Tiltshiftobjektiivi

Tiltshiftobjektiivi, known in English as a tilt-shift lens, is a specialized lens for large format, medium format, and 35mm cameras. Its primary function is to control the orientation of the lens's plane of focus relative to the camera's sensor or film plane. This is achieved through two distinct movements: tilting and shifting.

The tilt movement allows the photographer to rotate the lens element on an axis perpendicular to the optical axis. This rotation changes the plane of focus, allowing for selective focus effects. Most commonly, it is used to create a miniature effect where a shallow depth of field is manipulated to make a scene appear as if it were a model. By tilting the lens, the photographer can make a very narrow slice of the image sharp, while the rest falls out of focus, mimicking the way a miniature scene would be naturally captured with a very close focus distance.

The shift movement allows the photographer to move the lens parallel to the camera's sensor or film plane, without rotating the lens. This is particularly useful in architectural photography to correct converging vertical lines. When photographing a tall building, a photographer would typically have to tilt the camera upwards, causing the vertical lines of the building to appear to converge. With a tilt-shift lens, the photographer can keep the camera level and shift the lens upwards to capture the entire building without distortion, effectively bringing the top of the building into the frame by moving the lens rather than the camera. This movement can also be used for panoramic photography by stitching together multiple images with a slight shift between them. Tilt-shift lenses are generally more expensive than standard lenses due to their complex construction and the precision required for their movements.