How much tilt is enough?

A question that can best be answered by all you LFers. . .I shoot a Mamiya RB67 and can't get the depth of field in my landscapes that some front standard tilt would allow. Therefore, I'm considering buying Mamiya's new tilt-shift adapter a nd the short barrel 75mm and 180mm lenses. The t/s adapter provides +/- 12 degre es of tilt. Is that enough tilt for general scenics? In most cases I can foresee having the camera body tilted downward slightly, which I'm assuming will help. But 12 degrees isn't nearly what I'd get with the Toyo-field 45A I owned years a go. ($1 per image vs. $5 per image is why I went back to the RB) Any input to my e-mail address would be greatly appreciated. I'm new to the web, so I'm guessin g I need to check this page for a response. If you could direct e-mail me, that' d be great. Thanks!

12 degrees of tilt might be plenty. However a bigger problem is that you can't f ocus even close to infinity when using the tilt-shift adapter. I tried it with a Toyo/Mamiya rep standing next to me and confirming this limitation. This produc t is basically designed for table top product photography, maybe some portraitur e. You'll be be better off with a real view camera and roll film backs or the Fu ji 680 III.

Ellis may not be aware of the new short barrel lenses, which were designed to solve the problem he refers to. 12 degrees should be adequate in most cases to change the plane of focus to the ground in front of you (a typical application of front tilt).

Thank you all for your timely responses! Seems the general concensus is that 12 degrees should do it. Does anybody have $3,500 I could borrow indefinitely with no interest? (Ha! Ha!)

I am aware of the lenses. As Todd points for $3500 you get a slightly short norm al lens (75mm) and a slightly longish telephoto (180mm) plus the cost of an RZ67 body and backs. Wow!