Tilt-shift lenses are all the rage lately—see our review of the Hasselblad HTS 1.5—which is pretty interesting considering that this "effect" has been around since the earliest view cameras. The latest tilt-shift product comes from Arca-Swiss, a view camera manufacturer which has been in the photo business for 85 years.

Founded in Zurich, Switzerland in the 1920s but based in France since 1999, the company has been reinventing its camera systems to make them more modular and adaptable to the digital world. One of Arca-Swiss's latest creations is the M-Line Two which allows you to turn your DSLR or medium-format model into a full view camera with tilt-shift capability.

Available in two flavors—M-Line Two Single Lens Reflex (SLR) and M-Line Two Medium Format (MF)—the systems are Spartan in design and lightweight (4.4 pounds). For the SLR version, adapters are available so you can insert your Canon, Nikon, or Sony digital SLR into the M-Line Two system. The MF version has adapters for Contax 645, Hasselblad V/H, Mamiya 645 AFD or Leaf/Sinar AFi/Hy6.

Unlike Arca-Swiss's Monolith system which places the tilt and shift controls together, the M-Line Two separates them, putting the shift on the back and the tilt on the front. The thinking behind this is that there's less chance of confusing the two functions when, for instance, trying to use the shift function for perspective control while photographing buildings; or tilt when wanting to create an extremely shallow depth of field for the so-called "miniature" effect. The separation should, theoretically, result in less error.

The M-Line Two uses both an extension rail and a bellows to give you a wide range of coverage in one configuration if, for instance, you want to photograph a close-up of a flower or a full landscape without having to drastically change the set-up.

Cost: $4,000 Further information: www.precisioncameraworks.com/