveen, the Netherlands, 18 February, 2009: Canon today announces the launch of two new tilt and shift lenses, the Ultra-Wide angle TS-E 17mm f/4L and the TS-E 24mm f/3.5L II, an upgrade to the popular TS-E 24mm f/3.5L.Canon was the first company to offer 35mm camera users a combined tilt and shift lens, With 36 years experience in this field, Canon has now added a new unique functionality to the TS-E 17mm f/4L and TS-E 24mm f/3.5L II, allowing users to rotate the direction of the tilt and shift independently of each other.
This affords greater control over the focal plane, replicating the movements of a large format view camera. Canon’s revolutionary tilt and shift revolving mechanism is particularly useful when shooting product shots from a perspective where specific framing and focal plane is required. The new lenses, influenced by feedback from professional photographers, have been created to produce the best image quality with high resolution, high contrast and low distortion. The use of high-precision asphercial front elements keeps distortion, common in wide angle lenses, to an absolute minimum, even at the edges of the frame. The TS-E 17mm f/4L and TS-E 24mm f/3.5L II also feature multiple UD elements to reduce chromatic aberration and optimised focus mechanisms. Canon today has also introduced a new range (52mm to 72mm) of versatile, multi-functional PL-C B polarizing filters to help reduce reflections from glass or water or darken blue skies. The PL-C B’s, which are now available in 52mm, 58mm, 67mm, 72mm, 77mm and 82mm filter thread sizes, also allows the lens cap to be attached to the lens to prevent damage to the filter if left attached when not in use. Key features of the TS-E 17mm f/4L and TS-E 24mm f/3.5L II include |
More lens use related articles
All articles and reviews are listed on our main Articles and Reviews page, or use the search box at the top of any page. Experimental items, hacks and how-to articles are all listed in the Photo-hacks category.
Some articles that may be of interest:
- Using a tilt/shift lens - what it is they actually do
- Focus with tilted lenses - lots more information about what's going on when you tilt a lens. See also: Focusing the view camera - External link to [very] detailed coverage of camera movements
- Keith's tilt table spreadsheet (zipped file)
- Using old lenses on your DSLR - fun with adapters
- Keith's lens reviews and lens related articles
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