The building called Forum Chriesbach that has been shown in several nearby photographs already. In this example, the lens was shifted upwards for perspective control. The photograph belongs to the reflections gallery: Almost the entire right half is the mirror image of the left half. The reflective surface belonged to only one of the building's glass panes that was just a few centimeters from the lens away, and yet, focus was on infinity.

I have a new, mirrorless, interchangeable lens, tilt-shift (MILTS) camera. My MILTS camera allows any lens with a Canon EF mount to be shifted by 15 mm and tilted by 10° in any direction (tilt and shift movements are perpendicular to each other). In my case, the camera's specifications are identical to a Sony A7r, but it could just as well be any Sony E mount camera; thanks to the Canon EF - Sony E mount tilt-shift adapter from Mirex (it is not advertised on their website - you have to contact the company by e-mail).

The Sony E mount tilt-shift adapter's specifications are virtually identical to the version for micro four thirds (M4/3) cameras. The tripod mount is interchangeable between the two adapters and the tilt-shift mechanisms are the same; only the lever to rotate the adapter is differently designed. I find it more convenient on the Sony model. First, I had planned to use my micro four thirds tilt-shift adapter with a cheap M4/3 - Sony E mount adapter, but unfortunately the two adapters that I have tried were not fitting properly. Albeit not fitting well at all, the set-up allowed to test my manual lenses and their tilt-shift capabilities on a full frame body. To my surprise, all the nice, old lenses that I am using allow both, tilt and shift movements, although not the full amount. As expected, the corners of the frame get black when the lens is shifted maximally. The exact degree of tilt and shift (without vignetting) is specific for each lens (due to different image circles) and also depends on the sensor size of the camera (it would be much less of an issue with a smaller sensor).

All in all, I am just as satisfied with the Sony version of the tilt-shift adapter as with my micro four thirds model. If at all, handling is even easier on the Sony body, because it is slightly larger than my Lumix GH1 and because of focus peeking: It is quite cool to see colors indicating the areas in focus move across the frame as you tilt the lens. The adapter is, in my opinion, extremely well built and has quickly become an integral component of my Sony A7r body. Since I am using almost exclusively old manual lenses (Leica R, Olympus Zuiko, Voigtländer) that are permanently adapted to a Canon EF mount (with a Leitax replacement mount), I hardly ever take the adapter off the camera. If you want to learn more about the Canon EF - Sony E mount tilt-shift adapter, head over to the excellent review at "on landscape" or post a question as a comment to this posting.


P.S. I have bought the tilt-shift adapter that is described here as a regular customer from Mirex. I am not associated with Mirex and I do not receive any form of compensation for writing this text. 

  Watercolors on Lake Helen in Lassen Volcanic National Park, California, USA.

My May-print is also the starting signal for the new watercolor theme, which I will present with many more photographs in the future.
Since several years I try to create photographs of amazing colors and patterns on the surfaces of lakes, rivers, and the sea. Although somewhat similar to the carcolor compositions, these watercolor reflections are much more complex. Instead of a rigid, reflective car body, here the "mirror" is a wavy and wobbly liquid. Depending on the frequency and pattern of the waves and riddles, the reflections change dramatically. These photographs thus have a certain random element and each capture is truly unique. However, observing a body of water for a while will reveal recurring patterns and over time I have learned to predict and pre-visualize compositions that I find interesting.
The photograph above, which I have printed as my monthly print for May, shows fantastic cloud and sky reflections on the surface of Lake Helen in Lassen Volcanic National Park. Brownish-reddish volcanic rock, green trees, and spicy waves transform this otherwise ordinary water reflection into something unexpected - at least in my opinion. By the way: the waves were partly created by me because I was wading in the refreshing water in order to create this photograph and the photograph would also fit the tilt-(shift)-theme.

The shift-panorama shown above has been taken in Yosemite National Park, close to Olmsted Point. Five photographs were taken with an old, manual 90 mm lens (in total 15 mm shift in both directions) and combined to form this tree silhouette panorama. I have stopped publishing photographs from my tree silhouette series earlier this year because it is a theme I am rather pursuing during winter time, but the summer photograph above fits the theme very well.

