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Bellows-Nikkor-P 105mm f/4 (3)
Modern equivalents...
Of course what has happened with time is that photographers needing the features of “tilt & shift” have abandoned such cumbersome bellows set-ups and bought dedicated lenses. These have been offered by several manufacturers over the years and whilst most were expensive they were popular for their ease of use hand-held. The most popular are the T&S 17mm, 24 mm, 45 mm and 90 mm trio for the Canon EOS system following on from the original T&S 35 mm for the manual F1 system. Schneider made versions in the past for both 6 x 4,5 and 6 x 6 cms Bronica and Rollei roll-film cameras... and currently Russian Hartble models are available using adaptors for several roll-film and 35 mm cameras at very competitive prices - their marginal optical failings being overcome with readily available image correction software. And of course Nikon make the 85mm f/2.8 PC Micro-Nikkor... but will what would be a highly desirable 20 mm or 24 mm Tilt & Shift ever appear for the digital system?
Despite the seriousness of these types of equipment (seriousness being determined by their prices) there is fun to be had using them. I hardly ever used my PB-4 / 105 bellows set-up the way it was meant... I generally used it hand held, and with the lens tilted against the direction for greater depth-of-field because I wanted to create images with less depth. This is a very hit-and-miss technique but can pay off by shooting a lot of film and varying the adjusted effect bit by bit. A true exponent of this technique is Keith Carter whose following is proven by his workshop popularity and resulting book sales. There are a number of other photographers who use Hasselblad ArcBody and FlexBody cameras for such maneuvers with subjects ranging from weddings and portraits to architecture and landscapes... which just goes to show that if a manufacturer develops a specialist item to fill a niche market a greater number of creative photographers will do the exact opposite with the product and make it a bigger success than the manufacturer realized. Such is creativity... thank goodness!
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