Parallel illumination conditions are required for several experiments in the transmission electron microscope (TEM). The image rotation induced by the helical trajectory of electrons passing through the magnetic field of the TEM lenses inevitably induces an inclination of the beam relative to the optical axis in the object plane--even for an electron which travels parallel to the optical axis in the far field. This angle (shear angle) is vectorially added to the convergence angle; it depends both on the distance to the optical axis and the magnetic field. By using a beam tilt compensation method, the minimum shear angle is found to be of the order of 1 mrad for a field of view of 2 microm in a 200 kV TEM. In practice, "parallel illumination" can only be obtained for fields of view 1 microm.