Unless I have something important to say about tilt-shift photography, I will stop publishing blog posts under the tilt-shift label. My tilt-shift adapter is a tool that I regularly and often use to photograph subjects and topics that I care about. I much rather show my photographs in this context than have them reduced to technicalities. If you have a question about the Mirex tilt-shift adapter for micro-four thirds cameras, please have a look at the previous blog posts, or contact me if you have any unanswered questions.

A reader has the following photographic problem:
He would like to increase the depth of field when photographing, for example, spiders. He was wondering if the Mirex tilt-shift adapter may help solve this problem. It should also be noted that he photographs with a full-frame Nikon digital SLR, a 200 mm macro lens and has plenty of other Nikon lenses.

Although this is not necessarily a purchasing problem, I think the problem may be interesting for other readers and my reply is nevertheless an appeal for moderation. Here are some thoughts and opinions in relation to the spider photograph problem:

How to maximize depth of field in macro photographs
If it is the goal to maximize depth of field in a macro photograph, I would recommend to align the camera sensor parallel to the subject that should appear sharp (e.g., parallel to the spider net). Besides this, the depth of field can, for example, be increased by using a lens with a shorter focal length and by photographing with a smaller aperture. However, by doing so, the background of your macro photographs will likely become very irregular and uneven, which I find really annoying and distractive.

Tilt-shift and depth of field
It is correct that tilting the lens can be used to increase the (apparent) depth of field. The "normal" situation for this application is a landscape photograph where everything from the foreground all the way to the background should be rendered sharp. Tilting the lens downward tilts the focal plane so that it becomes (more) parallel to the landscape and therefore the depth of field appears larger. However, as far as I understand, tilting a lens achieves this effect by moving the focal plane, not by increasing the width of the area that appears sharp.

Tilt-shift and macro photography
As far as I understand, many people use tilt movements in macro photography not to maximize depth of field, but rather to be able to photograph with an open aperture, to dissolve the background and to place the (shallow) focal plane as desired. At least this is how I use the tilt-shift adapter for macro photography.

Tilt-shift adapter for full-frame Nikon DSLRs
The tilt-shift adapter that I have described and use is designed for the micro-four thirds mount (it could possibly be used on Sony NEX cameras via an adapter) and Canon EF lenses (Nikon lenses could be mounted via an adapter). In order to allow the tilt and shift movements, the lens must cover a larger image than the size of the camera sensor. A tilt-shift adapter for a Nikon (or another full-frame DSLR) must thus have a mount for medium or large format lenses. The best Nikon tilt-shift solutions (although expensive) are the excellent Nikon tilt-shift lenses. However, these will likely not solve the spider photograph problem, because in my opinion tilting is not necessary in this case.

I am afraid that I do not have a real solution for the spider photograph problem described above. I would definitely not recommend buying another camera in order to use the Mirex tilt-shift adapter, because I do not think that this would solve the problem. If I was challenged to photograph spiders in their nets I would most likely try with a 100 mm macro lens (in full frame terms) because I think this provides the best compromise between working distance, nice rendering of the background and sharpness (and because this is what I have/had and am experienced with). Approaching the spiders will be more difficult than with a 200 mm macro lens, but I would try to overcome this by photographing as early in the morning as possible, when the spiders are likely slower. There are people who photograph lions with wide angle lenses, so with patience and perseverance it should be possible to capture spiders with a 100 mm lens!

Small digital sensors also lead to a larger depth of field. These hornets were photographed with a tiny point-and-shoot camera.

I have been and am busy with many different things and thoughts at the moment and therefore continue to update this blog only occasionally - and only with shorter posts (among other things, I have been combating a virus this week - I won). As promised in the last tilt-shift blog post, I am showing you here the first shift panorama that was taken with the tripod mount and the Mirex tilt-shift adapter.
Above is a far away photograph (for me, 9065 km away) taken on top of Cinder Cone in Lassen Volcanic National Park. What a fantastic (and hot) place! The panorama consists of five photographs (full 15 mm shift, 10 mm shift in both directions, no shift), but three would have sufficed. Instead of the 12 million pixels of each individual photograph, the composite image has almost 33 million pixels! As you can see, there is some vignetting, but despite the 15 mm shift, the whole frame is covered (however, when I added a polarizer, there were black bands on both sides), suggesting that the 20 mm Voigtländer lens used in this particular case has a larger image circle than 24 x 36 mm (unlike the Canon 70-200 mm L / f4 at 200 mm). 

