Have you run out of ideas for your next photography projects? How about getting a bit experimental with the gear you currently own? An idea from our favorite weird lens enthusiast Mathieu Stern may be right up your alley: turning any of your current lenses into a tilt shift lens. If you’re curious about tilt shift photography or tinkering with your gear, this is worth a shot.
In the quick video above, Stern first briefly explains what tilt shift lenses are and what they do, for those who are just learning about it. Unfortunately, these remain niche items and are very expensive. However, he found a way to turn almost any lens into a tilt shift lens for much less: using a free axis tilt-shift lens adapter. With this interesting contraption that comes in different mounts, you can do stuff like correcting perspective distortion and selective focus with both modern and vintage lenses.
Next, Stern also demonstrated how the adapter works to create the tilt shift effect. Of course, it won’t be complete without some sample images and footage to show us what this setup can produce. If you’re looking for something extra creative and experimental to do with your current gear, hopefully these should give you some fun and interesting ideas!
What do you think of using this makeshift tilt shift lens technique for photo and video projects? Share your insights in the comments below!
Just to clarify the lens options, the adapter will only accept lenses with the mount it was designed for. For example a Pentax K to Sony adapter will only accept Pentax K-mount lenses and not any others. To mount a Nikon lens to your Sony camera you would have to buy a separate Sony to Nikon tilt-shift adapter.
So it will not mount any lens like the author expressed
Hi Matt,
I did forget to mention (and Mathieu Stern too in the actual video) that the Fotodiox Tilt Shift Lens Adapter he uses comes in different mounts so you can use it for major mounts of both vintage and modern lenses. So yes, almost any mount would be the more accurate way to put it. I’ve edited the article to mention that.
Except Pentax to Sony unfortunately.
This is an awesome find and thanks for sharing! Putting a sticky for my next diy project.