canon 24mm t/s lens dumb question of the day!

We are trying out a canon t/s lens for the weekend in Moab. After seeing an article in OP magazine, it sounds like this little lens can do a lot. The thing I'm most intrigued about is the tilt function for extreme depth of field. Well, I tried it a little this afternoon and didn't get great results so here is my question...

If I set camera to vertical position and adjust swing and tilt to proper orientation, then set tilt to something close to me, do I still use hyper-focal distance to get full depth of field or does the tilt automatically take care of that? Anything else I should know about this lens before venturing out on my trip???

Thanks

While you're awaiting a reply, check out this tutorial from one of my favorite websites titled 'Tilt Shift Lenses: Depth of Field'.
Packed with good info., and includes a T/S DOF calculator.

Jack, I believe John's link will answer your questions far more completely than we can.

I hope you have live view to check the focus. With the wider angle TS lenses, I've found that checking critical focus with tilt is rather difficult through the view finder.

Be sure to also try the shift for stitching and perspective control.

Are you testing the old or new version of the 24mm?

Bill, I have live view...Canon 50d. We are using the older version. I actually tried it this afternoon and used shift to create a pano. It merged beautifully but I had some issues with focus. Then I realized I had to actually rotate the whole thing 90 degrees to get the t/s in the right perspective...duh!! I'm gonna look at John's link now but my initial thought is I'm gonna need to use hyper-focal distance. the only thing I didn't like with shifting with a prime lens is I cant control the exact areas I want for my pano so I may still have to crop.

You know, I've got my 45mm tilt-shift lens out on loan right now, and the guy who has it was ready to send it back because he's struggling to grasp the concept. Just yesterday I searched far and wide for a good tutorial to send his way, and came up empty. John, that tutorial you posted is exactly what I was looking for! EXCELLENT demonstration of what these lenses can do with a little tilt. He needs to be a little careful not to describe what tilt does as increasing depth of field, because that's not what's happening (it's merely repositioning where the depth of focus is, not increasing it, per se), but it's generally spot on.

Well, it is late and I got a headache reading that tutorial so I will give it a shot in the morning. It is very good but very intensive. Maybe I'll just hire Todd to come and set it up for me

The most common mistake is using too much tilt. With your general landscape scenes, it takes very little tilt (1 or 2 ticks of the lens markings) to maximize the depth of field. The technique is definitely harder to describe than to actually do, or demonstrate in person.

FWIW, I would not use hyperfocal techniques in combination with tilt. I think that would just complicate things further.

Thanks for the info Scott and others. For the most part, I will concentrate on vertical and horizontal shift movements to create some panos. tried a couple here at home and they seemed ok. If time permits, I'll try some tilt. As always, I'll make sure I use lenses I'm comfortable with to make sure I get some good images and comps.

Word has it there may be some thunder boomers over Canyonlands tomorrow (Friday)....maybe I'll get lucky and get some lightning in a shot or two!!