If you have bought a Mirex tilt-shift adapter or studied my description intently, you may have noticed three holes below the lens mount. As suspected, these holes demonstrate foresightful planning, as they allow the attachment of a tripod mount. Just before we left for our vacation, I have received a small package with an early (not yet anodized) version of this tripod mount. I had therefore the possibility to test this accessory during our holiday and would now like to share my experience with this accessory. Just to make it absolutely clear: What you see in the photographs below is an early version of the tripod mount, which I have received as a gift from Mirex. As far as I understand, the final product will be anodized in black and should be available by now. 

The tripod mount is firmly attached with three screws that fit into the holes of the tilt-shift adapter.

As shown above, the tripod adapter consists of a small piece of aluminum, which is attached to the tilt-shift adapter with three screws. The screws are inserted from the camera proximal side.  All screws and an allen key are included and the mount fits perfectly. At the base of the adapter are three threads to either mount a base plate (see below), to directly fix the tripod mount to a tripod, or to attach a quick release plate.

  

The tripod mount is delivered with a solid base plate, which can be replaced with a quick release plate of your choice (currently not provided by Mirex).

Together with the tripod mount itself comes a solid base-plate that attaches to the adapter with two additional screws. This plate features several threads for the attachment to your tripod or quick release plates. I have not used this plate because I find it too big and instead replaced it with a small quick-release plate that allows me to directly attach the tilt-shift adapter with the lens and camera to my tripod head.

The tripod mount protrudes on the lens-side of the adapter.

The tripod mount protrudes about 4 mm on the lens-side of the tilt-shift adapter. This protrusion may prevent mounting lenses with a large diameter. I was made aware of this problem by Mirex and experienced it with a Nikon to Canon EF mount adapter, which had a larger diameter than necessary. In my case, the problem was easily solved by grinding the barrel of this adapter with sandpaper until it fitted the adapter (and I had three blisters).

Instead of the provided base plate I have directly attached a small quick-release plate to the tripod mount.

Since I use all my manual lenses exclusively with the Mirex tilt-shift adapter (at least at the moment), irrespective of whether I use the tilt and/or shift function, and also often photograph handheld, I want the setup to be as small and compact as possible. Therefore, I did not use the base plate provided with the adapter, but instead directly attached a small quick release plate. This arrangement worked well for tripod-based photography and did not bother me much while taking manual photographs or when the lens was stored in the bag.

The Mirex m4/3 tilt-shift adapter with tripod mount in action on Lembert Dome in Yosemite National Park.

The tripod mount for the Mirex tilt-shift adapter allows to shift (and tilt) the camera, while the lens remains fixed. The camera can be rotated, but the shift movement is only left-right (or up-down if the tilt-shift adapter is mounted vertically, for example with a L-bracket). Irrespective of the tripod mount, the tilt movement is perpendicular to the shift movement (as described in my first tilt-shift blog post).
The ability to shift the camera while the lens remains fixed is particularly helpful for taking shift panoramas, which is one of the applications I am most interested in. Attaching the adapter to the tripod head, as opposed to the camera, may also provide a better balance and thus render handling much easier, in particular with heavier lenses and/or small cameras. Despite these advantages, the dedicated tilt-shift lenses I know do not have a tripod mount, which makes the described tilt-shift adapter solution rather unique.
I am very happy with both my tilt-shift adapter and with the new tripod mount that I leave permanently attached (I am too lazy to unscrew and fasten the tripod mount each time I want to use the adapter on a tripod). However, if you hardly ever create stitch panoramas you may not need a tripod mount and definitely not want to permanently "enlarge" your tools with this accessory. For me, the tripod mount for my tilt-shift adapter is a worthwhile accessory, which allowed me to take several nice panoramas, some of which I will show you in upcoming posts.

