Metering with a Tilt-Shift Lens

Question

The manual of the Canon TS-E 17mm F/4 states that metering only works when the lens tilt and shift are set to zero (in the same position as a standard lens would be). Logically this implies that the meter indicator in manual mode would be incorrect as well.

What techniques then would be recommended to meter with such lens? Does the light entering the lens depend on the shift and/or tilt positions? If you meter from a highlight the the lens and camera straight, would that be still valid after tilt, shift and the orientation adjusted? (Obviously for reflective surfaces the answer to the latter is no).

Asked by Itai

Answer

It is very simple: Metering does not work when the lens is shifted, metering does not work when the lens is tilted. The workaround is also very simple: Shoot in M mode. Adjust the exposure to your satisfaction with the lens untilted and unshifted. Then shift and/or tilt, and take the actual photo.

Note: It is the metering that is affected by tilt/shift, not the actual exposure. If 1/200, f/f5.6 is the correct exposure with tilt/shift set to zero, 1/200, f/5.6 is still the correct exposure when the lens is tilted and shifted.

Answered by Staale S

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