Photographers working in architectural fields appreciate the movements and perspective correction available when working with a tilt-shift lens. The Nikon PC Nikkor 19mm f/4E ED ($3,399.95) is the widest you can get for a Nikon system—Canon shooters have access to the TS-E 17mm f/4L ($2,149)—and features dual points of rotation, as well as tilt and shift movements. It's a premium lens that delivers strong image quality for demanding professionals, and can also be used in a more uncontrolled manner to snap images with more artistic flair. It's expensive, even when compared with other lenses of its type, but a strong performer. If your needs aren't as demanding, consider the Samyang T-S 24mm F3.5 ED AS UMC as a low-cost alternative.

Design

The PC Nikkor 19mm ($2,999.00 at Amazon) is a big lens, which isn't a surprise considering its wide-angle field of view and perspective correction features. It measures 4.9 by 3.5 inches (HD) and weighs in at just under 2 pounds. The front lens element is bulbous, so there's no ability to use lens filters. There's also no hood, just a twist-on lens cap to protect the front element during storage and transport. It's easy to fingerprint the front element if you're not careful, but a fluorine coat repels grease and makes it quite easy to clean.

The lens is rife with physical controls to adjust its shift and tilt capabilities. Shift is adjusted near the base, with a control knob moving the lens. Shift is a flat movement, with the lens elements moving in parallel to the sensor. You can go left or right, using a knob to control the movement, useful for shooting multiple images in succession with the intention of stitching them together for a panorama.

Holding down the tab at the base of the lens frees it to rotate in 30-degree increments. There are certainly some creative uses for shooting at a 30 or 60-degree angle in conjunction with tilt, but the real key here is moving the shift mechanism to straight vertical. Shifting the lens straight up or down allows you to hold the camera level while getting the top of a tall building in frame, without introducing the keystone distortion you'd get by pointing the camera and lens up at an angle.

The front portion of the lens also rotates, independent of the rear control. This makes it possible to shift left or right, while adjusting the tilt up or down, or at an angle, if desired. Tilt, which angles the lens elements so that the focal plane is not parallel with the image sensor, is adjusted using a knob at the top, and can be locked using a switch or tension control knob at the bottom.

Changing the angle of the focal plane changes the way that focus works. Instead of locking onto a plane parallel to the image sensor, the plane of focus is at an angle. If you're shooting a scene where focusing on a series of objects in a diagonal row is important, a tilt movement lets you focus attention on them while blurring other areas of the photo. It's a technique that is often mimicked with filters identified as the Miniature Effect—named so because, when shooting from a distance, it can make real-world scenes look like close-up photos of dioramas.

There are some artistic uses for tilt, especially when working with a wide angle lens like the PC 19mm. I love using it to isolate a single part of a wide frame, highlighting your subject and minimizing distracting background details. It also encourages experimentation, and can breathe new life into images of oft-photographed locations.

There's a manual focus ring—the 19mm omits autofocus. It's covered in textured rubber and turns easily. Focus distance is marked in feet and meters, and a corresponding depth of field scale shows the zone of focus at f/8, f/16, f/22, and f/32. Minimum focus is 9.8 inches, which lets you get quite close to subjects, and delivers a maximum magnification of 1:5.5.

Image Quality

I tested the PC 19mm with the 36MP Nikon D810. At f/4 the lens shows good, but not impeccable performance, notching a 2,913-line score on Imatest's center-weighted average evaluation. The center of the frame shows excellent marks, 3,333 lines, but it drops to good as you move away from the center (2,706 lines) and just exceeds our 2,200-line acceptable mark at the edges (2,367 lines).

Stopping down to f/5.6 raises the average score to 3,216 lines, with excellent marks through most of the frame and good results at the edges (2,737 lines). At f/8 performance is excellent from center to edge, with the average score hitting 3,627 lines and edges hitting 3,300 lines. Results are the strongest at f/11, 3,800 lines, and remain solid at f/16 (3,374 lines). You can stop down to f/22 and f/32, but the results aren't as good—2,543 and 1,592 lines respectively.

See How We Test Digital Cameras

Shifting the lens fully changes the resolution, as you're now using the very edge of the image circle to capture photo. Scores do drop a bit—at f/4 the average is 2,611 lines, with edges that show 2,456 lines. Results lag behind the centered lens by about the same margin, 200 to 300 lines, as you stop down to f/5.6 (2,972 lines) and f/8 (3,494 lines). The deficit is lessened as you stop down, with an average drop of less than 150 lines at f/11 (3,666 lines) and f/16 (3,228 lines), with negligible differences at f/22 and f/32.

The Nikon puts up better numbers than the Samyang T-S 24mm, but we tested the Samyang ($991.77 at Amazon) on a 20MP camera, the Canon EOS 6D, which puts it at a disadvantage when it comes to maximum resolution, so we don't compare scores directly. In general terms it delivers acceptable sharpness wide open, but with soft edges. Resolution is strong at f/5.6 and f/8, even at the edges of the frame. The Samyang doesn't hold up as well to shift, and is prone to flare—not an issue with the Nikon—requiring you to shoot at f/5.6 through f/11 for best performance. But don't forget that the Samyang sells for less than $800, compared with the Nikon's $3,400 price tag.

Typically we weight wide aperture sharpness heavily when looking at lenses, so the just-acceptable edges at f/4 would be a concern. But the PC 19mm is a lens that is going to be used in conjunction with a tripod for any technical work.

Distortion is very well controlled for a 19mm lens. There's about 2 percent barrel distortion evident, which is pretty easily corrected using software. You do have to contend with slightly dimmed corners (-1.6EV when centered and -1.9EV when shifted) at f/4. At f/5.6 and narrower the frame is illuminated quite evenly—it's a good idea to stop down a bit if you're shifting the lens with the intention of stitching images together for a panorama in order to keep illumination even.

Conclusions

The Nikon PC Nikkor 19mm f/4E ED is the widest tilt-shift lens available for Nikon SLRs. It not only allows you to capture images at dramatic wide angles, but also supports tilt and shift adjustments in several places, with a dual-rotation mechanism that allows the two movements to be controlled independently. As you'd expect from a lens priced so high, image quality is strong, especially when stopped down. Photographers with demanding technical requirements will certainly reach for the lens, especially for architectural work, both interior and exterior. Photographers who are simply after the tilt look, but don't want to spend an arm and a leg, should consider the Samyang T-S 24mm as an affordable alternative.

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