 Since I do not only photograph on weekend trips or during vacations, but rather as often as time and weather permits, most of my photographs fit the nearby theme. For example, almost all carcolor compositions were discovered around where I live and so far I have also been testing my tilt-shift adapter almost exclusively on my photography bike tours around Zurich.

The tilt-shift example above is a light & shadow composition that was taken at ETH Hönggerberg, where I pass regularly to search for interesting compositions. For architectural photographs like this one it is possible to take advantage of the shift (upwards to correct perspective) and tilt (to the left or right to increase the depth of field) at the same time. With the Mirex adapter, the shift and tilt movements are always perpendicular to each other, meaning that you cannot shift the lens upwards and tilt downwards. In the composition shown here, my eye is attracted to the whitish cross a little bit above the center and to the right of the photograph.

This photograph may look as if it was completely out-of-focus and taken with an awful, possibly broken lens. Although you are free to question the merits of this composition, the very features that seem strange are intentional and probably not what you think they are. Most importantly, I have taken and now show this photograph mainly because it illustrates a use of the lens shift function, which I have discovered by chance while "playing" with my new tilt-shift adapter.

What you see in this composition are not actual flowering dogwood trees, but rather their reflection. This is also the reason for the strange "shadow trees" that you may discern. The vertical lines across the whole photograph are door frames and door handles behind the window pane that was reflecting the trees.

What was the shift function used for, you may wonder? It was necessary to photograph this reflection without myself appearing in it. The tilt-shift adapter thus served as an auxiliary, tiny periscope. Careful positioning of myself and the 15 mm of shift prevented my appearance on the left border of this photograph, which would have been very distractive (in my opinion), because I was wearing a red jacket.

Yesterday, I have made an unexpected discovery: The tilt-shift posts have enticed the reader Henrik Fessler to buy a tilt-shift adapter himself! I am flattered that my text had such a motivating effect (even though the adapter is still not listed on the Mirex website) and I hope that he enjoys using his new photographic tool. You can read about his experiences with the adapter on his blog MOPS Werk. I particularly recommend the articles on shifting and tilting, because they explain the theoretical background in great detail and much more clearly than I did. I have also added the links to his articles to the hyperlinktionary entry for tilt and shift photography.

Did somebody else also purchased the tilt-shift adapter in response to my description? If yes, please let me know!

On a different note: Also have a look at Henrik Fessler's "Manifesto" piece. I (almost) completely agree with his conclusions and think that it is a very commendable approach that everybody should at least take note of.

This tilt-shift adventure example is just meant to illustrate the diorama effect (miniature faking) that happens when the lens is tilted opposite to the focal plane of the subject to minimize depth of field. I am not very fond of such kind of photographs and it is therefore unlikely that I will show another example anytime soon. But if YOU should be interested in miniaturizing, take this picture of Geneva as an example that it is possible with the Mirex tilt-shift adapter. On the other hand, you can also just turn on your computer and apply a post-production diorama effect. 

You know that you are getting old(er) when you start talking about how things used to be. Lenses used to be made of solid metal and glass, and to have wide, rubberized focusing rings and a manually adjustable aperture. There also used to be a hyperfocal distance scale engraved on the focusing ring and the lenses were devoid of any computer ship, electronic contacts, or autofocus motors. If you long for the good old lenses and need somebody to blame for the change, point your anger at Auto Focus (AF).

AF brought along electronic contacts and microchips and paved the ground for electronic apertures and diminishing focusing rings. None of these changes made the lenses worse or better - just different (and cheaper to produce). Luckily, if you long for aperture rings and smooth manual focusing, times have never been better. As mentioned earlier, the short flange focal distance of the new compact systems cameras (CSC) allows fitting all kinds of "old" manual focus lenses on your preferred CSC body. 

For me, using old lenses just for the sake of the handling experience and for nostalgic reasons is not satisfactory. The conveniences of modern, lightweight, small and extremely versatile zoom lenses by far outweighs the affection for the craftsmanship and touch of a "classical" lens. However, the Mirex tilt-shift adapter introduced earlier changes the equation in different ways. It expands the functionality of my "old" lenses beyond what they were capable of on the cameras they were intended for. In addition, the tilt-shift adapter extends the functions of my CSC body and almost becomes a part of the camera itself. The adapter has a lens release button, just like the camera has, and can therefore stay on the camera while different lenses are attached to take advantage of the tilt-shift function.

