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Sony A7R with Cambo Actus lens choices
- Thread starter felix5616
- Start date
GrahamWelland
Subscriber & Workshop Member
Are you looking for technical camera lenses or any type that'll work with movements?
I don't have my Actus for Sony any more but I do still shoot with my IQ3100 & Actus DB+ & Rodenstock lenses and in particular also the Cambo Canon adapter & 17mm/24mm TSE lenses. For technical camera lenses you are more constrained by the real lens element vs retro focus lenses.
I don't have my Actus for Sony any more but I do still shoot with my IQ3100 & Actus DB+ & Rodenstock lenses and in particular also the Cambo Canon adapter & 17mm/24mm TSE lenses. For technical camera lenses you are more constrained by the real lens element vs retro focus lenses.
Audii-Dudii
Active member
I'm late in posting this, because I only today stumbled upon this thread (why was it posted in the Gear FS or WTB forum?)
And I know nothing of macro photography, so I can't help you there. I do have some knowledge and real-world experience about using wide and ultra-wide angle lenses on an Actus, however...
If you're prepared to deal with the issues that arise when lenses designed with autofocus and electronic aperture control are used manually, as well as also modify the lens slightly, then the Canon 11-24 zoom will work. Actually, there are quite a few 35mm-format zooms that (with and without modification, which usually involves removing a baffle at the rear of the lens, but sometimes also involves removeing a built-in lens hood) project image circles large enough to provide some amount (and sometimes suprisingly large amounts) of movements for the A7R's sensor. The original version of the Sigma 12-24 zoom comes to mind also, although IQ does suffer a bit toward the outer edges of the image circle. The Nikon 14-24 zoom also works well and, with minor modifications, also projects a large image circle across most of its range. Lastly, I've heard the Samyang / Rokinon / etc. family of 14/f2.8 lenses also projects a decently large image circle, although I haven't yet verified this for myself nor do I know whether it requires any modification to do this.
Personally, I have successfully used a Contax N 17-35 on my Actus and other view- and technical-type cameras, although it does exhibit some smearing in the far corners at the 17mm (which is significantly improved by the Kolari thin-filter mod, btw, although it also appears to have ruined my A7R by increasing its hot-pixel count to unacceptable levels for my nighttime photography.)
Presently, I'm using three Sigma Art-series lenses with my Actus: the 24/f1.4, 35/f1.4, and 24-35/f2 zoom. Without their lens hoods installed, all project image circles sufficiently large enough for my purposes (i.e., I rarely stitch, so I rarely need more than, say, 6-8mm worth of rise / fall movement for my type of architecturally related photography. I've also tried the 20/f1.4, but its built-in lens hood restricts the size of its image circle such that it covers the A7R's sensor with room for only 1-2mm worth of rise/fall movements.) I also use a Canon-to-Nikon G-mount lens adapter that has the ability to control the lens aperture mechanically, not electrically, so I am stuck removing the lens from the Actus and mounting it on a Nikon body to change the aperture, as is required with Canon lenses (assuming, that is, you don't have Cambo's pricey, but effective, Canon lens controller / lens panel combo.)
In case you're curious, here's a photo of my setup, including an external 7" HDMI monitor and battery, as well as spare lens holder that I fabricated from some aluminum and a pair of inexpensive Chinese-made macro tube adapters, with the 35/f1.4 lens installed:
FYI, I'm curious as to whether the new Sigma Art 14/f1.8 lens also projects a large image circle, but based upon my experience with the 20/f1.4, as outlined above, I'm not optimistic due to its use of a built-in lens hood. Friends of mine also have the Irix lenses (15/f2.4 and 11/f4) that I hope to experiment with soon, but again, I am not optimistic due to their built-in lens hoods.
Anyway, I hope this helps (and if not, was at least a little bit amusing)!
Last edited:
Audii-Dudii
Active member
Further to my post above, I had a brief opportunity to play with my friend's 15/f2.4 Irix Blackstone lens this afternoon.
Unfortunately, he left me only the lens and not a Canon body as well, so I was stuck using it with the aperture wide open.
I mounted it on my Cambo Actus, because I have a dumb Canon EOS lens board, whereas my modified Cambo WDS is permanently setup for a Nikon mount.
That said, though, I was impressed by the potential of what I saw, starting with the fact that the lens hood is removable and not permanently attached.
Unfortunately, with the lens hood attached, there was very little image circle available for any rise / fall / shift movements.
But with the lens hood removed, there was approx. 5-6mm of rise / fall / shift movement available with the lens focused at infinity and, I suspect, once the lens is stopped down further, this will increase by possibly another few mm still, so potentially there is 7-9mm available under more typical shooting conditions.
This is plenty for my purposes because I'm only looking to correct perspective when photographing architecture and not to stitch ultra-wide angle panoramas.
As the reviewers have reported, the vignetting was significant at 2.4 and even worse with movements applied, but this should also improve as the aperture is stopped down and as most of my photography is done at night, it's not a significant issue for me.
Center shaprness was at least very good, approaching excellent, and although the corners were a bit soft, I expect this to improve with the lens stopped down further.
So this lens is definitely a legitimate option for Actus users looking for an ultra wide-angle lens and needing only modest amount of rise / fall / shift movement capability.
Overall, I was very impressed with the results of this very limited trial and once I sell some surplus gear I have on hand, I will likely buy a Nikon mount version and give it a more extensive trial.
I am now very much looking forward to having a chance to try the 11mm/f4 version that another friend of mine has on order and expects to receive sometime soon.
Unfortunately, he left me only the lens and not a Canon body as well, so I was stuck using it with the aperture wide open.
I mounted it on my Cambo Actus, because I have a dumb Canon EOS lens board, whereas my modified Cambo WDS is permanently setup for a Nikon mount.
That said, though, I was impressed by the potential of what I saw, starting with the fact that the lens hood is removable and not permanently attached.
Unfortunately, with the lens hood attached, there was very little image circle available for any rise / fall / shift movements.
But with the lens hood removed, there was approx. 5-6mm of rise / fall / shift movement available with the lens focused at infinity and, I suspect, once the lens is stopped down further, this will increase by possibly another few mm still, so potentially there is 7-9mm available under more typical shooting conditions.
This is plenty for my purposes because I'm only looking to correct perspective when photographing architecture and not to stitch ultra-wide angle panoramas.
As the reviewers have reported, the vignetting was significant at 2.4 and even worse with movements applied, but this should also improve as the aperture is stopped down and as most of my photography is done at night, it's not a significant issue for me.
Center shaprness was at least very good, approaching excellent, and although the corners were a bit soft, I expect this to improve with the lens stopped down further.
So this lens is definitely a legitimate option for Actus users looking for an ultra wide-angle lens and needing only modest amount of rise / fall / shift movement capability.
Overall, I was very impressed with the results of this very limited trial and once I sell some surplus gear I have on hand, I will likely buy a Nikon mount version and give it a more extensive trial.
I am now very much looking forward to having a chance to try the 11mm/f4 version that another friend of mine has on order and expects to receive sometime soon.