1DsIII + 90mm TS-E + 2x Extender

[MarkAlsop]

Most good reviews of the TS-E 90mm lens indicate it can be used with the EF 1.4x and EF 2x Extenders.

However the Canon manual that comes with the lens says that none of the three (non-II) TS-E lenses (24mm, 45mm, and 90mm) are compatible with the EF 1.4x and 2x Extenders.

A careful examination of the mounts showed there was no physical reason the Extenders would not work with these lenses.

1) I measured the offset on the EF Extenders (the part that protrudes into the back of the lens beyond the mounting ring face) at .260” on both the 1.4x and 2x Extenders.

2) When shifted the TS-E housing has a maximum recess of .305” to the mounting ring face. The extension with the contacts measures .220” on all Canon EOS compatible lenses. The depth to the shift surface from this extension is .525” so the difference is .305”.

3) This leaves .045” clearance between the protrusion on the EF Extenders and the shift surface inside the TS-E 90mm lens, which is quite a lot of clearance actually. The tilt mechanism does not affect the depth in the back of the TS-E lenses.

So I did a test and found that I get excellent results with the EF 2x Extender, especially if I stop the TS-E 90mm down to f/4, which is only 1-stop on this f/2.8 lens. This includes shifted, tilted and both together. BTW I rotated the shift housing so the tilt and shift are in the same plane ...a very easy modification.

Without Live View I would not be able to focus this lens, with Live View my only niggles are that I would like the higher resolution screen found on the 5D II and a joystick that moved the 10x view around faster.

So, does anyone know why the Canon manual states that these TS-E lenses are not compatible with the EF Extensions?

[Paul_F_Caldwell]

Canon only supports the TC 1.4 and 2.0 with their telephoto lenses officially. But as you found, they work fine with the 45mm and 90mm. I have used the 90mm and 2.0 quite a bit, only with the 1ds MK and MKII, neither which have live view. Like you mentioned, it would make for a much better focus setup.

I wish they would work with the 70-300 IS lens,

Paul Caldwell

[MarkAlsop]

Paul, have you tried using the angle finder on the 2.5x setting? This works well when the lens is shifted and unshifted ...but it is useless with the tilt function.

I have worked with the lens tilted using both the standard 1DsIII viewfinder and Live View. In my experience I do not see how anyone could get a consistently accurate focal plane with the lens tilted using just the viewfinder.

The introduction of Live View plus 10x magnification has transformed the method of manually focusing 35mm format bodies ...but I found I needed to make a blackout hood to use it in daylight, which makes it look like a small view camera setup.

[Dennis_Vied]

I have the 90 TS-E and the 2X, but never thought to try them, actually never had a situation that would call for it. I'll have to try it sometime.

I always considered that the barrel depth would be too great for the tilt-shift to be useful, but never tried it to see.

And, I agree, Live View would be a great aid. I'm using a 5D.

[MarkAlsop]

I have added a page to my web site that has 100% crops of the TS-E 90mm f/2.8 lens plus the EF 2x II Extender on a 1DsIII here.

You might be surprised by the results.

For instance the f/2.8 exposures are quite sharp after some additional sharpening in ACR.

The f/4 exposure needs just a touch of extra sharpening in ACR.

The f/5.6 and f/8 exposures are quite sharp without any help.

And diffraction is clearly visible by f/11, f/16 is not really usable.