The Mirex adapter has a Canon EF lens mount and therefore transforms the micro four thirds camera it is used on into a Canon CSC tilt-shift camera. This is particularly advantageous, because the Canon EF flange focal distance is shorter than the one of the Leica R, Olympus OM and Nikon mounts; to name just three. It is therefore possible to use any of these lenses on the tilt-shift adapter provided you have the appropriate adapter at hand. An even better solution are the Leitax replacement mounts that are screwed on top of the original mount and semi-permanently adapt your lens to the Canon EF mount. 

This is another example of a macro tilt photograph that I have taken recently. Although I could not have taken the photograph as it is shown here without the tilt function, the effect of the lens movement is not very apparent. However, the ability to move the focal plane and to take macro photographs with a wide open aperture was one of the main reasons for my interest in the Mirex tilt-shift adapter. I intend to experiment with and practice this type of macro tilt photography extensively this year. Unfortunately, the cherry flowers are already gone for this year (due to one of the many heavy rains of this spring; right after the flowers opened).
On a different note, I would like to let you know that Nikon DX lenses (with an additional Canon EF to Nikon adapter) seem to be compatible with the micro four thirds tilt-shift adapter (unlike the Canon EF-S 18-55 lens). I have recently had the chance to quickly try fitting the Nikon 18-55 DX lens onto my newly acquired adapter and I can report that the lens tilts and shifts in all directions as it should. I have not taken any photograph with this camera-adapter-lens combination, but I have no reason to doubt its perfect functionality. I also do not yet know if other Nikon DX lenses fit the Mirex adapter or not, but the possibility is very promising - you could for example "create" a fascinating 11-16 or 12-24 mm tilt-shift zoom lens!

Photography has changed tremendously since the times when images were recorded on expensive film and painstakingly developed and printed in the dark room. While it was once mandatory to deliberately and carefully compose a photograph on-site, it seems to become commonplace to record a constant stream of images and to select, edit, crop, and focus at a later point in the digital darkroom. Perspective control is one of the manipulations that can be achieved in the digital darkroom, albeit at the expense of  pixels, because cropping will be required. "In the field", perspective can be controlled by using tilt and shift movements of the lens.

I am old-fashioned (or just stubborn): I find it much more satisfying to compose a photograph "in the field" and to use the tools of the digital darkroom only for developing my composition. My recent purchase of a tilt-shift adapter enables me to play with "on-site" perspective control. The two photographs above depict light and shadow plays on a facade that I have photographed by looking upward, from rather close-by. A 50 mm lens (on a micro four thirds body) was used and either not shifted at all (left photograph) or shifted 15 mm upwards (right photograph). The two photographs shown side-by-side have not obtained any computational lens corrections whatsoever and are shown as recorded on-site (except for sharpness and global adjustments). Although I knew that shifting the lens upwards is supposed to correct perspective in photographic situations as this one, I was still surprised and fascinated how well it actually worked. The photograph on the right will require almost no perspective control at all!

Today, I would like to add a macro tilt-shift example and inform you about an incompatibility issue, which I have just become aware of. The photograph above is not particularly remarkable in any way and it is not about the flower either (I may introduce the plant in a Flora post in the very distant future - if I should ever manage to encounter these plants in full bloom). It was the main goal of this photograph to illustrate the tilting of the plane of focus. Therefore, I have tilted the lens (an old Canon 100 mm Macro lens) to the right. Notice how the focal plane runs diagonally from the lower right corner to the upper left part of the photograph.
The second goal of this blog post is to inform about an incompatibility with the Mirex tilt-shift adapter, which I have just realized: It does not seem possible to mount Canon EF-S lenses on the adapter. In theory, the image circle of the EF-S lenses, made to cover an APS-C sized sensor, should be sufficiently large to allow tilting and shifting the lens on a micro four thirds body. However, as far as I understand, the problem is the rear lens element of EF-S lenses, which protrudes further into the body (the adapter in this case) and thus prevents fitting the lens on the Mirex adapter. I have only tried mounting the 18-55 mm EF-S kit lens (an early, unused version that I have lying around in a dusty box), but I would assume that other EF-S lenses would not be compatible with the Mirex adapter neither. I am not bothered by this incompatibility, since I do not have a lens that I would want to use with this adapter and the image quality obtainable by tilt-shifting a full-frame lens will certainly be better. However, the thought of a 10-20 mm tilt-shift zoom lens (just as one of many possibilities) was enticing for a moment. 

