A surgical stapling apparatus (10) including a handle assembly (12), an elongated shaft (14) extending distally from the handle assembly, a shell assembly (31)containing a plurality of staples arranged in an annular array, and a firing mechanism for advancing staples from the shell assembly. An anvil assembly (30) including a tiltable anvil head (120) movable from an aligned operative position to a tilted position. A camera assembly (30a) is operatively coupled to a distal surface of the tiltable anvil head such that an orientation of the camera assembly changes as the anvil head moves from the operative to the tilted position.
