The bellows announced in P2367 arrived today. I'm thrilled. Simply a fantastically well-crafted precision instrument. With all sorts of adjustment options, loads of control wheels, loads of applications. Wow. Simply fantastic. Oh, and it was one of my eBay bargains again - only 1/3 of the new price, but everything in fantastic condition as far as I can see. Runs smoothly, without noticeable scratches or dents. And everything included - not even the cable adapters are missing. Now I just need to figure out if there's possibly a way to trigger the Canon EOS 10D via the cable release with an adapter - with the Contax RTS III there are of course no problems due to the system. But both cameras have purely electronic shutters, so something should be feasible. If worst comes to worst, a second cable release will do, but the direct connection is more elegant.
The nice thing about the bellows is the wide range of adjustment options. Shift only horizontally, but nicely with detent. Tilt only around the vertical axis, but also with detent. At the camera mount, the bayonet can be tilted 90 degrees and thus the camera can be changed in format - by tilting the bellows on the tripod you can also get vertical shift or tilt around the horizontal axis this way without twisting yourself into a pretzel.
The lens standard can either be simply rotated (after loosening the bellows, the tilt goes 360 degrees - so simply rotate 180 degrees backwards), alternatively you can also mount the front standard in reverse on the bellows to get even further forward with the lens. Even in reverse position, the automatic diaphragm is retained.
And then there's the slide copying attachment: the slide holder has a vertical shift. Combined with the horizontal shift of the front standard and the freely adjustable magnification factors, you can create beautiful section magnifications with it.
Oh, and in a few days I'll get the macro stand for the system, then I'll have almost all the parts. I'm only missing the adapter for 67mm front lenses (I'll definitely get that since I can then use the nice Tokina again) and the adapter for Zeiss loupe lenses.
Ah. Simply wonderful all this equipment.