Here is another short update on my tilt-shift experience. I have not been taking many photographs recently and do not feel very creative, but these photographs are solely shown for educational and illustrative purposes anyway. I wanted to try the shift function of my recently purchased and described Mirex tilt-shift adapter. The photograph above shows a panorama that was captured from the Hochwachtturm on Albis, which is a small mountain and popular viewpoint (although less so in winter) very close to Zurich.
The photograph was created by combining three captures (no shift and full shift to either side) and the lens was a Canon zoom lens (70-200 mm L, at f4). The images were recorded in 16:9 format (4352 x 2448 pixels). As the black borders on either side indicate (I left them on purpose), this lens's image circle does not cover the entire area created by a full shift (15 mm) of the Mirex adapter. The full panorama is almost 11'200 pixels wide and a crop without vignetting is still more than 8700 pixels wide - twice as wide as the original image format!
I guess that each lens has a slightly different image circle and therefore the final size of such shift panoramas will depend on the particular lens that is used. However, this is one of the applications of the tilt-shift function that I have been interested in and I will certainly continue to experiment with it.

I am rather busy these days and when I have finally time for a photo walk or bike ride, the conditions are not appropriate for what I have in mind. Therefore, I have had only few opportunities to really try out my new tilt and shift adapter. Nevertheless, I would like to share my absolutely very first tilt (and shift) composition - for which I only used the tilt function. In order to render the concrete columns on the right sharp, I have tilted the lens a few degrees to the right. As suggested by Darwin Wiggett and Samantha Chrysanthou, I have set the camera to manual mode, defined the aperture (f8) and exposure time before applying the tilt and then composed the photograph by slowly changing the tilt angle and verifying sharpness in live view mode (much less tilt was necessary than I had expected).
The photograph was taken in Zürich Oerlikon, close to where I live. The particular building is featured in several of my light & shadow compositions, some of which were shown in previous blog posts (I like to call it the not guilty building). This composition is broader than previous versions (due to the 20 mm lens), but I quite like it. The little lightly colored square at the end of the alleyway really catches my eye! Nevertheless, this is only my very first attempt at tilt and shift photography and I certainly hope to improve my technique (I am still terribly slow at setting the camera up). In this example, it may not even be apparent that a tilt & shift function was used - only the blurred reflection on the left may indicate that the focal plane was not straight.

UPDATE 2: A tilt-shift adapter with Sony E mount is now available.

UPDATE: A new tripod mount is now available as an accessory for the tilt-shift adapter.

The following blog post has two goals: To highlight a new tilt and shift adapter for micro four thirds (M4/3) bodies and hopefully to set the starting point for a forthcoming series about my first steps and learning experience with tilt and shift photography. Until now I have no hands-on experience with tilt and shift photography whatsoever, but I intend to delve into this technique. If you want to learn about the theory behind this technique, I recommend the tilt-shift ebook by Darwin Wiggett and Samantha Chrysanthou or THIS highly educational resource. In short, tilt describes a movement of the lens relative to the sensor in order to control depth of field, while shift is a movement parallel to the sensor to adjust perspective or to create composite photographs (e.g., panoramas).

I have been looking into possibilities to control sharpness or blur more creatively and deliberately since a while. A classical technique for this purpose consists of tilting the lens, but it requires specialized, dedicated and very expensive lenses. However, the slim bodies of compact system cameras enable a new and more economical alternative. It is possible to mount lenses that were intended for thicker cameras on slim camera bodies through the use of adapters that bridge the difference in depth between the two bodies (to be exact, it is not the thickness of the bodies, but rather the flange focal distance that is relevant). If the difference between the different flange focal distances is large enough, it is possible to accomodate a tilt and shift mechanism in the adapter. This solution is much less costly than a dedicated tilt and sift lens and it can transform a huge number of "normal" different lenses into tilt and shift lenses. You could even "create" a tilt and shift zoom lens!

