New Canon RF tilt lens offers toy-town effects at an temptingly affordable price

Japanese optical specialists Gizmon has released a Canon RF mount version of its Miniature Tilt lens. The 50mm f/1.6 lens is already available for. Sony E, Canon M and Fujiflm X mirrorless cameras.

The new full-frame model of the lens provides up to 15° of tilt in any direction - and is primarily used to add creative blur to an image. This so-called toy-town effect, allows you to create the impression of very limited depth of field - even when shooting broad views, and even with the aperture ring wide open. The effect is widely used when shooting still life photos or for city architecture.

Unlike full-function perspective control lenses, the Gizmon optic does not offer any shift functions – making it more similar to the effects created by a Lensbaby lens.

However, the manual-focus lens can also be used to extend depth of field - even when using the maximum f/1.6 aperture - by aligning the plane of the lens with the plane you want to be in focus. This "Scheimpflug effect" is particularly welcome in product photography. 

Above: This sample video shows the results of using the Gizmon tilt lens

The new RF version of the lens weighs 238g and measures 70x68mm. It is constructed from six elements in five groups - and offers a minimum focusing distance of 50cm. The diaphragm is made up of 14 blades – significantly more than in the average lens, but useful for an optic designed to accentuate bokeh. It can be used with a 46mm filter.

We don't know when the Canon RF mount version will go on sale outside Japan, but the Sony E-mount version sells for $168 / £182. 

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