Menu
What's new
The GetDPI Photography Forum

Great to see you here. Join our insightful photographic forum today and start tapping into a huge wealth of photographic knowledge. Completing our simple registration process will allow you to gain access to exclusive content, add your own topics and posts, share your work and connect with other members through your own private inbox! And don’t forget to say hi!

Deciding between Alpa TC, STC or Cambo 1250

kdphotography

kdphotography

Well-known member
Actually, John Milich has found a way to use the HPF rings and the t/s panel on the Cambo.

I was seriously intrigued, but in reality have found that the Cambo works just fine for me without the HPF rings. I don't feel remiss at all.

Cambo, Alpa, and Arca will all do you fine. All are exceptionally nice rigs. And let's face it, at this level of photography and refinement---you're really talking subjective personal choices here.

I went with Cambo and have enjoyed every moment.

If you're considering Cambo, you should look at John Milich's Cambo WRS here: http://www.getdpi.com/forum/gear-fs-wtb/52588-fs-cambo-wrs-lenses-iq-160-a.html

It's fairly rare to see technical cameras on sale. And this one is from a known and respected GetDPI family member.

ken
 
Jamgolf

Jamgolf

Member
Don Libby said:
I've been using a Cambo WRS for 6-years and only used it handheld once just to prove it could be done. To my way of thinking, a technical camera is meant to be used on a tripod; when I want to handhold I use a DF. Just my crazy way of thinking. Yes it can be handheld, but why?

don
Click to expand...
I agree Don - there is not much of point in shooting a tech camera handheld.
I am certainly not planning to make a habbit of using it handheld.

Its just somewhat of an option. I've seen with Dan Lindberg's work that clearly demonstrates it can be done. So just keeping a possibility open.

Otherwise I am in agreement with your sentiment. A DF or M9.
 
Jamgolf

Jamgolf

Member
kdphotography said:
Actually, John Milich has found a way to use the HPF rings and the t/s panel on the Cambo.

I was seriously intrigued, but in reality have found that the Cambo works just fine for me without the HPF rings. I don't feel remiss at all.

ken
Click to expand...
Thanks for your input Ken.
And for pointing out John Milich's solution.
I'll search for threads that have that information in detail.
 
V

vjbelle

Well-known member
Jamgolf said:
Victor

Do you permanently orient the STC body vertically and have the grip installed on the side where the bottom would normally be?

Your experience with the lens quality sounds concerning, especially given the price. Are there any particuar lenses that you've had problems with?

Thanks
Click to expand...
Actually the grip can only be installed for use when the camera is positioned for lateral shift. I do leave my grip on permanently for occasionally shifting with longer lenses but its on the bottom when tripod mounted for rise/fall..... RRS plates (small and medium) work really well for me. I have found that shifting much beyond 10mm (I'm being very conservative and picky) is iffy for me. Even the Schneider 60mm with its humongous image circle will have some LCC correction necessary and all of that can be eliminated with just moving around the Nodal point instead. You can do it your own way......

My only comment about lens quality is you had better test each lens for yourself. I don't care who it comes from!!! Its a shame to even have to post this but I had to go through three different 35XL's and finally sent mine to Schneider and it finally got fixed. Even my beloved Schneider 60mm showed skewing which Schneider fixed (for free). I had a 50mm Rody that lasted for about 48 hours after obvious skewing..... all of this is unbelievable for lenses in this price range. Don't buy any lens from anyone who won't take it back (No Questions Asked!!) or exchanged until you are happy. No one at any dealer can be your benchmark! Bottom line.... if you don't like it then they either replace it or take it back until you are happy. At 5 to 7 grand a pop I don't think that's too much to ask!!

Victor
 
J

jagsiva

Active member
I would echo the comments on handholding a tech camera. Focusing, shutter release, no TTL VF etc., make this quite difficult, not to mention one of the main reasons for using such a clunky setup it is to maximize IQ. Also, if you're using base ISO on most CCD backs, and you're shooting tech lenses (usually in the f7-11 range), you'll be limited for light. Adding a CF takes this down another 1-2 stops.

Having said this, the Alpa models are probably the best for handholding. I have played with he STC and the TC and both are sweet. Some of their grip solutions help with this as well.

The Arca's are not quite what I would call hand-holdable. First of all, the focusing system just screams tripod, at least for me. Secondly, I use the factum when I want a lightweight kit, not necessarily so I can hand hold it. Firing the shutter, either with a one-shot cable, or the Phase wake-up cable is still a pain. The Factum is setup for rise fall, so it tends to drift with the weight of the back. Martin is apparently working on a fix for me. Once I have this, the factum, with the Rotaslide gives me a nice low-profile kit that has +/- 15mm rise/fall and +/-25mm shifts along with +/- 5 degrees of tilt.

I do use the RM3Di more than the factum. I just find it that much more robust and rigid.

If the same lenses fit in the Alpa, I would certainly have a TC for walk-around stuff, but this is not possible.

If hand-holding is important to you, then I would seriously consider the Alpa system. I went with Arca for 3 main reasons, 1. focussing - it works and when it doesn't I know who to blame, 2. not too many bits, all movements are in-body for the most part, and c) ability to use my lenses and accessories across tech cams as well as view cameras. The third point will likely be even more valuable as we get more into the CMOS backs for MFDB.

Finally, it is great that CI now carries all three, you can see them all side-by-side. I did see them at PhotoPlus with a number of different kits.

Happy travels with Dante, this is just the tip of the iceberg :)
 
F

f8orbust

Active member
vjbelle said:
...sent mine to Schneider and it finally got fixed...
Click to expand...
Victor - did you send your lenses back to Schneider for adjustment directly (in CA? or NY?), or through a dealer? If the former, how does the process work and what's the turnaround time like?

