New CAMBO TS/SWING

[jlm]

my preference is generally to hold the lens in one place and tilt/swing/shift the back

 

[Don Libby]

I agree with Thomas. It may sound complicated but after a few tries it really work smoothly. Is it a PIA to remove the back and plate separately? Short answer is yes, that why I'm looking for some type of container to place the back attached to the plate into for temporary storage. (I'm working on a possible solution in my dark evil workshop)

A sliding back might be better however you also add bulk and for me that's not worth it as I don't need to use the groundglass all the time. I also can't see how a sliding back would work on the WRS due to the physical limitations.

Most of my shots are all set to infinity unless I'm stacking so once you develop your own workflow the effort is well worthwhile.

Don

 

[carstenw]

my preference is generally to hold the lens in one place and tilt/swing/shift the back

It depends what you want to do. I personally would prefer shift on the back, so that the lens stays in one place, but tilt on the front, so that the back can stay parallel to a building or wall, for example, avoiding convergence of lines.

 

[Don Libby]

Just found out that the back attached to the adapter plate fits in a Lowepro 1W lens bag. I'll try this in real life later next week. While it might not be perfect it does help eliminate a couple steps and should still protect the sensor.

Don

 

[Jack]

my preference is generally to hold the lens in one place and tilt/swing/shift the back

As common as it is to "pull" the back for DoF in landscape shooting, moving the back off square imparts geometric distortion, and is problematic with regular subjects like architecture. In the end, if you can only have one end tilt, it is preferable for it to be the lens.

So, for our tech cameras with limited space, the ideal is shifts at the back and tilts and swings up front. The added advantage of this arrangement is we can stitch the back across a tilted and locked lens field for continuous DoF between the frames.

 

[jlm]

if i am shooting a facade at an oblique angle, i frame the shot then start swinging the back until i get the focal plane to match the facade. habit from using a sinar P. if i wanted the facade "square" i would have to shoot it with the back parallel to the facade and the only way to get the focal plane to match the facade would be to have the lens square to the facade...in other words a straight on shot, maybe shifted. what i dislike about lens movements is that the image moves around, requiring back movements. once the t and s is out of the way, back shifts can tweak framing without changing focus or for stitches

 

[Jack]

Of course, but it doesn't work as well for tilts So yes, I hear you, and if given the choice, I would keep tilt and rise up front and shift and swing at the rear -- but that doesn't sound very practical from a design standpoint.

 

[etrump]

Changing the lens is enough of a hassle that I just can't imagine switch the back and ground glass for every composition. For critical focus it might be worth it though.

Those with viewfinder experience, is it close enough for general composition then take a few shots to finalize with the LCD a reasonable assumption?

 

[thomas]

Those with viewfinder experience, is it close enough for general composition then take a few shots to finalize with the LCD a reasonable assumption?

depends on your demands. It's certainly possible to use the finder for rough composition and fine adjust with the LCD. But only on the groundglass you can check accurate leveling/panning and composition.

 

[Don Libby]

depends on your demands. It's certainly possible to use the finder for rough composition and fine adjust with the LCD. But only on the groundglass you can check accurate leveling/panning and composition.

I do not have nor ever used a viewfinder with my WRS. I normally use the levels on the body to check level and so far have not had any problems.

The intent of the groundglass is to help me when using filters. While Thomas is certainly correct about using the groundglass for checking the accuracy in the leveling/panning my experience has shown you really don't need to if you take your time in setting the camera up prior. If the camera is perfectly level then you'll have no problems with panning (pan the camera and watch the camera bubbles - they should not move from center, if they do you aren't level.). The groundglass can help in composition however the lcd is just as good. Another thing I do while setting up the shot is look directly over the camera using the shoe as an aiming device to "see" the composition based on the lens being used. Every once in a while I'm off and when I do I just reshoot adding a certain amount of movement. It certainly gets easier with time and practice.

Don

 

[Don Libby]

Changing the lens is enough of a hassle...

Hi Ed

Please pardon me for cherry picking your response for a quote however I wanted to address the lens hassle...

I've never had a system that was as easy as the WDS or WRS in changing lens. The WDS requires the operator to use move one locking lever and the WRS requires two. Very easy and very fast with either system.

Don

 

[etrump]

Hi Ed

Please pardon me for cherry picking your response for a quote however I wanted to address the lens hassle...

I've never had a system that was as easy as the WDS or WRS in changing lens. The WDS requires the operator to use move one locking lever and the WRS requires two. Very easy and very fast with either system.

Don

Don,

My choice of words was not the greatest. I didn't intend to sound negative changing the lens on the WRS. As you state, it is not difficult when your standing on the ground but in knee deep water or in the rain, changing anything is a hassle. Especially when you have as many thumbs as I do. (I almost dropped my 35XL in the Little River at GSMNP so I am a little apprehensive about switching the back.)

