24mm TSE rental for someone who never used TSE before?

I am going to Acadia National Park and surrounding areas and was thinking about renting Canon 24mm II TSE to see how sharp it is. Does it have a big learning curve?

Read how to use it properly first (mainly the tilt movement). When you know how to make it work properly then the learning curve is pretty fast.

What are you trying to accomplish that your current lenses can not?

I honestly do not know what tilt shift lenses do for landscape type things... maybe someone can enlighten me and we can both learn?

I have used the 24 TSE. it was fun to play with, but the main thing I discovered is that the camera metering does not work once you've tilted and shifted. you have to meter first.

I currently have a gap between Zeiss 21mm & Zeiss Contax 35-135mm. I read that Canon 24mm II TSE is super sharp and I wanted to see how it is. It also uses 82mm filters which I already have.

robertwsimpson wrote in post #16336344
What are you trying to accomplish that your current lenses can not?

I honestly do not know what tilt shift lenses do for landscape type things... maybe someone can enlighten me and we can both learn?

I have used the 24 TSE. it was fun to play with, but the main thing I discovered is that the camera metering does not work once you've tilted and shifted. you have to meter first.

Tilting can actually comes in really handy for landscaping, to get in focus a close foreground and keep the entire frame tack sharp. That and the easy way to pano (both vertically or horizontally) by shifting.

And to OP, I think the TS-E 24mm II and the Zeiss 21mm is really a close call when it comes to sharpness.

nottoosharp wrote in post #16336395
Tilting can actually comes in really handy for landscaping, to get in focus a close foreground and keep the entire frame tack sharp. That and the easy way to pano (both vertically or horizontally) by shifting.

And to OP, I think the TS-E 24mm II and the Zeiss 21mm is really a close call when it comes to sharpness.

The sharper the better. I also heard about that its great for panos and if there are opportunities I will try to shoot some.

I followed these rules when I had mine on lend.
Below is an example.. don't sweat it, you'll do fine just follow the info below.

1. Live View is your friend when using a tilt/shift. You will need to get used to using live view and it will really help you see what is going on.
2. Meter the camera with no tilt or shift and leave the exposure at that setting when you tilt/shift the lens. The camera will tell you that the exposure is +/- as you tilt but the shot will come out correctly exposed using the values before you began the shift or tilt.
3. A little tilt goes a long way. Tilt in small amounts and check screen in live view.
4. Always use focus ring to adjust focus for foreground. Always use tilt to 'tilt' the focus plane and get your background in focus.
Remember: Focus-Foreground and Tilt-Background

IMAGE LINK: http://www.flickr.com/​photos/settntrenz/9550​485617/

Well, if you just want sharp, then don't tilt or shift and you can just use it like any other MF lens.

Next, would be shift. For trees just set the camera level, set exposure and then shift up or down to get the composition you want without the trees pointing inward (or outward). Learning curve about 10 minutes or less. Just don't overdo the correction and have trees tilting the other way. To start with you might still need a slight adjustment in PP if you are picky.

For forests tilt is probably not going to be useful anyway, I'd leave it alone. If you were doing beachscapes or something flat, I'd recommend trying it.

As far as the exposure is concerned, if you use LV and the histogram, you'll get what you see with tilt and shift. Just ignore the exposure meter.

Bianchi wrote in post #16336829
4. Always use focus ring to adjust focus for foreground. Always use tilt to 'tilt' the focus plane and get your background in focus.
Remember: Focus-Foreground and Tilt-Background

Interesting because I do the opposite. Set the focus at infinity, then tilt to get the foreground and then tweak from there.

Thanks for all the suggestions.