Following my web researches and through inquires I have learned unexpectedly, that the German company Mirex has just developed a tilt and shift adapter with a M4/3 bayonet and a Canon EF mount (it is not even listed on the Mirex website yet). Mirex has been producing nicely built and refined tilt and shift adapters with different mount and bayonet combinations for a while, but this is the first model for a compact system camera (only one other company sells similar adapters that look like copies of the Mirex design). Personally, I find the M4/3-Canon EF mount combination perfect and most versatile. Thanks to the different flange focal distances, this Mirex adapter could also be used on Sony NEX cameras (with a 1.25 mm thick adapter) and in addition to Canon EF lenses (without aperture control) many other "old" lenses (e.g., Nikon, Olympus Zuiko, Leica R or even medium format lenses) can be mounted.

The Mirex adapter is smooth and well built and allows defined and controlled shift and tilt movements (only perpendicular to each other). The maximal shift movement is 15 mm in both directions, which (theoretically) enables capturing an image width of 47.3 mm. Note that this is even wider than full-frame and therefore larger than the diameter of the image circle of many lenses that are likely to be used. The lens can be tilted by 10°, but only in one direction. However, a rotating mechanism allows to move the tilt into any direction (it snaps in defined positions every 22.5°).

Since the whole tilt and shift adapter is rather large in diameter, rotating the lens requires space. Before the purchase, I have been warned that the adapter is not compatible with the popular Olympus OM-D E-M5 and that it may touch the flash housing on certain Panasonic Lumix bodies. The adapter just fits the Lumix GH-1, but it is necessary to exchange to original screw that loosens or tightens the tilt mechanism with the included allen head screw (see the photograph below). Shifting the lens fully to the right may interfere with the grip and with holding the camera. Personally, I am not worried by this because I will use the shift movement mostly with the camera mounted on a tripod (e.g., for panoramas), which brings me to a really great feature of the Mirex adapter: There are three holes on the lower part of the housing (see for example the first photograph below), that serve to attach a tripod mount. This accessory is not yet available, but it seems like a worthwhile and useful addition and indicates foresightful planning.

The photographs below are meant to give you an impression of this interesting tool and to help you picture its functioning. So far, I have a very positive impression of the Mirex tilt and shift adapter and I really look forward delving into tilt and shift photography. If you have any questions concerning the adapter I am sure that the representatives of Mirex will gladly respond (they were very responsive in my experience), but I would also be glad to answer possible questions.

I hope that I can soon provide you with my first tilt and/or shift examples and wish you a nice day and good weekend!

View on the Canon EF lens mount of the adapter. The red arrow indicates the button to release the lens, just like on a camera body. The three holes on the bottom may permit the attachment of a tripod adapter (my hope) but I could not yet confirm their function.

View of the micro four thirds bayonet. The two arrows indicate the dentate disc that has to be turned/pushed in order to rotate the lens relative to the camera. The mechanism snaps in every 22.5° (16 positions).

View from above. The latch in the middle releases the shift movement upon pressing. The scale indicates the amount of shift (15 mm in each direction).

Same view as the illustration above, but with full shift in place.

View from the side. The dentate ring for turning the lens is again visible. On the left there is the scale for the tilt movement (10° in one direction).

View from the side with the adapter mounted on a camera and a lens mounted on the adapter (via a Nikon to Canon EF adapter). The lens is fully tilted downwards. The arrow indicates the screw that tightens or loosens the tilt movement. Originally there is a large screw that can be turned by hand. On the particular camera body used here, this screw would prevent rotating the lens (due to the housing for the flash). The replacement allen head screw in place here is provided together with the adapter (as well as the necessary allen keys).

P.S. The tilt and shift adapter that is described here and which provoked me to write this text was purchased from Mirex. I am not associated with Mirex and I do not receive any form of compensation for writing this text.