dougpeterson
Workshop Member
I agree completely with "these cameras lend themselves well to such simplistic summations" - or at least that they don't lend themselves easily to simplistic summation. This becomes apparent as you try to do so, as I have
. Still, I do firmly believe that having some summary (prefaced as ours is with a note affirming "This page is provided to help guide our customers early in their process of selecting the body and lenses... the numbers... are only a small part of the process of selecting a tech camera.") is better than no summary at all.
Your point about rotation/inversion is well put and provides additional value to several of the cameras on the list (of all three brands). In fact I was contacted by two Arca users to make the same point, in this case about the Arca which uses the same Arca-Swiss Rail (the standard on which RRS and a few others base their grip equipment) on the top and bottom of the unit, allowing especially natural inversion of the camera; this is especially pertinent to the RL3Di which has 40mm of rise. On the Cambo side the RC400, uses tool-free removal and reattachment of nearly any of it's accessories to top/left/right/bottom, allowing easy rotation as seen in our bumblebee video. On the other side the Cambo RS-1200 for instance is not especially easy/natural to use in a 90-degree-rotated manner.
But I don't think such nuances belong in an overview. At least not as a full in-depth explanation (which might easily overwhelm someone who is just starting and looking for a broad overview). So in lieu of explaining how easy/hard it is to use movements in a rotated/inverted/reversed manner I've added the word "Natural" to the rise, fall, and shift listed for each body to help clue the reader in that the movements listed come with a caveat. Underneath which I've added the following note:
I've just reworded the note on Tilt-Swing in response to your well explained concerns. It's a subtle difference, but I think it addresses what you've brought up; your further opinion is very welcome.
Old Wording:
New Wording:
Even here, I am excluding some detail, including detail that strongly favor Arca and Cambo. For instance the difference between the systems of where the hinge point is relative to the nodal point of the lens. Or the fact that Cambo can tilt and swing simultaneously which is unique among the three (unless you count a relatively obscure combination of two Alpa 17 TS adapters and a 34SB version of a lens). Or the throat size of the various mounts which can limit the usable image circle of some of the monster-image-circle lenses (Arca has the largest throat). Such details simply don't fit the scope of overview in my opinion.
I only point out the above details which would benefit Arca/Cambo in response to earlier posts (not yours) which seem to imply that if I've left out any detail that might be considered a positive for Alpa that it must represent malice. In fact positive attributes of all three systems are sacrificed on this page in pursuit of taking a very complicated and seemingly-intimidating topic and reducing it to something that might be understood early in one's education on tech cameras. I am not attempting to write the Encyclopedia of Tech Cameras (i.e. cover every contingency and detail) but rather to provide an overview. Not enough detail can be misleading, but too much detail will obfuscate the overall intention.
I really appreciate the respectful tone of your arguments and suggestions. If you have suggestions for (further) rewording I'm very open to hearing them.
