In article <464bf6$e0f@newsbf02.news.aol.com>, pritchardj@aol.com
says...
>I am about to choose a new camera system. One important facet of the
>decision for me is the useability/availability of a shift or tilt and
>shift lens for the system. So far in my search it looks like both
>Cannon and Olympus have some type of shift or shift and tilt lenses
>available.
>I wanted to know if anyone has any experience with these lenses, and if
>anyone knows of such a solution in Nikon land. (...)
>Any general opinions about the viability of shift and tilt in 35mm
>arena?

Nikon, Minolta, and Pentax also have shift lenses. Canon has AF 24, 45,
and 90mm TS lenses, plus a 35mm in the MF line; Olympus has a 35 and a
24mm; Nikon has a 35 and a 28mm; Minolta has a 35mm (I believe...);
and Pentax has a 28mm. You did not say what focal-length preference you
have, or what you want to use the lens for. The 24mm > 35mm lenses are
useful for exterior architecture (though all w.a.'s may exhibit some
linear distortion which makes running building lines close to the edge
of the frame a bit of a problem). The 24mm (and, to a lesser extent,
the 28mm) is useful for architectural interiors. All focal-lengths are
useful for landscapes (one of the benefits of using PC lenses unshifted
is that optical performance is very uniform center-to-corner in the
frame - and uniform textures are rendered uniformly in the photo). The
90mm is useful for table-top and product photos. Tilt is rarely needed
in lenses 35mm and shorter, but is quite useful in longer focal-lengths.
Metering with shifted lenses is a problem solved with only one camera,
to the best of my knowledge - the Nikon F3. Accurate framing, leveling,
and composition are a problem with most camera bodies because of the
pincusion distortion and lack of 100% coverage in the finders of most
cameras (I recommend using a grid screen with PC lenses). The finders
of the Nikon F, F2, F3, and F4 (and possibly the EOS 1) have no
distortion and show nearly 100% of the film area. When shifted, smaller
apertures are required for good optical quality, even with the best
PC's. A horizontal photo with 11mm vertical shift may require f8 with
a 35mm, and f11 with a 28-24mm for good over-all sharpness. A vertical
photo with 11mm of vertical shift (which is beyond recommended shift)
will require f16-f22 for adequate over-all sharpness). If you choose
Nikon, you may want to visit my "SUBJECTIVE Lens Evaluations (Mostly
Nikkors)" for comments on the 5 Nikkor PC lenses (plus the 150mm
enlarging lens used on the T.S. PB-4 bellows) Follow photography to
NIKON on: http://www.phys.rug.nl/mk/people/aue/photo.html