TIA,

Jim
 
Jamgolf

Jamgolf

Member
Jagsiva:

Thanks for your thoughtful comments.

Who is this Dante fellow - I keep seeing references to him all over MFDB forum ...
Does not sound like a very good travel companion at all :)

You are right in pointing out the challenges to the hand-holding possibilities of such a technical setup.
I think its rather the smaller and more manageable form-factor than the actual ability to hand hold and capture a shot that interests me.

You mentioned "Factum is setup for rise fall, so it tends to drift with the weight of the back" - that sounds like an annoying problem.
So it does not lock in position? Does it drift by ~1mm or a lot more?

Yes - it is nice to be able to see all three setups Arca/Alpa/Cambo at the same time and be able to hold the equipment to get a feel.
It was nice to visit Capture Integration offices, as I was travelling for thanksgiving and decided to make a detour. Steve was most helpful and accomodating.
 
P

Paul2660

Well-known member
Surprised to here the Factum drifts on rise and fall as the rm3di is very solid on rise and or fall. Never see any drifting.

There is no center 0 indent which I would like to see.

Hope Martin can come up with a fix on the Factum.

On the grip I use the grip extension on the rm3di which makes a huge difference. Not sure if that works on the Factum.

Paul
 
V

vjbelle

Well-known member
f8orbust said:
Victor - did you send your lenses back to Schneider for adjustment directly (in CA? or NY?), or through a dealer? If the former, how does the process work and what's the turnaround time like?

TIA,

Jim
Click to expand...
All of my lenses went to Germany for repair. The process is a little difficult as to shipment but USPS (amazing as this is) is the best and least costly and I did not go through my dealer but instead dealt directly with Schneider in Germany. All of my stuff is insured so compared to FedEx this was the best choice. No matter what all lenses have to go back to Germany...... Turnaround time is about a month to six weeks but its done right!!

Victor
 
J

jagsiva

Active member
The factum drifts, and can drift all the way down if allowed to. It is not a geared movement, but rather a tensioned push/pull. It does have a clear indent of for centre though, but again, nothing prevents it from driving out of this. The Rotaslide, on the other hand, has a lock mechanism that prevents it from doing this. I am guessing Martin can do something similar here. The Rm3Di is geared and simply solid.

If it had been setup for shift, this would be less of an issue. Of course, you can mount the "Tum" around and use it in landscape orientation were it is in Shift mode. However, this is another one of my gripes with the Factum, the L-bracket. The L-bracket does not have the rigidity of the the rest of the components. I have the same complaint using the L-bracket on the Rm3Di. I often would like to use the Rm3Di in landscape orientation so I can use the bigger movements (+30mm, -20mm vs. +/-15mm) for shifts, but not having a rigid way of doing this is an issue. Another option is to get the cube on it's side, but again, this is nowhere near the rigidity of when it is centred on the tripod base. Also, if you do not have the tripod fully extended, it does get tippy.

One thought maybe for Arca to add a removable foot on the other side, but there are so many things going on all four sides of these camera that this may not be that easy. Firstly, the feet are designed so you can drop the back without the foot getting in the way or needing a riser. This is really a very clever design. Secondly, the sides take grips, eModule Cloud adapters, The Helical mount release, VF etc., so there is quite a bit going on already on the sides of the body.

So there are limitations, but one thing about Martin is that anything that he comes up with is always elegant. Sometimes I wish he was more "industrialized" like Alpa, with a proper website, people to call etc., but along with that comes a degree of commercialization. What he does is truly a labor of love, so to some degree, I am willing to overlook some of these things.

Jamgolf, if you don't know who Dante already, no sweat, you will know him intimately soon!
 
J

jagsiva

Active member
BTW, Jamgolf, what back are you going to be using? It won't really matter for the body, but for your next post about where to drop 20K on 3 lenses it will be good to know :)
 
GrahamWelland

GrahamWelland

Subscriber & Workshop Member
jagsiva said:
BTW, Jamgolf, what back are you going to be using? It won't really matter for the body, but for your next post about where to drop 20K on 3 lenses it will be good to know :)
Click to expand...
:facesmack: The whooshing sound of cash from your wallet is a familiar one too. :chug:
 
P

PeterL

Member
What others have said about handholding, it's not the easiest or slickest solution. The main problem is that the package (camera/lens/back) very easily get's heavy in the long run. I occasionally use an Alpa TC with the SK24XL handheld, like when a tripod is not possible, e.g. a sailboat. This works, because the SK24XL is tiny and the TC is a better choice over the STC in these cases. In such situations I typically shoot at a 1/250s or 1/500s (f11, iso200) - so it needs to be reasonable bright. It is doable and I'm glad I have this choice, but it's not perfect.

Cheers, -Peter
 
F

Frederic

Member
My factum could drift if moved or slightly hit (think moving the tripod from one place to another), especially on really warm days. I asked Martin to fix it last month, and also requested a design change in the future, something like a real lock mechanism.
For now it no longer drifts, and the movements feels much tighter, as one would expect.
 
Jamgolf

Jamgolf

Member
jagsiva said:
BTW, Jamgolf, what back are you going to be using? It won't really matter for the body, but for your next post about where to drop 20K on 3 lenses it will be good to know :)
Click to expand...
Yeah you read me perfectly. My third thread will be about lenses :) Well one lens to begin with.
I did a partial trade of equipment for a Credo 60 with another photographer.

This Dante fellow sounds like folk I'd tell my kids to stay clear of :)
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Top