Asymmetric movements - gadget or gimmick?

[Charles Twist]

Plutôt, vieux haricot.
Charles

[Thingy]

Having used my 45SU for a while now I can add that assym focussing has proved very useful on occasions when I've had very limited time to take an image where I have wanted to quickly get foreground & background in focus - sometimes when afloat. Limited time often means 5 minutes or less after setting up, etc, when on a coach trip to a remote location. For architectural images I just tilt the front standard and don't bother transferring the milimeter or two of rear assym movement across. The 45S's lack of interchangable bellows would be a serious pain to use with my Schneider 58XL, whereas the bag bellows make the minicsule movements needed a doddle. I also find I have more movements using the bag bellows with my Nikon 90mm f4.5 lens than when using the universal bellows. Of course, if didn't photograph buildings in narrow streets this would be unnecessary.