I like the idea of the ground glass but am going to Antarctica next year and would like to shoot the cambo for the IQ. A lot of shooting takes place from the ship so hand-holding is a must. I am thinking the viewfinder might be close enough that minor cropping to finish things off would not be a problem.

Ed

 

[thomas]

The groundglass can help in composition however the lcd is just as good.

I do a lot of architectural stuff and here the bigger view on the groundglass and the indicators and lines on the groundglass are really helpfull. I doubt that you can see if the building is turned 1° or so not because of the camera is not accurate in level but because you are half a meter off the center of the building (or whatever) ... Mostly you see it with you eyes but sometimes not.

 

[Don Libby]

Don,

My choice of words was not the greatest. I didn't intend to sound negative changing the lens on the WRS. As you state, it is not difficult when your standing on the ground but in knee deep water or in the rain, changing anything is a hassle. Especially when you have as many thumbs as I do. (I almost dropped my 35XL in the Little River at GSMNP so I am a little apprehensive about switching the back.)

I like the idea of the ground glass but am going to Antarctica next year and would like to shoot the cambo for the IQ. A lot of shooting takes place from the ship so hand-holding is a must. I am thinking the viewfinder might be close enough that minor cropping to finish things off would not be a problem.

Ed

Ed - Okay now you told the rest of the story!

I can just image standing knee deep in flowing water and changing anything. If I had the choice between a lens or the orientation of the back I'd choose the lens - maybe. I've never had a moments problem changing a lens while I will admit to having some slight difficulties with the back. Sometimes I have problems seating the adapter back into the back while other times I do it very easily. I doubt seriously if I'd entertain the thought of switching the back to the groundglass and back again. I think if I even thought I'd need to do that I'd go into the water with the groundglass on so there's one less movement to be done.

I like the idea of shooting in the Antarctica and would more than likely invest in a viewfinder for the trip.

Don

 

[Don Libby]

I do a lot of architectural stuff and here the bigger view on the groundglass and the indicators and lines on the groundglass are really helpfull. I doubt that you can see if the building is turned 1° or so not because of the camera is not accurate in level but because you are half a meter off the center of the building (or whatever) ... Mostly you see it with you eyes but sometimes not.

Thomas you bring up several valid points with the key one being not to assume everyone shoots the same. I'm so keyed into landscape photography that I completely forgot the fact that these type of cameras are perfect fit for architectural photography. If I were shooting architectural images then I'd be using a groundglass fulltime and more than likely on a slightly different platform. I had the pleasure of trying out a Cambo Ultima and while I loved everything about it I just couldn't see it from the huge weight factor fitting into what I do.

Don

 

[thomas]

Thomas you bring up several valid points with the key one being not to assume everyone shoots the same. I'm so keyed into landscape photography that I completely forgot the fact that these type of cameras are perfect fit for architectural photography. If I were shooting architectural images then I'd be using a groundglass fulltime and more than likely on a slightly different platform. I had the pleasure of trying out a Cambo Ultima and while I loved everything about it I just couldn't see it from the huge weight factor fitting into what I do.

The plattform is okay! It's small, light and does basically everything a Alpa Max does. Bit more lateral shift as the Alpa and all movements on the back (here the Alpa Max is similar to the WDS - but you can mount an adapter so that the Max can shift 4 way on the back as far as I know). The WRS is just less expensive (though with individual lens mounts). A sliding back (with adapter, so detachable) would be fine. And I find the quality of the accessories somewhat poor (the accessories of Alpa are great!). Today I bought a 6x loupe with aspherical lens to focus on the groundglass... hell, what a difference to the "lens" in that regular flimsy flexible focussing hood! With this loupe even the dark groundglass is okay (actually it is not okay... it's just too dark). Well, an optional groundglass with Fresnel would be fine, too. You can order that stuff elsewhere but it would be fine if you could just order directly from Cambo and everything fits.

 

[Clawery]

I have been told that the estimated retrofit price will be $1295.00 per lens and will take 3-4 days. Cambo will start retrofitting in early September.

Chris Lawery(e-mail Me)
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Sales Manager, Capture Integration
Phase One, Canon, Apple, Profoto, Eizo & More
National: 877.217.9870 | Cell: 404.234.5195
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[Don Libby]

It'll be interesting to see what the price of a new lens mounted will be. I guess Cambo will now begin to offer choices in lensboards priced accordingly.


Don

 

[Clawery]

It'll be interesting to see what the price of a new lens mounted will be. I guess Cambo will now begin to offer choices in lensboards priced accordingly.


Don

I hope to have an extended price list with all lenses and lens options soon. I will post it as soon as I have it.

Chris Lawery(e-mail Me)
__________________
Sales Manager, Capture Integration
Phase One, Canon, Apple, Profoto, Eizo & More
National: 877.217.9870 | Cell: 404.234.5195
Newsletter: Read Latest or Sign Up