Canon Tilt-Shift Lens TS-E 24/3.5L Version II Review

This opening photo was taken with the Canon
TS-E 24/3.5L, the original version,
on a 5D Mk II at f/8. I have made prints of this image up to about 20 by 30
inches, and I think it holds up well. What I remember most about producing
this image is just how much work it took in Photoshop to get it where it is.
The original Canon 24 mm TS lens is reasonably sharp in the center, but contrast
gradually decreases as we look farther off-axis, that is, towards the corners
of the image. The image remains well formed in most respects; there are no
streaks or obvious coma. There is, however, lots of colour fringing. Using
Adobe Camera Raw or Photoshop to "fix" the fringing in one part of
the image makes it worse in another. For the above image I spent hours first
working out compromise settings and then de-saturating and cloning selected
areas to get rid of the remaining colour fringing. Then sharpening took another
hour or so. The best setting for the center was nowhere near enough for the
edges...